The Expatriate Web Site Communication Portal
Here are the first questions we ask potential clients and customers:
- How do you communicate expatriate policy and procedure to international assignees today?
- Do you have an expatriate employee handbook?
- Even if you have and expatriate manual, do you have a method for communicating with expatriates and global travelers today other than through email (and your expats probably get 100 emails a day)?
- How often does communication get updated and distributed to expatriates and travelers?
- Who does the updates (internal vs. external). Do you have to "wait" for updates to be made available to expatriates?
- Do the end users actually use the web site, or whatever communication medium you have chosen now.
- Do internationally assignees "sign off" that they have read and understand the expatriate employee manual?
We offer clients a dynamic web site for expatriate policy and procedure documentation, and to communicate other types of important information
Examining each of the four areas above: The best way to communicate with any group around the world is through an intranet, extranet, or internet web site.
Changes and updates to the site or to the expatriate handbook can be made immediately. Policy is available and accessible 24 hours a day and when needed. A well constructed FAQ section of this web site can avoid hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails to home office benefit staff.
Many are still using written documentation or a form of an expatriate employee handbook to communicate policy and procedure to expatriates, travelers, and other types of international employees. In almost all cases we feel this practice should be eliminated in favor of a web site.
Is the system you have to communicate with expatriates formal or informal? Is more than one person using the same system or is everyone doing their own thing to distribute policy internationally? A manager of international relocation that has built a personal email distribution for all expatriates that exists only on his/her laptop is the type of process that should be avoided.
No matter what system you are using, how long does it take to get new information to the expatriate population. Is it updated regularly? Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for new programs and policy to take 3 months or more to be "formally" communicated to the international assignees or travelers. Our system eliminates this.
Who is doing the updates? Whether you are using internal or external resources for updates, what does it cost you to make updates? If internal, is the staff responsible for getting new or critical information to expatriates responsive and what is the opportunity cost of having your own employees doing these updates? Even if you have something set up for them on the internet, how long does it take to "update." The speed at which we can make new information available to expatriates is one of the advantages of the program we offer.
Of course, anything that will not be used by either the international assignees, international travelers, or your home office benefits or relocation staff is essentially a waste of money and resources. How old is your existing international employee handbook?
