Expat Partner Support HR Newsletter | March 2013 Welcome to the March Global Connection HR Newsletter. This quarterly publication will inform you about policy and operations and keep you up-to-date on expat partner issues. It also contains the latest news on Global Connection spousal support activities, including research and HR consultancy, and an interview with Continental.
TWENTY YEARS OF SUPPORT
SUPPORT MUST BE MANAGED
Twenty years ago, during the set-up of the Heineken Partner Network – which would later become Global Connection – I was an expat partner looking for a job. And my fellow expat partners couldn’t for the life of them understand why: “But sweetheart, you don’t have to work, you’re now married to an expat!” Oh, how times have changed.
Our newsletters are clearly striking a chord with our readers. A big thank you to all of you who got in touch with us! Your responses illustrate how more and more companies are coming to regard partner support as crucial to mobility and successful expatriations. Buying off expat partners with so-called ‘Guccimoney’ clearly doesn’t work (see also page 3); neither do ad hoc responses to expat partners’ needs or crises. Companies realise that effective partner support requires a proactive approach, but they often struggle to find a way to achieve this.
Changing demand Over the years, the services we offer have grown. Thanks to the enthusiastic feedback we receive from partners via our regular surveys, we know what they expect from us. It has enabled us to develop from ‘a magazine with a network’ to a ‘onestop shop’ for partner support, including research and HR consultancy. Create fulfilling lives The new generation has new interests. Compared with twenty years ago, the number of partners lounging by the pool all day has decreased significantly. This doesn’t mean that the majority of them have – or are looking for – a regular job. Rather, they are looking for ways to create fulfilling lives for themselves that go far beyond that. Jacqueline van Haaften
Reduced manpower at HR Slimmed-down HR departments barely have the manpower and/or know-how anymore to develop partner support policies or to provide support. Therefore, companies are increasingly turning to consultants to develop their expat partner policies, and outsourcing the management and execution of these programmes.
Free Lunch Anyone?
Effectiveness A number of HR professionals have described to us the way their departments had struggled and failed to deal with partner support. A few readers admitted to having fallen for tempting propositions such as free intakes and introductory offers. They were then pulled into purchasing outrageously expensive support packages that weren’t even effective. One HR professional commented: “There’s obviously no such thing as a free lunch. It was more like a full course dinner in a restaurant I hadn’t chosen.” No more outplacement (Read more on page 3)
NETWORK VITAL FOR SAME-SEX COUPLE The importance of Global Connection’s expat partner network to other partners-tobe was recently underlined by the way we were able to support a same-sex couple, living in Denmark. The two women were used to the liberal attitudes in their home country, where they and their children were regarded as any other family. But can they continue to live their life in Athens? Job offer in Athens As part of their preparation for a possible posting in Athens, they posed this question to Global Connection. When we were asked to help, we used several approaches. First of all, we asked Global Connection members who were living in Athens. Many of them wanted to help, and shared their knowledge and insights. We also talked to intercultural experts (who, by and large, reached the same conclusions as our members!), researched literature on the matter, talked to schools, and advised on the steps the women could take that could help them to adapt to Greek society. The resulting report proved to be an important factor in the decision the couple ultimately made. Global Connection | March 2013
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