International HR Adviser Summer 2014

SUMMER 2014

ISSUE 58

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International HR Adviser The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide

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To find out more about us, and our world renowned programmes, please visit www.acs-schools.com. Alternatively call either ACS Cobham +44 (0)1932 869744, ACS Egham +44 (0)1784 430611, ACS Hillingdon +44 (0)1895 818402. ACS schools are non-sectarian and co-educational (day and boarding) for students 2 to 18 years of age.

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CONTENTS

In This Issue 1BHF

5IPVHIU -FBEFSTIJQ 0SHBOJTBUJPOBM 3JTL "OE $BQBCJMJUZ o )3 T #JHHFTU 6OUBQQFE 0QQPSUVOJUZ Nick Kemsley, Henley Centre for HR Excellence

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*OUFSOBUJPOBM )3 4USBUFHZ .PCJMJUZ $PTU 0QUJNJTBUJPO o Managing The Whole Mobility Investment Andrew Robb & Beth Warner, Deloitte LLP

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(MPCBM 5BYBUJPO 6QEBUF Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

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5BY "OE 4PDJBM 4FDVSJUZ $PNQMJBODF $POVOESVNT Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

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/BWJHBUJOH %BUB 1SPUFDUJPO 3FHVMBUJPOT *O 8PSLGPSDF %FWFMPQNFOU Armin Hopp, Speexx

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&NQMPZFF #FOFGJUT #FOFGJU $PNNVOJDBUJPOT "OE 5IF .PCJMF 8PSLGPSDF Stewart Allanson, Zurich Corporate Life & Pensions

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4PDJBM .FEJB )PX $BO &YQBUT 4UBZ $VSSFOU 0O "TTJHONFOU A4P.F 4PMVUJPOT 'PS #VTJOFTT Michelle Parry-Slater, Kairos Modern Learning

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Mobility Programme John Rason, Santa Fe Group Consulting Services

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5FO ,FZ 4UFQT 5P &GGFDUJWF (MPCBM 5BMFOU .BOBHFNFOU Dr Yvonne McNulty, Associate Editor of the Journal of Global Mobility & John Brice, Mobility Services International

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.JMMFOOJBMT JO .PCJMJUZ .BOBHJOH (FOFSBUJPOT 3FMPDBUJPOT Peter Sewell, Crown World Mobility

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5VSOJOH 5FDIOPMPHZ 5PXBSET 5PNPSSPX 6OEPJOH %PUDPN %BNBHF Paul Coleman, Tern Financial Group Inc

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)FBMUI 8IZ 8FMMCFJOH *T *NQPSUBOU Bupa International

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(MPCBM *NNJHSBUJPO 6QEBUF Fragomen Global, LLP

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International HR Adviser, PO Box 921, Sutton, SM1 2WB, United Kingdom 1VCMJTIFS t )FMFO &MMJPUU

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t &NBJM EBNJBO!JOUFSOBUJPOBMISBEWJTFS DPN XXX JOUFSOBUJPOBMISBEWJTFS DPN In Loving Memory of Assunta Mondello While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information contained in this issue of “International HR Adviser�, the publishers and Directors of Inkspell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

Neither the publishers of “International HR Adviser� nor any third parties who provide information for “Expatriate Adviser� magazine, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. “International HR Adviser� does not endorse any products, services or company listings featured in this issue.

Cover Design by Chris Duggan

SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Organisational Risk And Capability – HR’s Biggest Untapped Opportunity The more that I have worked with different organisations over the years, the more I have found myself pondering a dilemma – why is it that business leaders appear to be so ‘in the dark’ about organisational capability, and HR functions, frequently so disconnected from business strategy?

Surely the two things must be considered in the same breath, and at the same time, not separately and on completely different planning cycles.

The more I thought about this, and the more people I spoke to, the more I could see an obvious but gaping gap in how most businesses operated. The more I pondered this gap, the more an exciting opportunity began to emerge which had the potential to add enormous value in terms of competitive advantage, strategy delivery and organisational prioritisation and alignment. Furthermore, it seemed to hold the key to unlocking that most soughtafter enigma – how can HR articulate its value offer to business beyond that of a basic personnel function?

If you sit a hundred CEOs down and connect them to polygraphs, you may not see a discernible movement of the needle when you ask them questions like “what do you think about performance management?” and “we want you to endorse a line management capability programme”. But the use of one word is guaranteed to get that needle scratching across the graph paper every time – and that word is “risk”.

It occurred to me that, when we talk about leadership or performance or talent or skills or culture; what we’re really talking about is risk, but too indirectly. Risk that the strategy will not be delivered, risk that the business will not be profitable, risk that we will come second, risk that we will fall foul of the regulators, risk that people will not want to invest in our business or that the share price will fall. Talking overtly about “organisational risk” as a partner to “strategy” is so simple and powerful a concept, yet so rarely is it done.

There is a wonderful logic to it which goes something like this – pretty much every business has a strategy. If your competitors are operating in similar INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

markets with similar customers, then their strategy may well be similar to your own – and guess what – they hire smart people too. So who is going to win? Ultimately, winning is more about the organisation – how quickly and efficiently strategy can be executed through the people, structures, systems, processes, skills and behaviours which your organisation has or needs to get the job done. As such, business strategy and organisational capability are two complementary halves of what is needed to be successful, and need to be in continual balance, or else strategy is diluted, delayed or blocked completely.

To this end, a good awareness of the organisational capability risks associated with the business strategy surely becomes a critical element of competitive advantage, and a pre-requisite for being an effective senior leader. But how often is this the case?

Next time you have the chance to ask a question of your CEO, ask them this – “When you stand up in front of analysts, shareholders and potential investors and talk about growth plans predicated on geographical expansion and new product launches, explaining exactly why the market should have confidence in our

strategy – do you actually have confidence that it is actually likely to happen? Do you know what that strategy means for the organisation, where the risks are and know how they are being managed”?

What you will generally find I suspect is that the leaders of businesses are very well-informed as to external risks to strategy, such as competitor activity, economic factors, buying trends, pending regulation etc., but have rather nonspecific and largely uninformed views on the ability of their own organisation to deliver the strategy. They are effectively making promises based on only half the information that they need.

There is a second drawback associated with business strategy and organisational capability being considered separately, or being considered at different times, and that is that a disconnect is created in the planning cycle. A business strategy is usually accompanied by a financial forecast, but this forecast very rarely includes a solid view of the true organisational costs of delivering the strategy. For example, the launch of new products may be enormously costly in terms of external recruitment or training, or moving production from one country

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

to another could be delayed by months due to local employment legislation issues. Considered separately, there is a real danger that the financial parameters become constraints to doing what is needed to equip the organisation to deliver. Even more relevantly, there may be some elements of the strategy which (given a reasonable view of the organisational implications) may no longer stack up in terms of benefit versus cost.

Put all this together and there is a pretty water-tight case for saying that a consideration of organisational risk is a critical element of any business strategy process. It allows what are often two separate processes (a “strategy discussion” at senior levels, and an “activity prioritisation” discussion at functional level) to be joined up and to inform each other both “upwards” (a consideration of organisational capability and risk as part of strategy creation and planning) and “downwards” (an alignment and prioritisation of functional and individual activity to addressing critical risks to strategy delivery).

And here is the icing on the cake. Since HR should naturally be at the centre of the organisational capability and risk discussion, filling this gap suddenly gives context for everything from recruitment to employer brand, allowing them to be optimised and aligned to something tangible. Now, HR activity has a strategic relevance which it may have lacked before.

Now, HR people can talk with confidence about the value that they are adding – they are managing people and organisational risks to the business strategy.

Bridging this gap has to be given real focus by HR. There are some green shoots, for example, the frequency with which Strategic Workforce Planning is

being talked about these days, but even this is often with the mindset of “we need the business to be clear about what it needs first”. As such, there is a danger of this ending up more like downstream “recruitment planning” than an upfront exploration of the organisational implications of various strategic options.

A “risk” is exactly what it says on the tin – something which may happen, something which we should plan to mitigate before it happens, so that it is a risk no more.

Analysts, shareholders and investors no longer ask questions like “what is your strategy?” They ask “How are you going to deliver it?”, since market confidence depends on their view of whether your strategy is achievable. In 2010, over 60% of the market capitalisation of companies was attributed to “intangibles”. Price-Earning Ratios (PE ratios – effectively the ratio of total share value to earnings) are impacted heavily by factors such as availability of talent and succession to Board level, organisational structure and culture. A failure to meet strategic milestones or deliver against market expectations is massively damaging to a business, yet how often is organisational capability and risk discussed around the Board table?

A Board typically comprises leaders from the various business disciplines. By definition, they bring their own slice of the pie to the table, so how does the CEO gain an appreciation of organisational risk from such disparate pieces. This must surely be the remit of the HRD. As leader of a function which not only spans other functions, but which owns the conscience of most of the levers for people and organisational performance, a concise articulation of the capability needed to deliver strategy and the attendant risks must surely be top of their list of objectives.

Nobody else has the functional remit or capability to provide it in the same way – so if HR are not doing it, likelihood is that nobody is, and your business strategy is therefore at risk. In the same way that Finance are experts at the numbers, people and organisation is HR’s area of expertise.

So if HR is not connecting this expertise with the strategic imperatives in the same way that Finance is connecting its numbers with the business plan, then it should not be surprised that it continues to suffer from “Finance envy”!

So, what needs to happen? I would encourage any HRD to think about the following ten questions: 1. Are you engaging with your Board from a “Risk” perspective? Can you and your function understand and articulate the link between what happens (or should happen) in HR and the strategic value chain? If not, start thinking about how you can.

2. How early are you getting involved in the strategic debate? If you are currently a “receiver”, then there is a significant risk that there are risks to the strategy which, if they materialise, cannot be mitigated in time or within cost parameters. How do you get to play in the upstream discussion?

3. Does HR have the tools and skills to draw out, diagnose, categorise and prioritise the organisational capability needs and risks from the business strategy? How proficient are they at OD, how wide a business perspective can they bring to bear and how up-to-date is their view of external market supply capacity?

How comfortable are your key HR people in working with ambiguity, scenario planning and macro data?

Think about how you can plug skills gaps in these areas.

4. Is there anything existing in your organisation which can tangibly be described as a “Strategic Capability Plan”? Something which concisely expresses the big ticket organisational capability needs and risks, and what needs to be done, and something which is referred to regularly at Exec level to provide confidence that the strategy is on track. If not, produce it.

5. Have you aligned the HR processes, downstream suppliers, employer brand and metrics to “speak to” the key organisational capability needs SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP and risks? Is there an evident and tangible connection between the strategy, and what you are asking your operational people processes to do? Consider reviewing activity, processes and downstream supply chains against organisational capability priorities and risks to see where you are aligned and where you are not.

6. Is your CEO able to answer questions from the market about the “How” of the strategy in a way which builds confidence? Have a conversation about how you and your function can help them do this.

7. Around the Board table, are you personally seen as a vital element in turning strategy into delivery?

Start staking your claim in the organisational strategy space.

8. Think about how HR can work “horizontally” across its process verticals like Recruitment, Talent, Performance, L&D and Reward, to provide an integrated organisational capability offer to business.

9. Make friends with Finance to ensure that the costs of the organisational needs are properly reflected in the financial forecasts.

10. Is the credibility of your HR

function where you want it to be? Make sure that there is no “translation gap” between the things you think are important, and the things your internal customers think are important.

So, in summary, many HR functions are trying hard to connect what they are doing to the strategy but perhaps still falling short in doing this to the degree which allows them to be seen as a vital cog in the corporate machine. In my view, engaging with the concept of organisational risk offers a route to being able to do this more effectively, more coherently and in a way which builds credibility quicker and more easily. Once this is done, not only does this allow a much more effective connection between strategic demand and operational supply, but there is the opportunity to inform the strategy itself, and to build greater confidence in your business in the market into the bargain. It doesn’t cost lots of money to do it, but there are skills implications which should be considered and addressed if needed – but these don’t detract from the fact that moving fully into the organisational capability and risk space should be considered a massive opportunity for both HR and the wider business and a priority in terms of competitive advantage.

Nick Kemsley is a highly experienced HR practitioner, and has led organisational development, resourcing, talent and leadership, performance and L&D functions in a number of major businesses. He has an industry reputation as someone who challenges both HR and wider business to think differently and is a creator of innovative thinking in the organisational arena.

He works with Boards and HR functions on a variety of topics including organisational capability and risk, strategy, workforce planning and HR effectiveness. As Co-Director of the Henley Centre for HR Excellence he contributes to its research and member events as well as the design and delivery of custom programmes for corporate clients.

Areas of expertise: HR Capability, Organisational Development & Effectiveness, Change Management, Talent & Leadership Development, Performance Management, Assessment, L&D, Resourcing, Metrics, Workforce Planning.

Email: nick.kemsley@henley.ac.uk

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY The 2015 Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition will take place on Monday 2nd February 2015 For further information on attending or exhibiting, please email: helen@internationalhradviser.com or telephone Helen Elliott +44 (0)208 661 0186

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

Opportunity is everywhere. So are we.

UniGroup Relocation is the largest commonly branded global mobility network with nearly 1,200 locations serving more than 180 countries across 6 continents. Our broad range of pre-assignment, transportation and destination services will support your assignees along every step of the journey, from beginning to end. Built on the heritage of the U.S.’ largest and most experienced moving companies – Mayflower and United Van Lines – UniGroup Relocation provides the unique benefits of a common voice, a consistent standard of quality and unsurpassed local knowledge. Contact the regional office nearest you.

Americas: americas@unigrouprelocation.com EMEA: emea@unigrouprelocation.com Asia/Pacific: apac@unigrouprelocation.com UniGroupRelocation.com/hradvisor

AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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INTERNATIONAL HR STRATEGY

Mobility Cost Optimisation – Managing The Whole Mobility Investment “We don’t have budget for this!” is a common cry from business unit managers throughout the globe who have now started to associate the words assignment package as a synonym for exceeding budget or too expensive.

As growth in emerging markets remains and developed markets continue to expand post the global economic recession, companies are using global mobility (both in volume and various assignment types) extensively to fulfil their global supply and demand of talents. However, this significant increase in the use of mobility and hence overall increase in employment costs, has led to greater scrutiny from business units who begin to question mobility’s overall effectiveness or return on investment. In this article, we share our perspective on how companies can manage their global mobility investments to harness their full value and create a sustainable competitive advantage.

The money spent on global mobility adds up quickly, even for companies with small populations of mobile employees.

In our experience, the typical cost for multinational organisations offering market-standard international assignment packages can reach £15 to £25 million for every 100 assignees (Figure 1).

Most global mobility functions measure their success in terms of how well they manage internal administrative and operational costs and external vendor contracts; however, these components typically comprise only 5 to 10 percent of a company’s total global mobility investment. This narrow perspective has led many global mobility functions to focus too much attention on the tactical aspects of mobility – such as offering only rigidly defined packages – services that in the end may not meet the needs of the assignees and business units – and place too much emphasis on operational efficiency. We believe that companies can dramatically improve the return on their global mobility investment by refocusing their globally mobility functions on more strategic issues, such as determining the right number of globally mobile employees to support the business, the right level of investment in global talent deployments,

Oh, you mean cost cutting! Not necessarily.

Cost optimisation efforts for mobility must not simply be about cutting costs, but focus on how to make current spend work better - delivering the best possible service to both the assignee and the business, at a reasonable cost. With more efficient uses of the resources available or, even better, ensuring the right resources are in place, opportunities to enable a more effective mobility service will be created.

With efficiency gains and cost reductions realised over time, mobility practitioners should, after all this, be able to focus their capacity on where this is arguably needed

Figure 1: International Assignment Programme & Economics – Standard Benchmarks Typical investment by standard-policy multinationals: £15M- £25M per 100 assignees Typical programme cost breakdown:

40-45% Base, Bonus, LTI 40-45% Home & Host Tax 10-20% Expatriate Allowances 5-10% Service Delivery

Typical Global Mobility Mandate: Be an efficient transactional cost center Manage the 5-10% administrative cost component within budget Deliver a set package of services to the assignees and business units

Frequently Un(der)-Managed Portfolio Be a true business partner Responsibility for 100% of the investment Determine the “right” number of mobile employees to support business success Determine the “right” level of investment in global talent development/ deployment

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Copyright © 2014 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

Figure 2: Global Mobility Cost Optimisation Levers Business Strategy Alignment

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Integrated Global Mobility

Cost Optimisation

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4 Talent Strategy Alignment

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

What is Cost Optimisation?

and managing tax and social security costs and benefits. These are the kinds of issues that have a real impact on the bottom line.

