Question

Organizational best practices in preparing expatriate candidates and their families for international work assignments, including cultural, social and business aspects should be assessed. Discuss best practices in preparing for an expatriate assignment. What considerations should be made when adapting to an expatriate assignment?

Answer 1

Discuss best practices in preparing for an expatriate assignment:

• Have the right person & a compelling purpose:choose a person who is open-minded and committed enough to adapt to the local culture, thinking about the specific skills that this person will develop as a result of the assignment, and identifying how these new skills will ultimately benefit the organization.
• Assign top-notch home and host sponsors:To prevent your worker from feeling adrift, provide sponsors to oversee the assignee’s experience on both ends ,one at the home base and another at the destination. These individuals are the point people and mentors for ensuring the fit from the company perspective, the fit from the assignee’s perspective, and for comanaging the process throughout. In short, they are the people that the assignee can turn to whenever problems emerge.
• Stay in frequent contact throughout the assignment:IThe only one tip that everyone spoke with agreed on, it was the critical importance of open, frequent communication throughout the assignment. While the assignee needs to be proactive in reaching out to his or her home sponsor, the home sponsor should keep soon-to-be-returning employees top of mind, identifying how the company can leverage what they are learning and how the employee can take the next steps in their own development at the company as a result of their overseas experience. This communication should follow a highly structured process
• Make a plan for reintegration:
• Develop ways to share knowledge from the assignee's experience:for companies to get the most out of expat assignments, the organization must be proactive in helping employees catalog and disseminate what they have learned. There are a number of ways to go about this.

Major considerations for handling an expatriate assignment, which are:

1. Selecting the correct employee.
2. Understanding the international assignment.
3. Deciding which compensation approach to use.
4. Understanding the different tax laws that apply.