More than 50% of companies want to improve the effectiveness of their expat partner support, according to a joint survey by Global Connection and The RES Forum (an independent community for global mobility professionals).
Great response
Global Connection Director Jacqueline van Haaften presented the survey results and said: “We are happy that the respondents represent such a great mix of companies from all continents and industries, with a variety of partner support programmes, and some without a programme. Their average number of expat partners is nearly 500.” Here are some key findings:
Slightly more effective despite lower uptake
Companies deemed their partner support programmes to be slightly more effective than six years ago. In 2018, companies rated their programme 6.0, compared to 5.6 in 2012. However, the total uptake of companies’ funds allocated to partner support dropped from 37% in 2012 to 28% in 2018. This is the result of fewer expat partners making use of support programmes: 43% in 2018, compared to 57% in 2012.
Aiming to reach more partners
The drop in use of support programmes could be explained by insufficient promotion of the programmes among expat partners: when asked how the effectiveness of their programme could be increased, companies agreed most strongly with the option of ‘increasing awareness’, which scored 4.1 on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). This was followed by ‘increasing quality’ (3.6), ‘increasing variety’ and ‘changing cash allowance to paid support’ (both 3.5).
Less insight in cash spending
Interestingly, the percentage of companies paying cash allowances to expat partners rose from 30% in 2012 to 34% in 2018. There is even less insight into how this money is spent: 79% of the companies don’t know what proportion of expat partners use it to pay for a concrete partner support activity (up from 67% in 2012). A remarkable result, given that cost cutting and justifying expenses tend to rank very high on corporate agendas.
Shift in population
The survey also shows a clear shift from traditional expats to foreign local hires. The latter now make up 46% of the total expat population (up from 21% in 2012). Six years ago, 86% of the companies said the type of assignment determined the scope of the support package, while in 2018 this has fallen to 60%.
A total of 53 multinational organisations, with an average of 496 expat partners each and headquarters on all continents, took part in the Expat Partner Support Effectiveness Survey. Interested in receiving the full report? Please contact us at info@gcmail.info
