Global Human Resource Management

Repatriation after International Assignments

Introduction to Repatriation
Repatriation is a process of returning back from a international assignment to a home country
after completing the assignment or some other issues. Repatriation is the last step in the
expatriation cycle and it involves readjustment and re-entry of international managers and their
families back to their home country. Expatriation and repatriation are not two separated
processes, rather the former is a beginning and the latter the closure. The term may also refer
to the process of converting a foreign currency into the currency of one’s own country.

The Importance of Repatriates

The employee of any organization who adjust well in a HCN in an international assignment and
performed effectively there would be highly imported.

The repatriate perspective, here are some of the reasons why repatriated employees are
important:

 There are a many successful international assignments which are very important to the
employee career as well as for the company’s growth. So many companies send
expatriate to other countries for doing business internationally.
 The employees who are send to abroad for international assignment are expatriates
those employees who learned many things that would be useful to those who will be
sent to that same country if some means could be identified as to how they might be
mentors to future expatriate employees.
 Expatriates can bring new and unusual approaches to cultural environment, information
gathering, analysis of data, and problem-solving as a result of having work cross-
culturally in an effective manner.
 Expatriates may have been more flexible, or less rigid, in changing circumstances. In that
different approaches have been tried in other contexts, they may be able to bring
insights and innovation to the planning process that may not have been considered
previously.
 The repatriate who have performed at a high level in a HCN may bring a dimension of
confidence and competence that will enhance his or her value to the company as it
competes in a changing world market.
 Expatriates who are work outside the culture of the company and the country, the
repatriated employee may well have insights that can effect needed change. That
perspective ought to be valued and given a voice within the company.
 The repatriated employees would likely to bring motivated by some factors to
encourage them for the sharing of their experience.
 The effective international employees may well have gained insights in how to affect a
more coordinated group effort than encouraging individual achievement.

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Repatriation Process
1. Preparation: before 3-4 months of expatriate return

 Developing plans for future and info about new position

 Checklist of items before leaving (closure of bank a/c, bills etc.)

2. Physical Relocation

 Removal of personal belongings , breaking ties with friends, colleagues before returning
 Re-entry training for home country’s update, socio-cultural contrast orientation,
psychological aspects etc.

3. Transition:

 Finding accommodations, school for children, opening bank A/c etc. for comfortable
living.
 Relocation consultants used.

4. Readjustment

 Coping with aspects as company changes , reverse culture shock and career demands
 Eg. Repatriate returning from country where power distance is large as Thailand may
experience stress on returning to small power distance countries like Denmark.

Repatriation of Expatriates

 Repatriation
 Return to one’s home country from an overseas management assignment
 Reasons for returning
 Formally agreed-on tour of duty is over
 Expats want their children educated in the home country
 Unhappiness with foreign assignment
 Failure to perform well
 Major concerns of expatriates
 Cultural Re-entry
 Financial Implications
 Nature of job assignment

Multinational responses to repatriation

1. Staff availability: current and future needs

 If repatriate promoted ,International assignments as a positive career move

 If repatriate demoted or given pink slips so vice versa.

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2. Return on investment (ROI)

 Expatriates are expensive

 Accomplishing assignment objectives at the expected cost

3. Knowledge Transfer

 Cross-fertilization of ideas and practices that assist in developing competitive advantage.

 Build upon international experience of repatriates

Designing a Repatriation Program

1. Mentor programs (Pairing expat with a member of home office senior mgmt):

 Maintaining contact with the expatriate throughout the assignment

 Ensuring that expatriates are kept up- to-date with developments in home country
 Assisting expatriates in repatriation process

2. Inviting repatriates in developing repatriation program

Steps suggested for smooth transition:

 Arrange an event to welcome & recognize the employee & family

 Establish support to facilitate family reintegration
 Offer repatriation counseling or workshops to ease the adjustment
 Assist the spouse with job counseling, resume writing & interviewing techniques
 Provide educational counseling for the children
 Provide employees with thorough debriefing to identify new knowledge, insights & skills
to provide a forum to showcase new competencies
 Offer international outplacement to the employee if no positions are possible
 Arrange an interview with the expatriate & spouse to review their view of the
assignment & address any repatriation issues

Multinational responses to repatriation

1. Staff availability: Current and Future needs

 If repatriate promoted ,International assignments as a positive career move

 If repatriate demoted or given pink slips so vice versa.

