travel safe services assistance for female …...you are prepared for the environment in which you...

- assistance for femalebusiness travellers

Business Risk and Intelligence

TRAVEL SAFE SERVICES

ASSISTANCE FOR FEMALE BUSINESS TRAVELLERS

TOP TIPSThe following advice provides a useful framework around which all business travellers can plan their trip:

What Is Your Risk Profile?While destination is the primary determinant of risk, gender, nationality, ethnicity and age are amongthe key factors which influence the risk level associated with a trip.

Information = ConfidenceObtain a thorough briefing before you travel, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Current AffairsThe news doesn’t stop after your briefing finishes. Stay informed while in-country, enabling you notonly to stay safe (avoiding demonstrations, taking appropriate precautions in response to local inci-dents of crime etc.) but to converse more knowledgeably with business contacts.

Time Waits For No Man (or Woman)People are typically less careful when they are in a hurry, unintentionally leaving themselves vulnera-ble to avoidable risks. Where possible, allow as much time as possible between meetings, to travel toairports or to get back to your hotel before a curfew for instance. It is also useful to know what timesunset is so that in places where it is advisable to avoid being out after dark, you can allow plenty oftime to get to your destination before the light fades.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the WorstAlways have a contingency plan. What would you do if your wallet was taken? How would you get tothe airport if taxi drivers were on strike?


Recent advice provided to female business travellers has included such pearls of wisdom as: “checkthe peephole before opening the door to your hotel” and “don’t walk down dark alleys.” According toCornell University, women now account for almost 50% of those travelling for work and banalsuggestions extolling common sense advice, are unlikely to add any value to their experience or toleave them any more secure.

Much of the advice offered as “expert assistance” for women is, in reality, by no means gender specific.Male travellers should equally be advised to take basic precautions and maintain an awareness oftheir environment. For example, advice to women not to leave their drinks unattended due to the riskof having their drink spiked ignores clear trends in countries such as Colombia which have seen mentargeted by female criminals who incapacitate them prior to stealing their valuables. With the primarymotivation for the majority of crimes committed against foreign nationals being economic, foreignmen remain at a high risk due to a perception of wealth. Furthermore, in a number of the world’shighest risk destinations, the threat to foreign nationals is so high that the impact of gender isnegligible.

This is not to say that there are not specific challenges faced by women travelling for business. Womenare often perceived as “softer targets” by common criminals because of their comparatively lowerlevels of physical strength. In addition, there is the obvious concern that women are more likely to bethe target of sexual assault (depending upon the country in which they are travelling), or that thismay be a fundamental component of any attack. Harassment of women, particularly outside of theWest, can certainly make for an unpleasant experience even if it never actually manifests as a physicalthreat.

This point logically leads to the perception of vulnerability. Women generally have a keener awarenessof their own physical vulnerability. This may actually present an advantage in unfamiliarcircumstances, making many women more alert to potential dangers. However, it also points to akey point that organisations must seek to address when sending their personnel abroad: it is notenough that an individual be safe, they must feel safe.



DUTY OF CARE

Employers have a duty of care to their staff. Beyond a company’s legal obligations, there is a convincing caseto be made that employees are best able to fulfil their roles when they are able to get on with the job at handwithout distraction.

“CHECK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL”

There is a time and a place in life for surprises, and stepping off a plane just isn’t one of them. Making sureyou are prepared for the environment in which you are tasked with operating, is the first step to company’sfulfilling their duty of care.

Generic travel advisories fail to account for the fact that every traveller is different and so are their needs.

● Destination is the primary determinate of risk, but other factors play a significant contributing role: age,nationality and ethnicity being three of the most pressing.

● Meanwhile, the support a traveller needs, particularly before they travel, is in part determined by theirexperience. As businesses “branch out” into new and emerging markets to avoid the economic malaise inEurope and the US, their personnel are being required to enter new and increasingly challenging markets.We base our assistance on the level of experience you have as a traveller and your familiarity with thecountry or region to which you are visiting?

The Inkerman Group, therefore, provides clients with tailored solutions that work specifically for them.

