Assignments into New &

Challenging Locations

Understanding the issues

Providing support

Alternative options

Proper career planning

Agenda Topics

Understanding the Issues

Your phone rings….

We are sending someone to Myanmar to start up operations there. The assignee has already agreed to take the assignment. It’s a new location for us. Make it happen!

Aaaaaah!

Do you have?.....

Internal Security

Department

New country setup

protocol or a cross

functional team

Vendors who can help with immigration,

tax, etc.

Further considerations…

Mobility Policy: Many “expat goodies” and soft services were eliminated during the recession and policies

were adopted that were not well suited to

challenging locations. Does your policy have

Hardship? R&R? Cultural Training? DSP?

Duty of Care: Evacuation and

contingency plans are critical.

Reputational and employee risk if not properly planned.

Mobility Framework: Recruitment and

retention issues will occur if your mobility

framework is not adapted to meet the needs of challenging locations.

Flexibility is important.

Lack of International SchoolsSecurity Concerns

Inadequate Medical Care

Substandard Housing Frequently changing immigration or tax laws

Limited Goods and ServicesSmall or no Expatriate Community

Remoteness

Boredom

Political Instability

What makes a location challenging?

Addressing Challenges

Assignee

Family

Business

Company

• Perception of risk for taking assignment to a less “visible” location• Recognition for taking an assignment to a difficult location

• Knowing when to allow or not to allow for accompanied status• Providing support to accompanied or unaccompanied families

• Need to attract talent to the host location• Balancing operational requirements with frequent leaves• Developing markets may not have funds to support assignment

• Coordinating with security department• Need to focus on duty of care• Retaining employee in talent pipeline

Classifying Challenging Locations

International School

A B C

Diverse and large expatriate community

Only one or limited international option

Security department recommends driver or

other precautions

Local routine care is adequate; major care not

available

Limited international quality housing available

Some international brands unavailable

Moderate size expatriate community; may be of

limited diversity

No accredited schools

Security department recommends major precautions; guards

Limited clinic services

Only substandard or temp. accommodation

available

Basic goods only

Very limited expatriate community

Security

Medical Care

Housing

Shopping

Expatriate Community

Variety of accredited international schools

Security risk low;no additional company

support required

Top quality medical care; all urgent needs met

Wide range of international quality

housing available

All goods and services available

Alternative Approaches

ABC

A, B, and C Locations

Standard Long Term Assignment Benefits

Standard Long Term Assignment Benefits - PLUS -

Additional Provisions to meet Host Location Needs

Alternate Mobility Approach

Tailoring the mobility package to host location conditions adds to the safety and success of an assignment. Flexibility is important!

PRE-ASSIGNMENT VISIT Allow the assignee to visit the location before moving; help set the right expectations

SETTLING IN SERVICES Ensure the assignee and family have adequate support from DSP; extra days may be needed

MEDICAL Assignee and family should have a medical check prior to travel Evacuation insurance should be in place

INVOLVE SECURITY Corporate security department should review host location and approve residential areas Evaluation of need to provide car and driver, guard, or other security measures

EMERGENCY PLAN Ensure you have an evacuation plan in place and assignee knows what to do in case of emergency and what is covered for

self service

HARDSHIP Hardship should be offered and tailored to host location Ensure your scale is high enough: 40% is becoming a more common max among non-Oil companies; among Oils, up to 80%

REST & RELAXATION LEAVE An R&R benefit should be part of the Standard LTA offerings for challenging locations Up to two trips per year to a nearby location

Resident Assignment in a “B” Location

Alternative Approaches for “C” locations

Unaccompanied:• Employee resides in host location, family stays behind at home• Additional home leaves provided

Commuter:• Employee travels to host location and returns home weekly or monthly

Accompanied, Proxy:• Worksite and assignment location are different, but both in an international

location• Family lives in assignment location and employee travels to worksite during week

Rotator:• Assignee alternates between a scheduled amount of time working when in the

host location and not working when at the home location

Choosing the Right Assignment Package

Are host location conditions adequate to support a fully resident long term assignment?

YES NO

Is there adequate schooling?

YES NO

Standard LTA

Unaccompanied Assignment

Do operational requirements require full time staffing of

position?

YES NO

1 month on1 month off

Rotation

6 weeks on 2 weeks off

Rotation

Is there schooling in a nearby city?

YESNO

Proxy Assignment

Joe Accountant

Needed in Lagos for 2 year assignment Spouse is a high income earner in UK Has a special needs child and

proper education not available in Lagos

Case I: Assignment from UK to Lagos

Unaccompanied assignment:• 4-6 Home Leaves a year to visit with family• No R&R• Standard Lagos hardship payment• Host Location allowances based on single

status• No housing deduction (Norm)

Julie Plant Manager Needed in Samara for a 5 year assignment Has two children No international school in Samara, but Samara

is 2 hour flight from Moscow

Case II: Assignment from Australia to Samara, Russia

Proxy assignment:• Family on assignment in Moscow• Assignee commutes to Samara on Monday, returns

on Friday• Hardship premium based on Samara• COLA and host housing based on Moscow• Assignee’s lodging and transportation covered in

Samara

Samara

Moscow

Sam Engineer Needed in UAE to complete 12 month

construction project Construction site in remote field location Camp environment; no local housing,

shopping, recreation

Case III: Assignment from US to a Remote Construction Site in UAE

Rotator Assignment:

• Employee works 6 weeks on, and is home 2 weeks not working

• Hardship premium for days spent in UAE only• No cost of living support as daily needs provided

in camp

Alternative Approach Watch-outs

Unaccompanied:• COST: If the assignee has a large family, unaccompanied status may be less expensive

because education costs would not be paid and the housing budget would be less. But if the assignee has a small family, the cost of extra home leaves and potential additional taxes may cause an unaccompanied assignment to be more expensive than an accompanied one

• FAMILY: Separation from family for extended periods may put strain on the assignee and family

• POLICY: If rationale for unaccompanied status not clearly stated, policy may be abused

Accompanied, Proxy:• TAXES: The worksite and the resident location should, preferably, be within the same country.

If in two separate countries additional and complicated tax liabilities may arise.

Rotator:• POLICY: A separate policy is needed to govern this assignment type• TAX: Employee may not be able to break home residency; additional tax costs may accrue

Proper Career Planning

The biggest complaints from assignees in challenging locations are:

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

When I returned from assignment, the valuable skills I learned working in a

difficult location were not used or valued.

I am worried about finding my next job in the company; it is

hard to network while I am here.

This assignment location is not a key center for the company; I feel like I am

missing out on opportunities.

Proper career planning is critical for assignments to new or challenging locationsand can serve as more of an incentive than Hardship or other cash allowances

I found it challenging to settle into the assignment because I did not receive

adequate company support.

Talent Management

Following the assignment lifecycle, there are three phases of talent management:

Pre-assignment Candidate

assessment & selection

On-assignment Mentoring, monitoring assignee

engagement, career planning

Post-assignment Job placement, utilizing skills,

tracking attrition

• Targeting employees with “Global Mindset” and ability to adapt

culturally

• Setting assignment goals to drive success

• Identifying potential roles for the next job within the company

• Rewarding assignment with future career growth

• International assignment as part of a well developed career plan

• Assignee mentoring

Career Planning