2. Return on investment (ROI)

 Expatriates are expensive

 Accomplishing assignment objectives at the expected cost

3. Knowledge Transfer

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 Cross-fertilization of ideas and practices that assist in developing competitive advantage.

 Build upon international experience of repatriates

Case Study of Repatriation:- Going Home(U.S.)

Back home and yet Katrina had felt more like she had just left. It had been six long years and
India had proved to be more to her. She prepared herself for the 1st international assignment
out of the USA.

A technical trainer by profession and she had worked for a leading medical transcription
company for 4yrs before the international assignment. The Pre- departure training involved
personal readings and browsing of India and Indian cultural differences and the Indian customs.

When she back to USA she remembered the first week in Mysore, exploring the city, unfamiliar
with the local language and figuring out what were appropriate questions one could ask in an
interview. She found that the Indian team is very helpful and supportive. The task was very easy
as she assumed. The Indian team was eager to help and assist and even do things for her. On
the work front the task was challenging, hiring was easy and training was tougher and she
surprised to discover a whole new dimension in the Indian corporate setup. Self learning
sessions are replaced with the classrooms and well supervised training sessions, with detailed
time schedule to ensure that the employees climb the learning curve faster.

A year into the assignment, she married Rob her fiancée of 12yrs, her college mate who was
himself a globe-trotting sales executive for an oil company based out of the UAE. Katrina was
pregnant and was excited to have a baby in India. Andrew was raised in a montessori school
and a English speaking baby sitter take care of him. Katrina had trained a team of 5 trainers.

After 3 yrs of stay in India, she was asked to stay for another 3 yrs and train more people. India
operations were booming and the Indian BPO was making huge profits, Katrina never wanted
to miss this huge event. Suddenly she was repatriated to US headquarters. After joining the US
office Katrina felt out of place and wasn’t happy to join back the same team and office. She was
not given any assignment and no tasks were given, she was not asked what she was doing and
to tell her what she was expected to do. Even Andrew was not feeling good after coming back
home, at the day care centre, his friends would laugh at his strange accent. This all added up to
Katrina’s misery. Rob used to call her daily from his busy schedule because he was in the middle
of a huge oil contract, which was important for his promotion.

Katrina was under a huge stress as she had some issues in office and she could even sense the
problems of Andrew and even Rob was not there to support her, so she used to cry after
Andrew went to bed. This will help her to manage the stress. Rob’s parents moved in and asked
Katrina to let Andrew go with them, so that she could focus on her carrier and they can take
care of Andrew for a while. Rob’s father suggest Katrina to look for a new job as the skill set she
had was a premium one and many company’s were looking for such employees who had
International exposure specially from some developing country. Katrina felt really bad in
moving away from the company, as she has been with this company from last 10 yrs and she

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felt connected with the company. She never wanted to leave the company and she never
wanted the hard work of 6 yrs to be a part of files and forgotten. She wanted to make a
difference.

Result:- Readjustment part was missing in relocating Katrina back to US. Readjustment involves
coping with such aspects as company changes, reverse cultural shock and carrier demands. In
this case we can see that Katrina got reverse cultural shock because there she was not able to
adjust in the US when she was back from India. She felt ignored by the Company and irrelevant
to the team back at the US headquarters. She also had no work to do and no work was assign to
her and no one ask her what she had done. She did not know who to blame.

How can the company best retain repatriated employees? Example

According to the study conducted in 2005 by the Cranfield university school of Management
More than 25 percent of repatriated employees leave the company within one year after an
international assignment ends, The costs of this turnover can be overwhelming because, in
addition to the expenses involved in supporting the international assignment and the costs
occasioned by the employee’s return to the United States, the organization now must pay the
costs of replacing the employee and bear the loss of intellectual capital and a potential future
global leader.

Employers can lower this turnover by communicating repatriation plans with the employee
before the assignment begins and including repatriation matters in the international
assignment agreement. When employers know they need to send an employee to another
country for a period of time, most are not thinking about what it will take to repatriate the
employee in two to five years.

