International assignees are the crème de la crème of any company and their moves are significant strategic investments that require special attention. My hands-on experience in handling international assignments allows me to maximize this investment by giving assignees a great relocation experience.
Assignment Briefing
Setting the assignee up for success
Just like flight takeoffs and landings, the pre-assignment and pre-repatriation stages of an international assignment are critical for its success, due to the surge of activity that can cause a lot of confusion.
I help assignees get through these challenging stages by conducting briefings that fully inform them of my role in their assignment, the roles of local HR in the home & host countries, and the involvement of third-party vendors. I also clearly and thoroughly explain the terms & conditions of their assignment, as well as walk them through the expected milestones in their assignment.
Uprooting one's life can be difficult, and it is even more stressful when they don't know who to turn to for support and guidance in the midst of a challenging period.
However, this does not necessarily have to be so, and I achieve that by establishing a strong working relationship with assignees, speaking with them whenever they need to clarify any doubts or raise any policy exceptions (managing expectations when necessary), and guiding them through the next steps for a smooth transition between their home and host locations.
I make it a point to be as friendly and welcoming as possible, so that they won't hesitate to approach me. I remember one pre-assignment briefing that I conducted and I merrily said something along the lines of "... And now moving on to page # of your Assignment Letter, where you can see that I calculated your allowances so that you'll have some money to spend on your assignment..." - the assignee laughed.
Cost Estimates
Each assignment is an investment
Due to the huge amount of resources poured into international assignments, the business needs to have a very good picture of the financial impact of such moves in order to make a fully-informed decision on whether they should invest on them.
I know what makes a good cost estimate and how they are calculated in order to give the concerned stakeholders an accurate picture of how the costs will affect the budget of their business units.
These cost estimates can also be run based on different scenarios (plan types, home-host country combinations, etc.) so that sponsors and stakeholders can make a fully-informed decision before committing to sign off on the international assignment.
Assignment Contracts
Putting commitments into writing
Automated templates may already be in place for these, but I developed a keen eye for spotting potential issues as it makes a world of difference in safeguarding company interests, because it's very difficult to come up with a template that covers every possible scenario.
In addition, having an in-depth understanding of such contracts is required in order to fully explain the terms & conditions to assignees during briefings, who look to the global mobility team to clarify any doubts that they have.
The complexities of international assignments are reflected in the assignment terms & conditions, which must carefully deal with delicate matters such as compliance with employment law regulations in both the home and host countries, and determining which office maintains direction & control over the assignee - on top of the standard provisions such as assignment benefits and the rights & obligations of each party.
There are also times when the assignment contract does not reflect the discussions that an assignee has had with their managers. I remember conducting a particularly difficult conversation with a short-term assignee who wanted to bring their family along on assignment, as they apparently had been given the impression that they could, and I had to carefully explain the purpose of the assignment plan by pointing out the relevant contract provisions in order to manage the situation and prevent it from escalating.
Vendor Coordination
Getting the best service for assignees
Multiple service providers are needed for one assignee alone, and making sure that the assignee receives such services in a timely manner at critical points during their move is a job in and of itself.
I keep vendor services organized by making sure that they are fulfilled within agreed time frames, preempting vendor-related issues that will cause unnecessary frustration on the part of assignees.
Third-party service providers are a crucial piece in every global mobility puzzle, and keeping up with them can be tricky because of the involvement of multiple parties in different locations. Vendor SLAs exist, yes - but they don't really mean much for an assignee when they don't get their work permit in time, for example.
In order to meet my goals of giving assignees a great relocation experience, I learned that I have to go above and beyond my role. There was a time where I also had to take on the role of a local host HR and personally meet with housing providers because the local business unit where I worked had no processes in place for inbound assignees due to the rarity of the occurrence. The assignee was grateful and jokingly said that he didn't want to see me leaving the company before he finished his assignment.
There are lot of people involved in successfully managing assignment cases, and working with them to achieve the goal of a great relocation experience for assignees requires other skills, such as Interpersonal Skills and Client Service Skills.
In addition, most mobility programs are now managed through some mobility tool, which requires a good level of Technology Skills.
Want to know more?
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