Will there be more employees working abroad on assignment next year? It seems so.
More than half (56%) of multinational companies expect to increase their use of short-term assignments in 2015/16, reports a Mercer study.
Over the next year or two, companies expect to increase their use of the following: permanent transfers (54%), developmental and training assignments (50%) and locally hired foreigners (47%). Only 44% expect to see an increase in the more traditional long-term assignments.
“Companies are using a more varied range of assignments in order to respond to evolving business needs and changing patterns in the global workforce,” said Steven Nurney, a partner and leader of Mercer’s North America global mobility business.
The study shows that half of companies increased their use of short-term (51%) and permanent (50%) assignments over the past two years. Only 43% increased their use of long-term assignments.
Globally, 85% of companies have a policy or policies for international assignments. That’s up from 81% in 2012.
The report also shows an increase in companies with multiple policies (64%, up from 57%). “One policy is unlikely to fit all, and such an approach can lead to inadequate compensation, which again can make it difficult to attract and retain talent,” said Nurney.
The top five drivers for international assignments are as follows:
• to provide specific technical skills not available locally (47%);
• to ensure know-how transfer (43%);
• to provide specific managerial skills (41%);
• to facilitate career management and leadership development (41%); and
• to fulfill specific project needs (40%).
In the future, 57% of companies expect the number of key or strategic assignments to increase, 51% expect to use younger assignees and 41% expect more assignments to remote locations.
Mercer’s Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices report covers 831 multinational companies and roughly 29 million employees combined.