Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/149047
Relocation Figure 2 The flexible arrangement appeals to global organizations for their entire workforce and footprint. "Short-term assignments are being recognized as an appropriate mobility tool for both global and U.S. domestic moves," notes Cara Skourtis, vice president of global operations for NuCompass Mobility Services. According to a WERC survey last year, short-term assignments tend to be more regionally focused than their long-term counterparts. The study reveals that 50 percent of companies headquartered in the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region and 75 percent of the Asian-headquartered firms leveraged short-term programs for their organizations regionally. International short-term assignments tend to be appealing to employees on several levels. "There's the opportunity for overseas experience without the need for assignees to completely uproot themselves. They can be mobile and can gain experience, but it's not as big of a change as a longterm assignment," says Gail Rabasca, vice president of global operations for MSI. "This is particularly true if the employee has a skill set he or she needs to share in the host location. A short-term assignment enables him or her to do this without too much disruption. They provide the experience of working abroad in another culture and learning how to engage with fellow employees in the same company, but with a completely different ideology and culture." Compliance Challenges Of course, any solution is going to have its own set of challenges and costs (see Figure 1 on page 48). The two biggest concerns with short-term assignments are compliance with immigration and tax rules and regulations, reports WERC's survey. Regenold points out that if a project extends beyond 12 months, there can be significant tax consequences. While considered a cost-effective solution, fees do come into play, including home leave trips, travel for spouse/partner, JULY/AUGUST 2013 | www.hrotoday.com [49]