● Those in-country for the first time benefit from in-depth briefings on trends in crime, terrorism and politicalstability, as well as cultures and customs. Such briefings take into account the different challenges andimplications for female travellers and advises them accordingly, helping them to avoid “nasty surprises”,from cultural faux pas to events impacting on their physical security.

● More experienced travellers may only require a quick briefing on recent developments, and any emergingtrends which have direct implications for their stay.

“Life is what happens while you’re making other plans” – John Lennon



● Having an itinerary is important, but sometimes meetings run over, particularly in parts of the world wheretime is a more “flexible” concept; sometimes roads are blocked and you have to take a different route;sometimes key customers decide they want to finish a meeting over dinner, and there isn’t time to file anupdated itinerary with the office.

● Beyond the day to day mishaps which can make the most carefully planned and rationalised scheduleredundant by 09.02am even the most experienced traveller can find themselves in the middle of events farbeyond their control. The Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 saw international standard business hotels (withtheir security, their deadlocks, their well lit corridors and their safes) among several targets ravaged by /Islamic extremists, and in the chaos that followed businesses struggled to locate their people. Meanwhile,the turmoil which surrounded the beginning of the Arab Spring saw travellers and expatriates, many ofwhom had many years of experience in country suddenly in a highly volatile and unpredictable environment.





THE INKERMAN GROUP – TRAVEL SAFE SERVICES

The Inkerman Group is a specialist risk and intelligence company which covers all aspects of travel safety,protection, risk, intelligence, and security, and it works with clients, companies and organisations throughout theworld to identify the specific risks, threats and vulnerabilities being faced and delivers bespoke solutions tominimise those risks.

The Inkerman Group specialises in travel security issues and in the provision of a wide range of services for itsclients throughout the world, all of which are bespoke to each of its clients. These services include a number ofoptions, which are designed to either be provided as stand-alone services or as an integrated provision.

24/7 MANNED OPERATIONS CENTREThe Inkerman Group operates its own Operations Centre which is manned 24/7 with experienced and professionalstaff at all times. All traveller tracking, advice and response is managed and co-ordinated through the OperationsCentre; this, together with the Company’s intelligence-led approach to services, forms the base-line support tothe full range of operational and travel services provided to clients throughout the world.

TRAVEL INFORMATION: PRE-TRIP ADVICE / RISK ANALYSIS

iTravelSafe is an Internet-based product designed and wholly owned by The Inkerman Group to deliver real-timeinformation and risk assessment throughout the world. It is a comprehensive service of all travel, risk and businessinformation in one place, for companies, organisations and their personnel to be able to access the very latestand up-to-date data and intelligence at the touch of a button, any time of day. The site can be branded specificallyfor companies and can be viewed either on the Internet via The Inkerman Group portal, or via the company’sown intranet.

Individual travellers can also be sent updated information via SMS, e-mail or phone – so, even when travelling,business travellers and expatriates can be constantly updated on the latest developments in-country.

The user friendly system can also be utilised by the company’s travel booking agencies and services, especiallywhen certain alert states in countries warrant the travel agents requiring consent by those authorising travelwithin the business. We can implement a system whereby the travel agents contact The Inkerman Group shouldan employee plan to travel to a Country on the alert list.

Continuously and dynamically updated with comprehensive information on a wide range of subjects to ensurethat business travellers are fully conversant in all aspects of their travel arrangements, business meetings andvaluable information about the locations being travelled to. The Inkerman Group produces regular Kidnap andRansom Bulletins which can be dove-tailed into this service.

In addition, bespoke requests for information would be dealt with by the internal team of analysts in the CorporateIntelligence Division of The Inkerman Group, and on specific briefed requirements. The Inkerman Group riskmitigation element is centred upon TravelSafe and iTravel report services which are bolstered by personaltraveller briefings prior to travelling if deemed necessary. These comprehensively drafted TravelSafe reports arespecifically designed to cater for those high risk locations which are either too dangerous to visit or are designatedas being at such a risk to deem it unsafe to travel.

