Feature | Changing Demographics
The new expat When most people think of the average expat, they still see a Western man living abroad in a big house with his family. These days, that image no longer applies. Expats have become a decidedly diverse group; a fact that also has implications when it comes to partner support. teXt Henk Dam
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hen British writer W. Somerset Maugham described expats at a dinner party in China over a century ago, he wrote: “China bored them all, they did not want to speak of that; they only knew just so much about it as was necessary to their business, and they looked with distrust upon any man who studied the Chinese language.” His short story collection entitled On a Chinese Screen perfectly captures the lives of those living abroad at the time: the boredom, the annoyances, the greed, the disdain towards the Chinese, and the absolute refusal by many to try to understand any part of Chinese society.
A changing global world A lot has changed since then. Now, Chinese company Lenovo, the largest PC manufacturer in the world with offices in 160 countries, expatriates its international employee base to countries around the world. Members from seven nationalities serve on the company’s executive board, and the official company language is English, even
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in China itself. Globalisation has turned the world on its head. Ways of conducting business have become increasingly more complex, with more and more countries adopting both an import and export economy within the global marketplace; borders have become progressively less of an issue for talented employees as they emerge as global citizens. This means that the way multinational organisations are thinking about expatriation has changed, and will continue to change.
Borders have become less of an issue for talented employees as they emerge as global citizens The average employee being posted abroad today is clearly a different person from the typical expat of around 30 years ago.
Feature | Changing Demographics Average expat profile For years, the average expat has been: • Male • Aged between 35 and 50 • From a Western country • Posted abroad for a period of three to five years • Together with his wife and children
While a percentage of international assignees still conforms to this picture, it is an image which is becoming more vague. Today’s multinationals are clearly predicting that the demographic make-up of expats is set to change even further in favour of greater diversity in their expat employee populations.
Gender diversity So, what’s changing? First of all, the fact that the average expat is male. Thirty years ago, being an expatriate meant being part of an almost exclusive all-boys club. In the late 1980s, only about 5 percent of expats were women. By 1993, the authoritative Brookfield Global Relocation Trends Survey Report noted an increase to 10 percent. That figure has risen exponentially over the last few years. By 2010, 18 percent of expats were women, in 2011 it was
20 percent and in 2012, the last year reported by the survey, that figure was 23 percent. You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that that number is only set to rise. This increase in the number of female expatriates isn’t just related to progress in women’s rights; it also has to do with the fact that girls receive better grades than boys.
The number of female expats is only set to rise To give just one example, in the US there are now over 140 female graduates each year compared to 100 male graduates. These kinds of statistics should eventually translate into more women in top positions – including placements abroad.
Average age is dropping The second change in the demographic make-up of the average expat is age: the 35-50 age group. This is a point on which the findings of ECA International, a consulting and advisory firm specialising in international assignments, are particularly revealing. Their 2012 Managing Mobility Survey reveals that, from 2002 to 2012, the percentage of expatriated employees aged between 36 and 50 dropped from 70 to 50 percent. Meanwhile, over the same ten-year period, the proportion of expats aged 25-35 increased from
Expat, single and working mother Berit Jeanette Haven Andersen (38), from Denmark, works as Business Development Manager for Arla Foods in Mexico City. As a single mother, she combines working with looking after her 4-year-old son.
“I
was living in Denmark with my husband, when I made the decision to move abroad. It was triggered by the loss of my mother who had always wanted to live in Italy, but never
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6 to 21 percent, and the proportion of those over 50 from 24 to 29 percent.
Companies find they have to grow their talent pipeline The fact that companies conventionally recruited global assignees from among the 35-50 age group is understandable; it’s an age group with a peak combination of motivation and experience. But the same group – today’s Generation X – is now also facing factors that complicate an international posting: school-aged children, dual careers, property that might not be easy to unload. Talent-grooming is also changing, according to David Remedios, Head of Consultancy at ECA: “In the 1980s and 1990s, the top tier were sent abroad, the best people a company had; now companies find they have to grow their talent pipeline. You try to get high potentials into the organisation, and give them international experience.”
Cultural diversity The given that the average expat is almost always from a Western country is also
got around to doing it. I wanted to fulfil my dream of living in Latin America, and so we moved. It was just the two of us, and I was the breadwinner, so the stress of fitting children into that lifestyle equation at that time did not appeal to me.