Now more than ever, cost optimisation within the mobility function is an exercise that needs consideration. This increased cost scrutiny is no different to any other function of an organisation. In a recent Deloitte study, more than three quarters of FTSE 100 companies are undergoing cost reduction programmes and are closely reviewing every area of operations, however, mobility with a higher than average cost per assignee compared to an employee, is being targeted to contribute its proportional share to such initiatives.

Match the right employees to the right assignment type and length Match the right assignment types to the right programme elements Manage the programme elements with the right operations Deliver tax effective pay & leverage offshore/GEC benefits

Copyright © 2014 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

INTERNATIONAL HR STRATEGY the most – helping to achieve the overall strategic objectives of the business.

Within a typical mobility programme, regardless of size, standard cost levers exist which organisations can apply in order to achieve their cost optimisation ambitions.

The Costs of Mobility and the Potential to Cost Optimise When determining the area of focus for cost optimisation, the organisation should consider both the area of the highest cost, but more importantly, those with the greatest potential for savings (Figure 3).

1) Match the right employees to the right assignment type and length Due to the level of spend in this area and much of this being at the company’s

discretion, these costs tend to lend itself to a high potential for savings. Generally, the most effective solution is to revisit/ create an appropriate policy suite. Most organisations will have a long-term and short-term assignment policy, however, these alone are unlikely to maximise the savings available. Organisations are now starting to expand their policy suite to support various deployment types. As a result, Global employee rewards should align with the value of each assignment, meet the needs of assignees, and help break down barriers to global mobility with programmes that reflect the value of the many different possible types of assignments. Also, they should focus on career development and personal growth, not just compensation and benefits for the duration of the assignment.

Figure 3: The Business Case for Cost Optimisation Our experience has illustrated that by taking a multi-disciplinary view to global mobility programmes, companies have been able to reduce costs significantly and target mobility investments to where the value really lies.

Cost Lever

Mobility Segmentation

Savings Opportunity (% of total programme costs*)

Lever Example

1 5% - 15%

Savings Realisation Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

5%

10%

15%

5%

7%

10%

3%

5%

8%

Assignment type/length Assignment type/programme elements

2 Service Delivery

Components

Exception management Vendor rationalisation

5% - 10%

HR portal & self service 3

Enhanced SLA’s/KPI’s and governance Redefined scope, policies, procedures , responsibilities, Process, reporting & analytics Enhanced technology support

Tax Optimisation

3% - 8%

GEC – Offshore benefits

Total Savings

13%- 33%

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Tax Planning and Effective Pay Delivery

* Total cost includes operational costs, compensation and assignment related compensation, employee support and associated tax costs.

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Suggested Activities Develop Mobility “Cornerstones”: UÊ Ê iv iÊ L ÌÞÊ }Õ ` }Ê «À V « iÃÊ to align mobility programmes and decision-making with strategic business and talent priorities for mobility UÊ Ê Ài>ÌiÊÛ> Õi L>Ãi`Ê L iÊÜ À v ÀViÊ segmentation UÊ Ê iÛi « i ÌÊ vÊ>Ê« VÞÊvÀ> iÜ À Ê including baseline policy archetypes (e.g. home based, equalised) with defined policy fundamentals UÊ Ê iÛi «Ê L ÌÞÊ `iV Ã > }Ê framework and model business impacts from cost and talent perspective UÊ Ê `i Ì vÞÊ L ÌÞÊ ÌiÀÛi Ì ÃÊ within defined career paths or critical workforce segments.

2) Match the right assignment types to the right programme elements Allowances and benefits, not surprisingly, represent the largest proportion of mobility spend per assignee. These costs can vary significantly by industry and policy type, however, their importance is consistent given that the level of such allowances will have a direct impact on whether the assignment even begins. Only a few years ago, assignment allowances were determined based on the individual and at the discretion of the budget manager – leading to the level of allowances being inconsistent and adhoc. However, organisations are now looking for smarter ways to reward their assignees, which is becoming very much dependent on the reason for the assignment and, therefore, the policy type applicable.

Copyright © 2014 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.

Financial Services example:

Suggested Activities

A business value-based global mobility framework can significantly improve talent development and the bottom line. For example, a well-known financial services company developed a structured decision-making process to help the business systematically assess the fit between open positions and global mobility candidates.

Construct Policy Components/ Blueprint: UÊ Ê iÌiÀ iÊV «i Ã>Ì Ê> `ÊLi iv ÌÃÊ for each policy type, including defining potential flexible elements core benefits and those provided under higher or lower touch polices or associated with certain job profiles/ cadres UÊ Ê `ÕVÌÊ «iiÀÊ }À Õ«Ê Li V >À }Ê and socialise and obtain approvals UÊ Ê,iÛ iÜÊ ÀiV i `>Ì ÃÊ Ü Ì Ê iÞÊ stakeholders (e.g. legal, tax, talent, payroll, technology) UÊ Ê `ÕVÌÊÃ `iÊLÞÊÃ `iÊV «>À Ã Ê vÊ total current vs. future policy costs

This enabled business leaders to make value-driven decisions about which candidates and assignment types best met the company’s business and talent development objectives. A year after the company adopted the new process, the proportion of international assignees that fit its target talent profile for assignments had increased significantly, and the total cost of its global mobility programme had decreased by 15 percent as assignments involving people outside the target profile were not renewed.

Even more important, executives now feel confident they can develop the future leaders the company needs – people with the right skills and perspectives to create innovative opportunities and drive growth in new businesses and geographies.

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INTERNATIONAL HR STRATEGY (straw man comparison) UÊ Ê } Ê iÛi Ê « i i Ì>Ì Ê «>VÌÊ and risk analysis on culture, process, technology, vendors, tax, social security and resources.

3) Manage the programme elements with the right operations We believe that an effective global mobility programme should be able to support the business and assignees with high-quality service that is costeffective, consistent, and easy to use, manage, and administer. The purpose of global mobility operations is both to help businesses make smart assignment decisions, and to help assignees with their moves. In addition, companies should strive to offer both mobile and non-mobile employees (and their managers) a service experience that is as consistent as possible. Organisations can take significant steps toward achieving this consistency by integrating certain aspects of global mobility service delivery Ì Ê Ì iÊ V «> Þ½ÃÊ ,Ê «iÀ>Ì ÃÊ> `Ê infrastructure.

Suggested Activities Current State Assessment and Future Model Design: UÊ Ê,iÛ iÜÊÌ iÊÀ iÊ vÊ} L> Ê L ÌÞÊ> `Ê the scope of work to be performed in house, outsourced or moved to a specific department UÊ Ê,iÛ iÜÊ À iÃÊ > `Ê Àië à L Ì iÃÊ required for key mobility stakeholders and process partners UÊ Ê `ÕVÌÊ`iÌ> i`Ê«À ViÃÃÊ`ii«Ê` ÛiÊ review sessions with global mobility team and functional stakeholders (e.g. payroll, finance) UÊ Ê > ÞÃiÊÌ iÊÕÃiÊ vÊÊÌ ÃÉÌi « >ÌiÃÉ technology UÊ Ê > VÕ >ÌiÊiÃÌ >Ìi`ÊL>Ãi iÊV ÃÌÃÊ vÊ current service delivery model UÊ Ê `ÕVÌÊ V «>À>Ì ÀÊ À}> Ã>Ì ÊÊ model benchmarking UÊ Ê ià } Ê Ã ÕÀViÉ ÕÌà ÕÀViÊ Ûi ` ÀÊ model and ways of working UÊ Ê ià } Êv ÀÊvÕÌÕÀi ÃÌ>ÌiÊ À}> Ã>Ì Ê (roles, scope, FTE’s, governance) UÊ Ê ià } ÊvÕÌÕÀiÊ LÊ> `Ã]Ê«À ViÃÃiÃÊEÊ technology.

4) Tax Planning , Effective Pay Delivery and offshore benefits With an upsurge in scrutiny from tax offices, the ability for an organisation to lower their overall mobility tax spend is INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

even more challenging. An innovative cost optimisation approach would be to look at the organisation’s major home and host country combinations and design compensation elements that are both delivered and structured in light of the tax legislation in the home and host countries.

For example, the host country may not tax accommodation allowances if delivered or paid in a specific manner. As such, an organisation should consider the main home and host country combinations both in present and predicted future context and invest in understanding the tax legislation and specific tax efficient approaches available to ensure these are built into both the policy suite and overall assignment making decision process.

As with expatriate tax costs, in the majority of cases, social security is a mandatory cost for employees and employers, which is normally payable in at least one location for each assignee.

Historically, though, organisations have tended to focus more on tax costs rather than social security costs, despite social security being a higher cost than tax in some locations. As with tax, it would be recommended that a review of the most common home/host location combinations takes place. This would be to ensure that opportunities for cost savings are maximised and may look at potentially different employment models, such as the use of a global employment company which can align certain deployment types with an optimised overall social security position for both the employee and employer.

Leading organisations are also taking this concept further by combining the dual objectives of offshoring mobility transactional operational tasks with the establishment of global employment companies which must fulfil criteria of substantial operating presence and activities in today’s tax environment to be effective. This has the advantage of achieving cost optimisation not only through social security optimisation but also by leveraging the benefits of offshore operational cost efficiencies.

Suggested Activities Key location and traffic lane analysis: UÊ Ê,iÛ iÜÊ iÊ > `Ê ÃÌÊ V Õ ÌÀÞÊ combinations for tax planning and tax effective pay delivery in the following areas: UÊ L> ÊÌ>ÝÊ« > }

UÊ UÊ UÊ UÊ

Õ ÌÀÞÊëiV v VÊ« > } - V > Ê-iVÕÀ ÌÞ *i Ã Ã Ê `ÕVÌÊ Êvi>à L ÌÞÊÃÌÕ`ÞÊL>Ãi`Ê on country location analysis and service delivery model requirements UÊ Ê ÃÃiÃÃÊVÕÀÀi ÌÊ«À ViÃÃÊv ÀÊ>Ãà } i ÌÊ initiation and pay delivery.

Final Thoughts True cost optimisation takes time.

Savings are unlikely to be realised in the first year and many initiatives will require an initial cost investment to achieve an overall cost optimised position. The key for organisations is to ensure they understand both the cost of mobility but also how they manage and improve their cost base over time. This is much easier said than done, but due to the increased scrutiny in the cost of mobility, this is an absolute mandatory requirement for a global organisation.

Whilst the above initiatives could be implemented by most organisations, consideration needs to be given to the overall business and talent objectives of the organisation before any change is executed. An organisation must therefore first determine their overall drivers for their mobility programme e.g. assignee experience, consistency, speed of deployment in conjunction with any overall cost optimisation initiative, in order to and understand how mobility can continue to help achieve the business objectives without them being compromised. From this, an organisation can then determine where the focus needs to be placed and mobility can provide a framework within which an effective and targeted cost optimisation initiative can be implemented.

Andrew Robb Global Mobility Transformation Director, Practice Leader. Deloitte LLP, United Kingdom +44 20 7303 3237 anrobb@deloitte.co.uk

Beth Warner Global Mobility Transformation Manager. Deloitte LLP, United Kingdom +44 20 7007 8643 bewarner@deloitte.co.uk

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GLOBAL TAXATION

Global Taxation Update BELGIUM What does ‘Temporary’ Mean when Applying for Belgian Special Tax Status for Foreign Executives?

In Belgium, qualifying foreign individuals can benefit from a special tax status for foreign executives. In order to apply the special tax status, an official request needs to be submitted to the Belgian tax authorities. When the expat status is granted, the individual is automatically considered as a non-resident of Belgium and can claim two tax deductions: U Allowances considered to be a reimbursement of costs incurred on behalf of the employer are treated as tax free, limited to either 11,250 EUR or 29,750 EUR per year; U Income relating to foreign activities, based on business days spent abroad, qualify for a travel exclusion.

To be eligible for the special expat status, the foreign executive as well as the employer/company needs to meet certain conditions. The employer (Belgian branch or company) needs to be part of an international group. The individual concerned must not have Belgian nationality, must have kept the centre of their financial, economic and social interests in their country of origin and the employment in Belgium must be temporary.

In the past the notion of temporary was not defined and once the special tax status was granted, the Belgian tax authorities rarely performed tax audits to verify whether the conditions were still being met. Recently, however, the tax authorities announced that with immediate effect foreign executives who benefit from the special tax status will be systematically audited once their presence in Belgium exceeds 10 years.

For foreign executives who have been present in Belgium between 10 and 20 years, all facts and circumstances will be taken into account to determine whether the employment in Belgium can still qualify as temporary and whether the foreign executive has maintained the centre of their social, personal, financial and economic interests outside Belgium.

If the Belgian tax authorities determine that the conditions are no longer met INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

then the expat status will no longer apply.

Where the foreign executive has been present in Belgium for more than 20 years, the special expat status will be denied without any further investigation.

BDO comment Do review your assignees to Belgium to see whether they continue to qualify for the tax breaks and be prepared for questions from the Belgian authorities for those who have been present in Belgium for more than 10 years as more regular tax audits will be performed.

Reform of Belgium Government Impacts Taxation of Non-Residents with Belgian Source Income Since its creation, Belgium has evolved into a complex government structure with a Federal level, 3 communities (Flemish, French and German speaking community) and 3 regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Capital Region of Brussels). Despite several ‘reforms’ to date, individual income tax has remained almost exclusively a federal issue.

The sixth reform however, has now changed this. Entering into force on 1 January 2014, the individual income tax for residents of Belgium has been largely transferred by the Federal Government to the three regional governments. They are now authorised to determine which fiscal benefits, reductions to the tax rates and credits Belgian residents are entitled to.

Although the taxation of non-residents in Belgium principally remains a strictly federally organised concept, the transfer of competencies does impact those nonresidents who are (partly) taxable in Belgium, as the fiscal benefits, reductions and credits they are entitled to will in future be determined by the region they will be deemed to earn the most income in. This will be determined by a number of factors (e.g. where they normally work, if this cannot be determined, where they receive their instructions from, or the amount of days physically worked and finally where the seat of their employer is). This new aspect of the taxation of non-residents already applies to income received during 2013 (assessment year 2014).

Before the reform, four categories of

‘non-residents’ existed within Belgian tax legislation: - Non-residents with a habitual abode in Belgium ; - Non-residents from within the EEA who do not have an abode in Belgium but who earned more than 75% of their income in Belgium ; - Non-residents from outside the EEA who do not have an abode in Belgium but who earned more than 75% of their income in Belgium ; - Other non-residents who do not qualify for any of the categories above.

The first category has been removed from the Belgian legislation with respect to the taxation of non-residents from 1 January 2014. Only the last three categories remain in force and only the category of non-residents from within the EEA who do not have an abode in Belgium but who earned more than 75% of their income in Belgium will continue to be entitled to the (now) regional fiscal benefits and credits available to Belgian residents.

As most of the non-residents with a habitual abode in Belgium are actually expats who have been granted the benefits of the Belgian expatriate regime (and are therefore considered to be non-residents only taxable on their income sourced in Belgium for fiscal purposes), this change in legislation will primarily have an impact on this category of people living and working in Belgium.

Those of non EEA-origin will lose all rights to the regional fiscal benefits and credits.

Those of EEA-origin may also be impacted, as one of the benefits the Belgian expatriate regime provides, is the so called foreign travel exclusion. This means that any and all days spent outside of Belgium for professional purposes are not taxable in Belgium. As soon as the percentage of time worked outside of Belgian exceeds 25% the non-residents of EEA origin will lose all entitlement to the regional fiscal benefits, reductions and credits.

For expatriates working in Belgium under a tax equalisation policy, the change in legislation will result in an additional cost to be borne by their employer. Nonresidents on a gross based salary will see their net income decrease.

GLOBAL TAXATION BDO comment Again, do review assignees to Belgium to see how they will be impacted by these government reforms.

Reporting of Foreign Bank Accounts to the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) is now Mandatory For a number of years Belgian resident taxpayers, whether Belgian nationals or not, have been obliged to indicate in their annual income tax return whether they own bank accounts abroad.

The Belgian Government recently voted to change the current legislation.

On 1 April 2014, the practical arrangements regarding the mandatory reporting of foreign bank accounts to the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) were determined.

As of 1 November 2014, each Belgian resident taxpayer who indicates in their income tax return that they are the holder of one or more foreign bank accounts will receive a request from the Belgian tax authorities to report the details of their foreign bank account(s) to the NBB. For each foreign bank account reported in the income tax returns over the years of income of 2011 through 2013, the following information will have to be sent to the NBB: (1) The account number ; (2) The name of the bank or financial institution ; and (3) The country where the bank or financial institution is situated.

