Re:locate Magazine Winter 2013

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Winter 2013/14

The way forward HR, talent and global mobility join forces Scottish independence

Employee engagement

Will the vote be ‘yes’ or ‘no’?

Creating the best workplace on earth

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Contents 12

18

24 40

NEWS, ANALYSIS & EVENTS 4 Re:editor’s letter

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT 10 Re:pay & benefits

36 Re:awards

18 Re:Turkey

43

Re:book club

24 Re:Canada

Re:news & analysis

44

Fiona Murchie looks at what’s in store this issue.

Your chance to enter the 2013/14 Re:locate Awards.

Enhance your leadership skills through the science of neurology.

56

Key industry happenings, personalities and comment.

HOT TOPIC 6 Re:Scotland

Unpicking the arguments for and against independence.

TALENT & ENGAGEMENT SPECIAL 12 Re:strategy

Where next for global mobility and HR? 28 Re:talent

Is a partnership between talent and mobility the answer for companies seeking global growth?

32 Re:recruitment

The war for talent goes virtual.

Is it time to rethink pensions and benefits for international assignees?

Looking back at a rollercoaster year for this EU membership contender.

Relocation in the thriving videogames and ICT sectors.

Re:women leaders

How to survive and thrive as a woman in the workplace.

EMPLOYEE SUPPORT 16 Re:international banking

Planning ahead can help assignees hit the ground running.

21

Re:Middle East education

46

Re:international education

51

Re:England education

The supply of good schools for expat children is still not meeting demand.

Managing the challenges of moving between education systems around the world.

Recent changes to state education in England and their implications for relocating families.

34 Re:millennials

Issues for forward-thinking companies responding to demographic trends.

40 Re:engagement

Creating the best workplace on earth.

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The Team

it happen “in Make 2014! Take

Managing Editor: Fiona Murchie editorial@relocatemagazine.com Design: Gulp Creative hello@gulpcreative.com

part in our new Connect and Grow initiative

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D

Re:locate Magazine Spray Hill Hastings Road Lamberhurst Kent TN3 8JB Tel: +44 (0)1892 891334

”

uring a busy autumn spent attending conferences, I was struck by a strong emphasis on engagement. Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, speaking at the CIPD’s centenary conference about their research into creating the best workplace on earth, offered HR an exciting new job description. “HR is in the business of building the organisation of your dreams,” they declared.

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C E L E B R AT I N G SUCCESS IN R E L O C AT I O N

Entry deadline Friday 28 February 2014

© 2013. Re:locate is published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. ISSN 1743-9566.

Earlier in the autumn, at the Emerging Markets Conference in London, I heard an inspiring presentation by Rajesh Manik, of ING Investment Management India, who had led his organisation out of the doldrums to feature on the India Best Place to Work list only a year later. Find out more in our Spring 2014 issue.

At the WERC symposium in Dallas, AbbVie’s Angela Lane put forward a powerful case for talent and global mobility to join forces in a partnership which could drive change and ensure that those relocating or going on international assignment are truly seen as investments.

Women featured high on the agenda, with packed sessions both in Dallas and at the CIPD conference.

All this will be pulled together in new threads across our website and the magazine and digital media throughout 2014. We will be embarking on a powerful new mission to connect the different strands of global mobility across our communities and across geographical regions through our Connect and Grow initiative. HR, global mobility specialists, benefits, talent and recruitment will be asked to engage and contribute alongside the extensive range of relocation professionals, suppliers, schools and academics who contribute to the relocation picture.

Let’s see if we can air some views, forge new paths, learn from other sectors and cultural perspectives, and work together to grow globally, solve problems, and enjoy being part of this fast-growing sector. We are looking for stakeholders, champions and online participants.

On the theme of rewarding excellence and innovation, it is time to get started on your entry for this year’s Re:locate Awards. Find out more via our awards newsletter, website and webinars, and ensure you submit your entry by 28 February 2014.

Fiona Murchie Managing Editor

Coming in the Spring 2014 issue of Re:locate magazine ENGAGEMENT

India – case study from ING to inspire companies operating in emerging markets

COUNTRY PROFILE

Latin America – the challenges of rapid growth

PROPERTY UPDATE

How is 2014 shaping for the UK’s residential market?

Workforce Mobility Strategy.

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HOT TOPIC

SCOTLAND SPEAKS Will it say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to independence?

Whatever its outcome, the September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence will have far-reaching implications for the whole of the UK. David Sapsted unpicks the arguments for and against independence.

6 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

HOT TOPIC

T

he question Scots will be asked in next September’s referendum is simplicity itself: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” But if the question is simple, the answer risks being bedevilled by complexity and confusion.

