One:

My organization uses expatriates to develop top managers abroad. Expatriates are also used in our organization because they possess more control and apply company policies and culture in accomplishing tasks. Although expatriates are necessary to our organization, they are extremely expensive. As a result, my organization handles the transition to and from foreign assignments by upping the numbers of short- term assignments. Thus, using lower cost short -term assignments to replace long-term assignment that requires supporting expats abroad for extended periods. Also, my organization has an expatriate policy covering matters such as compensation and transfer costs, which helps reduce the unplanned return of an expatriate. In regards to choosing the perfect candidate as an expatriate, my organization looks at individual traits such as intentions, family pressures, and adaptability in selecting successful expatriates.

Two:

We do have expatriates working in my company, but the process is not typical, as we have read in Dessler. This is due to the nature of the company and the support we provide to customers. I live primarily overseas, with occasional trips back to the US for meetings. However, I have lived here since my retirement in late 2004. I had worked on a project with the company owner, and when a mutually beneficial opportunity arose, I was hired with the purpose of remaining in place and developing new opportunities and managing a program. So, an expat, but not hired in the US and then sent overseas after a period of time.

The same applies for most of the employees we have/had overseas. They were already in place, and we hired them based on a requirement. Because the company is very focused on IT and IT support to logistics for the military, some of these were transitioning military members, and some were coming off of other contracts and simply wanted to remain at their location. Almost all our overseas staff are ex-military, and so are very familiar with living and working overseas, although with very close ties to US bases. I am the sole exception. I live on, and in, the local economy and have no US base anywhere in the country. All my jobs post-retirement from the military have been this way, and I wouldn't change it.

We have a plan in place to transition people back the US to fill other positions, but to date, everyone has opted to remain overseas. The process for sending them, and for returning them, involves coordinating for the appropriate work visas/government approvals, arranging transportation, and working with the employee to ensure the salary is sufficient to cover living expenses. We do not pay a separate cost of living allowance, since we are so small, but work to ensure salary is enough to cover all. We provide reimbursement for insurance, rather than actual coverage, since insurance is very particular to a given location. Again, since we are so small, we do not have a physical office presence nor do we have admin support for each country. by providing reimbursement for health insurance (up to a certain amount), we are able to provide for our "down range" employees.

So, critical items:

1. Work visa/government approval to work in that country

2. Suitable wages for the location

3. Medical insurance appropriate for that location

4. Plan in place to send employees to a location, and repatriate them at the end of the contract.