Crown World Mobility Offers Insight Into the Latest Expatriate Compensation Trends

DANBURY, CT--(Marketwired - Aug 10, 2015) - Crown World Mobility -- the world-renowned provider of domestic and international end-to-end workforce mobility solutions and talent management strategies -- considers new models for expatriate compensation in the second issue of its new and informative Perspectives series titled, Temporary Assignments on a Local Package - Can It Be Done? The report offers valuable insight, while considering the benefits and challenges of alternative relocation policies aimed to decrease company expenses, improve parity and simplify the administrative processes of employee relocation.

As companies continue to expand and grow globally, so do the needs of their international assignments. The traditional one-size-fits-all policy that gives assignees generous packages or ones that are on par with home-country standards no longer suits the broad spectrum of new assignment types that have begun to emerge.

"The typical long-term assignment policy is primarily focused on keeping employees aligned with their home country compensation system," says Global Practice Leader for Crown World Mobility's Consulting Services, Lisa Johnson, whose organization provides transportation, mobility and relocation assistance, as well as logistics and storage services from 265 locations in 60 countries. "Trying to keep employees in line with standards they would have at home is not fiscally sound for global companies increasingly requiring employees to relocate temporarily to different locations around the world. The financial impact of traditional policies that provide employees with the same company income, benefits and living costs as in the home location can be a decisive factor in dissuading many companies from offering new assignments -- despite having strong business cases or talent development reasons to support them."

To help companies choose which options provide the greatest benefits to the organization and the individual relocating for work, Crown's report, authored by Johnson, highlights critical factors to consider, including advantages and disadvantages to options like the Local Plus compensation approach. This model aligns with host location salary structures and has become the norm for assignments between locations such as Singapore and Hong Kong, where pay levels and cost of living are significantly higher than in the home location. The report also dives into the fundamentals of the Expat Lite, or reduced benefits approach, where assignees typically receive home country-based compensation and tax equalization assistance, while the other elements usually provided to maintain home-country equivalence -- from housing assistance to dependent education -- may be reduced or eliminated.

"Whether driven by the high cost of traditional packages or a desire to show more equality in compensation between local and expatriate populations as a reflection of being a global organization, companies are struggling to determine which alternative mobility policy options will provide the greatest cost savings, not to mention opportunities for employees who are willing to take lower-paying assignments in order to advance their careers," Johnson adds. "As a 50-year-old relocation company involved in every aspect of mobility, we have a distinct advantage in navigating policy intricacies, regardless of assignment length or location. We have the experts, the knowledge and the passion to help organizations make decisions that not only contribute to their mission-critical goals but also improve the way the world works."

To read the full report, click here.

Visit Crown on the Web at www.crownworldmobility.com

Crown World Mobility
Crown World Mobility (www.crownworldmobility.com) is a division of the Crown Worldwide Group, established in 1965 and headquartered in Hong Kong. Crown World Mobility helps corporations manage global talent and talented individuals perform on the global stage. In a world that seems to be constantly shrinking, managing a globally mobile workforce creates challenges for any organization. These challenges are human in scale -- global assignments involve the everyday lives of transferees and their families. But there are policies to navigate, formalities to coordinate and legalities to adhere to -- at the same time as concentrating on a new assignment and getting a job done. Crown's approach is to work with all stakeholders to find the right solution, implementing a global mobility program that is successful for the whole organization. This often means finding a unique solution, which Crown has the experience and capability to deliver.