When business demands send employees around the world, employers face a range of unique safety concerns—political unrest, illnesses such as SARS, and even unfamiliar local customs. And as an employer, you’re expected to extend your umbrella of care as far as your employees go. Although it’s impossible to plan for all possible contingencies, here’s a checklist to run through before an employee embarks to a distant destination.
10-Point Travel Checklist
- Stay on top of immunizations and medications. Depending on the destination, certain immunizations or medications may be required—and others may be advised. Find out what’s needed so immunizations can be administered within the appropriate window of time. Employers usually cover the cost of immunizations—which is deductible as a business expense—and allow the employee to take care of these medical visits on company time. For more information, check out the Centers for Disease Control travelers’ health page at www.cdc.gov/travel.
- Learn as much as possible. The more you and your employees know about where they are headed, the better off you’ll both be. Education can take many forms—everything from language immersion classes to one-on-one sessions with a consultant. Some programs focus on getting business travelers and their spouses or families up to speed with daily activities such as shopping, banking, and school. And staff in your home office may need some preparation in order to work productively with their colleagues abroad.
- Use your connections. If you have a branch office—or even a vendor or customer—in the country where your employee will be located, talk to someone there to see if there are any special concerns you should be aware of. An insider’s perspective can be invaluable, and a contact at the destination can be a great resource to travelers.
- Check with the State Department. The U.S. Department of State issues a regularly updated list of travel warnings as well as announcements about terrorist threats and other risks. Go to www.travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html or call (202) 647-5225.
- Designate a contact. It’s essential employees traveling abroad can reach someone from the office whenever it might become necessary, so you may want to establish a point person. Also, consider providing the employee with a satellite phone for emergency use depending on the reliability of telecommunications at the travel destination.
- Establish check-ins. If a worker is traveling somewhere risky, establish check-in times or days for the employee to call, e-mail, or otherwise get in touch. Regular updates will allow you and your employee to discuss and handle unexpected situations on either end.
- Review medical coverage. Your American HMO may be of little or no help to someone working abroad. Make arrangements to ensure that traveling employees can seek prompt medical attention if they get sick or injured and that you won’t be hit with a massive bill. Look into travel assistance programs offered by some insurers.
- Expand your emergency planning. Any crisis management program should address the safety of workers outside the headquarters, whether they’re across the country or halfway around the world.
- Open your wallet. American ATM cards or traveler’s checks in U.S. dollars are worthless in certain countries. Find out what the local monetary situation is so your employee has ready access to cash. Consider obtaining traveler’s checks in foreign currency. Also, watch for sudden fluctuations in exchange rates so your employee isn’t left with inadequate spending power.
- Check passports and visas. It may seem obvious, but make sure anyone headed out of the country on business has a current passport. You don’t want to find out it has expired during the business trip. Also be sure to obtain the proper visas. Tourist visas won’t always cover business trips. Encourage employees to leave a photocopy of all important papers, including passports and visas, with a responsible person both at home and in the office.