Some special provisions I bought a farm in the Dominican Republic for my husband, who was originally from Honduras, and we went to live there in 2007. I found a job with Arla Foods, and in 2009 my son was born. I worked in Santa Domingo, while my husband remained at home on the farm. In 2011, we divorced. My husband moved back to Honduras, and I stayed in the Dominican Republic, together with our son. When Arla Foods offered me a job in Mexico City with a lot more opportunities, my situation as a single mum never came into question. Arla Foods has an international outlook and understood my special circumstances. For instance, it is impossible to travel in my job without employing a nanny, a mature woman who I can trust to look after my son while I am away. Security is an issue too, here in Mexico City. As a single woman, I am perhaps more vulnerable, so I need to live in a place where I feel safe.
Difficult to be part of expat community We worked out a package that allows me to combine my job with my role as a mother, because as a mother you think of your
child first, of course. So professionally speaking, being a single mum is no problem. However, my role in the expat world is a bit different. I have found it difficult to fit in to that community. I think it has to do with the fact that most employees sent abroad are men. Their wives do things together, usually during the day. They organise play groups, or play tennis for example but, of course, that’s when I am at work.
‘I don’t think I will have a lot of expat friends here. It’ll probably be easier to find local friends’ In the Dominican Republic, there was a (male) expat networking group, but I was not welcome, because the men did not want to have women included. I expect it’s a bit better in Mexico City, but still I don’t think I will have a lot of expat friends here. It’ll probably be easier to find local friends. I’m sure I will be fine, and I’m glad I seized this opportunity. It reminds me of one of my favourite sayings: ‘I’d rather be sorry for what I did, than for what I didn’t do’.”
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changing rapidly. According to the 2013 Brookfield GRS report Meeting the Challenges of Assignments from Developing Locations, an increasing number of employees are being expatriated from mainly India, South America and China to mostly the US and, to a lesser extent, Western Europe. It’s a trend that’s opening up a whole new set of issues. According to David Remedios: “People from these countries – certainly at junior to middle management level – tend to have comparatively low incomes. Because their salaries can be so low the top ups traditionally associated with an expatriate package, such as cost of living or hardship allowances, granted as a percentage of that low income, still won’t ensure spending equity with local peers. Companies may then look to blend the more common home-based expatriate pay approach with the local-rate method to boost the overall salary. Also, with a number of countries now setting minimum wage thresholds for skilled foreign labour, companies need to factor this in when devising expatriate pay packages so that immigration requirements can be met.”
What do you do with a potential expat with more than one wife? But, when expatriating executives from emerging economies, the reverse also happens. Sometimes, well-paid executives from these countries come to the West and quickly realise that – unlike at home – their salaries no longer enable them to employ an army of staff, such as drivers, nannies, cooks and cleaners. For these execs, a global assignment means taking a step back in terms of their standard of living. The Brookfield report also provides examples of familyrelated issues and cultural barriers. For example, what do you do with a potential expat with more than one wife? Or who has to care for extended family members, those besides their spouse and children? Or who is being posted to the US, but in whose home country it’s illegal for his wife to drive a car?
‘Expat light’ or ‘expat localised’ In the past, global assignments were almost always long term, lasting from three to five years. But that’s changing
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Younger assignees: easier and cheaper to post Another current trend is the tendency for today’s companies to expatriate more young people. These employees often don’t have a spouse, children, or other assignment challenges, such as property. They also cost less. As David Remedios from ECA International explains: “The level of support given to senior assignees is not necessarily the same as the support given to younger assignees. You don’t have to use money as a ‘carrot’; younger people see it as an opportunity to go and work in another country. Companies also offer younger people a different culture, a different business environment, and are setting up international mobility as part of their global talent development. For example: if you want to progress in the company, you need to have international experience in at least three international organisations.” On the other hand, companies are also considering more older workers, those over 50, for global assignments. According to Remedios: “One thing that is difficult for companies when they move assignees is everything having to do with the family. That makes senior people who no longer have issues with school-aged children interesting, especially for exotic locations. So rather than moving a whole family, you may be needing your senior people whose children are already in university, or married and working.”
Changing Demographics | Feature too. Figures from ECA’s 2012 Managing Mobility Survey show a decrease in long-term assignments from 72 percent in 2009 to 66 percent in 2012. That number is expected to drop further to 58 percent by 2016. Likewise, the number of short-term assignments lasting up to a year is set to rise. In 2009, that number was 20 percent, rising to 23 percent in 2012 and is expected to increase to 27 percent by 2016. For commuter assignments, where employees work abroad only on weekdays, the figures
reported are 8, 11 and 15 percent respectively. In addition, localisation, where employees are sent abroad for an indefinite period, is becoming an increasingly popular form. Localised employees are paid according to local standards and receive hardly any perks, or none at all. The latest Brookfield Global Relocation Trends Survey Report reveals that at least 41 percent of multinationals are at the very least considering implementing localisation; far more than any other form of employment contract
You have to remain flexible American Patti Tito turned 49 the day after she moved to Kinshasa (DRC Congo) with her husband Jeffrey (50), who works for Heineken/Bralima. It makes her a bit older than the average expat partner. She says: “If I were younger, it would drive me crazy, not working.”
