GLOBAL MOBILITY
EMPLOYERS TEND TO OFFER MORE PRACTICAL THAN PERSONAL SUPPORT Furthermore, the Expat Insider 2018 Business Edition Country Focus, a country-specific report focusing on expats who moved abroad for work and live in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK and the USA, confirms that employers are more inclined to support their expat employees with practical support, such as moving assistance, than personal support, like local networking. In the UK for example, 66% of foreign assignees received moving
assistance and 68% received a lump-sum payment for expatriation- related expenses – more practical employer-support types. This compared to only 4% of assignees in the UK who received access to local networking opportunities and 16% who received access to local socialising opportunities – more personal support-types aiding social integration. Moreover, 61% of foreign assignees in the UK indicated that they would have liked to receive networking opportunities, while 55% indicated they would have liked local socialising opportunities.
ENSURING SOCIAL INTEGRATION IS PART OF AN EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITY The private lives of employees should certainly stay private, but relocating for work has a strong influence on a private level that can’t be ignored by an employer. A responsible employer should take care of this private side through peer-to-peer empowerment and social integration support. Employers underestimate the need for social integration and the
fact that it is part of their responsibility to make sure their expat employees – and their partners and families – manage to feel at home and welcome abroad. Social integration support goes beyond just offering an intercultural seminar, for example. It’s about supporting expat employees to settle into their new location and feel immersed in the local culture. It is not about paying for an employee’s private gain only, though.
It is about the employee as a whole person: professionally, in terms of skills, knowledge, and talent, and personally, in terms of emotions and well-being. An unhappy employee can’t focus on work and be successful.
Therefore, smooth integration abroad is not only beneficial
to the employee, but also has a significant impact on business goals in terms of assignment success, employee productivity, risk management and cost-efficiency.
AN EFFICIENT SELF-SERVICE SOLUTION FOR EMPLOYERS Peer-to-peer support gives expats and their partners the choice of how and when to use it to assist with their integration abroad. Importantly, it also takes the load off global mobility and HR teams, making it a scalable solution across industries and geographies. Instead of asking their global mobility or HR managers for help, expat employees have the means to do it themselves. On the other hand, impact is guaranteed, as peer-to-peer
support offers a very personalised and individual solution, as opposed to a costly benefit offer that might not even be needed by the employee. Considering that many companies try to reduce workload by outsourcing, the peer-to-peer approach replaces some of the typical relocation services at a low cost. It really is a win-win solution for expats, their partners and employers – it’s just a matter of connecting the dots.
ABOUT INTERNATIONS BUSINESS SOLUTIONS InterNations Business Solutions provides solutions for global mobility and HR professionals to ensure successful foreign assignments and improved international talent retention. InterNations is the world’s largest expat network, with 3.5 million members and 420 communities worldwide. Through the InterNations Corporate Membership, expat employees and their families are empowered to quickly and easily integrate abroad. For more information, visit:
business.internations.org
Theresa Häfner and Lindsay Lydon of InterNations Business Solutions, talked about the importance of peer-to-peer empowerment at the Festival of Global People. Watch the highlights at
www.relocateglobal.com/festival-of-global-people-2019
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