New Options for Expat Assignments
Like many things these days, expatriate assignments are becoming more short-term and “virtual.” Expats have traditionally been sent abroad for a three-to-five-year stint, but now assignments that average one to two years are becoming more popular. And a number of other expat options have also emerged. Extended business trips from two to six months long, commuter expatriate assignments whereby the employee comes home regularly, and virtual expatriate assignments -- in which the employee lives at home but all job duties are offsite and periodic visits are made -- are all making a splash on the expatriate scene.
Findings from Windham International’s “Global Relocation Trends 1999 Survey Report” show that assignment duration was shorter in 1999 than in previous years: 38% were for two years or less, 39% were for three years, and 23% were for over three years (down from 32% in 1996). And PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports in a recent survey that there was a significant increase in the number of short-term, commuter and virtual assignments in Europe from 1997 to 1999. In fact, almost 50% of the 270 participating firms had virtual assignments. “Virtual assignments are a sign of how companies are being forced to become more flexible,” says PwC’s Mari Simpson, who edited the study. “They have to. If they don’t, more and more employees will refuse to go on assignment.”
Short-term assignments are increasingly more attractive, especially for those employees who have working spouses, elderly parents or children in school, reports Compensation & Benefits Review magazine. Companies can’t resolve such issues with an increase in pay or benefits, so they must rely on other methods of enticement. Also, these assignments are usually more cost-effective than the customary international transfer.
There are drawbacks, however. Rita Bennett, vice-president of global services of Chicago-based Cendant Intercultural, notes that expatriates on short-term assignments are pressured to come up to speed immediately. “Workers in the host country may not require expert language skills from expats,” she says. “But they do expect competence the minute you step off the plane. Your employee has no grace period to learn the ropes the way they would on a long-term assignment.”
Another realization has been that the short-term assignees don’t bring back as much cultural expertise “because the ramp-up time is accelerated,” says Ben Lawrence, vice-president of human resources international at Clorox Co. Lawrence feels that many times the short-term assignees tend to avoid culture-related challenges because they know they won’t have to deal with them for long. Therefore, they settle for quick-fix solutions and miss the cultural learning experience.
Nonetheless, nontraditional arrangements are probably here to stay because of the advantages they bring. Hewlett-Packard, for example, has discovered that virtual transfers can be efficient and help eliminate problems associated with moving employees, reports Workforce magazine. “There will be more virtual transfers. That’s certainly the trend in the U.S.,” says Tee Hitchcock, international programs manager for the Palo Alto, CA-based company. Already, lots of the employees in his department are located outside Palo Alto. Many meetings are held via the Internet or the telephone. If the employees are not located in the same region, then they alternate in terms of who gets the inconvenient conference time.
Virtual arrangements do not, however, necessarily put an end to international travel. Virtual teams sometimes need to get together in real space. But it’s generally less expensive for such a team to meet for a couple of weeks than it is to arrange for a long-term expatriate assignment.
====================================================
For more on the "Global Relocation Trends 1999 Survey Report," see
http://www.windhamint.com/html/99_global_relocation_trends_st.html.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey on expatriates can be found at http://www.pwcglobal.com/. Search the site for "Expatriate Survey."
For registered users of Workforce Online, a copy of "The World Stops Shrinking" can be found at
http://www.workforce.com/archive/article/000/63/84.xci
The following articles were used to help write this TrendWatcher:
Gilmartin, Barbara. "Managing International Assignments." Institute of Personnel and Development. December 1999.
Joinson, Carla. "Cutting Down the Days." HR Magazine, April 2000, pp. 93-97.
Latta, Geoffrey W. "Expatriate Policy and Practice: A Ten-Year Comparison of Trends." Compensation & Benefits Review, July/August 1999, pp. 35-39.
PricewaterhouseCoopers. "PricewaterhouseCoopers Expatriate Survey." Internet [www.pwcglobal.com]. Obtained August 22, 2000.
Solomon, Charlene Marmer. "The World Stops Shrinking." Workforce, January 2000, pp. 48-51.
Findings from Windham International’s “Global Relocation Trends 1999 Survey Report” show that assignment duration was shorter in 1999 than in previous years: 38% were for two years or less, 39% were for three years, and 23% were for over three years (down from 32% in 1996). And PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports in a recent survey that there was a significant increase in the number of short-term, commuter and virtual assignments in Europe from 1997 to 1999. In fact, almost 50% of the 270 participating firms had virtual assignments. “Virtual assignments are a sign of how companies are being forced to become more flexible,” says PwC’s Mari Simpson, who edited the study. “They have to. If they don’t, more and more employees will refuse to go on assignment.”
Short-term assignments are increasingly more attractive, especially for those employees who have working spouses, elderly parents or children in school, reports Compensation & Benefits Review magazine. Companies can’t resolve such issues with an increase in pay or benefits, so they must rely on other methods of enticement. Also, these assignments are usually more cost-effective than the customary international transfer.
There are drawbacks, however. Rita Bennett, vice-president of global services of Chicago-based Cendant Intercultural, notes that expatriates on short-term assignments are pressured to come up to speed immediately. “Workers in the host country may not require expert language skills from expats,” she says. “But they do expect competence the minute you step off the plane. Your employee has no grace period to learn the ropes the way they would on a long-term assignment.”
Another realization has been that the short-term assignees don’t bring back as much cultural expertise “because the ramp-up time is accelerated,” says Ben Lawrence, vice-president of human resources international at Clorox Co. Lawrence feels that many times the short-term assignees tend to avoid culture-related challenges because they know they won’t have to deal with them for long. Therefore, they settle for quick-fix solutions and miss the cultural learning experience.
Nonetheless, nontraditional arrangements are probably here to stay because of the advantages they bring. Hewlett-Packard, for example, has discovered that virtual transfers can be efficient and help eliminate problems associated with moving employees, reports Workforce magazine. “There will be more virtual transfers. That’s certainly the trend in the U.S.,” says Tee Hitchcock, international programs manager for the Palo Alto, CA-based company. Already, lots of the employees in his department are located outside Palo Alto. Many meetings are held via the Internet or the telephone. If the employees are not located in the same region, then they alternate in terms of who gets the inconvenient conference time.
Virtual arrangements do not, however, necessarily put an end to international travel. Virtual teams sometimes need to get together in real space. But it’s generally less expensive for such a team to meet for a couple of weeks than it is to arrange for a long-term expatriate assignment.
====================================================
For more on the "Global Relocation Trends 1999 Survey Report," see
http://www.windhamint.com/html/99_global_relocation_trends_st.html.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey on expatriates can be found at http://www.pwcglobal.com/. Search the site for "Expatriate Survey."
For registered users of Workforce Online, a copy of "The World Stops Shrinking" can be found at
http://www.workforce.com/archive/article/000/63/84.xci
The following articles were used to help write this TrendWatcher:
Gilmartin, Barbara. "Managing International Assignments." Institute of Personnel and Development. December 1999.
Joinson, Carla. "Cutting Down the Days." HR Magazine, April 2000, pp. 93-97.
Latta, Geoffrey W. "Expatriate Policy and Practice: A Ten-Year Comparison of Trends." Compensation & Benefits Review, July/August 1999, pp. 35-39.
PricewaterhouseCoopers. "PricewaterhouseCoopers Expatriate Survey." Internet [www.pwcglobal.com]. Obtained August 22, 2000.
Solomon, Charlene Marmer. "The World Stops Shrinking." Workforce, January 2000, pp. 48-51.