A small majority of multinational organisations expect to increase their use of short-term assignments in 2015/16, according to a report on the expatriate policies and practices of 831 employers from consultant Mercer. The type of assignments used by companies will continue to diversify, the report suggests, for example, around a half of employers predict they will increase the use of permanent transfers, developmental and training assignments and locally hired foreigners in the next year or so.
The proportion of employers using multiple policies in connection with assignments and employee mobility has risen to 64% from 57% in 2012. The top five drivers behind international assignments are to:
Countries attracting the highest expected increase in assignees in the next few years include the US, China, UK, Singapore and Brazil. The greatest barrier to employee mobility is the fact that couples often both have careers to consider, or find it complex to manage family issues, the survey suggests. The number of women assignees has increased by six percentage points on average since 2010.
Anne Rossier-Renaud, Principal in Mercer’s global mobility business, said:
‘Companies are using a more varied range of assignments in order to respond to evolving business needs and changing patterns in the global workforce. The increased diversification of assignment types adds complexity which can result in potential compliance and policy challenges for HR and mobility directors. However, it also creates opportunities to positively impact the overall business strategy by mobilising key resources in more flexible and cost effective ways.’