Work on the edge

Dangerous jobs attract thrill-seekers, but that doesn’t mean normal approaches to safety don’t apply.

A group on their way back from the airport were stopped by a number of armed men demanding money. The convoy was separated, with some left by the side of the road while others moved on – the worst-case scenario.

“It was an example of people being involved in roles and in an environment where they don’t really know what to expect, or how to react,” says Michael Whittington at the Risk Advisory Group, a global risk management consultancy.

This specific team of London-based HR professionals had been sent by their multinational employer to work with their various HR teams on the ground in Africa, and were fortunate to emerge unscathed. However, their story is all-too common, and the potential consequences can be dire.

We are constantly meeting clients who don’t know where their people are in the world or how they are supported,” says Ian Nunn, head of Aon Worldaware Solutions. “One client didn’t know they had staff in Haiti when the 2010 earthquake hit. Another didn’t know employees had gone to Libya until they put their flights through expenses.”

Think ahead

These startling accounts seem at odds with the obvious notion that organisations should know the profile of the employees they are sending abroad, and the environment they’re sending them to. At the very least a record needs to be kept, if not a full itinerary planned through a company travel agent.

Amnesty International, for instance, has an extensive security and risk management policy, signed off and approved by the board. “We also have an individual security risk assessment procedure,” says George Macfarlane, Director of Organisational Services, as “all kinds of personal aspects might put a particular individual at risk, such as legislation in certain countries or the nature of the work they are doing.”

Harbinder Kaur, Director of HR at the charity CARE International UK, says: “for our deployable staff and those who frequently travel to countries affected by crises, there are a number of risks, but the primary ones are actually from road traffic accidents.”

Proper servicing and equipping of CARE’s vehicles can offset some of this risk, but an awareness of potential wider dangers – on behalf of the organisation and the employee themselves – is the most powerful protection HR can offer staff in risky environments.

“Making clear your expectations of the individual and their responsibility to manage and minimise risk is necessary,” says Kaur, “as are regular refresher trainings on safety and security, first aid, and prevention of sexual exploitation.”

CARE International UK managers keep regular contact with remote staff through email, phone and video conferencing, and the charity has developed its policies around time off in lieu, leave and work–life balance to offset the stress its employees are under.

Whatever your business, the safety and security of employees takes priority, says Nick Panes, Control Risks’ General Manager in Mexico. In the event of a significant deterioration in the security environment, you may have to temporarily move employees from a particularly volatile region into a capital city or neighbouring region, returning only when the situation stabilises.

Dangerous behaviour

Employees themselves can be at the heart of the risk management challenge, though. “HR professionals need to encourage their business to look at risk in a way that goes beyond skills and competencies, and into understanding how and why people make decisions, solve problems and exercise discretion,” says Gabrielle Ramsay-Smith, a director at consultancy Ramsay-Smith.

She recalls one instance where four senior staff left a ‘mother’ oil platform to deal with production problems on an unmanned rig. Arriving at midnight, heavy fog then kept them there for three days.

Much dangerous behaviour can be traced back to poorly conceived incentives around downtime, productivity, or short-term performance, even if the culture of the business as a whole is risk-averse. Proper reporting and strict protocols can prevent unnecessary risk-taking, but among adrenaline-fuelled roles, from security contractors to helicopter pilots and aid workers, the individuals concerned have likely chosen to work away from a desk, and all its associated paperwork. Here, a focus on ‘behavioural safety’ rather than non-compliance reporting can be the best way of engaging staff.

Accidents do happen, however, and it will often fall to HR to communicate with employees and family members. “HR needs certain information when things happen – proof of life questions, blood groups and so on,” says Nunn. It’s a sobering reminder that HR needs to be in control of its information, particularly in areas – and for staff – that are always going to be unpredictable.

If you enjoyed the above blog then you might also appreciate these other articles, which also originally appeared in the Hays Journal:

• Four pillars of people
• The fruits of knowledge
• Training at the top
• Why talented Chinese graduates are aiming high in Dubai
• Establishing an effective middle management tier
• Managing external resources
• Family values