Comments on: Ensuring Return on Expat Investment http://www.myglobalcareer.com/archives/2008/02/21/ensuring-return-on-expat-investment/ My Global Career: Where you belong in the flat world. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:39:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.7 http://www.myglobalcareer.com/wp-content/themes/myglobalcareer/_media/_global/logo.gif My Global Career: Where you belong in the flat world. http://www.myglobalcareer.com by: Rusty Weston http://www.myglobalcareer.com/archives/2008/02/21/ensuring-return-on-expat-investment/#comment-33 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 15:30:12 +0000 http://www.myglobalcareer.com/archives/2008/02/21/ensuring-return-on-expat-investment/#comment-33 You make a number of good points. There's a Towers-Perrin report called The Mobile Family, which talks about internationally mobile employees and the impact of foreign assignments on families. They start with the assumption that "an international assignment typically costs roughly three times base salary (more for some locations). Let's assume US$300,000 per year." I think the reason why they assume that is the vast majority of foreign assignments these days aren't for executives - they are for information technology specialists such as programmers, database experts, etc. According to the report, there's a 20% attrition rate for staff on expatriate assignments and a whopping 45% chance that the repatriating worker will leave within two years. So, as you point, much care and planning is needed prior to and after re-entry. You make a number of good points. There’s a Towers-Perrin report called The Mobile Family, which talks about internationally mobile employees and the impact of foreign assignments on families. They start with the assumption that “an international assignment typically costs roughly three times base salary (more for some locations). Let’s assume US$300,000 per year.”
I think the reason why they assume that is the vast majority of foreign assignments these days aren’t for executives - they are for information technology specialists such as programmers, database experts, etc. According to the report, there’s a 20% attrition rate for staff on expatriate assignments and a whopping 45% chance that the repatriating worker will leave within two years. So, as you point, much care and planning is needed prior to and after re-entry.

]]> by: John A.K. Lowe http://www.myglobalcareer.com/archives/2008/02/21/ensuring-return-on-expat-investment/#comment-32 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 14:32:45 +0000 http://www.myglobalcareer.com/archives/2008/02/21/ensuring-return-on-expat-investment/#comment-32 Good article! Although I was surprised at $311K average cost and seems on low side. Most data suggests total assignment costs of between 3 to 5 times annual salary. Bottom-line for international assignments is achieving the business goals, and must be judged by same metrics and by the same executives. Repatriation represents a different challemge. We need to recognize that employees are changed by an international assignment. Most companies neglect to plan for a successful re-entry with consequent high failure rates. Good article! Although I was surprised at $311K average cost and seems on low side. Most data suggests total assignment costs of between 3 to 5 times annual salary.

Bottom-line for international assignments is achieving the business goals, and must be judged by same metrics and by the same executives.

Repatriation represents a different challemge. We need to recognize that employees are changed by an international assignment. Most companies neglect to plan for a successful re-entry with consequent high failure rates.

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