Bex Deadman

Do Organisations including, Security Managers Forget About Medical Assistance? Is that an insightful or inflammatory question?  TRA Mentor Thierry Montrieux gives us his considered opinion and some trips on addressing it if the answer is anything other than NO. Security managers focus heavily on threats like theft, violence, cyberattacks, or physical intrusions—but medical assistance can sometimes get overlooked by the organisations. From my experience a few of the common reasons why this happens are: Perceived Scope of Responsibility Many security managers view their role primarily as preventing security breaches, not handling health or safety. They assume medical emergencies fall under HR, health & safety, external emergency services or their designated emergency medical assistance company if one is appointed directly or via an insurance policy. Training Bias Security training often emphasises surveillance, access control, and emergency response for hostile threats. General first aid and medical response may be optional or underemphasised, so it doesn’t stay front of mind. Reactive vs. Preventive Mindset Security teams often operate in a reactive mode, preparing for intrusions or incidents. Medical events (like heart attacks, asthma, or fainting) can feel less predictable and thus get pushed aside, even though they’re statistically more likely. Budget & Resource Allocation Companies often allocate resources to visible security measures (guards, cameras, alarms) rather than medical preparedness (AEDs, first aid kits, staff training). Over-reliance on Emergency Services Security managers sometimes assume that calling the emergency service is “enough,” forgetting that in many emergencies (e.g., cardiac arrest), the first few minutes of on-site response matter most. Cultural Factors In some organisations, there’s a culture of separating “safety” and “security.” This silo effect leads to gaps in holistic emergency planning. Statistically, medical emergencies are far more common in workplaces than violent intrusions, so integrating medical preparedness into security planning makes organisations safer. Whilst there are no published statistics experience tells me for every 100 incidents around 99 will be for some sort of medical emergency ranging from the simple cut to the life threatening. To help, I have put together some practical steps security managers can take to make sure medical assistance isn’t overlooked in their emergency planning: 1. Integrate Medical Response into Security Protocols Add medical emergencies (heart attacks, seizures, allergic reactions, injuries) into the same emergency response playbooks used for fire or security threats. Treat “first aid readiness” like fire extinguishers or CCTV — something that needs inspection, upkeep, and drills. 2. Train Security Personnel in First Aid Require at least basic First Aid, CPR, and AED training for all security staff.  Build this into your TRM training package. Make refresher courses mandatory (skills fade quickly if not practiced). Encourage cross-training with health & safety teams. 3. Equip the Environment Ensure AEDs (defibrillators) and first aid kits are strategically placed and checked regularly. Include trauma kits (tourniquets, pressure bandages) in areas where workplace accidents or active threats are possible. 4. Improve Communication & Coordination Establish a clear medical emergency chain of command (who calls EMS, who assists the patient, who manages crowd control). Make sure any security guards know how to guide paramedics quickly to the scene (lost minutes in large facilities are critical). Who contacts the medical assistance company and when 5. Run Joint Drills Include medical scenarios in emergency drills (e.g., simulated heart attack in the lobby, choking in the cafeteria). Involve your medical assistance company or consult a medical assistance industry expert. This makes response smoother and reduces hesitation during real incidents. 6. Leverage Technology Some security systems can integrate with panic buttons or health monitoring wearables for lone workers. CCTV operators can be trained to spot medical distress (slumping, collapsing, seizure-like activity). 7. Break Down the “Silo Mentality” Collaborate with HR, health & safety officers, and local emergency services, your medical assistance company or consult a medical assistance industry expert. Security should see themselves not just as protectors from external threats, but as first responders in all emergencies. By reframing “security” as protection of life first,  vulnerabilities second, medical preparedness becomes a natural extension of the role. Here’s a short checklist security managers could use directly in their planning, or more of a policy guide that could be adopted at an organisational level. Security & Medical Assistance Checklist 1. Training All security staff trained in First Aid, CPR, AED use Regular refresher courses scheduled Cross-training with Health & Safety team 2. Equipment AEDs installed in high-traffic areas and checked monthly First aid kits fully stocked and inspected Trauma kits available where high-risk incidents may occur 3. Procedures Medical emergencies included in security protocols Clear chain of command for medical incidents Defined role for security: first aid, scene control, EMS escort 4. Drills & Coordination Regular medical emergency drills conducted Security staff know how to guide EMS quickly to incident location Coordination established with local hospitals/EMS 5. Communication & Awareness Emergency numbers posted and known to all staff Security can communicate calmly and clearly under stress CCTV/monitoring staff trained to spot signs of distress 6. Culture & Responsibility Security team recognizes role as first responders Medical preparedness seen as equal priority to threat response Collaboration with HR & Safety teams maintained Never be afraid to seek, help, support and advice from people that have the experience to build the knowledge you need to provide the duty of care for your teams and staff.