Systems and processes can be integrated with existing travel agent booking services, internal client management,HR and security services where required such as American Express Travel Services and CWT, whom we alreadydeal with on this basis.



iTravelSafe can be provided in other languages in addition to English if required.

This subscription service delivers information, advice and assessment on a wide range of issues for all 207countries - up-to-date, in real-time, 24/7. The site, which can be accessed at all times by our clients from anywherein the world, contains travel information such as:

Country background information● Useful facts● Transport and infrastructure● Travel restrictions● Recent developments including security incidents● Currency convertors delivered in real time● Weather reports delivered in real time● Business protocol

Travel Risks● Political situation● Crime● Areas of risk● Kidnap● Terrorism

● Hotels / places to stay

● Healtho General health adviceo Immunisation requirementso Hospitals

● Travel tips

● Important contactso 24/7 hotlineo Emergency numbers

● Embassies and consuls (multi-national)



In addition, bespoke requests for information wouldbe dealt with by the internal team of analysts at TheInkerman Group, and on specific briefedrequirements. The Inkerman Group risk mitigationelement is centred upon TravelSafe and iTravelreport services which are bolstered by personaltraveller briefings prior to travelling if deemednecessary. These comprehensively draftedTravelSafe reports are specifically designed to caterfor those high risk locations.

TRAVELLER MONITORING – THE EMPLOYEE TRACKING SERVICE (ETS)

Employee Travel System (ETS) is a bespoke travel system designed to receive and then search travel informationsurrounding accounts and individuals as required

The Inkerman Group receives details of travel bookings direct into its ETS system from the Travel ManagementCompanies used by clients. This is provided via our 24/7/365 Operations Centre and ensures that all bookedtravel (so long as it is through those travel providers) is monitored by our personnel, thereby enabling us to take(on our client’s behalf) proactive or reactive actions including:

● Travel to High or Extreme Risk destinations. Sending the traveller (and Security and Travel Management) ane-mail advising them of the risks inherent in that destination.

● Monitoring the location of travellers – whether this is through their travel or hotel information, we work withclients and travellers in times of emergency or the need to assist the traveller. This may include utilisinginformation on:

∙ Transit point or destination∙ Carrier∙ Hotel group / location∙ Monitoring of travel information, for example

o Number of travellers on one flighto Information missing such as contact information e.g. e-mail or cell number

∙ Monitor historical travel data, for example who was on flight no.’x’



INDIVIDUAL TRAVELLER TRACKING

Corporate duty of care and the requirement to be able to manage and locate staff, particularly those workingremotely / the lone worker and / or in specific risk / sensitive areas throughout the world is increasingly importantto businesses. In recognition of this, The Inkerman Group has developed a whole range of services to addressthe very specific challenges in this area.

The Inkerman Group provides a comprehensive traveller tracking system in real-time, 24/7 throughout the worldfor clients. It is a location service and management protection system of people and / or assets and is designedspecifically to track the whereabouts of individual travellers and assets.

Not only does this provide travellers with the peace of mind that somebody knows where they are at all times,it also has a “Red Alert” function which will prompt an immediate response from our 24/7 Operations Centre.

The tracking system is managed entirely by The Inkerman Group in the Operations Centre 24/7, tailor-made forspecific client requirements and is available through various platforms and devices including:

• Any GPS enabled Blackberry• Any Windows mobile 5 or 6 Smartphone with GPS capability• GPS dongle for location tracking only

Reports can be generated as frequently as required to outline the movements tracked, and the system enablesclients to be able to monitor its people in real-time. Historical data is also available to clients should this berequired. In addition to the tracking capability, we provide 24/7 monitoring and, in the event of a crisis, clientscould also locate the person or persons in question.



