The Other Side of Life 24/7: The Cynical Girl: Business Travel and Disasters

Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Cynical Girl: Business Travel and Disasters

Posted: 16 Apr 2013 03:45 AM PDT

When there are major incidents in the world, corporate risk management teams and global security professionals come together and try to figure out who is in the danger zone and how to get them home safely.

HR is usually in the mix.

It’s not a sexy or flashy process. In the absence of good information in the aftermath of a tragedy, many emergency response teams use old fashioned phone trees and reconnaissance protocols to make sure everyone is okay.

One of the rules I learned? It’s not enough for someone to tell you that your employee is okay. You must talk to that person — or an authorized person who can speak on behalf of the employee — and confirm his/her status. And this can get tricky with HIPAA.

So I wanted to recognize HR leaders (and other corporate professionals) who sprang into action on Monday. You did good work. I know you are exhausted. I hope you and your employees are unaffected by the bombings. And I hope you got some rest.

And for those of you who are on the road, I want to tell you that a whole lot of people care about you as a human being when you travel for business.

That’s 100% true. Your safety really does matter.