Minimizing risk in a "super VUCA" world

According to some recent Deloitte prognosticating, corporate travel should grow significantly from its now-small base over the course of 2022. We have already seen how excited people are to get back to industry conferences and in-person visits domestically. We are also just starting to see international travel really pick up. The expectation is that international trips will also pick up, although some regions will recover faster than others. Increased costs will weigh down the growth as could new variants of Covid-19 that might show up in the future. It remains to be seen just how big the impact of Zoom meetings and remote/hybrid work will have on business travel - it's safe to assume a strong influence that may keep us from 2019 travel volumes. 

While Covid-19 is still a thing to be reckoned with as we move forward into resuming business and mobility travel, there will be a wider range of risks to be faced beyond the pandemic. Mobility teams and their partners work hard to protect the company and the individuals that are served from the risk that is inherent in international business travel. The global mobility function seeks to minimize those risks both from a compliance perspective (think tax, right to work, immigration) and from a physical safety perspective in this world of super-VUCA. (VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity)  

In a post back from 2019, (How at risk are your globally mobile employees? Maybe more than you know!) we talked about the "five pillars of travel risk management" which are:

1. A business travel health, safety and security policy
2. Travel safety and security information
3. Restrictions on travel to higher risk countries
4. Knowing where your people are
5. An incident and crisis management plan

Well, BCD Travel has a new "Travel Risk Outlook" report that can provide you with essential information to help set priorities, adjust and monitor your corporate travel programs in times of high uncertainty and constant change...aka "super VUCA". The report outlines 7 different risk elements: economic outlook, climate change/extreme weather events, geopolitical developments, personal risk/safety issues, cyber security, health threats, and "new world risks". This last one is all about some of the new risks that remote and hybrid work poses for companies and employees.

“Clearly, not all organizations travel to destinations where kidnapping or geopolitical discord pose risks,” says Mike Janssen, Global Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer at BCD. “But worldwide, there is a growing number of different dangers that threaten employees and organizations.

As we all look for good tools to leverage when managing a world-class global mobility program, this new report offers so much value and food for thought for mobility professionals. Add it as a resource for enhancing your duty of care to your people who might be traveling!