International assignments can be a valuable retention tool, but just how mobile is the 2015 workforce?
According to the 2015 HSBC Expat Explorer Survey, New Zealand ranks 2
nd globally for expat experiences.
The research found that almost three-quarters of companies requested a clear statement of assignment objectives before funding an international assignment.
It was also found that 85% of companies with a short term assignment policy cover daily living expenses for employees who are engaged in overseas projects.
By 2020, it is estimated there will be 33 host locations per organisation – a 50% increase from 1998.
Another finding was that the average expat assignment costs up to four times more than what a local employee would cost.
“There’s been an increase in the number of organisations implementing re-entry strategies towards the end of assignments being the most popular options,” said a KPMG researcher.
However, in spite of the increasing use of expat assignments, just 14% of organisations were found to be formally measuring their ROI.
The main reasons for not conducting an ROI analysis included not knowing how to achieve it (48%) and ‘no time’ (15%).
Sixty-seven per cent of companies defined ROI as “accomplishing assignment objectives at the expected cost”.
