EXPATRIATE EXPERIENCE
FINANCIAL CHALLENGES We know very well that an international assignment is a substantial investment. Not so long ago, every person expressing an interest in overseas work would be sent abroad and it would be seen as career development. Now, every expatriation is carefully considered, as it is a significant expense to the company. While benefits may seem expensive,
they play a vital role in ensuring a positive experience. The assignee must feel they have the equivalent standard of living to what they had in their home country and provision of benefits such as rent, tuition, career support and health insurance can help to ease the transition. Having the financial flexibility to address any unforeseen situations may be a necessary tool to ensure that the assignment continues to be a success. Trying to provide the bare minimum or a low-cost solution may be a false economy if the family doesn’t settle well and insists on going home. The following simple-yet-effective
suggestions may help assignees and their families to readily adjust to the new location:
• Don’t compare to your home country: everything will be different, not better or worse, just different
• Be kind to yourself: it will take time to put all the pieces together in the new location and culture
It is also important to establish open lines
of communication with all parties involved in the relocation. This will help to prevent misunderstandings and enable all to meet the expectations that have been set. If possible, understand with whom to communicate which issues, i.e., the father is responsible for the children’s education, the mother is responsible for the shipment and the move.
DUAL-CAREER CHALLENGES Over the past few years, we are seeing more and more dual-career couples taking on international assignments. Our experience at FOCUS in the past five years is that we have seen a 15 per cent increase in the number of male accompanying partners. Many companies are experiencing a similar trend. Given that the partners are highly
educated, career-focused and independent, often they are unwilling to give up their career to follow their spouse. This will be even more prominent when moving to a country that has barriers to employment for the partner, such as a lack of access to a work permit, a labour market that doesn’t recognise their qualifications, the job-
seeker’s inability to commit to long-term job tenure, as well as language and cultural differences. There are formal options for assistance,
which include seminars and workshops to give job seekers all the practical knowledge needed in their new country for a successful job search. Examples include outplacement agencies, NetExpat or FOCUS’ Career Development Programme. Additional solutions include one-to-one career coaching and subscriptions to expat jobs boards, as well as partner support networks such as the International Dual Career Network (IDCN), a collaboration among a group of multinational companies that make job openings available to the partners of assignees in other participating organisations. Let’s not forget there are language and
cultural training programmes that are often underestimated, but can be a vital tool in ensuring that a candidate is competitive in the local market. A ‘top-up’ cultural training session, once the family is on location, often crystallises all that has been previously mentioned and they are now able to relate it to real-life experience.
• Have an action plan to address the different challenges: you can’t solve all problems simultaneously
•
Invest time in networking both social and professional: be proactive and don’t turn down an invitation
• Ask for help: you aren’t alone. Although difficult to measure, when
international assignees are given family and spousal support, there is higher productivity, increased loyalty to the company and better retention rates. It may seem obvious, but if the family is happy and looked after, there is a greater likelihood that the overall relocation experience will be positive.
ABOUT FOCUS
FOCUS is a community for expats by expats. Operating as a non-profit, it has been providing award-winning support to members for more than 37 years. It’s Career Development Programme (CDP) for spouses and partners includes Career Workshops, One-to-One Coaching & Career Seminars and provides all the practical information needed to pursue a career in the UK. For more information please email office@focus-info. org or visit,
www.focus-info.org
Eva Stock
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