Statistics will tell any HR department that the main reason expat employees leave their post early, or choose not to renew an overseas package is down to lack of family adjustment.
Family adjustment includes many issues. The expat’s partner may have career issues, the children may be homesick, the relationship may become strained, the language may prove too much of a barrier for those who have to deal with the locals (the stay-at-home partner and children, more than the employee in the workplace). When a partner takes time out of a career it can be difficult to fill his or her time with meaningful activities in a new environment, or stressful thinking about returning to work after a break on repatriation.
When initially approaching an employee with an overseas package, make sure—doubly and triply sure, that their partner is in agreement with the plan.
When preparing the employee for their overseas assignment, include the partner and any children in some of the preparations. Host a family day if you have several employees going overseas. The families must understand how different their life will be, they must learn strategies for dealing with this in advance, and they must see that they are not alone.
Provide information on partner work visas and lists of websites or contacts that provide job searches in that host country. Lists of networking contacts, clubs and organisations—even lists of the best places to shop or eat will greatly help the future expat.
Provide a list of schools and ideally any school websites. Even a pen-pal for the children with another expat family is easy to set up and a free way for the company to help the family adjust more quickly.
Consider a coaching or mentoring service for the family, or individuals.
The working partner will have a ready-made community and will find it difficult to understand the needs of the stay-at-home partner. On the other hand, the working partner will also face immediate expectations and possible lack of understanding from colleagues—a different kind of stress.
It is important that both sides understand the issues faced by each. And when there are children, the parents must also understand that the children will have their own unique sets of issues.
Preparation in advance as well as coaching or mentoring in the host country will prevent a lot of stress and upset in the family and the expat employee—and may cause the expat employee to return home early.
Expats everywhere need to feel a part of a community. Ensuring both the working partner and the stay at home partner feel part of a community—through Facebook, twitter, Skype, local and expat clubs or any other method is essential.
Keeping your expat employees overseas is not as difficult or as expensive as it at first might seem—especially when compared to the cost of early repatriation and finding a replacement for the post.
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