Last week, I read a great interview with John Rose in The Company Dime. John – or, as I call him, mister Rose – was a program director for the U.S. Department of Defense in Italy, president of AIG Travel Guard Assist, and COO of iJet (now WorldAware). Unsurprisingly, all eyes in the industry are on Rose when he discusses travel risk and explains how to set up your own post-COVID-19 travel program. So, what’s the most important thing when business travel will be resumed after the crisis?
It’s all about reliable data
Rose’s first and foremost statement relates to the importance of data. Here’s the thing: you should collect data on where people are – hotels they’re staying at, meetings they attend, dinners they have, as well as train arrival stations and Uber and Lyft drop-off points. If you know your travelers’ whereabouts, you can provide them with local knowledge. In Rose’s words, “A big subset of duty of care is duty to inform.”
Here’s an important note, though. According to Rose, organizations shouldn’t rely on television news when gathering intelligence, because it’s usually “agenda-driven uselessness.” Do you take a keen interest in the news anyway? Then Rose recommends that you watch it “with a smile and a laugh, and maybe a beer, because a lot of it is just made-up stuff.”
A more serious approach, however, is to pay for the information that helps your travelers stay safe while on the road.
Roadmap at your service: let’s prep for the new era
The Roadmap platform is designed to help companies take care of their road warriors while they’re away on business. Even if they set out for the most far-off corners of the globe, we’ve got you covered: our services are global, and we can personalize travel programs as well as your travel policies. Most importantly, we can provide local health and safety information. Wonder how that’s possible? In one word: data.
Data collection is the foundation the Roadmap platform is built on. The minute we know where a traveler is going, we proactively provide them with real-time information. Once they arrive at their destination, we give tailored directions and advice, and we lend a helping hand where needed.
Currently, countries around the world have imposed lockdowns. But this crisis will end. So, at Roadmap, we’re making sure our product is fully prepared for the days when we’re able to travel again.
Do you want to engage in some much-needed prep work, too? And are you curious to learn how we can help you, your team, your travelers, and your company get ready for the post-COVID-19 era? Let us know. We’re happy to share, learn, and explore with you.
Stay healthy and safe,
Markus Emmer
