printer friendly version

Professional executive protection – the value added proposition

Yann A. Mouret

When times get tough and budgets get slashed, it is the grudge expenditures that generally get cut first. Travel and subsistence, medical cover, personal security (both while travelling and when in familiar territories), kidnap and ransom insurance and other less than tangible costs come under close scrutiny and are often removed.

The question is: “Should it go or should it stay?” and the answer is often less than obvious, especially where results are gauged by what does not happen rather than what does, effectively a negative outcome.

Where is the value-added proposition to the corporate when the results cannot be measured in terms of profit and loss directly? When it comes to the personal security of senior executives and staffers alike the real question should perhaps be: “Can the corporate traveller or the at-risk senior executive afford to go it alone?”

One possible element of response to this question could be: Does the organisation have the capability to self-insure against the risks associated with travel and conducting business in higher threat areas?

If the answer is yes, the organisation is very fortunate to have an in-house, professional and robust security team but a further question would then naturally fall out, which is: Does the internal security structure have the resources and capability to operate in Africa with its unique challenges?

The answer in most cases is quite rightly, no, in which case the organisation should be seeking professional executive protection service whenever those personnel who are critical to the core functioning of the organisation are travelling.

Professional, properly registered, trained and experienced executive protection operatives will potentially bring quantifiable added value to any visit by improving facilitation of your business requirements and effectively reducing (if not removing) the inevitable hassles from corporate travel wherever there is either a perceived or real threat.

A professional executive protection company will not only look after the safety of the travellers, but will additionally ensure that, through professional advance reconnaissance work, the travelling party’s personal and business requirements are fully met. The correct table at that chosen restaurant, movements happen safely and on time, specific dietary and medical requirements are adhered to and that the party is ‘watched over’ with expert local eyes meaning that business can be conducted without concern for the little details that can have such a significant impact.

Your executive protection begins long before bags are packed and taxis are taken to airports. It begins with initial contact during which time details will be requested that may seem intrusive but that are vital to ensuring your risk profile is correctly assessed. This will lead to a period of discussion between the service provider and the client designed to specifically identify potential threats and areas of concern after which you should receive a full risk assessment and corresponding risk management plan for the entire visit which will give you tangible re-assurance that you will be well looked after .

This plan will obviously come with a costs proposal to meet the requirements detailed therein and this is often where considered compromise may be required to meet the budget requirements of the travelling party, but a professional executive protection service provider, whilst pointing out the risks involved with such compromise, should nonetheless still be able to issue a revised plan, albeit with a few caveats.

Once agreed upon, this plan meets the requirements of corporate governance by ensuring that the responsibility of ‘Duty of Care’ is met further adding value by reducing risk of litigation further downstream.

The impact on your staff morale and sense of well-being of the travelling party when they are aware that they are being properly protected cannot be underestimated as they feel less stressed and therefore more productive, able to concentrate on the job at hand as they feel valued by their employer.

In summary, apart from the obvious tangible value proposition of not losing people or other valuable assets while travelling, professional executive protection service providers will add value in many less obvious ways that will all add up to a more productive, concentrated visit without concerns surrounding the small details which could well lead to increased business and a better bottom line.

Share this article:

Further reading: