International HR directors, international mobility managers and compensation and benefits managers looking for a progressive online network and resource centre might find that Magellan fits the bill.

Information on the Magellan website is in both English and French.

Magellan, as a centralised information source for all international mobility issues, acts as a 'live' exchange network for HR professionals working within member companies.

Benchmarking best practices in mobility management

Lucien Denblinden, Group Compensation and Benefits Manager for Recticel in Belgium, who has been a member of Magellan since January 2002, describes the Magellan network as "a wide source of information. Plus it is useful to be able to contact expatriate managers from different companies to learn about other practices in the market place."

Denblinden adds, "The network gave us the opportunity to overview the practices of the other international groups which we were able to adapt to our own culture in order to introduce a new policy. We continue to get up-to-date practical information on legal and technical issues from Magellan."

Members can access relevant information on the Magellan website in both the English and French languages, and a technical data bank, which is updated daily. Here, members can find international alert notes; legal and technical information, social and tax news; detailed country guides that include information on local labour laws, immigration, tax systems, local lifestyle; regional activity updates and the Magellan membership directory.

Every year Magellan holds a two-day congress where HR professionals can meet and exchange information with other international members. The congress workshops cover international HR and international mobility trends, field practices and technical aspects of the business.

Magellan also runs regular 'theme' meetings, commissions and information exchange days for member companies in Paris, Geneva, Brussels, Lyon, Lille, Singapore and Hong-Kong.

Help for expats and their spouses

Expatriates and their spouses can also directly benefit from Magellan's services. Member companies can access www.international-mobility.com, a website providing important information in both the English and French languages on nearly 70 different countries.

This website gives detailed information on local lifestyles, global news, practical tools and hints for travellers.

Magellan members comprise international companies across all industries with expatriate populations ranging from 5 to 2000 employees.

This year (2006) the Magellan network has over 140 multinational member companies with almost 40,000 expatriates.

France currently has the largest draw of members with more than 100 companies including Alcatel, Bouygues, Danone, Renault and Unilever.

Magellan members are represented in a variety of different delegations in Belgium, Singapore, and Switzerland.

Pascale McLachrie, International Mobility Manager at Leroy Merlin reports that her company joined Magellan in 1998, "to learn and share best practices with colleagues from other companies dealing with the same issues and to break the feelings of isolation often experienced due to the unique nature of our jobs."

At the beginning, says McLachrie, "We relied on Magellan for networking, but over the years we have used it increasingly for legal advice and best practices provided by the technical data bank on their website."

McLachrie feels the return on investment of joining Magellan is well worth it.  The value lies in "the input from Magellan experts, the practical training and the exchange with other members," she says.

"We are able to improve our skills and proficiency by receiving updates on the latest legal developments and by contacting other HR professionals to discuss specific questions or problems."

Club for compensation and benefits professionals

The Comp and Ben Club, which Magellan launched this year (2006), is a professional exchange and information network for corporate or area compensation and benefits directors.

Members of Comp and Ben can meet and share their experience within an organised and specialised network, to maintain and establish professional contacts. They can also exchange best practices during benchmark meetings and find technical information on a specific website.

For more information, visit the Magellan website at www.magellan-network.com.

November 2003 (Updated May 2006)

Caroline Mitchell is an HR professional and an international assignment manager for Corporate Relocations in Paris, France.

Subject: IHR networking forum, human resources management forum