Belgian resident taxpayers with foreign bank accounts will have a period of two months as of the third business day following the date on which the request was sent, to respond to the request (i.e. at the earliest the first replies will have to be submitted by 31 December 2014).

It will be possible to report foreign bank accounts to the NBB either electronically or on paper by using a special form. The precise formalities will be communicated at a later time through a Royal Decree.

As of assessment year 2015 (reporting of income of 2014), the Belgian resident tax return form will include a box, which will have to be ticked when the details of the foreign bank accounts have been reported to the NBB.

BDO comment It is clear that many of the expatriates living and working in Belgium will be affected by this additional reporting

obligation as many of them have kept bank accounts in their country of origin.

Expatriates benefiting from the special tax regime for foreign executives and specialists are not obliged to comply with these new formalities since they are considered non-residents of Belgium for tax purposes.

Do note that increasingly tax authorities are enquiring about the existence of funds outside the relevant country.

Automatic exchange of information between authorities is becoming far more prevalent and failure to report existence of funds/income is likely to lead to investigation/audit.

INDIA Secondees and Potential Creation of a Permanent Establishment (P/E) The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a taxpayer’s claims that seconded employees were ‘economically’ employed by the Indian affiliate company, thereby avoiding the creation of a Service Permanent Establishment (P/E) for their UK and Canadian employers and instead ruled that the seconded employees continued to be employees of the UK and Canadian entities. Since the seconding employers were receiving payments from the Indian affiliate company for the services performed in India, it was ruled that a Service P/E was created, which resulted in these payments being taxable in India and liable to Indian tax withholding.

The case did not address the tax position of the seconded employees but it is likely that relief under the relevant treaty will not be available as the seconding employers have established a P/E in India.

BDO comment The structure of employee secondments to India needs to be carefully considered, with close attention paid to the interaction between the seconding employer and the receiving Indian entity.

The structure and interaction between the seconding and receiving entities will determine not only whether the presence of the seconded employee will create a P/E but also whether or not the seconded employee will become subject to tax in India with the resultant Indian wage tax withholding requirements. The Indian tax authorities do not always apply the rules consistently, which makes this whole

area even more confusing.

When sending employees to India, please be aware that it is very dangerous to take the Double Taxation Agreement at face value and assume that the treaty conditions are met just because the seconded employee has a home country contract and will spend 183 days or less in India. Employers also need to consider whether the presence of the seconded employee will create a P/E as it is very easy for the unwary to establish a P/E in India.

Having the right paperwork clearly documenting the arrangements between the seconding employer, the seconded employee and the receiving Indian entity is vital.

NETHERLANDS Dutch Expat Ruling (30% ruling) – is the 150 Kilometre Condition In Line with EU-law?

From 2012, there had been a change in the legislation with regard to the 30% ruling. Employees living (for two-thirds of a 24 month period before the start of the activities in the Netherlands) within 150 km from the Dutch border were no longer entitled to the ruling.

The question arose as to whether this condition was in line with EU regulations. The Dutch Supreme Court submitted this question to the EU Court and recently, the European Commission provided advice to the Dutch Court, stating that it considers that the Dutch legislation is not in line with EU legislation. The difference in treatment between workers who have lived more or less than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border is a limitation of traffic according to the Commission and cannot be justified with the argument of challenging potential tax evasion. Furthermore, this legislation is not proportionally in accordance with EU legislation and the Commission is of the opinion that it is possible to take a less restrictive measure to achieve Dutch aims. A certain distance between the place of residence of the employee (before the start of the activities) and the place of work would be in accordance with EU legislation and is a possible alternative option.

BDO comment Please note that European Commission’s comments represent advice only. At present it is not clear whether the Dutch Supreme Court will follow their advice.

SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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GLOBAL TAXATION To avoid losing any possible entitlement to the 30% ruling, affected individuals should apply for this ruling and appeal against any refusal to permit it referencing the Commission’s comments.

SWITZERLAND Clarification of Social Security Consequences of EquityBased Compensation for Assignees The Federal Social Security Agency recently published updated guidelines relating to the treatment of equitybased compensation for social security purposes. These documents describe how equity-based compensation of expatriates is to be treated and in particular how assignments impact such compensation.

Equity-based compensation is now subject to both tax and social security contributions on a pro-rata basis, whereas previously social security law only allowed an ‘all or nothing’ approach. This often led to a situation where the same benefit from equity was subject to social security contributions in more than one country. The new rules aim to avoid double charging of social security contributions as they are now more aligned to the rules in other countries. However, double taxation or partial non-taxation, is still possible where the other country applies a different calculation method.

As a general rule, income from equitybased compensation is treated according to the same rules as those for tax purposes. However, there exists one key difference as according to the guidelines differentiation must exist between blocked and unblocked components of an employee’s equity compensation plan. With unblocked components,

social security contributions are due at the grant date and in the case of blocked components, contributions are due at vesting or at exercise.

Employees working in different countries during the vesting period are only subject to pro-rata taxation according to effective working days in each country. Tax law defines an individual’s tax domicile or place of residence during the vesting period as the determining element, whereas social security law specifies that the state is relevant where the individual is subject to social security contributions during the vesting period. In practice this often leads to the same result. However, with secondments, a difference arises if an employee remains subject to social security contributions in their home country on the basis of a Certificate of Coverage/A1. In such cases, there is no similarity between tax and social security law.

The new rules are valid from 1 January 2014. However, for equity-based compensation granted from 1 January 2013, and those granted in previous years on which social security contributions have to be paid after 31 December 2012, (liability at vesting or exercise date) the changes described above will apply with retrospective effect.

Reporting obligations apply to equitybased compensation. Specific details must be shown in an attachment to the salary statement at grant and at realisation of the taxable benefit, even if taxation does not occur at grant. In cases involving foreign assignments, the pro-rata calculation must be disclosed in the attachments to the salary certificates. Employers have to provide copies of these reports directly to the tax authorities if the taxable benefits are

realised after termination of employment and/or the person has left Switzerland.

BDO comment This update is to be welcomed since this provides employees who are working internationally and their employers with legal certainty. However, it is important that companies examine their internal payroll and HR process to ensure that they take the new guidelines into account. It might also be worth checking existing employee equity compensation plans to see if they are in line with the new guidelines.

Andrew Bailey is global leader for BDO International’s expatriate tax services and national head of human capital at BDO LLP. He has over 30 years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. BDO is able to provide global assistance for all your international assignments. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Bailey on +44 (0) 20 7893 2946, email Andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

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TAX

Taxing Issues: Tax And Social Security Compliance Conundrums This article examines some of the conundrums faced by international mobility professionals; those issues which do not fit neatly into your company’s mobility policies or create friction with your other people policies.

There will usually be a tax and/or social security associated cost to the policy issue involved notwithstanding other complications. How do you react?

Some of the scenarios below may resonate with your own experiences, whilst others may be issues that you could face in the future.

Flexible Working

The advent of flexible working, and employers’ perception of an ever increasing need to provide employees with choice, can create unanticipated additional employment costs and compliance obligations.

As an example, Jo has been recognised as ‘talent’ within your organisation. When discussing issues with her new line manager, you find out that Jo has made a request to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.

The line manager has verbally accepted the request as they feared that, if they did not, Jo would leave the business. However, you know that Jo has just moved with her family to France so in effect she will now be working in France for two days a week.

The potential consequences of this are: t French social security, which at circa 45% for the employer is a significant additional cost t Increased employer compliance obligations as you now need to work out how you, as a UK based employer, go about paying French social security contributions. You may have to set up a payroll/system in France to facilitate payment even if you do not have a business entity there. This can be a time consuming and frustrating process t As Jo progresses within the organisation and her role evolves, there could be potential corporate tax implications in France for the business. You need to raise this with your internal tax team. t Will your employee insurance policies, such as life assurance, critical illness et al, cover Jo whilst she is working in France?

t Will Jo now be covered by French, rather than UK, employment law?

Do you ask Jo’s line manager to retract their verbal acceptance of the flexible working request – can you?

Housing Issues

Your assignment policy states that individuals should not buy a residential property in the host country. You contribute a limited amount towards housing, but this is a relatively small part of an individual’s overall package.

When Frederic first came to the UK your HR predecessor told him he wasn’t allowed to buy a UK property in accordance with the assignment policy. Three years later he’s still in the UK and about to localise and you are discussing his future remuneration package.

He tells you that his housing allowance, which is now about to cease, never covered his rent from the outset and that had the company allowed him to buy a property when he first asked about this, then his mortgage costs would be lower than the total rent he’s been paying. Additionally, Frederic advises that UK property prices have increased 30% and that the company’s housing policy has cost him £200,000. He reminds you that residential property gains aren’t taxable in the UK as he doesn’t have any other residential property elsewhere.

He then asks for a pay increase to compensate him for his loss. He also mutters something about poor investment advice as your HR predecessor had also told him to keep his money in The Channel Islands. The interest he’s been earning on this is relatively paltry and he would have been better off getting a mortgage and buying a UK property.

What do you say? At what point should your policy get involved with issues and investments which could give rise to a personal tax break, gain or loss.? Should your policy seek to be tax neutral in all circumstances?

When you go to discuss Frederic’s case with the CFO later that week, the CFO says that paying any form of housing allowance without a contribution is wrong, and that individuals would have been incurring housing costs in their home country and

must be getting rent if they are letting out their home country properties. She has said that individuals should pay a ‘housing norm’ or housing contribution to the company, and if they rent their home country property they should give this money to the company to offset additional assignment costs.

Again you’re back to wondering whether the company should get involved with housing at all, and whether a decision to rent an individual’s property is best left to the individual. How would the rental income be taxed in any event and who would be liable for the tax?

Social Security issues

Your international assignment policy states that the rule of thumb is for assignees to remain within their “home” country social security system.

Juan, a Spanish national who has been working for you in the UK since he left university, was assigned to Spain for four years. Whilst on assignment, an A1 was obtained and he continued to pay UK NIC. He has now returned to the UK; however, things are not going well. Juan has levelled certain accusations at your organisation; namely that he was forced to sign the statement confirming that he believed remaining in the UK NIC system, whilst on assignment, was in his best interests. He is maintaining that no discussions were had to explain the consequences of remaining in UK NIC and is now of the view that he should have been provided with the option of contributing to the Spanish system.

How do you reconcile what your policy says with the personal views and interests of the employee? How can you truly compare current cost – employee and employer - with potential future benefits for the employee?

How do you ensure that you do not face a situation such as this where your employee may seek compensation from you on the basis that you have not provided them with the information required to make an informed choice?

Local Employee Versus Expatriate Employee

How do you manage the friction that can arise from peer groups comparing their compensation packages even when working SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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16

TAX in different jurisdictions?

Imagine a situation where you have two senior individuals, both of whom are tasked with growing the business. One is based in the UK and is a local hire, and the second is sent to the UAE and is on a Local Plus package. Both are responsible for their own tax liabilities.

The expat’s salary is lower, but they are provided with a housing allowance and school fees. The amounts paid increase as their family size grows. The UK based employee is unhappy as they cannot afford to send their children to private school whilst their colleague, who is also their direct peer, can. How do you deal with this perception of inequitable treatment?

Several years later, the expat based in the UAE has performed really well and you would like them to move back to the UK. However, they know that if they do they will lose their Local Plus benefits and are therefore reluctant to do so. When initially sending them to the UAE there was no limit to the duration all expected the individual to be there, and there was no cap or tail off of the additional benefits.

It’s all very well moving individuals onto a local plus package, but how do you move them on from that location at the behest of the company. How do you persuade this employee to change role whilst maintaining the integrity of your polices?

You have two employees sitting next to each other in your Reading office. Their roles are very similar, requiring them to work overseas for 25% of their time, but one is a UK local hire and the other is a newly arrived Danish assignee. You operate tax protection.

The assignee is eligible for overseas workday relief and as they have been talking to fellow expatriates, has asked you to make a request to HMRC to adjust her PAYE code and to pay her salary into an offshore account. Should you accede to her request?

If you advise that you cannot get involved and refuse this request, what would you do if the assignee refuses to open up a UK bank account and only provides you with bank account details in Jersey? They could get the UK tax relief irrespective of the extent of your cooperation.

Tax Protection Versus Tax Equalisation Versus ‘On Your Own’

Tax equalisation removes tax as a barrier to mobility for the individual. The individual is no better or worse off as a result of any move and the decision should be tax neutral for them. By contrast tax protection means INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

that the individual cannot be worse off from a tax perspective as a result of a move, but can be better off if the tax cost at the new location is lower than what it would have been had they remained at home. If the individual is responsible for their own taxes they could be better or worse off depending on the circumstances.

For important business reasons you really need an individual with certain specific skills to be in a new location at a set time. How do you react when the specific individual wants to defer or accelerate the proposed move because they will benefit personally from a tax perspective as you operate tax protection or leave all taxes to the individual? Do you offer them a further monetary incentive to move at your behest?

Your approach to taxes and mobility can affect the timing of moves and cooperation of individuals.

How Flexible is your Tax Policy?

Your tax policy in relation to international assignees has always been tax equalisation.

Over the years, you have had a number of lively discussions with employees/line managers on this but have been able to ensure the consistent application of this policy.

Your COO is going on assignment to Singapore and is adamant that tax equalisation is not going to apply to him.

This has been agreed at a higher level so you have had to agree to this, albeit reluctantly.

How do you deal with the COO’s number two, who is now also going to be assigned to Singapore and has requested that tax equalisation is not implemented for her too?

Your company has won a large contract in Qatar. To service this contract, you will need to send UK employees to Qatar. Some of the skills required for the contract are in high demand and difficult to source. The assignment durations will vary dependent on the role undertaken in Qatar. Due to the sheer size of the project, another UK company has been appointed to work with you.

Your policy is to operate tax equalisation so all the assignees to Qatar have been sent out on tax equalised assignment terms.

You get a call from the director, who won the contract, asking you why his key, highly skilled employee has threatened to resign?

You establish that the other UK company working on the project does not operate tax equalisation so all their assignees are on gross packages. The assignees have clearly been discussing the relative merits of their

assignment packages. Do you change your policy? If so, do you change your policy for the highly skilled assignee only or do you change it for all assignees?

Do you make further concessions and extend the duration of all of the assignments so that the assignees can achieve non-UK residence? The director is pressuring you to concede to all assignee requests as this project is the biggest win of his career and he wants the job to run smoothly. What would you do?

Summary

All of these are real life cases – naturally names have been changed. Policy and tax/social security interact, sometimes in unforeseen circumstances. Hindsight is great, but unfortunately we rarely possess foresight when we need it most! We would welcome hearing about your views and experiences.

Future articles

I would welcome suggestions for future articles on the subject of tax, social security and international assignments. As a general rule such articles seek to be of a generic nature, as opposed to country specific, and aim to be of interest and use to International HR professionals. Constructive feedback is most welcome.

Andrew Bailey is global leader for BDO International’s expatriate tax services and national head of human capital at BDO LLP. He has over 30 years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. BDO is present in over 144 countries and is able to provide global assistance for all your international assignments. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Bailey on +44 (0) 20 7893 2946 Email Andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

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NAVIGATING DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS

Navigating Data Protection Regulations In Workforce Development In the face of ever more stringent data protection regulations, organisations have become increasingly concerned about securing personal data held within global learning systems.

HR departments, as custodians of sensitive personal data, are only too well aware of the need to secure core HR systems.

There is a real risk that global HR professionals may not be picking up the nuances of data protection regulations affecting learning and development systems from country to country. These privacy concerns are equally strong among individuals, as was reflected in the EU Court of Justice’s new ruling about Google’s search results. Under this ruling, ordinary people now enjoy the “right to be forgotten” and can ask the search engine to remove links to articles in search results for their name.

At the other end of the spectrum, near paranoia about securing personal data and protecting against attacks has driven some organisations to lock down e-learning systems or withdraw access to systems in certain countries, often unnecessarily. It makes sense to centralise delivery of workforce development programmes and e-learning, but in an international organisation this may result in sharing and sending data across borders. In Europe, organisations have to be very sure of their ground before allowing personal data outside of the EU.

Location, location, location HR depar tments with global responsibilities must consider local challenges in managing the learning and development process. Often local unions impose their own local rules and regulations, too. In Germany, for example, the council must be consulted when the company decides to implement any group-wide system monitoring performance. It may well be the case that nobody is allowed to see students’ learning results if the company has such an agreement with the workers’ council. Students can agree to have their progress displayed anonymously or not INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

at all – in that case student data must be deleted.