It’s equally important to communicate with the employee throughout the international
assignment by listening to the employee’s career goals and remembering the employee in
succession plans. Give at least six months of notice to the expatriate about when the
assignment will end.

In addition to providing relocation services, time off to move, and financial support, employers
should continue communicating with the employee on his or her return by:

 Providing re-entry training programs and reverse culture shock support or counselling
services for the employee as well as the employee’s family.
 Recognizing the employee in internal company newsletters.
 Making opportunities available for the employee to share his or her international
assignment experiences.
 Showing appreciation for the employee during company events. This will also help
create a company culture that supports cultural diversity and international assignments.

Mentoring relationships can also facilitate lower repatriated employee turnover. A mentor who
has had international assignment experience can offer the expatriate advice and support, act as

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a role model, and share an understanding about the company and the country. Mentors can be
a great way to help the expatriate adjust to the new country and readjust to the home country
on return.

They can also help the employee feel connected to the overall business. And, a good mentoring
experience could pave the way for the repatriated employee to become a mentor to an
expatriate in the future.

Lastly, when the employee has completed the international assignment, the employer should
find a position in the organization that will best utilize the employee’s unique knowledge, skills
and abilities, gained from the international assignment.

If a promotion isn’t possible, try to assign the employee to a job that gives at least the same
amount of responsibility and autonomy offered during the international assignment. It’s also
advisable to provide an outplacement service to assist the employee’s spouse in finding a job.

Suggestions

 Companies should provide re-entry training programs and reverse culture shock support
or counselling services for the employee as well as the employee’s family.
 Companies should make opportunities available for the employee to share his or her
international assignment experiences.
 Companies should support employee career, if a promotion isn’t possible, try to assign
the employee to a job that gives at least the same amount of responsibility and
autonomy offered during the international assignment.
 Companies should use the ability of an employee, when the employer should find a
position in the organization that will best utilize the employee’s unique knowledge, skills
and abilities, gained from the international assignment.

Conclusion
The competition is increasing internationally so many companies are sent their employees for
international assignment as a competitive advantage to keep pace with the international
environment. Repatriation is a one phase of international assignment, which has been
identified as the most difficult phase of the international assignment.

The employees are best utilizing their international experiences. So It is important for the
companies to support the repatriate through the re-entry process in order to develop the
individual as well as growth of the organization.

My findings through articles show that the repatriation process is more important for the
repatriate than for the organization where social factors, such as family adjustment and cultural
adjustment are very important for the repatriate.

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The repatriation process also tends to be more informal within the organizations. Companies
should support and utilize the repatriate and the individual’s experiences through a well
developed repatriation program, the main benefits are that it is possible to reduce inaccurate
expectations and thereby the re-entry phase will become easier for all parties involved.

References

 www.expat-repat.com/repatriationArticles
 www.expat-repat.com/strategies.php
 www.expatexchange.com/libglobal.cfm
 www.en.wikipedia.org
 www.articlesnatch.com/topic/repatriation

Managing International Assignments

Scope—For purposes of this article, international assignment management encompasses

whether, when and how to effectively expatriate and repatriate employees. This article does
not include issues related to hiring employees from abroad or to hiring employers locally to
staff a company’s foreign operations.

Overview

International assignment management is one of the hardest areas for HR professionals to

master—and one of the most costly. The cost of a three-year international assignment can
easily exceed $3 million.1 Yet many organizations fail to get it right. Despite their significant
investments in international assignments, companies still report a 42 percent failure rate in
these assignments.2 

With so much at risk, global human resource managers can use the high failure rates to
support investing in upfront and ongoing programs that will make international assignments
successful. Selecting the right person, preparing the expat and the family, measuring the
employee's performance from afar, and repatriating the individual at the end of an assignment
require a well-planned, well-managed program. Knowing what to expect from start to finish as
well as having some tools to work with can help minimize the risk.