Bridging Silos in Travel Risk Management: 5 Key Steps to Keep Employees Safe As companies expand globally, the need for a solid travel risk management programme becomes more critical. Yet, establishing this programme can be challenging, especially when departments like People Management, Vendor Management, Corporate Mobility, and Security have their own goals and responsibilities. These silos can lead to communication gaps, misaligned priorities, and missed opportunities to keep employees safe and supported. Now more than ever, leaders are seeking ways to foster collaboration for more effective travel risk management. Without aligned strategies and open communication, essential travel safety initiatives can face delays or even be compromised. Bridging silos is crucial to keeping travel risk management efficient, responsive, and proactive. Why Silos Are Hard to Bridge — and Why They Matter in Travel Risk Management Silos naturally form as organisations grow and teams have specialised goals. By bridging these silos, companies can create an organised, effective travel risk management programme. Here are five key steps to help teams work together seamlessly. 5 Steps to Bridge Silos in Travel Risk Management Align Leadership Across Departments Effective travel risk management programme needs a unified approach driven from the top. Leaders from People Management, Vendor Management, Corporate Mobility, and Security should regularly meet to create a shared vision and align on travel risk priorities. Forming a cross-departmental leadership team or steering committee helps ensure that each department understands its role in keeping travellers safe and how it fits into the company’s larger goals. Build Cross-Functional Travel Risk Teams Combining insights is essential for a comprehensive travel risk strategy. These cross-functional teams allow each department to share expertise. This collaborative approach results in travel programmes and policies that are both safer and more effective for everyone involved. Define Clear Roles and Responsibilities When multiple departments work together, roles can overlap. Define each team’s responsibilities within a travel risk management programme to ensure clarity. Clear roles help teams stay organised and focused on their unique responsibilities. Appoint Co-Leaders from Each Department For travel risk projects that require deep collaboration, appointing co-leaders from different departments helps balance priorities. For example, co-leaders from People Management and Vendor Management can ensure employee well-being and cost-efficiency, while a Security co-leader ensures that thorough risk assessments are factored in. This co-leadership model supports a balanced approach to decision-making. Prioritise Travel Risk Training Across Departments Travel risk training is essential for equipping teams to support and protect employees effectively. Training ensures that each department understands travel risk protocols, their specific responsibilities, and the resources available for travellers. When employees are trained to work together across departments, they’re better prepared to act swiftly, manage emergencies, and collaborate effectively in high-stakes situations. This unified approach to training also builds a stronger, more informed travel risk management culture across the organisation. The Path to a Strong, Unified Travel Risk Management Programme Building a strong travel risk management programme is essential for ensuring employee safety in an unpredictable world. By adopting these five strategies and prioritising training, organisations can create a cohesive programme that is flexible, responsive, and prepared to tackle the challenges of a constantly changing environment. This approach will help companies to stay resilient and ensure the safety of employees, no matter where they travel.

In this deeper dive into Travel Optimisation Management, we’re focusing on the core of your travel program’s potential: data. We’ll cover what travel data actually is, where it originates, and some of the main challenges in analysing it. Then, we’ll discuss what optimisation means in this space and look at strategies and tools to make it work for organisations of all sizes. What is Travel Data?  Let’s clarify some basics. Travel data, in this context, primarily refers to information related to business trips. For an organisation, it’s a comprehensive summary of business travel activities. While it sounds simple, compiling and analysing relevant travel data requires a clear understanding of what a “business trip” comprises. Consider a typical trip: an international 2-night conference visit with additional meetings in a nearby city. This one trip might include: 2 flights (different airlines) 1 hotel stay 1 domestic train booking 2 domestic taxi rides 2 international train tickets 4 international taxi rides 1 international car rental Numerous expenses This trip involves at least thirteen separate bookings, each one contributing unique data points. Let’s explore how these bookings are typically managed and what this means for data collection and integration. How Travel Data is Managed and Where Challenges Arise In most companies, bookings and approvals follow a variety of paths. Flights might be booked through an airline website, an online agent, or a travel management company (TMC). Accommodations are often booked just days in advance, sometimes outside the program using third-party booking sites. Rail tickets, domestic and international, may be bought online, through an agent, or locally. Ground transport is often booked as needed, sometimes managed by the TMC or platforms like Jyrney, or Mobility IQ, but not always integrated with the main program. This fragmented booking process impacts data collection. If a TMC is in place, they may provide booking data, accessible through an API or reporting tools—but typically, TMCs can only report on bookings they handled. Expense and credit card data are additional sources, but each has its limitations, and aligning all data to create a clear trip summary is complex. Who Uses Travel Data? Travel data is used across departments, including Finance, Procurement, Security, HR, and Sustainability.  Trip Stax, Travelogix, Power BI, PredictX, and Unlocked Data offer tools to support the travel data process. Yet even with these tools, fully optimising travel data requires a holistic approach that considers the needs of all stakeholders and converts raw data into actionable insights. Summarising Key Points Companies want to measure the ROI of business trips, manage and mitigate travel risk, and have clear data to guide decision-making. Business trips involve multiple components booked through various platforms, both in advance and during the trip. Travel data arrives in fragmented formats from different sources and needs cleaning, normalisation, and integration to have real value. Despite our best efforts, travel data today is still piecemeal and reactive. Optimisation means taking a proactive approach: it’s not enough to rely on the partial data provided by TMCs; instead, we must define what data we truly need and find ways to capture it fully. With optimised data, the potential benefits are substantial. It can empower decisions and responses to queries across Tax and Immigration, Travel Management, Carbon Reporting (including Scope 3), Traveller security and assistance, wellbeing, budgeting and more. Travel data is the key to everything; the tools that we are most impressed with right now are Voyage Manager and its sister company for SMEs Mia Bazo.  They are part of the TRA Technology community which will be sharing its aims and objectives across the industry at TOMS25.