In many European countries, workers’ councils or unions will expect to participate in discussions that might affect working hours if learners are expected to study outside of work for example.

The EU Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC), which regulates processing and movement of personal data, has come to be interpreted differently in just about every European country. In 2014, organisations face a major update to the legislation, including possible fines of up to 5% of turnover for data loss incidents. This is worrying – according to the ‘2014 Information Security Breaches Survey’

by PWC and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, around half of large organisations suffered a data protection breach of some type in the year to April 2014. This type of incident is associated with large regulatory fines and high costs associated with investigation and resolution.

In the UK, the EU Data Protection Directive was translated into law by the Data Protection Act 1998. Employees, and even disgruntled ex-employees, have the right to see data an organisation holds on them through a 'subject access request'. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has wide ranging powers of enforcement.

Compensation can be awarded if firms fail to correct incorrect data, or use data in a way that is considered to cause damage, and the ICO can demand ongoing supervision of how the organisation is handling and securing data. Managers and even employees run the risk of committing a criminal offence if personal data is handled wrongly.

If a US company or branch of a group has been certified as having data protection measures that qualify it under Safe Harbor rules, then EU-based organisations can safely transfer data to that entity in the US. Beyond Europe and the US, data protection regimes vary enormously. China has a legislative structure covering personal

data protection and processing, but people are less concerned about privacy issues. India on the other hand has some property and privacy laws which may be invoked to protect data.

Integrating data Effective learning and development environments are often integrated with core HR systems. The latest thinking, that e-learning works best if part of an employee’s natural day-to-day work flow, also means that e-learning is increasingly linked with business processes. The opportunity for uncontrolled importing and exporting of personal data into and out of the learning and development (L&D) system has wide-ranging implications that may go beyond data protection law and overlap into payment card data protection law such as the PCI-DSS (payment card industry data security standards), or into healthcare data protection legislation such as the HIPAA rules in the US. The cloud-based (SaaS) model is particularly useful for e-learning delivery, enabling mobile e-learning so that employees can learn anywhere from any device at any time. However, according to the Speexx Exchange 2013-14 Survey, less than a third of respondents said mobile learning was an active part of their strategy. Almost a quarter (24%) cited corporate data security issues as the biggest factor.

The use of mobile devices for learning and development does complicate the data protection compliance issue, particularly when the employee is using their own device too. If HR departments are considering monitoring the use, and even the location of the device, in order to lock down data protection compliance, that same monitoring activity could produce its own privacy challenges. Basic questions such as how will employees’ personal data be removed from all relevant devices and central stores if they leave, and whether workers will need a separate login for the mobile LMS, must be answered.

There is a real danger that international groups that could most

NAVIGATING DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS benefit from global access to continually available and up to date software will take a step back into the past and fail to reap the benefits of cloud-based software as a service.

Tap into best practice The good news is that, although the rules and regulations are evolving all the time, cloud-based global learning and development solution providers are in a maturing market and there are solutions to the challenges.

Data protection is not new. Tap into best practice in your sector – if you are an international retailer, for example, check out how other similar operations have handled the global challenges.

E-learning solutions providers are successfully providing global solutions and established suppliers, especially those in countries with the strictest approach to data protection compliance, will already have encountered just about every data protection challenge. It is vital to source appropriate advice to navigate through data protection compliance, in

order to deliver the most effective global L&D solution.

Recommend best practice tips: 1. Assume all learning and development data is personal data and document where it is held and how it is processed.

2. Multinational organisations with HR data centralised in one company but headquartered in another perhaps for tax or legal reasons will have to address where their home authority is in data protection terms.

3. Appoint a designated data protection controller. The new draft EC regulations call for a data protection officer to be appointed by law in any public body or any business with over 250 people.

4. Subject access requests, where people can ask to see data held on them look likely to get easier

and cheaper so make sure the organisation is ready to handle these efficiently.

5. Consent is important in data protection law. Consider how you will be able to show that consent was obtained to storing personal data in the course of learning and development, possibly through including this in the initial contract of employment.

Armin Hopp is the Founder and President of Speexx.

Speexx helps organisations everywhere to drive productivity by empowering employee communication skills across borders.

For more information, visit www.speexx.com.

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EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Benefit Communications And The Mobile Workforce So, after months of hard work, you’ve determined the employee benefit structure that is essential to attract and retain the best possible talent in your market, obtained the necessary approvals, identified and appointed the most appropriate providers, set up the various plans and now all that remains is to tell your people how great it all is. The funny thing is that despite living in the Information Age, getting this message out, properly understood and engaged with, is probably the hardest bit of all. Let’s face it, pensions, life insurance and healthcare are pretty dry stuff, not to mention the negative connotations of old age, illness and, yes, dying. It can be quite complex too, so you will probably need to tell people two or three times before they fully understand it and, of course, there’ll be many questions to deal with and possibly objections to overcome. And it’s even more of a challenge when dealing with globally mobile people who are literally oceans apart, in different time zones and quite probably speaking different languages.

So how do you optimise employee engagement and make sure that the benefits are understood and fully appreciated? Well here are a few pointers for you to consider.

Get help Employee benefit consultants, communication specialists, creative agencies and product providers can give you invaluable insight and support and it is well worth setting aside some budget and investing in getting this right. After all, there’s little point in spending large sums on benefits if they are not properly valued or understood, and sadly this does seem to be a common mistake by employers. If you employ people in multiple locations there are many consultants who specialise in international communication programmes and they too often have multi-lingual employees based around the world. They understand the particular problems that you face with this part of your workforce and can INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

advise on the most effective solutions, so it’s well worth seeking out a specialist.

In addition, product providers will almost certainly have an experienced implementation team who can help with all aspects of setting up a new plan, including drawing upon the support of their internal communications and marketing departments, so always ask for details of the level of support they can provide during the tender process.

Draw up a plan There is no doubt that this is a big task with many components, so draw up a plan with a timeline and identify any additional costs. What are the key steps along the way? For example; month one, week one, issue a high level warm up email, week two issue a more detailed message with links to the relevant pages of your intranet or to a provider prejoiners website if applicable. Month two, week one, hold a series of webinars timed to cover any part of the world, week two, go live. Week three set aside time to handle any unexpected hitches and employee queries. Of course, it’ll be more complex than this simple example which is why there is a need for a strong, detailed plan covering the whole roll-out.

Again, employee benefit consultants can support this process and their experience can be invaluable to ensure that nothing is missed and that your time-line is realistic. Provider implementation teams will also be used to the type of problems that can slow down your roll-out; negotiations between legal teams over contracts, the choosing and shortlisting of investment options and drawn out debate over the wording of member communication materials are all typical aspects of a retirement savings plan implementation that will impact upon your launch date and slow down the whole process.

Choose your media There are many different ways to communicate; face to face, in writing through brochures and Q&A’s, emails, intranet, websites, webinars, videos and apps. Different people prefer different

approaches, so the chances are that you’ll need to use most, or possibly even all of these forms of communication to get the message across. It is difficult to overcommunicate, so repeating the message in as many different forms of media as possible is a good thing so long as, of course, it is consistent and clear that any responses are only needed once. You may decide to target sections of your workforce differently too, for example, office based people are relatively easy to communicate with using some or all of the methods listed, whilst your access to geologists and engineers, camped out in some remote corner of the world, will be much more restricted and your plan for this group may be heavily dependent upon the internet, or may need to have a longer roll out period to allow for spells back in civilisation. In short, you’ll need to know your audiences and determine the best way forward for each. Product providers are increasingly recognising the need to support employers through different forms of media, so here again do ask what will be available as part of the tender process. In addition to the traditional member brochure, webinars on how to access and negotiate member websites, pre-joining websites, on-line portfolio planning and benefit forecasting tools, educational videos, face to face presentations and apps, may all be available to you at no extra cost.

Make it interesting and relevant How do you feel when you hear the word “pension”? Excited? I don’t expect so. What about the words “future”, “security” and “comfort”? These are perhaps a little more engaging because they feel personal and relevant. Employee benefits are largely about helping people to plan for their future when they can realise their dreams with the time and money to do so, or protecting themselves and their families should something go wrong. To get people to engage the hooks to attract their interest it needs to be personal and important to them, so it’s important to choose the right words; future, wealth, wellbeing? Or

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS pension, insurance, death? Marketing and communication consultants recognise how important it is to use the right words and most product providers will be happy to reduce the amount of “industry- speak” in the member facing materials, just so long as their regulatory obligations are adequately covered.

Keep it simple and make it easy If you need your people to make decisions or take some form of action, then make the process as simple and clear as possible. It’s not that they don’t understand, it’s a matter of time and personal interest in the subject. If the instructions run to ten pages then it’s very likely that most of your audience will at best skim read the information, leading to mistakes that will need to be put right later. If there are deadlines to stick to, then a headline like “ACTION NEEDED BY 30 SEPTEMBER!” is good. Make it as bold as is sensible, repeat it several times and include it clearly in all the forms of media you plan to use. “What do I need to do next?” is great too, followed by two or three

The Forum for

Expatriate

Management

bullet points of the next steps, with any web links included in the text. If it takes time to work out what is being said, and what are the next steps, then it is human nature to take no action at all, and that seems to be increasingly the case in this fast moving modern world.

Check and refine Having launched your plan and communicated as well as possible with your audience, it’s essential to assess whether or not it was a success and to make any changes and improvements that may be required. Check on take up, website hits and request feedback through short, online questionnaires to measure the effectiveness of your programme. If take up is high then you’ve done a great job and can relax for a while at least. If take up is poor then some corrective action is called for; reminder emails, seminars, webinars, drop-in sessions and so on. Product providers will often have a vested interest in achieving a high take-up rate and they can help you to improve matters, both during the launch process and on an on-going basis.

Finally, I think it’s worth repeating

that there’s a lot of help available.

Providers increasingly offer a wide range of information sites, educational material, videos, forecasting tools and webinar based presentations, as well as tools to assess people’s attitude to risk, detailed information on the investment options, understanding long-term investment strategies and so on. Providers also appreciate that the communication programme is a longterm game, not a one off when a plan is first launched. Many will appoint a relationship manager and/or a dedicated communication specialist to support your programme into the future, perhaps through regular newsletters, educational materials and site visits.

Stewart Allanson Zurich Corporate Life & Pensions is a leading provider of International Pension Plans.

For more information, please email: stewart.allanson@zurich.com or telephone on +44 (0) 1242 664443

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THE VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ASSIGNMENTS

How Can Expatriates Stay Current On Assignment? ‘SoMe’ Solutions For Business Expatriates know all too well the value of Social Media, increasingly known as ‘SoMe’, for keeping in touch with loved ones back home.

Skype, Facebook, YouTube are all invaluable in sharing the highs and lows of relatives’ lives 1000s of miles away. We like to stay connected, we like to stay current, we like to learn.

It comforts us to know what our loved ones are up to, to celebrate even minor successes, or to share a laugh about a trending amusing cat video. It is usual for all of us to use Social Media in our private lives for everything from sharing photos, to finding new recipes, to learning how to change a light bulb. Almost everything is available to learn via Google. Where businesses are failing their employees, especially global employees, is in translating the use of such social learning into a business environment. Wake up Business! Be aware that if you are not providing social learning tools, your employees are finding them anyway. YouTube, LinkedIn, SlideShare and more are used daily for sales teams to find new selling techniques, for customer services to find better ways to serve your customers, and for Expatriates to navigate their way around their host locations.

Expatriates in a host location are often out of sight and out of mind from the home business. Whilst they are busy gaining all manner of life experiences on assignment, a formal learning programme as part of performance management can fall through the cracks of home and host. For localised contracts, there is the advantage of being part of a local performance management programme, however, that programme is unlikely to harness the wealth of learning freely available on the internet, and indeed is likely only include local language face to face training workshops, such is the state of business learning today. In my opinion, workshops fail Expatriates INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

on two levels; firstly, the language barrier and secondly, the ‘Injection Education’ nature of the beast; if Bob Smith has mastered enough Chinese to understand the workshop trainer, what does Bob do 3, 6,or 9 months later when the trainer isn’t there for him? Learning at the point of need is what is driving Expatriates and their colleagues to turn to social learning via the internet.

Social learning is a modern way of offering employees the ability to more easily and informally learn from each other. For hundreds of years we have learnt this way; from a farmer teaching the farmhand, to the master and apprentice. It is only in more recent decades that we have put qualifications and ‘formal’ learning ahead of this more traditional value system of young learning from old, or peer learning from peer. It is ironic in many ways that as we see some breakdown of community in the western world, we see the rise of communities of practise springing up in the virtual world. Expatriates turn to Twitter or LinkedIn to build strong and reliable networks across geographies.

Internet forums allow connection to others, and these can be especially helpful to spouses looking to build a network without belonging to a host location company. Some forums, such as InterNations.org, also engage in regular meet ups, which add additional value to the local information, jobs for spouses, housing and marketplace it offers online. Twitter too can result in a Tweet Up, taking the virtual into reality.

One element we have yet to address is the important question of why should an Expat care to stay current? Surely immersion in the locality is the point of an assignment? Without doubt this has worth, however, an Expat knows the bubble they live in will eventually pop, as they are localised, or repatriated.

They need to be prepared. Most businesses fail to adequately prepare for an Expat’s repatriation, with high attrition rates the result. Sadly, this

statistic hasn’t changed since I started in the relocation industry years ago.

Failure to prepare is failure to succeed; an Expat returning home has challenges of reverse culture shock, has to fit back in, yet has emotionally and mentally moved on, and has to find their place where they have had no visibility. All of this can be eased if social learning tools are adopted across a business.

Platforms such as Salesforce Chatter, Yammer, or Fuse give all staff, no matter their location, the ability to share best practise, to belong, to get their name internally known, and to therefore ease the transition back home, or to a new host location. The cultural as well as learning value of such tools cannot be underestimated. Staying connected whilst on assignment allows an Expat to stay current in a once familiar world. They do so in their private lives.

Catch up Business, before you blow millions on yet another Assignee’s failed Homecoming. Meanwhile your Expat is using their LinkedIn profile and ‘SoMe’ presence to plan their next move.

Following 15 years in the Relocation industry in operational and L&D roles, Michelle ParrySlater was most recently The Academy Manager for global relocation provider Santa Fe Group, based in London with responsibility for the learning of staff located in 56 countries across 126 offices globally. Following the hugely successful implementation of The Academy Online at Santa Fe Group, Michelle now heads up Kairos Modern Learning, a new consultancy specialising in helping businesses and trainers offer a modern, digital learning journey to employees and clients. To see how your business can benefit from a modern look at your learning strategy, contact Michelle via Twitter @MiPS1608 Telephone: 07967 375547 Email: michelle@KairosML.co.uk

EXPATRIATE ADVISER SUMMER

AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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2014 GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY

How To Improve The Effectiveness Of Your Global Mobility Programme John Rason comments on the results of the 2014 Global Mobility Survey to provide some pointers to how you could improve the performance your Global Mobility programme. The annual survey is an empirical study of over one thousand companies and their global mobility programmes.

This year I had the pleasure to contribute to the 2014 Global Mobility Survey as part of an expert advisory panel.

Working with a professional research body helped to identify new trends and gain greater understanding of Mobility from a global, localised and industry sector perspective.

Analysis of the results uncovered some extremely interesting findings in relation to communication, challenges, solutions, compliance, technology, policies and compensation. All these can be reviewed in highly granular detail using the web portal at www.globalmobilitysurvey.com However, I want to focus this article on the key findings that support why you should be linking your Global Mobility and Talent Management functions to deliver measurable improvements to the effectiveness of your Global Mobility programme.

Demand for Global Mobility Establishing the level of Global Mobility activity is often the starting point, a bit like monitoring a patient’s heart rate or blood pressure. It gives you an idea of what you’re dealing with. There are some extremely interesting findings when you use the web portal to analyse this information by industry sector, individual countries, regions and assignment types.

From a top level, the Survey reports that assignment activity has shown yearon-year net growth since 2011. 44.8% of INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

organisations in the 2014 results reported an increase in assignment activity vs 18.5% who reported a decrease (26.3% net growth).

Furthermore, this is the first year since the survey started that more organisations (net) predicted growth for the coming twelve months than reported actual growth on the previous twelve months.

So what is driving this anticipated growth? The answer appears to lie in a resurgent services sector. Whilst the biggest net growth in the past year came from manufacturing-based industries such as pharmaceuticals (43%) and automotive (42%), it is service-based industries that have most confidence for the next 12 months: consulting companies predict 61% net growth, with professional services just behind on 60%.