Business Case

As more companies expand globally, they are also increasing international assignments and
relying on expatriates to manage their global operations. According to KPMG's Global
Assignment Policies and Practices Survey, 83 percent of employers surveyed offer short-term
assignments (typically defined as less than 12 months), 97 percent offer long-term assignments
(typically one to five years) and 61 percent offer permanent transfer/indefinite length. 3

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"The growth [in international assignment] has been driven by companies' desire to be globally
competitive," notes Robert Lockley, a former principal in Mercer's international business. 4 "To
successfully launch new ventures abroad and gain advantage over competitors, companies
generally bring in their own experts from other locations to lead projects on a short-term basis,
rather than rely on local talent."

Identifying the Need for International Assignment

Typical reasons for an international assignment include the following:

 Filling a need in an existing operation.

 Transferring technology or knowledge to a worksite (or to a client's worksite).
 Developing an individual's career through challenging tasks in an international setting.
 Analyzing the market to see whether the company's products or services will attract
clients and users.
 Launching a new product or service.
 The goal of the international assignment will determine the assignment's length and
help identify potential candidates.

Selection Process

Determining the purpose and goals for an international assignment will help guide the selection
process. A technical person may be best suited for transferring technology, whereas a sales
executive may be most effective launching a new product or service.

Traditionally, organizations have relied on technical, job-related skills as the main criteria for
selecting candidates for overseas assignments, but assessing global mindset is equally, if not
more, important for successful assignments. This is especially true given that international
assignments are increasingly key components of leadership and employee development. 
To a great extent, the success of every expatriate in achieving the company's goals in the host
country hinges on that person's ability to influence individuals, groups and organizations that
have a different cultural perspective. Employers can nurture a global mindset in employees by
developing certain personal attributes, according to research conducted by the Worldwide ERC
Foundation for Workforce Mobility and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Interviews with senior executives from various industries, sponsored by the Worldwide ERC
Foundation, reveal that in the compressed time frame of an international assignment,
expatriates have little opportunity to learn as they go, so they must be prepared before they
arrive. Therefore, employers must ensure that the screening process for potential expatriates
includes an assessment of their global mindset.

The research points to three major attributes of successful expatriates:

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 Intellectual capital. Knowledge, skills, understanding and cognitive complexity.

 Psychological capital. The ability to function successfully in the host country through
internal acceptance of different cultures and a strong desire to learn from new
experiences.
 Social capital. The ability to build trusting relationships with local stakeholders, whether
they are employees, supply chain partners or customers.

According to Global HR Consultant Caroline Kersten, it is generally understood that global

leadership differs significantly from domestic leadership and that, as a result, expatriates need
to be equipped with competencies that will help them succeed in an international environment.
Commonly accepted global leadership competencies, for both male and female global leaders,
include cultural awareness, open-mindedness and flexibility.

In particular, expatriates need to possess a number of vital characteristics to perform

successfully on assignment. Among the necessary traits are the following:

 Confidence and self-reliance: independence; perseverance; work ethic.

 Flexibility and problem-solving skills: resilience; adaptability; ability to deal with
ambiguity.
 Tolerance and interpersonal skills: social sensitivity; observational capability; listening
skills; communication skills.
 Skill at handling and initiating change: personal drivers and anchors; willingness to take
risks.

Trends in international assignment show an increase in the younger generation's interest and
placement in global assignments. Experts also call for a need to increase female expatriates due
to the expected leadership shortage and the value employers find in mixed gender leadership
teams.

HR can elicit relevant information on assignment successes and challenges by means of

targeted interview questions with career expatriates, such as the following:

 How many expatriate assignments have you completed?

 What are the main reasons why you chose to accept your previous expatriate
assignments?
 What difficulties did you experience adjusting to previous international assignments?
How did you overcome them?
 On your last assignment, what factors made your adjustment to the new environment
easier?
 What experiences made interacting with the locals easier?
 Please describe what success or failure means to you when referring to an expatriate
assignment.

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 Was the success or failure of your assignments measured by your employers? If so, how
did they measure it?
 During your last international assignment, do you recall when you realized your
situation was a success or a failure? How did you come to that determination?
 Why do you wish to be assigned an international position?

Securing Visas

Once an individual is chosen for an assignment, the organization needs to move quickly to
secure the necessary visas. Requirements and processing times vary by country. Employers
should start by contacting the host country's consulate or embassy for information on visa
requirements. 

Following is a list of generic visa types that may be required depending on the nature of
business to be conducted in a particular country:

 A work permit authorizes paid employment in a country.

