Annemarie Bunschoten, Head of International Mobility at Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), explained the benefits of centrally-managed support for a growing, non-traditional group of expat partners.
Dedicated policy
Signify has been offering self- and personalised support packages to its expat partners since 2008, when it was still part of Philips. But spouses of international hires remained an overlooked group, according to Annemarie: “There was no consistency in support, and we had no idea of the costs. The inequity led to dissatisfaction among the population.” With traditional expatriations decreasing and international hires on the rise, the company decided to introduce a support policy specifically for spouses of international hires.
‘10 hours of attention’
“Partners of international hires are a different kind of population. They move to another country indefinitely,” she explained. “Through Global Connection, we offer them a Needs Assessment, consultancy and/or coaching, amounting to ‘10 hours of attention’ from an expert. They are also entitled to classroom based language courses, and may be provided additional support depending on their location. It is unusual for spouses of international hires in any company to get this kind of assistance and the program is very well received.”
Highly rated
Annemarie’s statistics showed that 71 percent signs up for one or more support options, and the number is growing. Global Connection measured a satisfaction rate of 8.7 with the support received, and 96 percent would recommend the services. Signify’s own research (NPS method) shows that expat partners’ satisfaction with Global Connection scored 67, more than double the target of 30 that Signify sets for vendors. “It is impressive that Global Connection, with its remote team, can provide such a consistently high level of service to its customers,” Annemarie concluded.
