Organizations have a duty of care to their employees, meaning they are legally and morally obligated to take appropriate measures to protect employees from foreseeable harm. There has been a significant focus on Duty of Care over the last decade, solidifying it as a key concept in Security Risk Management1.
Although each organization will have its approach to assessing and meeting its Duty of Care obligations, one common requirement is that employees not only know what risks they might face but also know what to do about them, as well as the systems in place to support them.
This is where training becomes a force multiplier. Effective training programmes enable you to reach a broad audience of employees, provide key information, and foster behaviours that keep employees safe while working, thereby contributing to meeting your Duty of Care obligations2.
The following 6 tips will help you use training programmes effectively:
Training should be frequent and targeted: One of the problems with training is that it is often ineffective at really creating a culture of security when it is one-off or poorly designed. Training that does not captivate, or has too much irrelevant information, or overloads learners is likely to be forgotten or ignored. Instead, break training up into shorter, more digestible ‘chunks’ and ensure you cover only what needs to be covered.
Training is just a part of the puzzle: Training is often seen as a silver bullet to improve travel security. This isn’t the case. Training should be viewed as an enabler, allowing you to communicate your Security Risk Management framework in a way that makes it actionable3. But that means you need to have a framework in place first. Training is also only one aspect of communicating your framework – you also need written guides, regular posts, and activities that promote security culture.
Be cautious with AI: tools like ChatGPT have changed the way many tasks can be approached. It also helps speed up many tasks. However, using AI to create training from scratch can be risky – your training needs to be based on evidence and common practice, and you might have to prove where the information you communicated in training came from. AI will utilise any sources to compile recommendations, including unsubstantiated sources. Where it excels in training design is helping you create effective learning objectives, re-designing content so it is more user-friendly, and helping the creative process for suggesting scenarios and discussion points.
Build a foundation with mandatory training: When training is compulsory, it creates a solid base to build upon. For instance, managers can facilitate discussions around the main topics from training to emphasize key issues further. Threat-specific training (such as carjacking or kidnapping) can be implemented if these risks become apparent or in specific countries, building on the key principles from the foundational training without needing to revisit everything. It also ensures that everyone shares the same baseline knowledge.
Use online training to create parity: Domestic travelers (those who travel within their home country) are often excluded from the training available to employees in head offices. This does not mean that domestic travel is without risks; it can sometimes be as risky as international travel. Online training, designed for domestic travelers, can be an excellent way to promote equality and empower them to take charge of their own security.
Keep records: keeping track of which employees have done what training can be complicated. This is especially true of face-to-face training It is crucial, though. Depending on your legal jurisdiction, an employee could take you to court many years after an incident. In such cases, proving that the employee has received training and on what is critical in proving you created informed consent, an aspect of meeting your Duty of Care.
Training is one of the most versatile tools in the security managers arsenal, allowing you not only to communicate, educate, and train employees on the systems you have in place to protect them (and therefore meet Duty of Care obligations), but also allows you to establish a healthy security culture, where individuals take ownership for their own security.
Sources
- Claus, L. (2011) Duty of Care and Travel Risk Management Global Benchmarking Study [White Paper]. London: AEA International Holdings Pte. Ltd.
- Paraskevas, A., Pantelidis, I., Ludlow, J. (2022). ‘Duty of Care for Business Travel: How do Employers Assess and Manage Business Travel Risk?’ International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 34 (12), 4438-4457.
- Paul, D. and Stedmon, A. (2022). ‘Security Risk Management in Hostile Environments: Community-Based and Systems-Based Approaches.’ Ethical Issues in Covert, Security and Surveillance Research 8 (1), 145-147