 A work visa authorizes entry into a country to take up paid employment.
 A dependent visa permits family members to accompany or join employees in the
country of assignment.
 A multiple-entry visa permits multiple entries into a country.

Preparing for the Assignment

An international assignment agreement that outlines the specifics of the assignment and
documents agreement by the employer and the expatriate is necessary. Topics typically
covered include:

 Location of the assignment.

 Length of the assignment, including renewal and trial periods, if offered.
 Costs paid by the company (e.g., assignment preparation costs, moving costs for
household goods, airfare, housing, school costs, transportation costs while in country,
home country visits and security).
 Base salary and any incentives or allowances offered.
 Employee's responsibilities and goals.
 Employment taxes.
 Steps to take in the event the assignment is not working for either the employee or the
employer.
 Repatriation.
 Safety and security measures (e.g., emergency evacuation procedures, hazards).

Although many employers acknowledge the necessity for thorough preparation, they often
associate this element solely with the assignee, forgetting the other key parties involved in an
assignment:

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 Family.
 Work team.
 Manager/team leader.
 Organization.

The expatriate

Consider these points in relation to the assignee:

 Does the employee have a solid grasp of the job to be done and the goals established
for that position?
 Does the employee understand the compensation and benefits package?
 Has the employee had access to cultural training and language instruction, no matter
how similar the host culture may be?
 Is the employee receiving relocation assistance in connection with the physical move?
 Is there a contact person to whom the employee can go not only in an emergency but
also to avoid becoming "out of sight, out of mind"?
 If necessary to accomplish the assigned job duties, has the employee undergone training
to get up to speed?
 Has the assignee undergone an assessment of readiness?

To help the expatriate succeed, organizations are advised to invest in cross-cultural training
before the relocation. The benefits of receiving such training are that it: 6

 Prepares the individual/family mentally for the move.

 Removes some of the unknown.
 Increases self-awareness and cross-cultural understanding.
 Provides the opportunity to address questions and anxieties in a supportive
environment.
 Motivates and excites.
 Reduces stress and provides coping strategies.
 Eases the settling-in process.
 Reduces the chances of relocation failure.

The family

As society has shifted from single- to dual-income households, the priorities of potential
expatriates have evolved, as have the policies organizations use to entice employees to
assignment locations. In the past, from the candidate's point of view, compensation was the
most significant component of the expatriate package. Today more emphasis is on enabling an
expatriate's spouse to work. Partner dissatisfaction is a significant contributor to assignment
failure. 

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When it comes to international relocation, most organizations deal with children as an

afterthought. Factoring employees' children into the relocation equation is key to a successful
assignment. Studies show that transferee children who have a difficult time adjusting to the
assignment contribute to early returns and unsuccessful completion of international
assignments, just as maladjusted spouses do. From school selection to training to repatriation,
HR can do a number of things to smooth the transition for children.

Both partners and children must be prepared for relocation abroad. Employers should consider
the following:

 Have they been included in discussions about the host location and what they can
expect? Foreign context and culture may be more difficult for accompanying family
because they will not be participating in the "more secure" environment of the worksite.
Does the family have suitable personal characteristics to successfully address the rigors
of an international life?
 In addition to dual-career issues, other common concerns include aging parents left
behind in the home country and special needs for a child's education. Has the company
allowed a forum for the family to discuss these concerns?

The work team

Whether the new expatriate will supervise the existing work team, be a peer, replace a local
national or fill a newly created position, has the existing work team been briefed? Plans for a
formal introduction of the new expatriate should reflect local culture and may require more
research and planning as well as input from the local work team.

The manager/team leader

Questions organization need to consider include the following: Does the manager have the
employee's file on hand (e.g., regarding increases, performance evaluations, promotions and
problems)? Have the manager and employee engaged in in-depth conversations about the job,
the manager's expectations and the employee's expectations?

Mentors play an important role in enhancing a high-performing employee's productivity and in

guiding his or her career. In a traditional mentoring relationship, a junior executive has ongoing
face-to-face meetings with a senior executive at the corporation to learn the ropes, set goals
and gain advice on how to better perform his or her job.

