International SOS Publishes Roadmap for Protecting Globally Mobile Employees in an Increasingly Complex World
In today's global economy, companies don't hesitate to cross
borders, span time zones or operate in remote locations to achieve
their objectives - and neither do their employees. After analyzing 300
global companies' travel itinerary data, a recent International SOS
study found that in the past year, more than 3.5 million international
trips were taken by employees, a quarter of which were to high or
extreme risk destinations. With this increased mobility comes
inevitable risks - everything from illness (H1N1 pandemic), to
outbreaks of civil unrest (recent strife in Guinea), to natural
disaster (recent tragic events in Southeast Asia and the South
Pacific).
To assist
companies in dealing with this uncertain world, International SOS
announced today the global release of a new white paper titled, "Duty
of Care of Employers for Protecting International Assignees, their
Dependents, and International Business Travelers." Authored by Lisbeth
Claus, Ph.D., SPHR, GPHR, professor of global HR at Willamette
University, this roadmap provides business leaders with the information
and tools they need to protect their most important asset - their
employees - which allows them to also effectively manage business,
financial and reputational risks. With a focus on safeguarding
employees who travel or live abroad on assignment, the paper breaks
down the duty of care puzzle and provides an integrated risk management
approach to solving it.
"Many
companies are overwhelmed when it comes to the issue of duty of care,"
said Suzanne Garber, Chief Operating Officer, International SOS,
Americas Region. "With this white paper, our focus is to clarify the
landscape, convene best practices and offer actionable guidance.
Oftentimes, an organization already has some of the resources to create
a successful duty of care program; it's just about bringing the right
people - company leadership, human resources experts, security
professionals, travel managers - to the table to develop a
collaborative approach. Many organizations are operating across borders
without fully understanding the obligations that surround duty of care."
Acknowledging
that it is impossible to predict exactly when, where or how crises will
occur, the integrated risk management approach to duty of care put
forth by International SOS emphasizes the importance of preparedness
and planning. The paper advises that the best companies don't wait for
an emergency or a lawsuit to occur before putting in place a support
system for employees. Rather, leading companies and organizations
recognize employee health and safety as core components to their
success and are proactive in establishing standards and practices that
reflect that:
"At KPMG,
the principles of our duty of care program are woven into the corporate
culture we live every day," said Craig DeCampli, Director of Global
Security for KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory firm. "Safeguarding
employees from the moment they purchase a plane ticket to when they
return home is simply part of what we call 'the KPMG way.' We simply
consider it the right thing to do."
"Bank
of America is committed to providing our employees with an environment
in which they can thrive, and a strong duty of care program is central
to achieving that commitment," said Ken Lucas, Senior Vice President,
Intelligence & Analysis Director, Corporate Security, Bank of
America. "Ensuring the wellbeing of each member of the Bank of America
family - wherever their work takes them - is a value that's woven deep
into our corporate culture."
"Wherever
our work takes us, the NBA is committed to the health and safety of all
employees," said John Daniels, Senior Director, Facility Security,
National Basketball Association. "Our people are undeniably our most
valuable assets and we take every precaution in ensuring their
wellbeing."
"For more
than 45 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature, and in
doing so, our employees travel to all corners of the globe," said
Mitchell Keiver, Director of Safety, Security and Risk Management,
World Wildlife Fund, Inc. "Preparing and then enabling our dedicated
staff to carry out this work while staying healthy, safe and secure is
our internal mission."
Leading
up to the release of the white paper, International SOS held several
roundtable events led by Dr. Claus and attended by business leaders in
New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington. D.C., and the
company will hold additional events in San Jose (October 28) and
Portland (November 16). During each session, attendees completed an
interactive exercise in which they discussed how they might address
hypothetical employee crises while each playing the role of a different
corporate decision maker, from human resources manager to legal
counsel.
"The global
business leaders we work with recognize that while duty of care is a
challenging issue, protecting employees is not only the right, but the
smart thing to do," said Garber. "International SOS is proud to offer a
roadmap of the challenging landscape, and will continue to serve as a
resource to assist companies in navigating it."
This
is the first white paper that deals with duty of care as it applies to
international assignees, their dependents and international business
travelers. Key components of the white paper include a review of
pertinent legislation and case law summarizing 36 cases in nine
countries with information from the European Union and International
Labor Organization; reasoning as to why duty of care is fragmented
within most organizations; a cost-benefit analysis that also ties in a
discussion around corporate social responsibility. For more information
on upcoming events, or to request a free copy of the white paper, visit
http://www.internationalsos.com/dutyofcare.