Completing Immigration formalities

Once an employee has accepted the assignment, completion of immigration formalities cannot be ignored. More often than not, these formalities are assumed to be only a completion of paperwork. However, it is critical to be aware of the immigration policies in the host country, not only from the employee’s point of view but also from the entire family’s perspective.

For instance, some countries like Singapore, do not recognize unmarried/ defacto partners. These partners are therefore not automatically eligible for dependant immigration passes. Partners receive long term visit passes, which do not permit them to work. This situation of the partner being ‘in limbo’ often causes tremendous stress even causing the couple to return back to their home country.

In order to reduce such risks companies must prepare assignees well in advance and where possible, have all relevant immigration passes and visa approved prior to leaving home.

The expatriate on assignment

The expatriate on assignment is required to deal with the culture shock in the host country, ensure that his/ her family is settling in as best as possible, many a time slot in home-viewing appointments and is also expected to hit the ground running at the new place of work. This is to say the least extremely demanding.

Companies are often not able to provide the level of support required to expatriates during this time, due to lack of adequate resources in the HR department, coupled with the fact that most of the HR staff may have little or no experience of having lived overseas.

Some functions are now being outsourced to third party Assignment Management/ Destination Service providers, whose Consultants will have a good deal of knowledge of the host country and provide information from housing to pet care and much more. Often, expatriates in an alien country only want someone they can relate to and someone who will provide unbiased information on the host location.

Repatriation

Many are of the misconception that repatriation is simpler than expatriation. However, it must be understood that repatriation is as complex as the relocation itself, if not more. In order to maintain a competitive edge, retention of employees is imperative. This also helps capture the knowledge the employee has gained, while on assignment. Companies are now adopting various strategies to build the employee’s trust and increase job security.

Providing training and mentoring to the employee as part of the repatriation process will ease the stress during this time. The topics may include adjusting to the cultural and professional changes that have taken place in the home country. It is also vital for the company to chart a career path for the employee, which will encourage the employee to pursue a career within the same organization, consequently improving organizational effectiveness and employee effectiveness and creating a win-win situation all around.

Summary

Companies now invest a great deal of time and money in sending an employee on an international assignment. Once a suitable individual has been selected, the goals of the assignment must be clearly communicated. Family is a key factor in any move and all aspects related to family must be taken care of, in order to enhance the chances of success of an international assignment.

Given the reluctance of the present day employees to take on long term overseas assignments, companies are now turning toward short term or commuter type assignments. This also provides the employee the opportunity of working overseas without losing sight of life back home.

Each relocation is different from the other and every assignment needs to be treated on a case-by-case basis. As mentioned earlier on in the article, the success of any assignment largely depends on the open-mindedness and tolerance of the assignee as also regular communication between the Company and individual.

©Griselle Cardozo