Before technological advances, mentoring programs were limited to those leaders who had the
time and experience within the organization's walls to impart advice to a few select people
worth that investment.

Technology has eliminated those constraints. Today, maintaining a long-distance mentoring

relationship through e-mail, telephone and videoconferencing is much easier. And that

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technology means HR is not confined to its corporate halls when considering mentor-mentee
matches. 

The organization

If the company is starting to send more employees abroad, it has to reassess its administrative
capabilities. Can existing systems handle complicated tasks, such as currency exchanges and
split payrolls, not to mention the additional financial burden of paying allowances, incentives
and so on? Often, international assignment leads to outsourcing for global expertise. Payroll,
tax, employment law, contractual obligations, among others, warrant an investment in sound
professional advice.

Employment Laws

Four major U.S. employment laws have some application abroad for U.S. citizens working in
U.S.-based multinationals:

 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

 The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
 The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Title VII, the ADEA and the ADA are the more far-reaching among these, covering all U.S.
citizens who are either:

 Employed outside the United States by a U.S. firm.

 Employed outside the United States by a company under the control of a U.S. firm.

USERRA's extraterritoriality applies to veterans and reservists working overseas for the federal
government or a firm under U.S. control. 

Employers must also be certain to comply with both local employment law in the countries in
which they manage assignments and requirements for corporate presence in those countries.

Compensation

Companies take one of the following approaches to establish base salaries for expatriates:

 The host-country-based approach. With this approach, the expatriate employee's

compensation is based on local national rates. Many companies continue to cover the
employee in its defined contribution or defined benefit pension schemes and provide
housing allowances. Only 14 percent of long-term assignments and 5 percent of short-
term assignments base pay on local rates, according to the Cartus survey. 8
 The headquarters-based approach. This approach assumes that all assignees, regardless
of location, are in one country (i.e., a U.S. company pays all assignees a U.S.-based

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salary, regardless of geography). Cartus found that a small percentage of companies use
headquarters-based approaches for long-term assignments (4 percent) and short-term
assignments (5 percent).9
 Balance sheet approach. In this scenario, the compensation is calculated using the
home-country-based approach with all allowances, deductions and reimbursements.
After the net salary has been determined, it is then converted to the host country's
currency. Since one of the primary goals of an international compensation management
program is to maintain the expatriate's current standard of living, developing an
equitable and functional compensation plan that combines balance and flexibility is
extremely challenging for multinational companies. To this end, many companies adopt
a balance sheet approach. This approach guarantees that employees in international
assignments maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in their home country.  A
worksheet lists the costs of major expenses in the home and host countries, and any
differences are used to increase or decrease the compensation to keep it in balance.

Some companies also allow expatriates to split payment of their salaries between the host
country's and the home country's currencies. The expatriate receives money in the host
country's currency for expenses but keeps a percentage of it in the home country currency to
safeguard against wild currency fluctuations in either country.

As for handling expatriates taxes, organizations usually take one of four approaches:

 The employee is responsible for his or her own taxes.

 The employer determines tax reimbursement on a case-by-case basis.
 The employer pays the difference between taxes paid in the United States and the host
country.
 The employer withholds U.S. taxes and pays foreign taxes.

Housing

Expatriates may find the reality of foreign housing very different from expectations, particularly
in host locations considered to be hardship assignments. Expats will find—depending on the
degree of difficulty, hardship or danger—that housing options can range from spacious
accommodations in a luxury apartment building to company compounds with dogs and armed
guards.

Expats may also have to contend with more mundane housing challenges, such as shortages of
suitable housing, faulty structures and unreliable utility services. Analyses of local conditions
are available from a variety of sources. For example, Mercer produces Location Evaluation
Reports, available for a fee, that evaluate levels of hardship for 14 factors, including housing, in
more than 135 locations.

Measuring Expatriates' Performance

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Failed international assignments can be extremely costly to an organization. There is no

universal approach to measuring an expatriate's performance given that specifics related to the
job, country, culture and other variables will need to be considered. Employers must identify
and communicate clear job expectations and performance indicators very early on in the
assignment. A consistent and detailed assessment of an expatriate employee's performance, as
well as appraisal of the operation as a whole, is critical to the success of an international
assignment. Issues such as the criteria for and timing of performance reviews, raises and
bonuses should be discussed and agreed on before the employees are selected and placed on
international assignments. 