This increased vigour and activity generates a demand for talent. With the “War for Talent” a reality, and one that I see evidence of every day through my client interactions, we must answer a critical question; “who takes responsibility for meeting the business requirement for high quality talent in a sustainable way?

The Role of Global Mobility When it comes to meeting this demand, my belief is that Global Mobility

departments must play a greater role in resourcing the business need for talent.

A further complication lies in the demand for specialist/technical expert and VP level roles, which now account for nearly half of all roles globally and are considered to be exceptionally difficult to fulfil.

Through my work with companies around the world I can see that Global Mobility departments have to take responsibility for setting up processes and enhancing their inter-relationship with HR, so that we are not just filling these roles, but providing a constant stream of high quality candidates and delivering measurable Return on Investment to the business.

The solution to this challenge lies in some very simple changes that I believe everyone can make.

Link Talent Management & Global Mobility for Better Results Senior and specialist/technical expert roles topped the list of most difficult positions to fill. My advice to any business struggling to find candidates with the correct skills to fill these critical roles is to assess the effectiveness of the interaction between Global Mobility and Talent

2014 GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY

Management as the best way.

In fact the survey results look very interesting when you review those companies that do link the two.

integrate with your Talent Management function is readily available and how you set this up will depend on your business structure. What I can say is that you will need to spend some time planning and assessing your three dependencies; people, process and technology.

Dedicate Time to Planning So how do you find time to dedicate to planning?

One of the most common problems I see when I visit businesses is how stretched they are in terms of resource. Dealing with the day-to-day administration and heft of compliance weighs heavily on Global Mobility professionals. This was highlighted in the survey results and I

can safely say this is a challenge faced by mobility departments globally.

So it is no surprise when we see that 40% of Global Mobility professionals said they want strategic planning to be within their top 5 activities – but only one in ten (11%) are actually managing to do this. In other words, one in three Global Mobility professionals want to become more strategic!

In fact nearly all Global Mobility functions are tactical and focus on short-term horizons of operational service delivery. For the nine-tenths of professionals who aren’t being strategic, their time is instead occupied by ensuring immigration compliance (49%) and tax compliance (45%), as well as general administrative tasks (42%).

Of course, some tactical tasks are vital.

But there is considerable demand to think strategically.

UÊ Ê ÃÊ Üi Ê >ÃÊ VÀi>Ãi`Ê ÃÌÀ>Ìi} VÊ workforce planning, professionals also want to spend extra time on candidate selection (currently a major task for 26% of strategic professionals but only 10% of tactical professionals)…

UÊ Êo > `Ê Ài`ÕViÊ Ì iÊ Ì iÊ Ã«i `Ê on assignment administration (currently a major task for 42% of tactical professionals vs. only 29% of strategic professionals).

Perhaps strategic activity is being constrained by limited resource? After all, less than one third (30%) of professionals tasked with managing Global Mobility are specialists in this area and over half of businesses (52%) have fewer than

When you look at the results of the Global Mobility Survey it is difficult to deny the benefits of this approach.

Companies that link Global Mobility and Talent Management are: UÊ Ê iÌÌiÀÊ « Ã Ì i`Ê Ì Ê `i Ì vÞÊ candidates with the necessary skills and draw assignees from a talent pipeline 36% vs. only 15% of those without links to talent management UÊ Ê iÃÃÊ Ài > ÌÊ Ê «>ÃÃ ÛiÊ Ì>VÌ VÃÊ such as internal advertisements of opportunities (50%) and nominations by management (33%) when it comes to sourcing talent.

They also showed that they generally found it notably less difficult to fill the tricky senior and technical roles.

Suggestion: Advice on how you can SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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2014 GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY three employees managing their Global Mobility operations.

The survey also highlights that organisations with greater alignment of strategy and Global Mobility have two further interesting traits: 1. The Global Mobility team is more likely to report directly into management (18% of strategic professionals vs. 8% of tactical professionals).

2. They’re more likely to have procedures in place to retain returning talent (40% of strategic professionals vs. 27% of tactical professionals).

When it comes to planning, there are a few simple rules here: People Firstly, not everyone needs to be strategic and it is better to identify certain roles that will require a different competency and skill. In the Global Mobility function there are two roles, one that needs to dedicate time to strategic planning, and one that needs to stay focused on the important role of administration and compliance. This will free up resources for those that occupy strategic roles.

Process and Technology Could process re-engineering release time to focus more on strategic

activities? For those who need to be strategic, free up your time for planning, allocate time in your diary and stick to it. Think about systems that could help, but be realistic about this too, implementing a system may be more time consuming than the time you save as a result.

To give you a general idea it was found that businesses that have over 500 expatriate employees tend to invest in systems.

How could you mine data from your HRIS and external systems and use it to ensure that employees with prior international experience are tracked?

Global Mobility Partnering Effective planning requires good information. Finding data that is currently buried in a fragmented HR database and interpreting this incorrectly is a key barrier to effective planning.

Are there activities and data that could be provided better by partnering with a global mobility supplier with specialist resources and systems?

Also, collaborate with your suppliers more for support in general, especially if you are a lone Global Mobility specialist. An established and respected global mobility supplier will have invested in leading edge mobility systems and be able to provide you

with the systems and specialist mobility support across the range of activities that may today be impairing your ability to focus on strategic talent issues.

Don’t Forget to Monitor Effectiveness It is important to measure the improvements you have achieved and report these back to the business.

By taking these steps I would expect organisations to see tangible benefits and positive results within a short time frame, certainly within twelve months of effecting such changes.

To give you an idea of the impact it can have, the 2014 Global Mobility Survey results showed that companies that link Global Mobility with Talent Management are: UÊ n¯ÊLiÌÌiÀÊ>ÌÊÀiÌ> }ÊÌ> i Ì UÊ Ê£ ¯Ê ÀiÊ i ÞÊ Ì Ê LiÊ >L iÊ Ì Ê calculate the costs of their global mobility programmes UÊ ÊÓ {¯Ê ÀiÊ i ÞÊ Ì Ê >VÌ Ûi ÞÊ manage the return on investment from global mobility.

The results do not identify how well Global Mobility and Talent are integrated, so I feel that there are plenty of opportunities for improvement.

There are three areas that companies should consider in order to monitor effectiveness of their changes. Here are some results showing how other companies measure success. Through my experience the most popular methods are not necessarily best practice.

1. Measure Real Costs Make sure you have a way to estimate and track costs. 42% of companies simply use basic everyday software such as Microsoft Excel (vs. 31% of those who do measure success), rather than investing in a specialist in-house system (only 25% who don’t measure success vs. 41% who do).

Furthermore, half (49%) of those who don’t measure success are also unable to calculate the entire cost of assignments after they have ended (vs.

25% who do measure success).

Whether you use internal systems or partner with a supplier, make sure you have this in place and running.

Benchmark prior to going live and then monitor costs religiously.

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

2014 GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY 2. Effectiveness of the Assignment Of course, in order to be able to judge how successful an assignment has been, you need to know what it is that you’re trying to achieve and measure.

37% of businesses typically evaluate using ‘ad-hoc’ methods during the assignment (37%). When measuring success, the most popular way is to judge the assignee’s performance whilst on assignment (57%) and their positive impact on their host business/region (52%).

Define your success criteria and set up your system to track these. Once again you should set these up before you make the transition.

3. Talent Retention Global Mobility involves investment in human capital, so a key aspect to improving ROI is ensuring that you continue to benefit from the investment going forwards. In other words, you

need to retain those employees in whom your company has so heavily invested. Unfortunately, three quarters (72%) of businesses do not have any procedures in place to retain assignees after they return. However, you may also want to consider a way to identify those people you need to retain.

In Conclusion As the ‘War for Talent’ continues to be the topic for CEOs and HR leaders, Global Mobility has an opportunity to demonstrate and create value for their organisations. }Ê L> Ê L ÌÞÊ> `Ê/> i ÌÊ Management delivers results. If you are one of the 53% that don’t currently have this in place and are approaching this task from scratch, you need to take time to plan and implement this change in your business.

If you already have this in place, I would advise that you look at

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opportunities for improvement in the collaboration.

So what are you waiting for?

John Rason Head of Santa Fe Group Consulting Services T: +44 (0)208 961 4141 john.rason@thesantafegroup.com The Global Mobility Survey is conducted annually. It is commissioned by Santa Fe Group and conducted by research company Circle Research in compliance to ISO20252.

Visit www.globalmobilitysurvey.com

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GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT

Ten Key Steps To Effective Global Talent Management While global mobility practices today have evolved considerably from what they were even five years ago, and expatriates in the form of “global careerists” provide substantial benefits for savvy companies who get what they are about and the value they potentially bring, global talent management still presents ongoing challenges for many organisations. This is in part due to the changes modern expatriation has caused, including: (i) the emergence of global careerists; (ii) that expatriates are now increasingly demanding rewards beyond only financial remuneration; and, (iii) that the prestige of an international assignment has been replaced by the normalisation of global mobility as a routine step on the career ladder.

These challenges are further complicated by companies’ slow response to internally adjusting their organisational structures, policies, and procedures to provide a new level of service in line with the changing demographic of the assignee profile. As global careerists become more nimble, savvy, and albeit demanding for companies to support, organisations themselves need to ensure they have the right type of strategic outlook and processes in place to create and administer a more integrated talent management programme within the mobility offering for their people. How do we do this?

Developing and Motivating Global Talent One important way to address global talent management is to shift the focus away from just the end points of the process – finding and acquiring talent, and then trying to keep it – to the intervening processes of deploying and developing talent. Complicating the situation, however, is that expatriate employment relationships are becoming especially complex, particularly in relation to career management support. We recommend a number of best practices for motivating global talent and driving employee engagement:

1. Career Planning It helps for organisations to identify a INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

global talent pool with key positions, including successors for key executive positions, and high potentials. Assignees can then be monitored in terms of what they do and how best to develop them. Global talent review systems are crucial for managing assignees because they enable all parties to know what level assignees are operating at so that business units can pinpoint people with potential and determine in what roles they should next be considered. If little expertise exists internally to provide this, companies may wish to consider funding executive coaching and mentoring, which millennial employees in particular have found to be a valuable part of their expected training and development. This isn’t about helping assignees find a job with competitors, but about managing expectations and helping them find ways to overcome some of their career frustrations while sustaining critical employment relationships.

2. Understand Assignee’s Needs When companies seek feedback from expatriates, the focus is all too often on process elements such as relocation assistance and the quality of the repatriation programme. Rarely do companies seek feedback as to expatriates’ personal satisfaction with an assignment and the outcomes they have derived from it. Questions that matter include whether assignees are happy with their new career/ role, whether they have plans to stay longer, and whether the assignment has helped their development.

3. Prepare and Equip Ensuring that assignees are best prepared to be successful in their new, often challenging assignments, can make or break the important on-boarding and subsequent assimilation phase of the assignment. Organisations that spend the appropriate time and resources to fully prepare and equip their people before departure can help exponentially increase the effectiveness of the transition and also lay the groundwork for ongoing assignment success.

4. Network and Support Maintaining contact with assignees who are considered high potential and alerting them to new opportunities usually involves little effort for a substantial return. However, this requires an organisation to have a structure in place internally, with clear accountability as to who is responsible to liaise with, and support, assignees throughout the assignment.

5. Manage Expectations Assignees’ expectations in relation to global career development are crucial.

When expectations regarding what expatriates are prepared to buy into are clear from the outset, particularly for global careerists pursuing multiple assignments over many years, the commitment and retention rates of assignees are likely to be higher.

6. Plan Repatriation Whether an expatriate is repatriating for good or intending to relocate again at some point in the future, the planning of repatriation activities is a major shortcoming of many companies. Best practice for repatriation involves having an assignee pop up on a list six months or more before he or she is due back, then identifying a job or at the very least entering into a discussion about what could be next. As obvious as this seems, many expatriates worry that they will slip under the radar and be made redundant, or stuck in limbo because the employer has no jobs on offer. Research shows that these fears frequently result in a strong desire to avoid repatriation altogether and instead to re-assign to anywhere but “home,” thus pushing assignees to look for jobs with competitors.

Retaining Global Talent Another important way to address global talent management is to find key ways that companies can keep and retain the talent in which they have invested much time, effort, and money. Ultimately, retaining global talent is perhaps the biggest return on investment payoff of all. The critical question is, once we

GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT have bought or developed talent, how do we counteract talent loss and brain drain? Whether the goal is short-term on-assignment retention from bought talent, or long-term succession planning for talent that is developed internally, the aim has to be to keep the people one really needs long enough to achieve the specific objective that made the organisation want to employ, or deploy, them in the first place. We advocate the following best practices:

7. Instill Top Management Support When top management does not support global career activities, assignees know. Supportive senior managers, particularly those with their own global career experience, can be pivotal in sending clear messages that international assignees are valued and that global careers matter. They can also encourage others in the company to focus on improving global mobility and enhancing global career opportunities.

8. Talk to your assignees One consequence of modern expatriation is that many assignees offered the opportunity to go abroad no longer look at just the next assignment.

Instead, in an attempt to piece together how expatriation, as a career choice, furthers their career and personal aspirations, they look far beyond the next assignment, sometimes seven or ten years down the track, through subsequent re-assignments. Their focus nowadays is frequently much longer-term than that of the organisations they work for.

This can be highly problematic, because in the absence of clear communication channels and openly communicated organisational life, assignees recognise that some of the skills they are acquiring (e.g. cultural flexibility) are generic rather than organisation-specific, and that they can often pursue their careers across organisational boundaries, in inter-organisational careers. The situation may be further complicated by family considerations, for example, a spouse’s career, or the desire for stable and high-quality education for one’s children in alternative suitable locations.

9. Formalise a Talent Management Programme It is one thing to talk about talent management and another to actually

do it. Many companies want and seek talent, but few “walk the talk” when it comes to implementing an effective GTM programme. Research shows, however, that organisations with a properly managed talent management programme (with clear internal accountability for administering, supporting, and deploying talent) have repeatable and sustainable success over their competitors.

10. Reward and Recognition Ultimately assignees need to feel validated and appreciated for their efforts. Having a system of real reward and recognition tied to payfor-performance demonstrates that an organisation actually values the experiences and skills assignees have gained. Linking talent management to performance and rewards then becomes the backbone to demonstrating true organisational commitment to an assignee programme. As people are rewarded and recognised, this also helps to increase assignee engagement and retention. Well-motivated people who are on assignments, doing the job companies want them to do, and who are well received and still considered talented when they come back or move to another assignment, sends a clear message that global careerists are valued and important.

In this article, we have taken a closer look at global talent management, and have recommended that for organisations to acquire the global talent pools they seek, it is essential to follow a 10-step plan. This requires attention to the softer elements of human capital management: a genuine feeling that mobility is supported by top management, that successful assignees are rewarded and recognised for their efforts, and that their expectations are openly discussed and understood.

Doing so is crucial because, in today’s expatriation landscape, an organisation’s future is dependent on its global talent pool and its mechanisms for enlarging and developing that pool.

References McNulty, Y. & Inkson, K. (2013).

Managing Expatriates: A Return on Investment Approach. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.

Minbaeva, D. & Collings, D. (2013).

Seven myths of global talent management.

International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(9): 1762-1776.

Ready, D. & Conger, J. (2007). Make your company a talent factory. Harvard Business Review, June: 69–77.

Scullion, H. & Collings, D. (2011).

Global talent management. London: Routledge.

Further Reading Bartlett, C. & Ghoshal, S. (2003).

What is a global manager? Harvard Business Review, August: 101-108.

Brimm, L. (2010). Global Cosmopolitans: The Creative Edge of Difference. Hampshire, UK: PalgraveMacmillan.

Reis, C., & Baruch, Y. (2013). Careers Without Borders: Critical Perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.

Vorhauser-Smith, S., & Cariss, K. (2014). Talented Southeast Asia: Business Success Through Talent Management Excellence. Singapore: PageUp People.

Dr. Yvonne McNulty holds a doctoral degree in international business from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. A member of the Global Business and Organizational Excellence Editorial Advisory Board, she is also an associate editor of the Journal of Global Mobility, associate faculty at the Singapore Institute of Management University, and an expert in the field of expatriation.

She can be contacted at ymcnulty@expatresearch.com John Brice is Head of Talent Management at MSI (Mobility Services International) where he leads a team of experienced talent management professionals providing consultative expertise to organisations looking to grow, compete and globalise. He is an active member with Worldwide ERC’s position around the growing topic of talent mobility, including serving as a speaker and facilitator of the industry GMS-T (Global Mobility SpecialistTalent) designation.