“O
ur first posting was in 2011, when we moved to the Netherlands from the States. At that time, my husband’s job involved a lot of travelling. Frankly, I was a bit lonely, so I was glad when he was offered a job in Kinshasa, where he didn’t have to travel as much. We moved in December 2013, and our 16-year-old son joined us soon after; our three older children stayed in the US. Yes, compared to other expat partners I am a bit outside of the group. Most of the other expat partners are younger and have small children. They are all very friendly and they share common interests, but their priorities are different from mine.
Fine at the moment Outside of the Bralima expat group, I have made several good friends that I enjoy being with. I have also joined the International Women’s Club and have started going to a gym.
‘As I’ve grown older, I need less confirmation from others’ For me, that’s enough right now. When I was younger, I constantly needed to have people around me, but as I’ve grown older I have found that I don’t need to have as much confirmation from others.
When we lived in the Netherlands, I worked in the IT sector. At the moment, I am fine not working. We are still waiting for the shipping container with our things. Once that arrives and I get settled, I may start looking for work. The fact that I am relaxed about not working at the moment also has to do with being a bit older, I suppose. But I feel that I have accomplished what I want to do in my career already.
Experience is invaluable I strongly disagree with the idea that older people are not as flexible as younger people. I have adapted to new situations effortlessly, as I have seen my husband adapt to new realities. With today’s job market you have to remain flexible. And, in his field, the experience that he brings with him is invaluable. The only downside I can think of in being a bit older is that it’s harder to learn a new language. Here, you have to speak French, and as I have never had to learn another language before it’s quite a task! In my experience, I would say that when you have reached a certain age – when your children are in college for instance – then that is a perfect moment to think about changing your environment. If I were to give a tip to expat partners in the same situation, I would say: “Look at change as an adventure, as a challenge, as fun. And always, always look for the bright spots.”
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Feature | Changing Demographics
And mother came too How do you deal with changing expat profiles? Pose that question to Marcel Lorent, now retired Senior HR Manager for Belgian multinational Solvay, and he’ll tell you to be flexible and to put people first.
“I
n my 41 years at Solvay, I was mainly employed in general management positions, but for the last three years I worked in HR in Brussels, dealing with our expats. I must say that HR was not really my forte. I looked at international assignments more from a business perspective, but I did at least try to understand where our expats were coming from. I thought the financial terms at a large company like Solvay were good. The main concern was how you applied the package in individual cases. For that you had to look at the people involved: at the employees you wanted to send abroad, their partners, children, sometimes even their pets. It’s often the little details that determine whether a posting succeeds; things that aren’t important from a business standpoint, but nevertheless mean a lot to that person. To prepare myself for the job, I travelled around the world, visiting all of Solvay’s expat destinations. I talked to the partners of our expats, I viewed schools and hospitals, I wanted to get a better understanding of how we should invest our money.
Smart funds I felt that we had to deal flexibly with our budgets and be smart about how we allocated funds. For example, we once had a really good 35-year-old Spanish employee whom we wanted to post to France. But it didn’t go smoothly. He just kept holding back. I finally sat down with him and asked him what the problem was. He said he wasn’t married.
‘Then I said, “You know what? As far as we’re concerned, you’re now married to your mother’” I asked him if he was gay, saying that he could move with his partner. But that wasn’t it either. He lived with his mother and if he moved abroad, they’d both be unhappy. Then I said, ‘You know what? As far as we’re concerned, you’re now married to your mother. We’ll arrange two-person accommodation and all
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the usual facilities that couples get.’ And so that’s what we did, and it worked out well.
Creative and flexible Another time, we had an employee we wanted to post to Thailand. He was married and had a daughter who was in the last years of secondary school, but his wife was concerned about her finishing her schooling.
‘What we saved on housing, we put towards his monthly trips back home’ We worked out an arrangement together, in which he moved to Thailand while his family stayed behind in Belgium. Over a period of two years, he could return home each month for three or four days, and his wife and daughter could spend the summer holidays with him in Thailand. They did that until his daughter started at university. Then his wife moved to Thailand. What made it possible over the two years was that we didn’t have to house him in a family home; he could live in an apartment. That was cheaper, and what we saved on housing, we put towards his monthly trips back home. That’s what I mean by being creative and flexible. It’s how you make sure a non-standard expatriation succeeds.”
for expats. The benefit to companies is clear: just like commuter and short-term assignments, localisation is a more cost-effective solution than the classic placement of a family for a longer period of time. At the same time, localisation is a form that demands more of not just the employee, but also of their partner. For instance, if the employee is paid to local standards, that might mean the partner having to earn a second income.