Retention

Employees on foreign assignments face a number of issues that domestic employees do not.
According to a BGRS survey, the majority of expatriate employees who leave their organizations
in the midst of international assignments "do so because of issues related to the assignment
and adaptation, whether it was related to the job itself, career concerns overall or as a result of
poor candidate selection."10 Obviously, retention of international assignees poses a significant
challenge to employers.

The KPMG Global Assignment Policies and Practice Survey reports that the primary reasons
assignees leave the organization after returning home include external competitiveness (30
percent) and lack of appropriate jobs available in the home country after repatriation (30
percent).11 Unfortunately, many employers fail to track retention data of repatriated employees
and could benefit from collecting this information and making adjustments to reduce the
turnover of employees returning to their home country. 

Safety and Security

When faced with accident, injury, sudden illness, a disease outbreak or politically unstable
conditions in which personal safety is at risk, expatriate employees and their dependents may
require evacuation to the home country or to a third location. To be prepared, HR should have
an evacuation plan in place that the expatriate can share with friends, extended family and
colleagues both at home and abroad.

Many companies ban travel outside the country in the following circumstances:

 When a travel advisory is issued by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, International SOS or a government agency.
 When a widespread outbreak of a specific disease occurs or if the risk is deemed too
high for employees and their well-being is in jeopardy.
 If the country is undergoing civil unrest or war or if an act of terrorism has occurred.
 If local management makes the decision.
 If the employee makes the decision.

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Once employees are in place, the decision to evacuate assignees and dependents from a host
location is contingent on local conditions and input from either internal sources (local
managers, headquarters staff, HR and the assignee) or external sources (an external security or
medical firm) or both. In some cases, each host country has its own set of evacuation
procedures.

Decision-makers should consider all available and credible advice and initially transport
dependents and nonessential personnel out of the host country by the most expeditious form
of travel. 

Repatriation

Ideally, the repatriation process begins before the expatriate leaves his or her home country
and continues throughout the international assignment by addressing the following issues.

Career planning. Many managers are responsible for resolving difficult problems abroad and
expect that a well-done job will result in promotion on return, regardless of whether the
employer had made such a promise. This possibly unfounded assumption can be avoided by
straightforward career planning that should occur in advance of the employee's accepting the
international assignment. Employees need to know what impact the expatriate assignment will
have on their overall advancement in the home office and that the international assignment fits
in their career path.

Mentoring. The expatriate should be assigned a home-office mentor. Mentors are responsible

for keeping expatriates informed on developments within the company, for keeping the
expatriates' names in circulation in the office (to help avoid the out-of-sight, out-of-mind
phenomenon) and for seeing to it that expatriates are included in important meetings. Mentors
can also assist the expatriate in identifying how the overseas experience can best be used on
return. Optimum results are achieved when the mentor role is part of the mentor's formal job
duties.

Communication. An effective global communication plan will help expatriates feel connected to
the home office and will alert them to changes that occur while they are away. The Internet, e-
mail and intranets are inexpensive and easy ways to bring expatriates into the loop. In addition
to formal e-mail communications, organizations should encourage home-office employees to
keep in touch with peers on overseas assignments. Employee newsletters that feature global
news and expatriate assignments are also encouraged.

Home visits. Most companies provide expatriates with trips home. Although such trips are
intended primarily for personal visits, scheduling time for the expatriate to visit the home office
is an effective method of increasing the expatriate's visibility. Having expatriates attend a few
important meetings or make a presentation on their international assignment is also a good
way to keep them informed and connected.

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Preparation to return home. The expatriate should receive plenty of advance notice (some
experts recommend up to one year) of when the international assignment will end. This notice
will allow the employee time to prepare the family and to prepare for a new position in the
home office. Once the employee is notified of the assignment's end, the HR department should
begin working with the expatriate to identify suitable positions in the home office. The
expatriate should provide the HR department with an updated resume that reflects the duties
of the overseas assignment. The employee's overall career plan should be included in
discussions with the HR professional.

