Securing Employees

The turmoil in Egypt is yet another reminder that HR leaders need to protect their traveling employees and expats. Experts detail some other hot spots across the globe -- and offer some practical tips to proactively address security issues.

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Even as HR leaders ensure their employees in Egypt are safe or are able to leave that country as it edges toward revolution, other trouble spots remain dangerous for expats.

In fact, before Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities erupted, security experts were most concerned about the dangers for U.S. business travelers to the industrialized cities of northern Mexico. Narco-terrorists, they say, have become more brazen in their criminal activities against American citizens.

The city of Monterrey in northern Mexico has made a "slow descent into mayhem," as drug traffickers have increasingly targeted U.S. travelers there, says Alex Puig, a regional security director for Travel Security Services, a joint venture between International SOS and Control Risks.

"This is very concerning, because it's the heart of industrial activity in northern Mexico, and a lot of U.S. companies have offices there and they want to make sure Americans are safe," Puig says.

Kidnappings are frequent in Mexican cities bordering the United States. In Monterrey, narco-terrorists blocked access to a road and kidnapped several people staying at a downtown hotel there, he says. The victims have not been located.

The situation does not seem as dangerous in Egypt, even though the U.S. Department of State has ordered all non-emergency government personnel and family members to leave and is arranging charter-air transportation for any U.S. citizens and eligible dependants who wish to leave.

As for expats and business travelers, Don Henne, an associate managing director with the risk consulting company Kroll Inc. in New York, says his company's clients have "called and asked about logistics if they need to get people out of the region [as to] how could [the company] do that and how could we assist them in doing it."

"I wouldn't say that it's difficult [to leave the area],"Henne says, "but from a support standpoint, there are organizations that are operating in the region that are bringing aircraft in to get people out."

And, even though the roads are crowded, he says, it's still possible to leave the country via land.

"Like all organizations, Kroll is closely monitoring the situation to see what is happening and to see if there is any deterioration or any proactive steps that have to be taken right away," Henne says.

Justin Priestley, executive director of Chicago-based Aon Crisis Management, says the spread of globalization is causing companies to send employees to parts of the world that are new markets, but that "present safety challenges because the increased social and economic divisions there are feeding violent crime."

"Because of this and because of the increasing regulations and international law around the issue of duty of care, companies need to have robust systems in place to first understand what the risks are, make the traveler aware of those risks, and if appropriate, put risk-mitigation measures in place so that the risk at an acceptable level," he says.

The stakes may grow even higher for companies, as more countries consider enacting a law similar to the UK's Manslaughter Act, which holds companies operating in the UK criminally responsible if their failure to adhere to standard "duties of care" results in an employee's injury or death -- no matter where that employee might be.

Egypt and Mexico are far from the only trouble spots throughout the world, experts say.

Venezuela is a very dangerous country, Puig says, and it has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Fortunately, most foreign companies have already pulled their operations there, with only a few U.S. business travelers, mainly from oil companies, entering the country.

In Africa, Cote d'Ivoire -- the largest exporter of cocoa beans -- is increasingly causing concern among business travelers, because a recent election dispute could bring about another civil war, he says.

And it may be hard to avoid the area, as many international flights have layovers at Abidjan International Airport, experts say.

In Asia-Pacific, travel to India also causes concern because of regional conflicts -- particularly by "Naxalites," a tribal Communist group that "detests foreigners," Puig says.

There are also concerns about Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea.

China, however, remains a relatively safe place to do business because its government has very good control over crime.

Before the mass protests broke out in Egypt, it was mostly Iraq and Afghanistan that business travelers tried to avoid in the Middle East. However, Puig says, companies may want to keep their employees out of Beirut, Lebanon, "right now -- it's a tinder box because of Hezbollah."

Priestley says HR leaders need to make sure the potential risks of every trip are assessed and that entire itineraries should be analyzed to look for vulnerabilities. And they need to make sure employees are trained about ways to lower their risk profiles for their particular destinations, he says.

Companies also need to have a comprehensive crisis-management plan to deal with incidents while traveling and, if there is an incident, they need to have an emergency-response team that can help the affected employee immediately.

Another component of any travel policy, Puig says, should be communicating to the traveling employee their responsibility to get immunized against regional diseases, such as hepatitis or yellow fever.

Companies should set up controls to confirm that employees acknowledge all travel security and safety information, which may lessen a company's potential liability if the employee ignores advisories and falls ill or gets harmed.

Too many companies, says Kroll's Henne, don't even have the exact itinerary of their traveling employees so they can be located in case of emergency.

These itineraries should include detailed accounts of hotels, restaurants, meeting places with business associates and the dedicated car service used for transportation to and from airports. Companies should also require employees to contact them if there are any schedule changes, he says.

Other practical advice includes avoiding the first floor of hotels in locations known for suicide bombers or the top floors in third-world countries that lack firefighting equipment that can reach those floors in the event of fire, Henne says.

Employees should also be advised to immediately check their hotel rooms and lock the deadbolt upon entering.

"It all comes back to being prepared for where you are going," Henne says. "Companies spend a lot of money to make sure their employees are safe here in the U.S., and those same principles should apply when their employees are traveling."