John can be reached at john.brice@msitalent.com SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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MILLENNIALS IN MOBILITY

Managing Generations And Relocations The modern workplace is becoming increasingly complex and a one-sizefits-all approach is no longer suitable when determining your employees drivers and motivations for success. Put simply, understanding your workforce is no longer as straight forward as it was in the past, and most organisations will recognise that employees are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of culture, gender, skills and age.

Age is one of the biggest defining factors in the modern workforce, and can form vast differences in motivations, needs, behaviours and expectations.

Generations are marked by the cultural, political, economic and social norms of their youth, so it makes sense that each generation is influenced differently – particularly when it comes to relocation and international assignments.

Both Generation X and Y typically seek a more flexible way of working and an opportunity to see and explore the wider world. They want to focus on what they can achieve at work and the value that they can add, rather than the amount of hours they spend there. Moreover, this age bracket is comfortable with remote working and the use of technology for communication, aspects that can be defining factors of success when relocating abroad.

Millennials too, generally in their 20s and early 30s, are typically more open to the idea of relocation, something which can even be an expectation for some, as they want to explore places, cultures and seek a career that can give them a similar experience to exploration or travelling. This generation often has more international travel experience and a greater comfort with technology, and do not necessarily aspire to “move up” in their organisation; they value experience more. These traits can positively affect the mobility of Millennials, who tend to manage their careers pro-actively and therefore have expectations about assignments that their predecessors may not have had, in the sense that they expect their work to be both personally and professionally rewarding.

Because they are more connected to the world through technology and have more travel experience or awareness than past generations, during relocation INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

this new generation does not require the same kind of support as older assignees.

Supporting Millennials means making the value proposition of assignments very clear to them, adapting policy and programme support to integrate with their needs. This generational demographic varies across industries and cultures – ranging from the adventurer assignees that raise their hands, to the elite and highly educated assignees with greater expectations.

Newer generations prefer online contact to personal when moving and expect information quickly and concisely, where they can readily process material and create swift plans. Providing online resources and help to these generations is essential, and something which a third party relocation company can assist with, taking the strain off the younger generations who have an expectation of ready made materials and information.

With relocation such a huge motivation for this generation, HR plays an important role in attracting a high caliber workforce and maintaining motivation within it. Creating a culture of openness and trust can ensure that employees can be clear about their aspirations and ensure that the business can support them where possible, helping create and maintain a happy workforce. Moreover, introducing an international assignment project can help employees to understand the future possibilities for their career and actively demonstrate that the business understands the different needs and motivations of employees. Even offering the possibility of a short assignment, which really stretches a high potential graduate, may be an ideal motivator at that stage of an individual’s career.

Organisations that can recognise the increasing complexity of the generational gap and reflect it in their culture and business infrastructure, are likely to be rewarded by increased engagement and productivity. Offering a competitive rewards package and flexibility at certain life stages will attract the calibre of staff needed to undertake expat assignments, as individuals are likely to become more mobile if they see a move as conducive to career development and it occurs at an appropriate life stage. Approaches to global mobility are at their most effective

when they are underpinned by effective policy frameworks and authorisation routes that are adhered to.

Peter Sewell is a Regional Director at Crown World Mobility. Peter has a strong track record in developing global mobility policies, processes and strategies. Peter is responsible for overseeing client programmes and service delivery, implementing group policies, working closely with expatriate tax and other suppliers. He’s also in charge of reviewing existing local practices and leading project reviews with customers.

Email: psewell@crownww.com For further information about Crown World Mobility’s services, please visit www.crownworldmobility.com

NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY The 2015 Corporate Relocation Conference & Exhibition will take place on Monday 2nd February 2015 For further information on attending or exhibiting, please email: helen@internationalhradviser.com or telephone Helen Elliott +44 (0)208 661 0186

TECHNOLOGY

Turning Technology Towards Tomorrow: Undoing Dotcom Damage There is no shortage of commentary and analysis on the subject of the technology bubble, its causes and effects on the technology sector, capital markets and the economy at large. Very little however, has been written about the lingering impact on sectors that were fated to mature concurrently with the dotcom era.

Unquestionably, the relocation industry has been around longer than twenty years. However, it could be reasonably asserted that the industry began to establish global organisational momentum, professionalise, diversify and spawn a new class of specialised vendors at a time consistent with the emergence of the technology bubble phenomenon.

For the international relocation industry, these legacy factors are in abundant evidence. The driving forces behind many of today’s financial service offerings to the relocation market were defined in a very unique time and place, and upon inspection are revealed to have little or no bearing or relevance relative to today’s challenges.

Oddly, despite the highly visible and spectacularly inglorious end of the dotcom era, and its attendant dashed hopes, broken dreams and lost fortunes, an alarming number of the niche financial services shops that emerged during that unparalleled era have clung stubbornly and inexplicably to their originating operational configuration and strategic reasoning.

A characteristic and indelible imprint marks the organisations that were forged in the dying embers of the technology bubble. The boutique financial services players born into the chaos of the tech meltdown bear common hallmarks that demand radical operational and strategic rethinks, and that do not reconcile easily with New Normal dynamics.

Unhealthy Obsessions The international relocation industry’s metaphorical coming of age coincided with the financial services sector’s descent into a series of unseemly figurative mid-life crises. In a cruel twist of ironic fate rivaled only by daytime television

drama, the two industries were set on an irreversible collision course during times of great timult and instability.

The financial services sector, beginning to show its age but newly liberated into cyberspace following a divorce from paper-based, manual processes, became hopelessly enamoured with the relocation industry, a dazzling beauty with uncontested markets, blue chip employers, affluent assignees and the promise of globalisation-fuelled double digit growth.

Bullish outlooks with respect to the number of global transfers (and by extension household goods cargo shipments to be insured), attracted the attentions of opportunistic brokers and insurance carriers. International marine cargo insurance for expatriates had been the exclusive domain of a handful of faithful, old school brokers and select removers, where wandering eyes had been kept in check by a burdensome administrative processes. Now there was a surge of handsome new market entrants armed to the gills with highly efficient online capabilities.

The relocation industry meanwhile, had designs of its own with respect to financial services in general, and insurance in particular. Soaring real estate markets and the stable mortgage environment of the eighties and nineties compelled opportunistic relocation management companies to introduce ever more comprehensive and sophisticated spinoff offerings in order to harness and multiply related revenue streams.

This very era saw the advent of escrow programmes, mortgage buy-down provisions, and home purchase plans, each of which had complex insurance implications. Collectively these initiatives gave rise to garish inventories of vacant homes deliberately eschewed by general domestic carriers and begging boutique provider attention.

the nature of participants and magnitude of initial capitalisation.

The dotcom phenomenon hit its stride in the mid-nineties. Early entrants into online business models were new age tech startups, innovative bio-pharm labs and pioneering online retailers. Not surprisingly, latecomers to the party were financial services players, famously slow to embrace change or modify course.

But it was still pre-bust and optimism remained high among those who didn’t - or refused to - see the writing on the wall. Ready-to-serve business plans drafted by alpha-house consulting firms envisioned multi-million dollar investments and returns consistent with those that had been generated by the early arrivals, fuelled in part by the seemingly endless spring of rags-toriches tales emanating daily from Silicon Valley.

But it was not the multinational behemoths, brand name global financial institutions that flung themselves into the dotcom fray. Rather, it was baby boomers; ‘forty-somethings’ that had cut their teeth and toiled for decades within the large multinational firms who jumped or were pushed into entrepreneurial ventures at the turn of the millennium. The values, skillsets and perspectives ingrained during the early careers of this influential demographic group would, to a great extent shape the organisations they formed.

Perhaps most influentially, investors and management alike envisioned substantial returns over a short period, and were predicated on five-year exit strategies. Which is to say that the boutique shops born during the tech bubble were never meant to still be around today.

The technology that was developed in this environment suffered from many fundamental strategic and tactical flaws.

‘… a good time, not a long time.’

Blind Adherence to Technology When a highly capitalised start up’s primary differentiated value proposition is technology, it runs the risk of promoting technical solutions

An enduring legacy of the dotcom period on financial boutique players was the zeitgeist of the era that determined

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TECHNOLOGY purely for the for the sake of technology.

Certain companies of the era became hopelessly wed to the relentless pursuit of automation irrespective of whether efficacy was improved or value was being created, or whether the outcome was even commercially viable.

Hurried Development A favourite and irrefutable axiom of technology developers goes as follows “Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two.”

Highly capitalised dotcom startups scrambling to establish first mover advantage and to throw revenue numbers at restless investors were by necessity bound to the latter pair.

Undisciplined Development In the over-hyped atmosphere of the late nineties, everyone was an expert, quite ironically, as regards something relatively novel and unproven.

When it comes to technology development there are few things more dangerous than an unstructured gathering of generally intelligent and otherwise well-intentioned business people spewing forth with a veritable compendium of navigation features, application functionality and other web goodies from their favourite video game or website.

Equally dangerous are technogeeks left to their own devices with vague or drifting specifications and requirements.

Dotcom startups simply didn’t have either the inclination or the luxury of applying project management rigour and discipline to the development process and in certain cases delivered bloated and overcomplicated systems often requiring frequent manual intervention and workarounds.

Artificial Technology Robust, database-supported technology with underlying coded logic, automated functions and comprehensive reports is one thing. An online form that sends an email to a person who subsequently prints it and reverts to manual processes is another thing altogether.

In the distorted lens of the bubble, with an eye catching flash intro, streaming videos and some snappy tunes thrown in for good measure, some boutique firms represented that they were a lot more automated than they actually were.

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Like technological toupées, these distractions maintained the illusion for a short while before the jig was up.

The problems became evident when costs ran amok and spiralling numbers of human resources were needed to maintain an increasingly complex array of spreadsheets and manual reports.

Misdeployed Technology Some financial service technologies were zealously developed with a stated goal of maximum automation and “touchless” processes. Such initiatives at times failed to appreciate the negative impact on user experience during planning stages. In certain cases reworked workflows served only to shift data entry burden and other onerous and time consuming tasks from within the service providers operations to the end user. Not surprisingly, they were not well received.

‘The boutique shops born during the tech bubble were never meant to still be around today. They were built for speed and not endurance.’

Moving On As is often the case with ill-advised, unfortunate and short-lived romances, not one party is entirely at fault and not everything that transpired is contemptible.

Consumers, both corporate and individual dazzled by novel e-commerce workflows pressed providers for user experiences that fundamentally mimicked a vending machine. The ultimate result was a system built back-to-front. In delivering what the consumer wanted at a torrid pace in search of revenue, boutique financial services providers often developed rigid and inflexible systems on the consumer side supported by highly flexible and adaptive human systems in the back office. In 2014, it is glaringly obvious that an entirely opposite configuration is the more workable mechanism.

Niche financial services dotcom startups also played a timely and critical role in bridging the information and communications gap between corporate employers and remote assignees during early days of the internet. In the frenzied scramble to stake claims on the frontier of the added-value offering, alliances were forged at record pace. HR and Mobility departments starved of funding and with little or no access to development resources welcomed the proliferation of content, access programmes, online tools, and hyperlinks with open arms at a time when comprehensive corporate extranets were the stuff of dreams.

Years later, and in the wake of substantial market consolidation, the further emergence of specialised niche players, the net result is a confusing and inefficient muddle of overlapping and redundant services from which clients can not easily or cost effectively extract themselves.

‘Dotcom financial service providers developed rigid and inflexible systems on the consumer side supported by flexible and adaptive human systems in the back office. In 2014 it is glaringly obvious that an entirely opposite configuration is the more workable mechanism.’

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe put it best: “Less is more.”

Financial Service providers, and to an extent corporate sponsors as well, remain a little bit delusional about the extent to which their technology and web presence is actually utilised; especially as regards insurance. Suffice

TECHNOLOGY to say, most people don’t stagger down stairs in their jammies each morning and stare bleary-eyed at an international insurance website, whether they are on a foreign assignment or not. At the end of the day claims service is what matters above all and getting that right requires a very human touch.

In the capital markets, as banks and brokerages stumbled over themselves to win the race to fully ‘web-enable’ their offerings in a deregulatory stupor, they ran roughshod over the sector’s wisdom of the ages. Client advocacy, familiarity and sage counsel was the baby that went out with the bath water.

The pendulum finally swung the other way when the credit crisis followed quickly on the heels of the burst bubble, and all financial services sectors were swept up in the ensuing dragnet, insurance included.

Compliance and best practices were the buzz words of the day and the frenzy of online trading, self-managed portfolios that saw lifetime savings evaporate for

want of professional guidance, receded to normal levels.

International mobility however, was different. Online transactions to this day remain a crucial component of financial services delivery for the simple fact that the market is geographically scattered.

T h a n k f u l l y n i c h e p r ov i d e r s dedicated to the mobility marketplace that have come into existence in the past handful of years have the benefit

of hindsight and can draw lessons from what can only be described as a very interesting phase in the evolution of two sectors. The debutant is a little wiser. The toupées have been put away.

Cloud technology, SAS business models, smartphone apps, and whatever comes next, will be investigated a little more sensibly and weighed on their merits, and a general absence of irrational exuberance will serve all parties favourably.

Paul Coleman, President and CEO, TERN Financial Group Inc. Paul has spent his entire career working within the global finance and insurance industry accumulating experience and expertise both from the perspective of service provider/intermediary as well as that of client/buyer.

In 2002 he embarked on a innovative start-up project that grew into a multimillion dollar enterprise. As Executive Vice President he provided strategic and tactical guidance and direction for the organisation that included oversight and development of the Canadian, European and UK markets.

TERN Financial Group Inc. has developed an array of novel solutions, innovative products and improved processes that respond to the unique needs of expatriates, relocation industry vendors and their corporate clients to the ultimate benefit of transferees and their dependents.

Email paul@terngrp.com www.terngrp.com

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and will be held at Hotel Russell, Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 5BE There will be six free seminars and over 40 exhibitors with products and services that support International HR professionals and their assignees This event is FREE to attend For further information or to reserve your place, please email: helen@internationalhradviser.com or call Helen Elliott on +44 (0) 208 661 0186

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HEALTH

Why Wellbeing Is Important Research has shown that being in employment positively impacts your health and wellbeing, and working people tend to be happier and healthier than those who do not work. However, work can also be bad for your health, as negative working situations can be detrimental to your quality of life both inside and outside the workplace.

At Bupa, we believe that we can improve global health through the workplace, by enabling businesses to help their people live happier and healthier lives.

Healthy workplaces do not only benefit employees and society, but also employers.

Research demonstrates that companies that help their people improve or manage their health see higher productivity, decreased levels of absenteeism, better customer loyalty, greater profitability, and lower rates of employee turnover. Bearing this all in mind, it is clear that a corporate focus on employee wellbeing is crucial, and should inform the business strategies of all companies.

Longer, healthier, happier lives is central to our strategy Bupa’s purpose is 'longer, healthier, happier' lives. It is a commitment to our customers and to our people – as well as to the communities in which we operate. As a company dedicated to improving people’s health, we know the importance of employee wellbeing. At Bupa, this means creating a culture and environment in which our employees are actually healthier as a result of working for us. Achieving this goal is central to our business strategy.

Holistic approach to employee wellbeing Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is driven by physical, psychological, social and environmental factors. That is why at Bupa International our own employee wellbeing programme (called ‘My Well World’) recognises this interplay by focusing on these four key areas: UÊ i> Ì ÞÊL ` iÃÊ­« ÞÃ V> ÊÜi Li }® UÊ Ê i> Ì ÞÊ `ÃÊ ­«ÃÞV } V> Ê wellbeing) UÊ i> Ì ÞÊVÕ ÌÕÀiÊ­Ã V > ÊÜi Li }® UÊ Ê i> Ì ÞÊ Ü À « >ViÊ ­i Û À i Ì> Ê wellbeing).

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

Healthy Bodies We want to play an active role in helping reduce preventable deaths. We are doing this by helping our people understand the risk factors associated with preventable diseases (e.g. cardio vascular disease, diabetes, cancers, and chronic lung disease). To do this we give all our people access to information and programmes which encourage them to engage in activities which modify these risks such as educating people about tobacco usage, nutrition and diet, alcohol consumption and the importance of physical activity.

Many risk factors associated with preventable diseases are rising as a result of modern lifestyles, with health issues such as obesity trebling in the number of cases over the last 25 years. Being overweight is associated with a higher risk of other preventable illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, joint disorders and certain types of cancer.

This increase is largely as a result of a widespread decrease in physical activity.

