Globally mobile employees receive fewer benefits

According to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, one in four
companies surveyed doesn't have a benefits policy for globally mobile
employees.

The survey covered 230 multinationals based in North America, Europe, Asia
Pacific, Latin America and Middle East/Africa, with more than 50,000
globally mobile employees in total. It found that over 60% of the companies
surveyed are increasing their use of short-term international assignments.

Almost all participants agreed that addressing benefit issues for globally
mobile employees is a medium or top priority. The survey also found that 30%
of companies have no formal governance procedures and one in ten (11%) has
never reviewed their policies. Almost 10% of globally mobile employees have
expressed dissatisfaction with their benefit package.

"Setting and managing benefit programs for expatriates and third country
nationals is an extremely complex undertaking. Keeping approaches fair and
consistent globally is very challenging, particularly as the
one-size-fits-all approach no longer satisfies employees," said Peter
Blake, a principal at Mercer.

Of the companies that plan to change their expatriate benefit programs for
such employees, 46% intend to outsource plan administration, 40% plan to
enhance benefits for certain employees, while 39% aim to globalize their
approach to benefits provision.

Source: Mercer's "The Expatriate and Third-Country Nationals Benefits"
survey. http://www.mercer.com