Expats

We are constantly hearing and reading about the benefits of accepting an international assignment for work... But is disrupting your life to such a degree worth it? Are there genuinely career boosting leaps to be made as a result of the relocation process? I’m looking at the positives and negatives of international assignments and the resulting impact on your life and career.

What can tip the scales of success or failure for an international assignment does not necessarily depend entirely on the assignee. There’s an overwhelming amount of data and information that needs to be processed, usually by a network of different people specialising in one specific field, all relying on each other to successfully complete their part. Under any circumstances having a chain of people efficiently complete a task will take some time, so what can be done to effectively meet the increasing demands required in Global Mobility?

This is where the exciting part begins, the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with an inhuman capacity to crunch numbers, unabatedly learn, predict and follow through with global mobility requirements may be set to revolutionise the industry.

Introduction

Lump sum policies have been around for a while in the global mobility world and are certainly not the most glamorous sounding option. On the face of it, it sounds like a simple process. The assignee is given a set amount of money by their employer, which is to be used to cover expenses involved in the relocation process.

The amount of money depends on a number of factors, including seniority level of the employee, household size of the relocating employee, and the destination/distance of the relocation. The employee is usually responsible for organising the relocation services required themselves. So far, so simple – but what are the benefits, and pitfalls of this type of policy?

Early/Mid-2000s

While expatriation is an exciting challenge, it can also bring with it a wealth of challenges – some of which can, unfortunately, be linked with assignee gender. Even as recently as the early/mid-2000s ERC reports dictated that most international assignments at that time were typically completed by older males, moving from Western to Eastern cultures. Comparatively these days, there are more opportunities to travel from East to West in-line with increasing demands for skilled labour in the West.  

Why do people become expatriates? Leaving the relative comfort and familiarity of one’s home country may sound scary for some, but the process can be thrilling for others. There are many motivating factors when deciding to uproot your life and start anew overseas…

Mercer (Global Human Resources consulting firm) recently published their 2019 Quality of Living data report. This report examined over 200 cities and considered many factors that expats and assignees will be considering when thinking of relocating, including;

Returning home

When going on an international assignment, culture-shock in a new country is a very common, even expected, part of the process. Many employers are aware of this and make provisions for their employees, such as ‘look-see’ trips prior to assignments, and cultural training to help combat feeling out of place in their new home. But what about when the assignment is over? Coming home may be thought of as an easy process, however in reality this is often not the case.

This phenomenon, known as reverse culture shock, is experienced by many assignees who find returning home just as difficult, if not more so, than leaving in the first place. After the initial high of returning to your family, friends and ‘old’ life, various negative emotions can rise to the surface.

With laws and legislations forever changing across the globe, I wanted to take a look at how Global Mobility and HR professionals can boost their own personal Global Mobility knowledge and experience whilst also keeping their global mobility program competitive and relevant (whilst ensuring compliance and retaining talent). To find out how read on...