Obesity can also have an impact on health and safety at work, for instance, by affecting employees’ ability to carry out tasks safely. There are several ways employers can and should help their employees tackle weight issues, e.g. by making a range of healthy options available in site canteens and promoting increased physical activity.

At Bupa, we partnered with the World Heart Federation to promote the health benefits of walking more. Working with our Bupa colleagues around the world we set a target to walk five million miles for our Ground Miles Challenge. By the end of January 2014 we had reached that target. Achieving this has unlocked funds to invest in programmes to protect thousands of children from heart failure and early death.

Healthy minds Mental health problems are the greatest cause of sickness absence, and the economic downturn alongside continual organisational change has only exacerbated this. According to the CIPD, two-fifths of organisations have reported an increase in stress-related absences over the past year, and a similar proportion claim to have seen an increase in reported mental health problems too.

We have worked with clinical psychologists to design a management training programme for senior managers and leaders called ‘Performance Energy’.

This programme has been developed in response to the increased demands from organisations, and is designed to help leaders prevent stress, fatigue and ill health in their workforce. The programme provides training on the physiology of resilience and energy, making good choices and maintaining a sense of control, as well as education about the impacts of different mind-sets and attitudes at work.

It is important that businesses speak to their employees (or ask them via surveys) to find out the causes of stress in their specific workplaces, and work with their people to generate useful solutions. A one-size-fits-all solution is not the answer.

Workplace stress can happen for many reasons, and may be triggered by feelings of being out of control, ambiguity during times of change or a general lack of work fulfilment. In this instance employers should help their employees see the connection between their day-to-day activities and the overarching goals of the company.

Healthy culture It is also important that employees feel they have supportive relationships at work. While this can sometimes be as simple as ensuring that people feeling able to talk to colleagues when problems arise, creating a genuinely ‘healthy work culture’ is much more complex, and is made up of employees perceptions about the business – it’s managerial practices, leadership behaviours, employee involvement and rewards systems. As such, managers should reflect their company’s wellbeing policies in their actions, as this consistency can improve employee trust. Organisations can gauge and measure these and other cultural factors through employee surveys, supplemented by workshops and focus groups.

Managers play a vital role in supporting employee wellbeing. It is about building an environment where employees can have open and honest conversations about the challenges they are facing.

Managers need to be aware of the different

HEALTH lifestyle demands employees may have (especially in diverse workforces) and help them to manage these demands more effectively. Managerial openness to flexible working can also help to achieve greater commitment and employee engagement. That having been said, employees should recognise that flexibility is a two way street, and be adaptable to help the business succeed too. Flexible working opportunities are not just about attracting, engaging and retaining employees, but are also about driving up the bottom line. Indeed, over 50% of employees report that flexible working helps them achieve a better work–life balance, which makes them healthier and more productive and reduces the amount of time that they take off sick.

Healthy workplace There are many ways in which the physical work environment can impact employee health and wellbeing.

Organisations have a Health and Safety responsibility to provide essentials such as clean indoor air, safe drinking water, ergonomic workstation designs and disability management practices.

Getting these basic things right, can help prevent problems later on. For example, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as back pain are very common drivers of absenteeism and can be caused and aggravated by poor and uncomfortable working conditions.

It is clear that prevention is better (and can be more cost-effective) than cure, so organisations should strive to create work environments that promote social interaction (e.g. spaces for people to get together) and healthy choices (e.g. healthy meal options, onsite gyms and local gym subsidies when this is not possible). However, it is also important to provide appropriate and early support for when issues arise.

For any organisation considering employee wellbeing, the aim should

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be to provide holistic programmes with a range of different activities that are accessible to most employees, whatever their current health, fitness levels or shift patterns. The most successful wellbeing programmes are likely to be those that are flexible, social, affirmative and fun. Remember to consider diversity issues so to avoid unintentional discrimination, by looking to understand cultural barriers and exploring how they can be overcome. The best way to do this is to involve employees from the very beginning of the process, and by setting up wellbeing champions or teams to design meaningful activities that are aligned to both the wellbeing goals of the business and the priorities of employees.

For more information about Bupa and its global business health insurance plans, please call: +44 (0)1273 256 012 or visit: bupa-intl.com/company

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courtesy of Features include: London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Helping You To Overcome The Hurdles Employment: To Boldly Go Where No Employee Has Gone Before Relocation: What Wal-Mart Has Taught Us About Expansion Into Europe Global Mobility Strategy: It Is Time To Treat Mobility Like A Business Imperative Retaining Expatriate Staff: How To Keep Expatriates From Leaving (MPCBM *NNJHSBUJPO t (MPCBM 5BY 6QEBUF

Features include: China Challenges For HR - Investing In 3rd And Even 4th Tier Cities /VSUVSJOH (MPCBM -FBEFST t 4BMBSJFT 5IF /FX 8PSME 0SEFS %BUB "OBMZUJDT 5IF "SU 0G 5IF 1PTTJCMF *O *OUFSOBUJPOBM .PCJMJUZ .BOBHFNFOU (MPCBM *NNJHSBUJPO 6QEBUF t (MPCBM 5BYBUJPO 6QEBUF (MPCBM 5SFOET 4VSWFZT t 5BMFOU .BOBHFNFOU Advisory Panel for this issue:

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GLOBAL IMMIGRATION

Global Imigration Update EUROPEAN UNION EU Lawmakers Approve Plan to Harmonise Immigration Rules for Intracompany Transferees May 15, 2014 European lawmakers have adopted a directive that will harmonise immigration rules for intracompany transferees in most EU member states and facilitate the transfer of managers, specialists and graduate trainees both into and within the region. EU member states will have two and a half years to implement the directive into their domestic laws from the date it is published in the Official Journal of the European Union, which is expected very soon. The directive will not apply in Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Benefits of the New Permit Under the directive, EU states will create a new permit specifically annotated to reflect “intra-corporate transferee” (ICT) status. ICT permits will be valid for a maximum stay of three years for managers and specialists and one year for graduate trainees.

In addition to permitting work in the EU state that initially grants the permit, the ICT permit will permit a transferee to work for entities of the same multinational group in other EU states for up to 90 days within a sixmonth period. For these intra-EU work stays, a member state may require, at a maximum, an ICT permit holder to submit a government notification before entering for employment in the member state’s territory. For intra-EU work stays exceeding 90 days, member states may require a separate ICT permit application.

ICT permit holders will be permitted to work at third-party client sites of the multinational host company.

Accompanying family members of ICT permit holders will benefit from eased access to local labour markets and should equally benefit from the directive’s the 90-day accommodation.

Eligibility Criteria The directive will cover the temporary transfer of non-EU national managers, specialists and graduate trainees from an entity located outside the EU to an EU entity belonging to the same INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

multinational group. The directive does not specify criteria for qualifying corporate relationships, but it contemplates a diverse range of possible business relationships.

EU states will be permitted to set their own requirements for prior qualifying employment, provided that the requirement is between three to twelve months for managers and specialists and three to six months for graduate specialists. There will be no specific educational requirements for managers or specialists, but graduate trainees will be required to hold a university degree.

Applications for the permits will not require labour market testing. Transferees must earn a salary that is at least equal to that of local workers in comparable positions.

The directive anticipates that member states may create expedited application procedures for ICT permits.

What the Directive Means for Employers The directive should do much to facilitate the movement of key workers for multinational companies. The impact will likely vary across EU member states, because member states will have considerable latitude to determine how to incorporate the permits into their domestic immigration systems.

The adoption of the directive may lead to minor procedural changes in some countries, while in others it could lead to a substantial overhaul of a country’s immigration system.

UNITED KINGDOM Right-To-Work Checks Simplified, Employer Sanctions Increased May 20, 2014 Employment eligibility verification requirements have been simplified while fines for noncompliant businesses have increased, effective May 16, 2014.

Simplified Right-to-Work Checks The list of acceptable documents that can serve as proof of work authorisation has been reduced, which will simplify the verification process for employers.

With the change, the Home Office establishes biometric residence permits as the primary form of evidence, with

similar immigration documents, such as Residence Cards and passports endorsed with authorisation to work, also accepted.

Employers that can establish they checked these documents prior to the commencement of employment have a statutory excuse to allegations of noncompliance.

Employers are no longer required to re-verify their employees’ work rights annually. Rather, they are required to conduct re-verification checks that coincide with the expiration dates of their employees’ visas.

The grace period for employers conducting a right-to-work check of employees following a merger, acquisition or other change in corporate ownership has been doubled to 60 days after the corporate reorganisation.

Increased Fines The maximum civil penalty that can be imposed on an employer for employing an unauthorised worker has been doubled to £20,000. The Home Office’s method of calculating civil penalties has also been simplified from the previous sliding scale.

The maximum civil penalty for a first breach is up to £15,000 per unauthorised employee. Subsequent violations can result in a maximum penalty of £20,000 per unauthorised employee. The penalty assessed will be less than the maximums where mitigating factors, such as employer cooperation with ongoing investigations, are in evidence.

What This Means for Employers Employers should see a reduction in the administrative and logistical burden of conducting right-to-work checks as a result of the simplification, particularly with the elimination of annual follow-up checks.

However, many Tier 2 sponsors will need to change their internal processes to account for not conducting the annual follow-up checks. Many sponsors use the annual checks as an opportunity to verify up-to-date contact and next of kin details, and to confirm that employees' roles and duties have not changed.

These processes are an invaluable part of ongoing immigration compliance for Tier 2 sponsors and may need to be re-visited in another context.

GLOBAL IMMIGRATION The increase in potential penalties for facilitating or permitting unauthorised work highlights the importance of establishing internal procedures for initial right-to-work checks and for reliable systems to track visa and work permit expiration dates.

AUSTRALIA Subclass 457 Visa Compliance: Compulsory Retirement Contribution Rate Increases on July 1 May 21, 2014 Australia’s compulsory employer superannuation contribution rate – the amount employers are required to contribute toward employee retirement funds – will increase 0.25 percent to 9.5 percent on July 1, 2014 as part of a programme of increases designed to raise the rate to 12 percent by 2020. This superannuation rate last increased, by 0.25 percent, on July 1, 2013.

Employers who choose to reduce the salary component of the total salary package of a foreign national rather than increase the package by 0.25 percent (providing this is permitted under the employment contract) will need to notify Department of Immigration and Border Protection of the change. Before making any decision to reduce the salary component, an employer must ensure that the adjusted salary will continue to satisfy the market rate requirement.

What This Means for Employers Employers should develop strategies for how they will account for increases in superannuation contribution rates.

Employers should also review their subclass 457 visa holders’ contracts of employment to determine whether the contracts permit them to adjust employees' salaries to account for higher superannuation rates. Employees will need to be notified of the change in superannuation rates and how it will impact them.

Employers that take on the expense of additional superannuation payments will not be required to take any action. A new subclass 457 nomination will only be required if the salary component of the salary package is reduced to accommodate for the increase in superannuation contribution rate.

MALAYSIA Reminder: Employers Must Register for E-Filing System

May 22, 2014 E m p l oy e r s a p p l y i n g f o r n e w employment passes with the Malaysian Immigration Department (MID) are reminded that they must complete an online registration process before they can use the new e-filing web portal.

Employers must use the new online portal to submit applications for approval to fill an open position with a foreign national candidate (Stage 1 of the employment pass application).

The online registration process may take up to two months. Companies that are not already registered can expect delays of approximately two months in the processing of new employment passes.

What This Means for Clients Employers that have not already registered to use the new e-filing system should take immediate steps to do so. Employers may have to postpone start dates for upcoming assignments in Malaysia due to the expected delays.

For registered employers, processing of employment pass applications continues to average five to eight weeks.

Though the new online filing system is creating new administrative burdens and delays for employers, it is expected to help MID processing become more efficient and reduce application wait times in the long term.

SOUTH AFRICA New Re-Entry Bans In Force for Visa Overstays May 27, 2014 Foreign nationals who overstay their visas in South Africa are now subject to bans on re-entering the country, according to an internal directive from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Previously visa overstays were subject to fines. The change is effective immediately. The length of an individual’s re-entry ban will depend on the length of the overstay: UÊÊ Êv Ài } Ê >Ì > ÊÜ Ê ÛiÀÃÌ>ÞÃÊv ÀÊ 30 days or less will not be able to enter South Africa for 12 months.

UÊÊ Ê v Ài } Ê >Ì > Ê Ü Ê ÛiÀÃÌ>ÞÃÊ a visa for the second time within a period of 24 months will not be able to enter for two years.

UÊÊ Ê v Ài } Ê >Ì > Ê Ü Ê ÛiÀÃÌ>ÞÃÊ for more than 30 days will be subject to a five-year ban on entry.

What This Means for Employers Employers are advised to work with their immigration partners immediately to review how the rule change will affect foreign nationals who are required to travel internationally in the upcoming weeks.

Employers should continue to carefully monitor the expiration dates of their foreign workers and to plan extension applications well in advance to avoid lapses in authorised stay.

UNITED STATES July 2014 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 India to Advance By Nearly Four Years, As Projected June 10, 2014 According to the State Department’s July Visa Bulletin, a surge in EB-2 India immigrant visa availability will occur next month, when the priority date cut-off for the subcategory will advance by nearly three years and nine months, to September 1, 2008. EB-2 China will move forward by five weeks, to July 1, 2009, but EB-3 China will remain at October 1, 2006 after this month’s dramatic retrogression.

EB-3 Philippines will advance by one year, to January 1, 2009, while EB-3 India will move ahead by two weeks, to November 1, 2003. For all other countries, EB-3 will remain at April 1, 2011.

The significant advancement for EB-2 India is made possible by unused immigrant visas in the EB-1 and EB-2 worldwide categories. EB-2 India is expected to continue to advance in the remaining months of the fiscal year.

The State Department projects that the cut-off date could move to February 2009 in August and to an early summer 2009 date in September of this year.

Though EB-5 remains current in July, the State Department could impose a cut-off date for China in August or September of this year.

The content herein is provided for information purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact Fragomen Global Immigration.

Fragomen Global, LLP +1 (212) 688 8555 (direct) globalknowledge@fragomen.com www.fragomen.com Fragomen has 35 offices in 15 countries.

For further information, please contact the Global Knowledge Team.

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DIARY DATES JULY

OCTOBER

The Forum for Expatriate Management The Sydney Totally Expat Show

Worldwide ERC®: Global Workforce Symposium 2014

25 July, 2014 Sydney, Australia Make your international assignees experiences the best they can be and attend the inaugural 2014 Sydney Totally Expat Show. Hundreds of global mobility professionals from across Australia will gather for this one day conference and exhibition, benefitting from a cutting edge conference programme featuring top global mobility experts, the opportunity to network with leading suppliers to learn about the latest innovations expatriate management, plus the opportunity to meet, network and share best practice with industry peers.

For more information, please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk In-House/HR Global Mobility Professionals attend free – book your place at: http://totallyexpat.com/sydney-show-2014/

SEPTEMBER Worldwide ERC®: Global Workforce Summit: Talent Mobility in Latin America 2014 September 3-4, 2014 Renaissance São Paulo Hotel, in São Paulo, Brazil Worldwide ERC® is pleased to announce its first Global Workforce Summit in Latin America.

To celebrate Worldwide ERC®’s first Latin America Summit, special, discounted registration fees are being offered to in-house mobility practitioners who oversee any aspect of their own company’s mobility programme (HR, compensation/benefits, talent management, finance, etc.). Space is limited at this special rate, so register today to ensure your participation!

Learn more and register at www.worldwideerc.org/main/en/LATAM14/ Pages/conference-home.aspx

The Americas Global Mobility Summit September 17-19, 2014 Metropolitan Pavilion, New York The Americas Summit is the annual meeting place for influential global mobility professionals, providers, consultants and industry experts from across the Americas to discuss and discover new opportunities in the ever-evolving world of expatriate management. Leading speakers will be sharing practical information and insight into the most important issues in global mobility today. Alongside this, suppliers representing all areas of global mobility will be showcasing their latest developments, products and technology within the networking exhibition.

If you want to gain the knowledge, contacts and skills needed to ensure every assignment is productive, efficient and cost-effective, register your place now (in-house HR/global mobility professionals attend free)!

For more information, please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk In-House Corporate HR Professionals attend free – book your place at: www.totallyexpat.com/new-york-show-2014/

If you would like to advertise a conference or exhibition on our Diary Dates page and on www.internationalhradviser.com please email damian@internationalhradviser.com Entries cost £250 per conference INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

October 8-10, 2014 The Hilton Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America The leaders in global talent mobility will be networking, strategising and sharing ideas for thriving in the global marketplace. Experience new heights in workforce mobility, and join in the celebrations of Worldwide ERC®’s 50th Anniversary in the city of its birthplace! If you are a corporate HR professional attending the Symposium for the first time, we invite you to be our guest and experience the outstanding opportunities for education, benchmarking and networking at no cost to register.

