Afrique du Sud: FirstRand Limited has been named the winner of a Duty of Care Award in the Return on Investment in Travel Risk Mitigation category.
Johannesburg, 05 July, 2017
By: FirstRand
FirstRand wins International SOS Foundation global award for its leadership, foresight and innovation in protecting its mobile workforce FirstRand Limited has been named the winner of a Duty of Care Award in the Return on Investment in Travel Risk Mitigation category.
The winners of the 2017 Duty of Care Awards were announced at a gala event in Berlin on Thursday, 29 June. Hosted by the International SOS Foundation, the awards took place following the Duty of Care Summit, honouring organisations and individuals making a significant contribution to protecting their workforce while travelling, working remotely or on international assignments.
FirstRand’s Chief Risk Officer, Jaco Grobler, says, “FirstRand is committed to safeguarding all staff working and travelling abroad on our behalf against medical, security and other travel-related risks. In line with this commitment and given the group’s expansion into Africa and other territories, an independent assessment was undertaken in 2014 to identify how best to approach international security.”
Grobler further explained “In response to the findings of this assessment we instituted the International Travel Security function.”
The team embarked on a formal project to improve and standardise the Group’s duty of care obligations to staff and in-country expatriates. The company’s programme creates a positive risk management culture by encouraging requests for travel advice, resulting in improved safety awareness and practice, and improving operational efficiencies.
Speaking soon after receiving the award at the gala event in Berlin, FirstRand’s Head of International Security, Gert Kriel said, “We are extremely proud to be recognised by the International SOS Foundation. Implementing innovative International SOS solutions such as Travel Tracker, an online traveller tracking and risk mitigation solution that tracks travellers, expats and assets using itineraries, mobile check-ins and GPS tracking has allowed us to build a robust risk mitigation programme which is key to our travel risk strategy.”
Judges reviewed entries representing 17 industries and organisations in 32 countries in the following categories: innovation, thought leadership, resilient care, communication, partnership, remote healthcare, return on investment in travel risk mitigation, ambassador of duty of care (individual) and the German Mittelstand: duty of care programme.
Philippe Couturier, International SOS Regional General Manager – Africa, says, “We are honoured to be a trusted provider of travel risk mitigation solutions to FirstRand. Their ongoing commitment to the wellbeing of their workforce and their understanding of duty of care has placed them as a leader in their industry. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the other winners, runners-up and all the participants for their leadership, foresight, creativity and implementation of their health, safety, security and wellbeing programmes.”
These organisations are:
Communications Award – Winner: Marks and Spencer plc Runner-up: PTT Exploration and Production, Public Company Limited Honourable mention: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA Special mention: Ausenco
Innovation Award Winner: ABB Runner-up: Citibank Honourable mention: Shell Special mention: Reliance Industries Limited
Partnership Award Winner: WINDEA Offshore GmbH & Co. KG Runner-up: English Schools Foundation (ESF) Honourable mention: Allstate Corporation
Remote Healthcare Award Winner: Nestlé Australia Ltd Runner-up: Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Limited Honourable mention: Kinross Gold Corporation Special mention: Forbes Bumi Armada Offshore Limited
Resilient Care Award Winner: Toyota Boshoku Runner-up: Mondi Group Honourable mention: Jacobs Special mention: Petronas Carigali Nile Limited
Return on Investment in Travel Risk Mitigation Winner: FirstRand Group Runner-up: CLAAS Honourable mention: Experian plc
Thought Leadership Award Winner: Johnson & Johnson Runner-up: Gentera Honourable mention: Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd.
Ambassador of Duty of Care Award Winner: Zebra Technologies – Gian-Rico Luzzi Runner-up: CMI Group, Gaetan Lefevre Honourable mentions: pladis Global, Stuart Eustace, Genpact Limited – Vineet Sehgal Special mention: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Limin Bai
German Mittelstand, Duty of Care Programme Award Winner: KHS GmBH Runner-up: Welthungerhilfe e.V. Germany Ngo Honourable mention: Alfred Kärcher GmBH & Ko. KG., Germany Manufacturing
The Duty of Care and Travel Risk Management Global Benchmarking Study, conducted by the International SOS Foundation, revealed that organisations who take measures to mitigate health and travel security risks are not only meeting their moral and legal obligations, but are also making a wise commercial investment. The International SOS Foundation continues to be committed to helping organisations to come together and learn from the best, this year expanding to run a summit alongside the awards.
As more people travel and work internationally, more widespread support is needed. Global mobility levels are predicted to double by 2020 – 90% of mobile employees are now non-executive, up from 50% and only 30% of organisations have a system in place for tracking business travellers. The employer is being held increasingly accountable for a whole plethora of situations that can happen to their mobile workforce.
International SOS makes it easier for organisations to work and grow on an international scale. We help you to take control of your total health and travel security agenda. From pre-travel to return-to-work. We can help reduce your total medical and travel security costs, and identify and manage medical and security needs throughout your organisation and employees’ working life.
To learn more, visit : www.dutyofcareawards.org/
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About FirstRand Limited
www.firstrand.co.za
About International SOS Foundation
Established in 2011, the International SOS Foundation ― Ambassadors for Duty of Care has the goal of improving the safety, security, health and welfare of people working abroad or on remote assignments through the study, understanding and mitigation of potential risks. The escalation of globalisation has enabled more individuals to work across borders and in unfamiliar environments; exposure to risks which can impact personal health, security and safety increases along with travel.The Foundation is a registered charity and was started with a grant from International SOS. It is a fully independent, non-profit organisation.
For more information on Duty of Care and the International SOS Foundation, please visit http://www.internationalsosfoundation.org/
About International SOS
International SOS is the world’s leading medical and travel security risk services company. We care for clients across the globe, from more than 1000 locations in 90 countries.
Our expertise is unique: More than 11 000 employees are led by 1 400 doctors and 200 security specialists. Teams work night and day to protect our members.
We pioneer a range of preventive programmes strengthened by our in-country expertise. We deliver unrivalled emergency assistance during critical illness, accident or civil unrest. We are passionate about helping clients put Duty of Care into practice. With us, multinational corporate clients, governments and NGOs can mitigate risks for their people working remotely or overseas.
Media contacts
Farai Mutiwanyuka,
Marketing Communications Manager
farai.mutiwanyuka@internationalsos.com
t +27 (0) 11 541 1098
m +27 (0) 071 881 1372
Suzanne Withers,
Group Head of PR
suzanne.withers@internationalsos.com
t +44 (0) 20 8762 8494