Interviews. In addition to home leave, organizations may need to provide trips for the
employee to interview with prospective managers. The face-to-face interview will allow the
expatriate to elaborate on skills and responsibilities obtained while overseas and will help the
prospective manager determine if the employee is a good fit. Finding the right position for the
expatriate is crucial to retaining the employee. Repatriates who feel that their new skills and
knowledge are underutilized may grow frustrated and leave the employer.

Ongoing recognition of contributions. An employer can recognize and appreciate the

repatriates' efforts in several ways, including the following:

 Hosting a reception for repatriates to help them reconnect and meet new personnel.
 Soliciting repatriates' help in preparing other employees for expatriation.
 Asking repatriates to deliver a presentation or prepare a report on their overseas
assignment.
 Including repatriates on a global task force and asking them for a global perspective on
business issues.

Metrics

Despite the anticipated significant rise in global assignments, only 8 percent of global
organizations were able to put a cost on their mobility programs, and just 9 percent measured
the program's return on investment (ROI), according to a PricewaterhouseCooper (PWC)
survey. The research revealed that 30 percent of companies aren't even sure how many of their
employees work overseas each year. 

Measuring ROI on expatriate assignments can be cumbersome and imprecise. The investment
costs of international assignments can vary dramatically and can be difficult to determine. The
largest expatriate costs include overall remuneration, housing, cost-of-living allowances (which
sometimes include private schooling costs for children) and physical relocation (the movement
to the host country of the employee, the employee's possessions and, often, the employee's
family).

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But wide variations exist in housing expenses. For example, housing costs are sky-high in Tokyo
and London, whereas Australia's housing costs are moderate. Another significant cost of
expatriate assignments involves smoothing out differences in pay and benefits between one
country and another. Such cost differences can be steep and can vary based on factors such as
exchange rates (which can be quite volatile) and international tax concerns (which can be
extremely complex).

Once an organization has determined the costs of a particular assignment, the second part of
the ROI challenge is calculating the return. Although it is relatively straightforward to quantify
the value of fixing a production line in Puerto Rico or of implementing an enterprise software
application in Asia, the challenge of quantifying the value of providing future executives with
cross-cultural perspectives and international leadership experience can be intimidating.

Once an organization determines the key drivers of its expatriate program, HR can begin to
define objectives and assess return that can be useful in guiding employees and in making
decisions about the costs they incur as expatriates. Different objectives require different levels
and lengths of tracking. Leadership development involves a much longer-term value proposition
and should include a thorough repatriation plan. By contrast, the ROI of an international
assignment that plugs a skills gap is not negatively affected if the expatriate bolts after
successfully completing the engagement.

Endnotes
1
Society for Human Resource Management. (2017, March 7). Introduction to the global human
resources discipline. SHRMOnline. Retrieved
from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/
introglobalhr.aspx
2
Mulkeen, D. (2017, February 20). How to reduce the risk of international assignment failure.
Communicaid. Retrieved
from https://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/reducing-risk-international-
assignment-failure/
3
KPMG International. (2016). Global assignment policies and practices survey: 2016 results.
Retrieved from https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2016/10/global-
assignment-policies-and-practices-survey-2016.pdf
4
Cornell University, Institute for Workplace Studies. (2008, October 27). Expatriate employee
numbers double as companies see increased value in expatriate assignments. IWS Documented
News International. Retrieved from http://iwsdninternational.blogspot.com/2008/10/iws-
mercer-expatriate-employees-double.html

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5
Society for Human Resource Management. (2008, February 29). Best expatriate assignments
require much thought, even more planning. SHRMOnline. Retrieved
from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/
bestexpatriateassignments.aspx
6
Dickmann, M., & Baruch, Y. (2011). Global careers. New York: Routledge.
7
Cartus. (2016). 2016 trends in global relocation: Global mobility policy & practices. Retrieved
from https://www.cartus.com/en/global-relocation/
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
10
BGRS. (2017). Using talent based solutions to minimize expatriate turnover. Retrieved
from https://www.bgrs.com/insights-articles/raising-expatriate-retention-rates/
11
KPMG International. (2016). Global assignment policies and practices survey: 2016 results.
Retrieved from https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2016/10/global-
assignment-policies-and-practices-survey-2016.pdf

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