The duty of care is the main theme at GBTA Convention 2016. Kevin Iwamoto, Senior Consultant at Goldspring Consulting talked about this subject at the 2016 GBTA Convention in Denver, sharing his opinion on the importance of DOC for meetings and events, what duty of care defines and what particularly applies to event and meeting leaders as part of their onsite planning responsibilities.
During the panel discussion, the speakers have talked about the best procedures that we would like to share with you because sharing is caring and, as Kevin stated, Duty of care became compulsory, not optional, nowadays.
1.Confirm that your third-party risk management partner (e.g., iJet, iSOS, travel management company, venues, etc.) can serve all types of travelers (volunteers, staff and other non-employees) and categorize by groups for accurate tracking and reporting needs. Also, travelers visiting a mid- to a high-risk area should be properly instructed before departure.
- Come up with an emergency response plan for international travel, covering all probabilities, including political crisis, military action or natural disasters. It’s our duty and also smart for our business to safely bring home every contractor or employee which we ask to represent us abroad. Also, include your key suppliers in drawing up your company’s plan.
- Create a simple and explicit communication plan for your travelers, so, in case something goes wrong during their trip, they know who to contact and for what purpose. Put together all the info into a mobile app and also a laptop-static document that doesn’t need an internet connection to be accessed. Try to use just one main link to give immediate access to protocols so that people won’t need phone numbers and various other links.
- Instruct your travelers through procedures, web pages, smart communications, special alerts, etc.
- Make sure that travelers understand relevant details, for example, if the airlines take over their flight reservations or the trip is rescheduled. The success of your traveler-tracking program is based on the integrity of the booked data. If any change intervenes and is not communicated to the travel or meetings manager, this can affect the ability to be efficient.
- Be ready for the fortuitous events. International travel isn’t ordinary business. It’s important to examine the available resources in case an emergency takes place and also suggesting travelers to revise their insurance coverage and other services to ensure their availability. Pretrip planning and advisory communications are also important actions.
- You should verify that you have the financial means and adequate form of payment to purchase charter flights, a large volume of tickets, hotel rooms or other sudden arrangements in case of a mass guest evacuation.
- A team approach is recommended. When the issues of risk management and duty of care come up, it’s best to have all parties involved including travel, HR, security, senior management and also risk staff. It would be best for you to think of an integrated solution that covers all your travelers’ needs as well as underlining the fact that every person, from senior management to employees, have duty-of-loyalty obligations for traveler safety and comfort. Every status update or emergency situation should be brought to everybody’s attention. Equally important is to check that all staff contact information is regularity updated.
This article appeared for the first time in Meetings & Conventions Magazine, on September 28, 2016. For additional information, click here.
The duty of care is an issue that all ground transportation companies should and must take into consideration.
The act of planning transportation for a business meeting isn’t always a simple task. First of all, you must plan every little detail and sometimes think of a plan B and secondly, because you have a BIG responsibility: people’s lives.
The duty of care is a plan that will guarantee your customers and your employees’ safety and that is the reason for which duty of care shouldn’t be optional but mandatory.
Corporate Transportation St Louis provides its services on six continents all around the globe and promises that you’ll benefit from the same safe and wonderful experience abroad as if you were traveling at home. No matter the service you book us for, you will get the best car, the best chauffeur, the best experience and, more importantly, we guarantee your safety and that’s The Corporate Transportation Promise.
Choose Corporate Transportation St. Louis and book now.