At the heart of the question are two equally simple contentions. On one hand, the Scottish National Party (SNP), which controls the devolved Scottish parliament, says the nation would be better off as a sovereign state. Meanwhile, the Better Together campaign, which is supported by all three major British political parties, maintains that Scotland is stronger as an integral part of the union.

Should the ‘yes’ campaign, headed by populist First Minister Alex Salmond, get its way, the ramifications would be enormous for business, finance, the oil and gas industry, and so much more.

And even if the Scots reject independence, the status quo is unlikely to remain, with all three mainstream political parties working on policies – as yet unspecified – to give the parliament in Edinburgh greater devolved powers, notably over revenue raising.

Just how four million-plus Scottish residents (including, for the first time, those aged 16 and 17) will cast their votes next 18 September remains unclear. A slew of recent polls suggested, overall, that the ‘no’ campaign enjoyed 50 per cent support, compared to 33 per cent backing independence.

Crucially, the remaining 17 per cent were undecided, and Mr Salmond is hoping the feelgood factor in 2014, when Scotland hosts both the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games, will swing things his way.

Not coincidentally, 2014 is also the 700th anniversary of Bannockburn, a battle etched into Scottish hearts as the last occasion when, in the name of independence, the Scots roundly defeated an English army.

Doing the sums The referendum, though, will be about much more than emotion. Or, at least, it should be. Questions crucial to the Scottish economy will need to be answered, free of the spin that each side likes to employ.

Central to those questions is offshore oil, which the SNP advances as the economic powerhouse of an independent Scotland, despite the fact that official forecasts predict falling revenues over the coming years.

An analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that spending on public services is 17 per cent higher in Scotland than across the UK as a whole.

The IFS believes that independence would leave the Scots needing to cut £2.5 billion from public spending between 2016 and 2018 because they would no longer be getting money from the UK Treasury. And, if oil and gas revenues fall as forecast, £3.4 billion in additional cuts would be required – a total roughly equivalent to 15 per cent of public spending.

The SNP, which says that the forecasts on both the price and recoverable amounts of gas and oil are unduly pessimistic, maintains that “North Sea oil and gas is a huge asset” and plans to establish two oil funds in an independent Scotland: a short-term one to help deal with fluctuations in revenues, and a long-term savings fund.

But, in a report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by media organisations in October, experts commissioned by the SNP itself warned that if an independent Scottish government “wished to establish an oil fund, it would have had to reduce public spending, increase taxation or increase public-sector borrowing”.

The reports adds, “Despite being in a relatively stronger fiscal position than the UK, Scotland has run a net fiscal deficit in 20 of the past 21 years. This suggests that, over this period, North Sea receipts would have been required to fund public services in Scotland. There is no guarantee that the return on a [North Sea oil and gas] fund’s investments will exceed the government’s borrowing costs.”

And those costs could be considerably higher for an independent Scotland than they are for the UK as a whole, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), which is questioning the wisdom of the SNP policy of remaining in a currency union with the pound if Scotland gets independence.

Quite aside from the unresolved question of the exact proportion of the burgeoning UK national debt an independent Scotland would have to shoulder, the NIESR says that the costs the Scots would have to pay to service the debt would run at between 0.72 and 1.65 per cent above what the UK currently pays for borrowing on ten-year debt.

The institute suggests Scotland would do better with its own currency, arguing that it would enable the parliament in Edinburgh to control the levers of monetary power by allowing it to devalue if needed, and to respond to changes in oil prices.

But such a currency is regarded as a step too far for most in the SNP, whose supporters feel independence itself is quite a big enough leap into the unknown.

Another unknown is just how much North Sea oil an independent Scotland would actually control. A recent report from legal experts predicted that London and Edinburgh could be locked for years in a dispute over sea boundaries at the International Court of Justice.

EU membership The same report also pointed out that independence would result in Scotland having to apply for membership of international organisations and, potentially, to renegotiate treaties which the UK has already signed. Crucial to this would be its ability to qualify for membership of the European Union, which some in the ‘no’ campaign have cast doubt on.

However, a recent paper from the Law Society of Scotland

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HOT TOPIC

concluded that an independent Scotland’s membership of the EU would encounter no legal barriers, as the country already complies with EU treaties and qualifies “in legal terms for EU membership in its own right”.

Scottish industry, meanwhile, has remained oddly mute on the whole question of independence, leading to claims that business leaders have been warned by the SNP that they risk losing government contracts if they air prounion views.

