As an executive assistant, personal assistant, or corporate travel booker, ensuring the welfare of travelling employees is an ethical and operational imperative. It’s about protecting the wellbeing, safety, and productivity of your team, while fostering a culture that values them as one of your greatest assets.
This blog provides actionable insights into 10 essential duty of care initiatives every business should adapt to craft value-driven, safe, and seamless travel experiences.
Duty of care refers to a company's legal and moral responsibility to safeguard its employees' health, safety, and wellbeing while they’re carrying out work-related tasks—including business travel.
For organisations, failing to implement proactive duty of care policies can expose employees to unnecessary risks and threaten your company’s reputation and financial standing. Prioritising duty of care isn’t just about meeting compliance or avoiding litigation — it’s about creating a resilient, engaged, and high-functioning workforce.
1. Develop comprehensive travel policies
Clear, well-designed travel policies are the bedrock of any effective duty of care strategy. These policies should outline expectations, processes, and resources available to employees during their trip. Include details like approved travel suppliers, booking procedures, expense limits, and safety guidelines.
Keep the policies accessible, encourage feedback from employees, and update them regularly to account for evolving risks, trends, and regulations.
2. Conduct regular risk assessments
Understanding the specific risks associated with each trip is vital. Risk assessments should evaluate factors like destination safety, regional political climate, medical infrastructure, and environmental considerations.
myTC Locate, our cutting-edge duty of care solution, offers powerful pre-trip planning tools so you can thoroughly assess every location and make informed decisions based on travel advice and potential risks.
3. Leverage real-time updates
Another benefit of myTC Locate is the real-time updates that it provides – meaning you can react quickly to developing situations in the locations where your travellers are. This could be something as simple as a train delay or bad weather, to serious events like natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, or terrorist attacks.
4. Establish emergency and contingency plans
Planning for "what ifs" is essential for maintaining peace of mind. Employees need to know how to act in various emergency scenarios. Whether it’s political unrest, extreme weather, or medical emergencies, ensure you have plans that address evacuation procedures, communication protocols, and alternate routes or accommodations if needed.
5. Provide non-invasive traveller tracking
Follow the progress of your travellers with passive tracking. Rather than intrusive geo-location or live tracking, myTC Locate uses traveller’s itineraries to keep a track of where they should be in the world at any given time – meaning their personal boundaries are respected.
6. Ensure travellers have 24/7 support
Business doesn’t run only from nine to five — and neither should your travel support. Give your teams around-the-clock access to a dedicated resource, whether an in-house travel manager or through an external partner like Travel Counsellors for Business.
Employees will appreciate knowing that there's always someone on hand to resolve issues, from missed connections to emergency medical situations.
7. Personalise travel itineraries to meet individual needs
No two employees are the same, and their travel needs will differ accordingly. Make it standard practice to understand their unique requirements, preferences, and limitations.
For instance, does an employee have dietary restrictions, mobility needs, or religious considerations? Providing a personalised itinerary creates a smoother and more respectful travel experience for everyone.
8. Avoid overloading schedules
Keeping employees' wellbeing in mind means recognising the mental and physical toll of heavy travel schedules. Packing too many back-to-back meetings into one day or failing to account for jet lag diminishes productivity and morale.
Strike a balance between optimising efficiency and providing sufficient downtime for rest and recuperation — even small adjustments can make a big difference.
9. Conduct post-travel feedback surveys
Feedback is crucial for continuous improvement. After trips, invite employees to share their experiences and suggestions via quick surveys or one-on-one follow-ups.
Questions to consider include:
Use their feedback to build better travel experiences that reflect ongoing commitment to duty of care.
10. Foster a culture of trust and transparency
The most effective duty of care strategies are those that are well-communicated to employees. Consistently show that you prioritise their health and safety at every stage of the travel process.
Communicate the steps you’re taking to minimise risks and be transparent about how employees are protected. Regular training sessions or town halls can help keep duty of care top of mind for everyone in your organisation.
Find out how Travel Counsellors for Business can help streamline your duty of care strategy. Let's talk today.
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