Learn more and register at www.worldwideerc.org/Events/Pages/gws14. aspx

The APAC Global Mobility Summit October 14, 2014 Orchard Hotel, Singapore Make your international assignees experiences the best they can be and attend our 2014 APAC Global Mobility Summit. Hundreds of global mobility professionals from across Asia will gather for this one day conference and exhibition, benefitting from a cutting edge conference programme featuring top global mobility experts, the opportunity to network with leading suppliers to learn about the latest innovations expatriate management, plus the opportunity to meet, network and share best practice with industry peers.

If you want to gain the knowledge, contacts and skills needed to ensure every assignment is productive, efficient and cost-effective, register your place now (in-house HR/global mobility professionals attend free)!

For more information, please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk In-House Corporate HR Professionals attend free – book your place at: www.totallyexpat.com

NOVEMBER The EMEA Global Mobility Summit November 7, 2014 Lancaster Hotel, London As FEM’s flagship event, the EMEA Global Mobility Summit is a fantastic opportunity for industry professionals from far and wide to unite with peers, specialists, consultants and service providers at an event designed for networking. Learn from the experts, stay up to date, discuss and discover new opportunities in the constantly evolving world of expatriate management at this one day conference and networking exhibition.

For more information, please contact Iyla MacIntyre on +44(0) 20 7943 8027 or email iyla.macintyre@centaur.co.uk In-House/HR Global Mobility Professionals attend free – book your place at: www.totallyexpat.com/emea-summit-2014/

HR Inspired November 20, 2014 The May Fair Hotel, London, UK After the success of HR Inspired at Ascot Racecourse, we announce that the next date is on Thursday 20th November at The May Fair Hotel, London.

This central location will see 150 senior HR professionals come together to discuss Employee Engagement and Talent Management over the course of an action packed day. This conference is complimentary if you are a senior corporate end user.

For more information or to register please visit www.cibexmedia.com

DIRECTORY ASSIGNMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES TOTAL REWARD GROUP Chart House, 10 Western Road, Borough Green, Kent, TN15 8AG Contact: Simon Richardson Telephone: +44 (0) 1732 780777 Fax: +44 (0) 1732 668284 Email: simon.richardson@totalrewardgroup.com Website: www.totalrewardgroup.com Total Reward Group is a ‘boutique’ employee owned reward practice, providing consultancy, search, interim managers and professional training for analysts.

The Global Mobility division of TRG provides both advisory services on policy development, as well as fully outsourced assignment management services, which provides a ‘virtual’ in house Global Mobility HR service.

BANKING NATWEST GLOBAL EMPLOYEE BANKING Address: Eastwood House, Glebe Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1RS Contact: Neil Barsby, Head of NatWest Global Employee Banking Telephone: +44 (0)1245 355628 Email: neil.barsby@natwestglobal.com Website: www.natwestglobal.com NatWest Global Employee Banking is a specialised department within NatWest who work with Company HR functions/ Relocation Agencies to offer a streamlined account opening service for relocating employees. One of the main benefits of the service is that employees can apply for their account before they arrive in the UK so their account is ready when they arrive. This may also help if they want to transfer funds to their new account in preparation for relocation.

BUSINESS ASSOCIATION J-1 VISA PROGRAMME BRITISHAMERICAN BUSINESS (BAB) 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, 20th Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Contact: Tamra Eker Telephone: +212 661 4060 Fax: +212 661 4074 Email: teker@babinc.org Website: www.babinc.org BritishAmerican Business’s J-1 visa programme assists companies in offering US training and work experience to qualified employees of any nationality and from anywhere in the world, for a time period of up to 18 months. Sectors covered by our J-1 Visa designation include management, business, commerce, finance, law, industry, sciences, engineering, architecture, information media & communications. Using the J-1 Visa helps companies overcome cross-cultural differences and improve communication between US and overseas offices; enhance employee recruitment/ retention efforts by offering US assignments; and meet global mobility challenges. Please call to discuss the programme with our J-1 Visa Programme Administrator.

HEALTH INSURANCE BUPA INTERNATIONAL Telephone: + 44 (0) 1273 718304 Website: www.bupa-intl.com UÊ Õ«>ÊqÊ Ê > iÊÌÀÕÃÌi`ÊLÞÊ£äÊ Ê«i « iÊÊ in 190 countries UÊ/ iÊ ÌiÀ >Ì > Ê i> Ì V>ÀiÊ«À Û `iÀÊÜ Ì ÊÊ over 35 years’ experience UÊ Õ Ì }Õ> Ê i « iÊ «i ÊÓ{Ê ÕÀà UÊ ÀiVÌÊVÕÀÀi VÞÊÃiÌÌ i i Ì UÊ"«Ì > Ê>Ãà ÃÌ> ViÊV ÛiÀÊ V Õ` }Ê evacuation and repatriation.

Depending on the member’s requirements, Bupa International offers plans for both individuals and companies. Most of our plans include; primary care, maternity cover, home nursing, emergency dentistry, hospital treatment and accommodation, health checks, cover for chronic conditions, emergency road ambulance, cover for sports injuries.

INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES ZURICH INTERNATIONAL LIFE Abbey Gardens, 4-6 Abbey Street Reading, Berkshire, RG1 3BA Contact: Adele Cox Telephone: +44 (0) 118 952 4253 Fax: + 44 (0) 118 952 4300 E-mail: adele.cox@zurich.com Website: www.zurichinternational.com Zurich International Life is a global provider of life insurance, investment and protection products. Our corporate range offers flexible, portable solutions, designed to suit multinational organisations with an internationally mobile workforce. The International pension plan offers a cost effective, bundled retirement benefits solution comprising of trust services, investment funds and online administration.

International group protection is designed to protect an employers’ most important asset qÊÌ i ÀÊi « ÞiiÃÊqÊ> `Ê vviÀÃÊ>ÊÀ> }iÊ vÊ viÊ and disability protection.

With a local presence in key global business hubs and over 20 years experience of implementing and administering plans world wide, we’ve developed our knowledge and understanding of key markets to meet the needs of our customers and business partners.

INTERNATIONAL HR CONSULTANTS DELOITTE LLP Stonecutter Court, 1 Stonecutter Street, London, EC4A 4TR Contact: Robert Hodkinson, Partner Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7007 1832 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7007 1060 E-mail: rhodkinson@deloitte.co.uk Website: www.deloitte.co.uk Whether you are creating your first international mobility programme for employees or addressing fundamental changes to an existing programme, our International Human Resources team can help. Deloitte provides consulting support

that has an appreciation for each company’s size, background and unique cultural environment, aligning your international programme goals with corporate business strategies. Our consultants have developed deep expertise in many fields based on first hand experience with many of the world’s leading organisations: international assignment policy and process design, benchmarking, service delivery modelling, improving vendor management and helping our clients become more compliant and their administration more cost-effective.

INTERNATIONAL MOVING DT MOVING LTD 49 Wates Way, Mitcham, Greater London, CR4 4HR Contact: Tim Daniells Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7622 4393 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7720 3897 Email: london@dtmoving.com Website: www.dtmoving.com DT Moving is a world leading international moving company. Founded in 1870, we serve corporate customers all over the globe with an award-winning* move management and destination service programme. Through our London and Paris headquarters and worldwide network of global partners, we help clients achieve their workforce mobility goals.

Every employee we relocate receives a dedicated DT Moving team member as a central point of coordination, support and advice to ensure every part of their relocation runs smoothly.

Our goal is your complete satisfaction, and with a 96% customer rating for 2013, we offer unrivalled quality at competitive rates. *Awarded six global relocation awards since 2010.

RELOCATION HCR RELOCATION UK Head office - Belvedere House Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4HG, UK Contact: Sally Kelly - HCR Business Development Manager, EMEA. Telephone: +44(0)1256 313780 Email: skelly@hcr.co.uk Website: www.hcr.co.uk Twitter: @relochatter LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/ company/hcr-group-limited We look after people, your people. We have a dedicated, high performing and professional team to deliver our award winning relocation service.

Our knowledge, experience and empathy ensures that each of your relocating employees and their families are carefully managed and that their specific needs are considered. HCR has a true ‘one point of contact’ philosophy; One dedicated, cross trained Account Manager and Lead Relocation Consultant who will manage, co-ordinate, deliver and provide comprehensive support for every relocation case.

Entries in this Directory cost £175 per issue or £700 per annum.

For further details email helen@internationalhradviser.com SUMMER INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER

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DIRECTORY INTERDEAN RELOCATION SERVICES Central Way, Park Royal, London, NW10 7XW Contact: Barrie Gilmour Telephone: +44 (0)208 961 4141 Fax: +44 (0)208 965 4484 Email: London@interdean.com Website: www.interdean.com Thinking Relocation? Think Interdean.

Whether looking to expand into new territories or to leverage your human capital in core international markets, Interdean has the relocation service to support the needs of your business and your relocating employees. Interdean provides the full range of relocation services to support businesses with international interests. We make it easy. Our Services: Relocation Management, Visa & Immigration, Area Orientation, Temporary Housing, Home Finding, School Search, Settlingin Assistance, Tenancy Management, Household Goods Moving, Intercultural & Language Training, Relocation Expense Management, Moving & Relocation Insurance > `Ê Ì iÀÊÃiÀÛ ViÃÊ>Û> >L iÊqÊ« i>ÃiÊ>à ° UNIGROUP RELOCATION One Worldwide Drive St. Louis, MO 63026, USA Contact: Mario M. Amato Tel: + 1 636 349 2718 Fax: + 44 (0) 208 181 4945 Mobile: + 44 (0) 7513 061 536 mario_amato@unigroup.com www.UniGroupRelocation.com/hradvisor UniGroup Relocation is a global mobility network serving nearly 1,200 locations in more than 180 countries across six continents, making it one of the largest owner managed relocation networks in the world. Our broad range of pre-assignment, transportation and destination services will guide transferees along every step of the journey, from beginning to end. A common voice, a consistent standard of quality and unsurpassed local knowledge set UniGroup apart, giving our customers support and peace of mind as they settle in to their new international locations.

RELOCATION ASSOCIATIONS ASSOCIATION OF RELOCATION PROFESSIONALS (ARP) PO Box 189, Diss, IP22 1PE, UK Contact: Tad Zurlinden Telephone: 08700 737475 Fax: 01379 641940 Email: enquiries@arp-relocation.com Website: www.arp-relocation.com The ARP is the professional association for the relocation industry in the UK. The ARP’s activities include seminars throughout the year, an annual conference, the publication of an annual Directory of Members and a website, which is updated regularly.

THE EUROPEAN RELOCATION ASSOCATION (EURA) PO Box 189, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 1PE Telephone +44(0)8700 726 727 Fax: +44(0)1379 641 940 INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER SUMMER

E-mail: enquiries@eura-relocation.com Website: www.eura-relocation.com EuRA is an industry body for Relocation Professionals in both Europe and Worldwide.

EuRa have launched The EuRA Quality Seal, the world’s first accreditation programme for relocation providers. This pioneering initiative provides a straight forward, cost effective audit to reflect your company’s excellence in providing relocation services.

SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL 21 Star Street, London, W2 1QB Contact: Matthew Cook, Director of Marketing and Secondary Admissions Tel: +44 (0) 20 7402 0416 Web: www.icschool.co.uk Email: marketing@icschool.co.uk Twitter: @icslondon Youtube: ICSLondon An international school located in the centre of London. We offer all three International Baccalaurate Programmes (PYP, MYP, and Diploma) to children aged 3-18yrs. ICS has a diverse community with 45 different nationalities, and boasts a strong tradition of working with students who need support with learning English and also Special Educational Needs. Students at ICS benefit from a wide ranging activity programme during term time and also during school holidays. We have outdoor education centres at Chorleywood and Bawdsey, Suffolk and an extensive Travel and Learn programme that has taken students as far afield as Brazil, South Africa and the Galapagos Islands.

ISL GROUP OF SCHOOLS ISL Surrey Old Woking Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 8HY Contact: Claudine Hakim Telephone: +44 (0)1483 750 409 ISL London 139 Gunnersbury Avenue, London W3 8LG Contact: Yoel Gordon Telephone: +44 (0)20 8992 5823 ISL Qatar PO Box 18511, North Duhail, Qatar Contact: Nivin El Aawar Telephone: +974 4433 8600 Website: www.islschools.org Email: hmulkey@islschools.org Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2012, the International School of London (ISL) Group has schools in London, Surrey, and Qatar.

The internationally recognised primary and secondary curricula have embedded language programmes (mother tongue, English as an Additional Language, and second language) which continue throughout the student’s stay in the school. A team of experienced and qualified teachers and administrators provides every student with the opportunity to grow and learn in an environment that

respects diversity and promotes identity, understanding, and a passion for learning.

MARYMOUNT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LONDON Address: George Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 7PE Contact: Mrs Cheryl Eysele Telephone: +44 (0)20 8949 0571 Email: admissions@marymountlondon.com Website: www.marymountlondon.com With an outstanding record teaching the respected International Baccalaureate for over 30 years, Marymount offers day and boarding to girls aged 11-18 who gain places at the world’s best universities.

Consistently ranked within the top 5% globally, Marymount also offers the pre-IB Middle Years Programme; this stretches students without the need for incessant testing. The nurturing, supportive Catholic Community welcomes all faiths and achieves a shared purpose for girls of more than 40 nationalities.

TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN ENGLAND Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey, TW20 8TE Contact: Karen House Telephone: +44 (0)1932 582316 Email: ukadmissions@tasisengland.org Website: www.tasisengland.org TASIS England offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an American college preparatory curriculum, and AP courses to its diverse community of coed day (3-18) and boarding (14-18) students from 50 nations. The excellent academic programme, including ESL, is taught in small classes, allowing the individualised attention needed to encourage every student to reach their potential. Outstanding opportunities in art, drama, music, and athletics provide a balanced education. Extensive summer opportunities are also offered. Located close to London on a beautiful and historic 46-acre estate.

TAXATION BDO LLP 55 Baker Street, London, W1U 7EU Contact: Andrew Bailey Telephone: 020 7893 2946 Fax: 020 7893 2418 E-mail: andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk Website: www.bdo.co.uk BDO LLP is the award-winning, UK Member Firm of BDO International, the world's fifth largest accountancy network with more than 600 offices in 100 countries.

We have a partner-led approach, which delivers the highest quality of service by using short, functional chains of communication to aid decision-making. Clients benefit from our fresh thinking, constructive challenge and practical understanding of the issues they face. Developing strong, personal relationships with our clients is at the forefront of our service approach.

Tax advice is just one of our award-winning services and our expatriate team give practical and direct advice, delivering solutions which suit your needs.

EXPAT ASSIGNEE TAX NEED? SELECTED? ADVISER

One of the less appealing things about sending your people overseas is that you, or they, suddenly have to become experts on the local tax system or risk falling foul of the law, incurring extra costs - or both.

With BDO however, you and your people can benefit from coordinated tax advice. Advance planning will save you time and money and our specialist tax advisers are well equipped to ease the burden.

Through BDO, the world’s fifth largest accountancy network, our Expatriate teams can provide you with assistance all over the world.

To find out more about the tax service that travels with you, please contact: ANDREW BAILEY t: +44 (0)20 7893 2946 e: andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk BDO’s Expatriate Tax service is run by our Human Capital team, which also provides a full range of expertise in employment tax, reward planning and pensions.

www.bdo.co.uk BDO LLP and BDO Northern Ireland are both separately authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to conduct investment business.

Building more secure futures

Enhance your employee benefits with our International Pension Plan Having talented people working around the globe to deliver your services can make it difficult to create a benefits package that meets everyone’s needs.

At Zurich we have over 30 years’ experience of providing simple, flexible retirement savings plans – plans that can help you recruit, retain and reward your expatriate employees, wherever they are in the world. Tailored to your organization, with efficient online administration and a wide choice of investments, our International Pension Plan can help your staff to build a more secure future.

For more information visit www.zurichinternational.com call Stewart Allanson on +44 (0) 7815 637137 or email stewart.allanson@zurich.com

Zurich International Life Limited provides life assurance, investment and protection products and is authorised by the Isle of Man Government Insurance and Pensions Authority. Registered in the Isle of Man number 20126C. Registered office: 43-51 Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man IM99 1EF, British Isles.

Telephone: +44 1624 662266, Telefax: +44 1624 662038, or visit www.zurichinternational.com