Important features of the system include:

● Live Location Requests - requests a live location of one or all devices/employees on the system;● Geofencing - allows geographical areas to be "fenced" so that if those being tracked leave the designated

area, it alerts the system, mapping and locating the individuals in real-time;● In incident areas, it is possible to ring-fence a geographical area and identify all employees within that specific

area;● The platform can also be set up with schedules to perform regular checks on devices, and geofence zones

so that you will be alerted when the device leaves a specific location;● Mapping - Street level mapping is available for all platforms;● Overlay with Google Earth enables extremely accurate locator detailed information;● Manual and automatic panic alarms;● Normal accuracy down to 3-10 metres worldwide dependent on satellite coverage;● Speed and direction of travel;● Can contain personnel data that allows any operations centre to readily identify the person to the alarm

should it be triggered;● Can be used by all staff and their families if deemed necessary;● The system can be used on BlackBerries and other GPS enhanced communication devices.

The platform can of course be set up with schedules to perform regular checks on devices, and geofence zonesso that you will be alerted when the device leaves a specific location.

The system will also display messages from the device such as battery low, or fault reports ensuring you cankeep in regular contact with your people.



EXTRACTION / HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONIt is acknowledged that travellers may be required to travel to more sensitive and volatile areas, where they maybe at risk of kidnap or caught up in unrest. Although unlikely, employees being taken as hostage or requiringsafe exit from a country need to have the confidence that a robust infrastructure is in place to deal with sucheventualities should they occur.

The Inkerman Group has a professional and experienced K&R team.

The Inkerman Group’s live events response service is centred upon individually tailored client SpecialistContingency Risk Insurance (SCI) which includes post event repatriation and psychological support services.All Inkerman Group event responders have completed the National Metropolitan Police Hostage Negotiatorscourse and have extensive International live event experience.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT TRAININGThe Inkerman Group has many years experience in all aspects of Crisis Management Training throughout theworld; the trainers are qualified and able to work at all levels of the company's organisation to develop, produceand implement training courses



PERSONAL PROTECTIONThe Inkerman Group provides a range of services to help ensure the safety of staff, executives andprivate individuals, particularly when travelling to regions with which they may be unfamiliar, workingon projects or attending events which may attract unwanted attention, as well as being in environmentswhen it is perceived that they may be at risk. Services which it already provides to a variety of its clientsthroughout the world, as required.

Backed up by a fully equipped Operations Centre and by real-time international intelligence, our full-timeclose protection teams are all SIA (Security Industry Authority) licensed, experienced, and able torespond quickly and efficiently, deploying effective protection solutions to clients throughout the world.The team is experienced in the delivery of long-term and short-term executive close protectionassignments with business leaders, high profile individuals and large corporations.

The Inkerman Group has its own in-house close protection teams, with both male and female closeprotection officers, as well as these being SIA licensed in their own right, The Inkerman Group is alsoan SIA Approved Contractor for Close Protection and Manned Guarding.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY EVACUATION

Developing plans to cover potential crises is essential business practice - whether to protect from terrorism tocriminality, political instability to natural disasters, kidnap and ransom, emergency, extortion and disasterrecovery. The Inkerman Group is equipped and experienced to

● Prepare for evacuation and return, and test existing plans● Design and implement crisis management policies, plans, and procedures● Crisis management training● Provide strategic planning and on-the-ground support

The company has experience of dealing with all crisis management issues including pandemic, productcontamination, exit strategies, emergency contingency plans and strategies and has experienced negotiatorsplaced around the world

The Inkerman Group's world-class team of professional strategists, trainers and negotiators deliver solutions toclients worldwide. The specific requirements for this service would need to be discussed in more detail in orderto be able to provide any costing indications.



For a free confidential and no obligationconversation with one of our consultants

please [email protected]

or telephone +44 (0) 1233 646940

- interested in protectingyour female business

[email protected]

+44 (0) 1233 646940www.inkerman.com

. Images courtesy of nokhoog_buchachon, Ambro, adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

THE INKERMAN GROUPAM MEERKAMP 17-1940667 MEERBUSCH

GERMANY

THE INKERMAN GROUPOPERATIONS CENTRE

INKERMAN HOUSE3-4 ELWICK ROAD

ASHFORDKENT TN23 1PF

UNITED KINGDOM

travel safe services assistance for female …...you are prepared for the environment in which you...

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