People are talking about how different things were before smartphones arrived. If you are an HR manager and can remember that far back (only ten years ago), you may be reminded of how business travel worked. 
If a VIP was airport hopping across the globe, the best way to contact them was via pager. Either that, or add check-in times to a busy itinerary hoping the executive would follow-through. If neither of those options got a response, the final choice might have been to send a fax to the hotel front desk. Yes, there was email back then, but waiting for the executive to hook up to a landline was not the first choice for a quick reply. Unfortunately, most travel safety programs at that time relied on those forms of communication.
Some people might miss those “good old days” before people had literal computers in their pockets. There was a space where people could still be alone with their thoughts, even on business. If you’re an HR manager handling a travel safety program for your globe-trekking VIP’s, you may not feel the same. You remember how annoying pagers were to travelling executives. As soon as they hopped off the plane, they had to read their pagers and find a public phone to respond. You may also remember how unreliable on-line connections could be overseas. Depending on a hotel location, an email may have not be ready for pick up by the time the executive did.
The Days of Unreliable Travel Safety Programs are History with FoneTrac
Today, if a travelling employee experiences a security problem, they have immediate access to a top travel safety program wherever they roam. FoneTrac’s smartphone features make communication swift and clear. If your executive has decided to make a side-trip to a German bakery for homemade strudel before checking in at the hotel, no need to text or call. The FoneTrac travel safety app has a location feature on their smartphone will pinpoint where they are at that very moment. Back in the year 2003 someone at home base may have had considered a late check-in reason for worry. An HR manager might have been frantically paging the VIP imagining various travel security risk scenarios.
If for some reason the travelling executive does run into a safety risk, FoneTrac’s panic button is there to locate and support. Whether it’s taking a wrong turn in India, or ending up in Brazil with an impending natural disaster, they can be found quickly. FoneTrac can help ensure they are safe and find proper transportation and care. Less than twelve years ago, if an executive was incapacitated, it may have taken several days to communicate back with the home office. Now, HR can find out exactly where a VIP is and how they are doing. In today’s busy world, some may become wistful about earlier times when communication tools were less reliable making it harder to get connected to others. HR Directors who handle executive travel safety programs understand that FoneTrac’s smartphone app makes the “Good Old Days” today.
Photo credit: Neville Wootton Photography via Foter.com / CC BY
