Looking into the Overall Package (A.K.A Localisation)

When sending expatriates overseas, companies usually offer them an Expat Pack, which defines all the benefits they will receive while on their overseas assignment, as well as some details about the scope of their work. Some of the things that may be covered are housing, transport, food, education, days of annual leave, sick leave concessions, public holidays, bonuses, working hours and other related things like that.

Sometimes, having no yardstick to go by, some managers base their expat packs on what the home country grants their executives. As such, it may result in an imbalance of benefits between the expat and the locals, especially when sending an expat to a country with a lower standard of living. This may create a bubble around the expat, starkly setting him apart from the other employees, in effect alienating him from building a rapport with the team that will be supporting him in his assignment.

The opposite is also true. When a company sends an expat to a country with a higher standard of living based on a local package, other problems may arise that often harm rather than help the expat and the local team collectively.

There is no doubt about it. The HR team needs to look closely at the situation of the country that the expat is being sent to in order to best adjust the expat package for the outgoing professional. That is one aspect that localisation covers. Remember to localise, not for the home country, but for the target country, bearing in mind the needs and dues of the expatriate.

The other aspect of localising involves offering the expat a package based entirely on the local context. That means things like housing, travel, and food will be handled entirely by the expat as if he were a local. Needless to say, the remuneration for his work will have to be higher if this is the case, but some expats enjoy the freedom of not having to keep receipts for everything they do, and will relish taking up a package like this - if the price is right, of course. To that end, the HR department needs to find the best way to balance cost control and the expat's welfare.

Also, localising the expat will involve getting him to acclimatise to the local work culture. If he was used to starting work at, say, 9am when at the home company, but local culture dictates a starting time of 8am, then he may have to adjust accordingly, instead of insisting "that's how it works at home", as it will draw him no closer to his local support team. Instead, he may find himself making a few enemies! Going along with the local culture will increase productivity for sure (if one dives in with the right attitude), and this figures in the overall picture of international mobility cost control.

One thing to note is that it may be wise not to start an expat - especially a green expat - off with a localised package right away. Communicate the company's line clearly to the expat, ensure that he agrees and ensure that there is something black and white to document that agreement. Then slowly ease the expat into his local role. Always be communicative with the expat, because if you end up shocking him, you'll probably end up shocking your bottom line in the country where he is in as well.