Achieving Expatriate Excellence

80% of midsize and large companies currently send professionals abroad—and 45% plan to increase their number of assignments. (Harvard Business Review)

Every global organisation aims to expand globally by promoting overseas assignments to serve client requirements with efficient expatriate management. Employees are keenly interested in leveraging their international exposure by participating upfront in global projects. However, for multinational corporations, HRs manage challenges, from employee departure to repatriation, to make global mobility experiences more convenient.?

As businesses face international competition in the global market, MNCs invest in expatriate assignments to lead the market expansion, skill transfer and development, global talent management, knowledge sharing and international collaborations, strategic initiatives, nurturing clients and risk mitigation.

With the shift in demand for a global work environment, preparing expatriates for global assignments would be challenging, as managing employee expectations and regulation standards simultaneously would be difficult. HRs need strategic approaches that support smooth navigation and management throughout the end of the assignment.?

HR leaders constructively design development programs to train employees with the initial consultation for cultural and language courses to improve their cross-cultural competency. Personalised support services for expatriates and their families and regular follow-ups, check-ins, and feedback sessions will ease their stress and help them embrace the changed environment. To boost their confidence, HR should take the initiative to recognise and reward expatriates for their contributions to achieving the organisation's global objectives.?

Regarding career development, management can design specialised training programs and mentorship support for expatriates. This helps HR motivate employees to follow pathways to career advancement and work within the company's global network. Another strategic approach could be an exclusive expatriate remuneration package tailored to the site location’s cost of living and standard expenses. For any developing organisation, these international assignments would chunk out good investment amounts to settle down employees overseas. From arranging immigration to providing support on the ground, comprehensive planning and effective strategy are needed to fulfil global expansion objectives.

In many instances, expats find it more comfortable to work abroad with less cost of living and better work-life balance. ?As there are more than 100 countries spinning on the globe, some key destinations making place on the list of expats are Mexico, Spain, Thailand, Germany, Malaysia, and The Netherlands. Depending on the location, HR must align its programs to train employees and ensure tax assistance, regulatory compliance, and legal framework.?

According to InterNation's 2023 Expat Insider report, around 35% of expats prefer to live abroad forever, and most expats surveyed belong to the United States.

According to the Harvard Business Review report on expatriates in the US, 10% and 20% of all managers sent abroad returned early because of job dissatisfaction or difficulties adjusting to a foreign country.?

Relocation to the farthest country might be too challenging for expatriates; they face several issues, such as cultural adjustments, loneliness and a sense of isolation, workplace challenges, administrative and legal hurdles, and uncertainty about their career path within the organisation. If MNCs fail to support expatriates with follow-up, regular training & development programs, facilities, inclusive remuneration, and feedback systems, this will intuitively lead to employee dissatisfaction and turnovers from global projects. Also, a lack of growth projection has made employees join competitors to lead their career development in the last decades.?

"Employing a wide spectrum of people from different countries can bring different experiences and fresh thinking into the organisation," says Damien Marmion, CEO of Max Bupa Health Insurance

A few remarkable positive trends help global HR leaders achieve their successful expatriate deployment goals: Pre-move expatriate plans, transforming international assignments with a driving focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development, deploying employees with cultural flexibility and high technical skills, framing career growth expansion for expatriates, and improved research for working ecosystem on-site location to predict challenges beforehand. By concentrating on the assessment part, global companies can outline the gaps in policies and frameworks to develop new ideas on expanding to improve overall training and development to assist employees in leading international goals. Globalisation and work flexibility under multinational corporations unlock high demand for global executives with mobile, ambitious and risk-oriented traits.?