Fewer expat families Finally, the profile of the expat as someone who moves abroad with their spouse and children is also changing in several respects. The number of couples going abroad unaccompanied by children has increased, with the percentage of couples moving abroad with children dropping from the long-term average of 55 percent to 43 percent, and the sharpest decline in that number taking place over the last six years. Moreover, 20 percent of married expatriates are currently moving abroad without their partners. In particular, the percentage of solo married expatriates relocating abroad has risen sharply over the last few years according to Brookfield. That transfers into a large jump in the number of split families.
expat, companies will no longer be able to send employees abroad with an equally ‘standard’ mobility package. Customised employment packages are needed now more than ever. That doesn’t just apply to employees, but to their partners as well.
Partner support has become a job for specialists After all, a different type of expat automatically means a different type of expat partner. With a one-size-fits-all policy having become inadequate, partner support has become a job for specialists.
It’s become easier for same sex couples to relocate abroad While not reflected in the official figures, another trend is the increase in the number of gay couples being sent abroad. This is mainly due to the increased acceptance of homosexuality, especially among large groups of people in North America, the EU and South America. In addition, with an increasing number of countries having legalised gay marriage, it’s become even easier for same sex couples to relocate abroad without having to come up with stories about their ‘live-in family friend’ who’s doing a degree abroad. Of course, not all destinations are created equally. Particularly in the Muslim world and in large parts of Africa, homosexuality is still illegal, with some countries applying harsh punishments. For example, the President of Uganda recently signed a law making it illegal to even talk about homosexuality.
A job for specialists So what does the increase in demographic diversity among expats and their partners mean for organisations? For one thing, posting employees abroad is about to become a lot more complicated. With no ‘standard’
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Feature | Changing Demographics In today’s rapidly changing expat world, needs assessments and on-going partner support can no longer be seen as a luxury, but as a necessary precondition for an assignment to succeed.
One adage remains the same: a thriving partner means a thriving expat Because despite all the changes, one adage remains the same: a thriving partner means a thriving expat – and a successful assignment.
READ MORE For more articles and information on the changes affecting expat demographics, including an extensive interview with ECA’s head of consultancy David Remedios, go to ‘Magazine Online’ at www.global-connection.info
adidas Group emphasises diversity Diversity is essential for the adidas Group, a multinational company with headquarters in Germany. It’s seen as a prerequisite for success within the organisation and is one of the company’s core values. As a result, the company employs people from a variety of national and cultural backgrounds. Consequently, its 1,345 expats are a diverse group of people. As the Group’s head of mobility, David Enser explains: “Our mobility program strives to reward merit with opportunities for international development. Age, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation or gender should never pose limitations.”
East-West mobility “The most significant change seen over the last years has been in the increased number of nationalities among international assignees. Our expats now come from nearly 70 countries,” says Enser. He clarifies by adding: “Of our total expat population, 7.9 percent comes from Asian countries. That’s very important to us because we’re striving for more East-West mobility. Our Asian outbounds come from countries like China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Tajikistan and Vietnam.”
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Additional complexity The increased number of ethnic backgrounds has meant many changes. As Enser explains: “You have to take new country-combinations and additional cross-cultural complexity into account. Sometimes there are huge differences between the host country and the individual expat. The Asian style of leadership, for example, is very different from that in the West. Cross-cultural training is part of our relocation package. To give you an idea of what is happening at the moment; even my team is increasingly spread out all over the world. What we need is crosscultural sensitivity. And not only from management.”
More women and young people Just over a third of all expats at the adidas Group are women. That’s quite high compared with the average figure for female expatriates of 23 percent. But Enser adds: “We still have a long way to go in this area.” Another notable statistic is age: the average expat working for the adidas Group is 37. It’s an average that has dropped only slightly over the years. Enser adds: “That’s not surprising if you look at our brand. It appeals more to Generation Y than Generation X.” Around a quarter of the expatriates within the company are aged between 22 and 31, and so themselves reflect the Gen-Y target market.
Discuss dreams and ambitions The greater diversity within adidas Group’s expat population means greater diversity within its population of expat partners. According to Enser: “You can’t assume that all those partners will be happy with a life as a housewife or househusband. You have to look for ways to help the partners create fulfilling lives. That means you have to talk to them and discuss their dreams and ambitions.”