A new term is emerging in the travel risk management field: Travel Optimisation Management. Earlier this year, we launched the Travel Risk Academy with our inaugural event, the Travel Optimisation Management Summit. Throughout the day, 75 attendees explored what it means to optimise a travel program to reduce risk. Our discussions revealed a shared understanding that managing travel risk extends beyond one individual’s responsibility. We found that the challenges we face transcend industries; fundamentally, it’s all about caring for people. When we adopt a holistic, cross-functional approach—bringing together stakeholders from: Travel Security HR QHSE ESG DEI Finance Procurement Global Mobility Data Security Cybersecurity Internal Audit Insurance Legal …to address travel program risks—we begin to unlock new opportunities. These collaborative efforts are the first steps toward Travel Optimisation Management. Travel Optimisation is uniquely relevant to each organisation; it’s tailored to your needs and designed to align your travel program with your company’s strategy and vision. Those familiar with risk management frameworks know that with risk comes opportunity, and travel often unlocks these opportunities. By reframing “Travel Risk” as “Travel Optimisation,” we ensure that travel programs support all departments, eliminate supplier redundancies, and increase our purchasing power. Aligning these programs with business strategy and setting measurable goals calls for innovative approaches to achieving objectives without adding strain to our teams or our planet. Optimisation isn’t solely the responsibility of the organisation; it’s also a responsibility of the industries that support your traveling teams. As your travel partners, we are committed to tackling common issues—issues that could be resolved through collaboration and fresh perspectives in areas like security, assistance, insurance, and more. The Travel Risk Academy has accepted this challenge, gathering dedicated mentors and ambassadors to create a space for meaningful exchange and solutions to shared issues in DEI, safety, carbon reduction, and beyond. We believe that technology is the fastest route to optimisation. With intention, it can radically improve how we design and manage travel programs for the better. However, technology’s full potential is currently hindered by data flow issues. Poor integration limits data quality, which in turn reduces visibility and control—creating a risk of disarray when precise conditions align. Uncertainty is challenging for everyone, and especially for those on the ground when issues arise. This is where Travel Optimisation Management steps in: if traditional risk management focuses on checklists and policies, then optimisation gets under the hood, breaking the conventional “supplier-buyer” mold to design solutions that truly work for your organisation and people. In the coming articles, TRA Co-founder Bex Deadman will explore Travel Optimisation Management across the diverse sectors in travel management to guide you in building a travel program that not only performs seamlessly but also engages everyone in your organisation and drives business success. If you want to start optimising your programme right away, the best place to start is by understanding who your stakeholders are and introducing yourself.  Travel Optimisation Management involves the following stakeholders & roles and responsibilities: TTRM Stakeholders Travellers Travel Managers Human Resources Risk Management Finance Procurement Fleet & Facilities Meetings & Events Corporate Security Cyber Security Sustainability QHSE Legal Insurance Training (L&D) Internal audit Internal Comms Roles and Responsibilities: Booking & Travelling Managing Travel People Management & Wellbeing Awareness, Avoidance & Mitigation Spend Contracting Operations Managing internal external events Keeping people and assets safe Keeping data safe Carbon reduction & reporting Traveller Safety & Security Duty of Care to employees Medical and Travel Personal safety and development Maintaining standards Communicating travel programme Much of the work that we do at the TRA is about working together across departments to optimise your time, resources and savings. At the Travel Optimisation Management Summit (TOMS) we create a space for your Travel Optimisation Team to come together, to learn with peers and to proactively make changes across our collective industries for the better. You can book tickets for TOMS25 here there are group discounts available for cross-departmental teams.