In September 2021, in the midst of a historical phase characterized by geopolitical tensions, health emergency and widespread social discontent, the International Organization for Standardization, a nongovernmental body established in 1947 for the purpose of developing technical standards, published the new ISO 31030 standard for travel risk management, which is an indispensable benchmark for organizations that want to adequately protect the safety of personnel to be sent abroad. In fact, ISO 31030 provides clear guidelines aimed at, among other things, regulating all phases of travel and identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks, including health risks, present in destination countries.
One of the most relevant aspects of ISO 31030 is that it can be used by any company and organization (except tourism and recreation companies). regardless of size or sector. This therefore includes Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as, for example, universities and NGOs. The adoption of a careful Travel Risk Management policy that adheres to the principles enshrined in ISO 31030 and, therefore, exempts the employer from criminal, civil and reputational risks, is more likely to be carried out by multinational companies, which, having substantial financial resources and adequately trained staff, are more likely to develop detailed procedures for the protection of traveling workers. However, even multinationals, like all other companies, are not exempt from the danger of underestimating the threats present in countries considered safe, where various criticalities are increasingly emerging, particularly of a health and security nature.
These are not the only ones to be underestimated.
Despite recent improvements and the presence of virtuous realities, there is evidence that SMEs with international projection are generally less inclined to carry out an adequate travel risk management policy. And this can be attributed to:
In addition, some SMEs, when it comes to assessing threats to traveling personnel, are inclined to analyze only the general geopolitical picture, without considering the risks present in the specific locations (neighborhoods, cities, regions) in which the worker operates, or leaving out the major cultural and religious aspects of the destination countries that, if not respected, could result in very serious consequences for the offender.
They are also inclined to analyze the general geopolitical picture, without considering the risks present in the specific locations (neighborhoods, cities, regions) in which the worker operates, or leaving out the major cultural and religious aspects of the destination countries that, if not respected, could result in very serious consequences for the offender.
Problematic also appears to be the position of NGOs, which by their very nature are called upon to operate in highly critical contexts. In the recent past, in fact, especially those that are less structured due to errors in threat assessment or even the absence of any risk prevention policy, have seen some of their operators get caught up in violent episodes such as, for example, kidnappings for ransom (in the first two decades of the Two Thousand, Italian operators kidnapped abroad were as many as 19. The latest case involved the young cooperator Silvia Romano, who was kidnapped in Kenya by the jihadist group Al-Shabaab and then released in Somalia in May 2020).
In order to address the lacunas that have emerged so far in the area of travel risk management, all deficit organizations, and in particular NGOs and SMEs, should seek to take advantage of the opportunities offered by ISO 31030 as much as possible and, on the back of this, equip themselves with all those tools capable of ensuring high levels of protection for personnel traveling abroad. Among the main priorities should be to create, where absent, a well-organized internal structure composed of professionals in the field, even making use of the advice of authoritative external companies. However, this will only be possible if there is a new awareness with respect to the issue of security which, instead of being seen as a burden, should be conceived as a long-term investment that can benefit the organization, both in economic and reputational terms. Finally, as far as the most virtuous companies are concerned, which almost always coincide with large enterprises, one cannot fail to affirm how they too are called upon to follow slavishly the guidelines of ISO 31030, since in today's fluid and complex world, security can know no limits whatsoever or definitive end points.
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Sources:
De Gasperi Foundation, interview with Umberto Saccone