Repatriation: Balancing Cost and Expectations
By Virginia G. McMorrow
Although some expatriates accept another foreign relocation immediately after successfully completing an assignment, many are ready to return home. Foremost on their minds is whether a job is waiting for them back home. How do multinationals address the broad issues of repatriation and assignee expectations with regards to employment and moving logistics? Participants to ORC's 2004 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices shared their experiences.
Will I Have a Job?
Employment is always a major concern. Will the position allow the expatriate to use skills gained on assignment? Will the job be in the location from which the employee originated? Will there even be a job?
Half the survey participants do not guarantee a job on repatriation. When analyzed by region: companies headquartered in the Americas (63 percent), Asia Pacific (29 percent), and Europe/Middle East (30 percent). Other responses:
- One third of participants guarantee a job, although it depends on job availability. Numbers by geographic region: Asia Pacific (53 percent), Europe/Middle East (43 percent), and the Americas (20 percent).
- Only 17 percent guarantee employment at the same level of responsibility. Europe/Middle East (27 percent) evidenced the most variation.
How Much Time for Packing?
Almost as important as employment is the move date. Expatriates need to know when they are moving home in order to coordinate a home purchase, enroll the children in school, and find jobs for working spouses. For 40 percent of participants, the timing of advance notification depends on the assignment circumstances:
- Is a successor on hand? Has the perfect job unexpectedly become available? In either case, management may give the expatriate little time to prepare.
- If the task is nearly complete and the expatriate needs to stay abroad a little longer, the family is likely to have more lead time.
In routine situations, the most popular notification time is three-to-six months (26 percent), followed by one-to-three months (21 percent).
Who Pays for What?
Mirroring the relocation assistance provided in the pre- and early-move stages, many organizations offer the same services available on the initial move – if the expatriate has successfully completed the assignment. Employers generally reimburse shipment of personal effects and household furnishings on the same basis as expatriation. Some employers schedule house-hunting trips if the employee is returning to a new domestic city. This provision presents management in a good light and shortens the time for temporary accommodations, thereby lowering employer costs.
However, should the expatriate be terminated or resign on assignment, different practices are likely. Consider:
- If terminated for cause or misconduct, 27 percent pay no expenses, 53 percent reimburse travel back home, and 46 percent pay to ship household goods.
- If terminated for other reasons (e.g., downsizing), only 4 percent pay no expenses, 85 percent reimburse travel back home, and 81 percent ship household goods.
- If they resign voluntarily, 41 percent pay no expenses, 37 percent reimburse travel back home, and 32 percent ship household goods.
What Is the Bottom Line?
There are no guarantees. While many employers make a good faith effort to find a comparable job to match the expatriate's expertise (and benefit the company), this scenario does not always occur. Compromise and flexibility on both sides will help to smooth the transition for the expatriate and family.
Virginia G. McMorrow, manager of client publications for ORC Worldwide's international compensation practice, is based in New York.
Reprinted from Relocation Today, vol. 8, no. 1, with permission from BR Anchor Publishing. Contact Beverly D. roman, publisher, at broman@branchor.com or 910-256-9598. See her books at www.branchor.com.