Expat Employees Often Underprepared For Overseas Assignments

Thanks to email, video conferencing and a host of other technologies, you may be able to communicate with your colleagues around the globe so easily it feels like they're around the corner. But if you're a manager considering sending talent overseas, don't let that ease of communication lull you into thinking relocating employees abroad is a simple matter. More than half of employees assigned internationally feel their employers do a poor job of preparing them for the move.

HR News reports on a presentation given to a Society for Human Resources Management conference yesterday. Attendees were warned that medical and security issues are often glazed over. Some considerations employers need to be aware of:

• Understanding the challenges of driving in a new environment, including signs, directions, language issues and traffic patterns, such as driving on the left vs. the right side of the road.
• Communicating sanitation and hygiene issues. That may include not consuming the water--including as ice, as an ingredient in beverages, and when brushing one's teeth. It also includes getting the appropriate shots when traveling to certain areas of the world.
• Making sure your third-country national doesn't get lost in the system. An employee from France working for a U.S. company located in Brazil can easily be overlooked in how his or her medical benefits are handled, for example.
• Having a procedure to follow in the event of a natural disaster, war, terrorist act, medical emergency or epidemic.

(Image of sad globe by JohnLeGear, CC 2.0)