The ASC Conference – Travel Risk Management
The Association of Security Consultants (ASC) recently held a conference on Travel Risk Management (TRM) at the British Library, sharing best practice from experts in the field on the latest strategies and technologies.
ASC Chair, Gary Thomas, opened the event and explained how the ASC is evolving to support a holistic approach to security, incorporating cyber, aiming to create a collaborative learning environment.
Key themes and Takeaways
The conference featured presentations and panel discussions covering a range of critical topics within TRM. Here are some key highlights:
How to help clients with Travel Risk Management (TRM) programmes: Nick Hyman stressed the importance of understanding a client’s organisational structure, the relationship between departments and their responsibilities, and their risk appetite. He recommended understanding the environment they work in – the nature of their industry, the geography and the related legislation. He advised against criticising existing programmes and instead advocated for extending current policies and reducing the number of tools used for cost efficiency. He strongly recommended individual risk assessments, brief training and post-trip follow-up.
Travel security programming: adopting an intelligence-led approach: Sybilline’s Luke Brawn, Sasha Skovron and Tom Carter presented the value of an intelligence-led approach to TRM, introducing the basic programme building blocks of Planning, training, 24×7 monitoring and incident response. They highlighted the central roles of proactive threat identification, real-time situational awareness and targeted risk mitigation. They proposed that predictive intelligence demonstrates its value through saved costs, time saved, traveller assurance, and operational continuity.
International SOS: Dr Phillippe spoke about their role in providing a 24/7 global response with an international global infrastructure.
Leveraging technology for traveller protection: John Seddon of People Safe showcased technology designed to protect travelling staff, including lone workers. A survey they conducted revealed that 60% of people feel less safe during their commute, with women experiencing higher perceptions of risk and a significant percentage experiencing harassment.
Panel discussion: key challenges and future considerations: The panel addressed some of the ongoing challenges in TRM:
- TRM should be viewed an enabler, not a hindrance.
- Proper training is required, especially for individuals travelling to high-risk locations. Scenario-based training was recommended to make learning more engaging and impactful.
- For general travel security online training, brevity is recommended since most people are time-poor and have much training to do.
- There is a need to shift from “duty of care” to “duty of responsibility”, empowering employees to understand their roles in ensuring their own safety.
- Establishing a clear return on investment for TRM programs remains difficult.
- Moving beyond superficial compliance – the ‘tick-box culture’ – to a culture of genuine safety and resilience is crucial.
- Organisations need to more fully integrate how they use available intelligence to inform their TRM strategies.
- The panel discussed how duty of care is becoming wider due to factors like evolving perceptions of safety in different countries, and the increasing desire for employees to work from anywhere.
The ASC’s Travel Risk Management conference provided a useful insight into the current state and future direction of this critical field. There was an emphasis on understanding client needs, leveraging intelligence, utilising technology, and prioritising training in an increasingly complex global landscape.
Andrea Berkoff. Editor
