Hiring the right expat employee
Nowadays, more and more people are planning their career overseas. As many organizations have gone global, the good news is that employers are looking for expat employees all around the world. In this article, we will discuss how to hire the right expat employee.
Are You Hiring For an International Assignment?
When your organization or company is expanding abroad, the first thing to do is to decide who will be in charge of foreign operations. You can either send a current employee overseas or you hire an expat. According to research from the Harvard Business Review, only 11% of the HR managers have ever worked abroad themselves. Most of them have little understanding of a global assignment’s challenges. This indicates that organizations need to engage in efforts to make expat assignments both beneficial for expat employees and the company.
For certain occupations, expat professionals with experience in international business will fulfill specific expectations. More importantly, employees with cross-cultural backgrounds will be more likely to live and work comfortably in different cultures overseas. In general, according to Doris Fullgrabe, the six characteristics of a successful expatriate employee would be having:
- Managerial skills
- Augmented skills
- International knowledge
- Cultural flexibility
- Communication skills
- Collaborative negotiation style
What is Required for Hiring Expat Employees?
- In many countries, foreigners need to obtain temporary work permits before they are hired on a temporary basis
- If you would like to hire expat employees for full-time permanent positions, you will need to complete the permanent residence process as an employer
- Work with legal professionals to draft expat employment contracts, and prepare a copy of the contract in the expat employee’s native language
- In certain countries, if you want to hire expatriates, it is the responsibility of the organization to get a work permit your employees
- Pay attention to tax deductions. In some cases, the employer is responsible for submitting the individual tax income to the tax authority;
- According to local employment laws, there are mandatory benefits contributions to expat employees
How to Manage the Payroll of an Expat Employee?
- Manage the payroll through a vetted entity in the host nation
- Outsource your payroll operations to a third party
- We recommend using ShieldGeo if you would like to outsource your payroll responsibilities
- Run the payroll required for a specific nation remotely through your company’s head office
The Benefits of an International Group Insurance Plan
Sending expat employees overseas is a huge financial investment for any organizations. To ensure a successful expat assignment, expat employers will want to obtain an international expat group insurance plan. A tailored, flexible international expat group insurance plan will not only protect expat employees, with coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and high-risk countries; but will also attract and retain employee talent and protect the employer’s business. To read more, please check out “The benefits of an international group insurance plan.”
As international insurance specialists, we can help you define your organization’s international group insurance requirements. Expat Financial offers independent advice, solutions and ongoing service and support to clients around much of the world. We source plans from large and secure global insurance companies. Our firm can offer a wide array of insurance plans including International Life Insurance, War and Terrorism Coverage, Expat Disability Insurance, International Health Insurance, Kidnap & Ransom Insurance, Travel Medical Insurance, Evacuation Coverage.
For more information, Contact Expat Financial today if your organization has gone global.
