Do traditional expatriate management models work when managing international assignments today? Well yes… and no…

International careers will drive change

New models are definitely needed according to Job Voorhoeve, Director Recruitment & Deployment EMEA, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. "Traditional models do not take into account quick to market demand and cost effective deployment," says Voorhoeve, who believes that "new models need to be flexible and enable increased cross-border volume for shorter assignment times.

"Higher demand from recruits and staff for international career experiences will drive these needs," he says.

Michael Dickmann, director of Cranfield School of Management's Centre for Research into the Management of Expatriation (CreME) agrees.

"Traditional expatriate management models mostly focus on the expatriate cycle of planning - selecting - preparing - performance management - repatriation with strong considerations of compensation /benefits issues," he says.

"Our research in Geodesy shows that expatriates are far more focussed on developmental and career issues - themes that are not addressed well by companies. Moreover, companies rarely have diverse sets of policies that address the differing reasons why they send people abroad to work. For instance, skill-gap filling needs different approaches from developmental assignments," says Dickmann.

The best of the tried and tested

However traditional models are still working for United Parcel Service (UPS) according to Nigel Goodson, Compensation and Benefits Director, UPS Europe.

Sometimes, traditional expat assignments are simply the best option.

"UPS is now very much a global organisation, with a global brand, therefore we need to manage mobility to help support that brand and to develop our international business," says Goodson.  "We do this through incorporating the best features of most expatriate management models into the UPS model, particularly recognising that the business sees it as an investment with valuable long-term results," he says.

"I think most relocating managers feel very happy with the key features we provide, which help them to feel comfortable and secure about their own situation," says Goodson.

Goodson does believe, however, that the traditional models may need to be adapted over time.

"In the future I think that the traditional model of an assignment from home country to host country, with a return back to home country, will likely be replaced by assignment from home country to host country followed by another assignment to a different host country. Perhaps repatriation will be less frequent," he says.

One size does not fit all

Hélène Ratte, EMEA HR Partner Deloitte sees that the traditional models still work but acknowledges that one size does not fit all.

"Accumulated experience has created some best practices that bring value and are useful to manage expatriates of the early 21st century," says Ratte. "But, depending on the scope, location, and length of international assignment, new models have to be developed to mirror evolution in expatriations," she says.

Ratte emphasises that, while companies should always focus on excellence in selection, management and repatriation, a different approach in terms of packages must prevail. "For instance it depends on whether you expatriate within the EU, or use short term assignments or developmental assignments and so on. You should always address assignments according to context," she says.

Spoilt for choice

John Pfeiffer, Managing Director AIRINC Europe observes that mobility professionals now have many more options at their disposal, and are therefore better able to tailor assignments to the needs of the business and the employee.

"Clearly, the traditional expatriate assignment still has a place in the current landscape of international mobility.  Despite surveys reporting that companies expect the numbers of traditional assignments to decrease, the fact is that the numbers of 'traditional' expatriates have increased in the past two years among our client companies," he says.

"However, I will say that the menu of options from which mobility professionals have to choose is more sophisticated than ever.  New types of assignments have been developed to meet the specific needs of new international work patterns," says Pfeiffer. 

"International commuters, rotators, frequent travellers, short term assignees, permanent moves and even virtual assignment policies now exist in fully fleshed-out form and are a direct response to articulated needs of line managers," he says. 

According to Pfeiffer, each of these has their pros and cons, as does the traditional expatriate assignment.  "For many business purposes, though, the traditional two to five-year expatriate assignment is still the optimal strategy to get talent to the right place at the right time," he says.

Traditional expat assignments remain essential

Jaqui Hauser, Vice President, Consulting Services Cendant Mobility agrees that some companies might need new approaches but for the majority of companies the traditional home-country balance sheet approach is working.

"It depends on the business, on the business needs for global mobility, and on the experience of the organisation with global mobility issues," she says, noting that new patterns in global mobility are leading companies to work towards a new model of expatriate management.

"Perhaps if we answer this question in three to five years the answer will be no," she says.  "But I think if I were to survey corporations now the answer would be yes."

Chris Brewster, Professor of International Human Resource Management Henley Management College, is in little doubt that traditional assignment models work.

"Of course they do: there are literally thousands of people around the world on such contracts - they can't all be by mistake," he says.

"As our research shows, there are lots of alternatives: the traditional ones like short-term contracts, commuting assignments, frequent flyers, and the newer ones such as 'one-country' moves within Europe (transfer costs but no salary improvement), virtual teams and so forth. But these are in addition to, not supplanting, the expatriates," says Brewster.

Bewster points out that for a number of tasks there is no serious alternative to "having someone out there". Even the permanent expatriate role has not disappeared altogether in favour of the single assignment only approach.

The answer says Brewster, is "whatever fits the strategy, and works, is good. Blanket 'answers' or 'solutions' never work for everyone."

December 2005

The editor of Expatica HR, Natasha Gunn, welcomes your feedback (feedback@expatica.com) on this article.

Subject: Expatriate management, Expat management programmes