Such claims have been strenuously denied by the SNP, although Rupert Soames, head of the Scottish-based energy multinational Aggreko, told a parliamentary committee last year that anyone who voiced views contrary to those of the SNP “brought down on themselves rains of bile and ire”.

In November, a keynote paper from the SNP claimed that independence would allow future Scottish governments to use tax powers and regulation to boost growth, increase exports and attract investment. A new industrial strategy could be developed, the paper added, that promotes manufacturing along with a more efficient tax system, with Mr Salmond suggesting that lower corporation tax could be used to attract businesses.

However, the paper’s optimistic claims flew in the face of an IFS report, published only a day earlier, which estimated that an independent Scotland would have no option but to raise taxes or cut spending, because of falling oil revenues and an ageing population.

The financial sector in Edinburgh has kept its own counsel on the question of independence, although many bankers and insurance bosses are known to be privately concerned about the wisdom of erecting a national barrier between themselves and the City of London.

Immigration policy There has also been little debate about what an independent Scotland’s attitude towards immigration might be, although the SNP is promising to make the situation clearer in a white paper over the winter.

A report from Oxford University’s Migration Observatory says that official figures show that the number of people born in Scotland has declined markedly and that population growth could only be achieved through net migration.

The report points out that Scottish nationalists have argued that no border controls would be needed between England and Scotland. “But the UK Home Secretary, Theresa May, has called this into question, suggesting that passport checks may be necessary to prevent the rest of the UK from becoming a de-facto member of the EU’s Schengen free-movement area and to prevent migrants from using Scotland to bypass UK immigration controls,” the report says.

Among the ‘immigrants’ who will get a vote in the referendum will be the 400,000-plus English now living in Scotland. Almost twice as many Scots live south of the border but will have no say.

There again, one poll conducted on both sides of the border indicated there was more support in England for an independent Scotland than there was in Scotland.

Even the simplest question, it seems, can produce some devilish complicated answers.

Keep up-to-date with daily news from David Sapsted, our business correspondent, on relocatemagazine.com

8 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

HOT TOPIC

INDEPENDENCE UPDATE SNP details ‘plans for prosperity’ The Scottish National Party government set out its case for a ‘yes’ vote in next year’s independence referendum with the publication on 26 November of a 670-page ‘white paper’ that claimed Scotland would be a more prosperous, fairer and more democratic country outside the UK. Launched by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, the white paper pledged to tailor economic policy to Scottish businesses and industry. Mr Salmond claimed independence would allow Scotland to unleash its vast potential as a country, adding, “Ultimately, at the heart of this debate, there’s only one question: do we, the people who live and work in Scotland, believe that we are the best people to take the big decisions about our future?”

The document says an SNP government in an independent Scotland would undertake a “transformational extension of childcare” to help working parents, cut corporation tax to boost business, and introduce a simplified and fairer tax system.

However, hours before the white paper’s publication, figures produced by the Treasury in London estimated that Scots would end up paying an extra £1,000 a year in taxes if they opted for independence.

The white paper said that next September’s referendum would give voters “a choice between two futures”. A ‘yes’ vote would mean “the most important decisions about our

economy and society will be taken by the people who care most about Scotland, that is, by the people of Scotland”.

It claimed that independence would open the door to a new era for Scotland, while a vote for remaining within the UK would mean that “Scotland stands still”.

But Alistair Carmichael, Scottish Secretary in the UK government, said there were major question marks over SNP policies, including their plan to keep the pound and retain the services of the Bank of England as part of a “currency union” with the rest of the UK. The white paper maintained “the pound is Scotland’s currency just as much as it is the rest of the UK’s” and that an independent nation would negotiate a “sterling zone” with the rest of the UK. The paper added, “There will be no requirement for an independent Scotland to raise the general rate of taxation to fund existing levels of spending.”

Mr Salmond, who envisages independence becoming a reality 28 months after next September’s vote, said, “We’d become independent in more promising circumstances than virtually any other nation in history. That reflects our underlying economic strength.

“An independent Scotland could have the eighth-highest economic output and the tenth-highest national income per head of population in the whole of the developed world.”

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PAY & BENEFITS

INTERNATIONAL PENSIONS AND BENEFITS Time to cash in on change?

The proliferation of assignment types is adding greater complexity to an already fast-moving and challenging tax, immigration compliance, and psychological contract landscape. Ruth Holmes asks if now is the time to start rethinking international benefits, securing a better return on these investments for employer and employee alike.

A

s global mobility and HR professionals strive to raise the bar in service delivery, better financial understanding and awareness of the opportunities presented by international moves in this context could be instrumental in supporting corporate strategy and controlling costs – both vital for maintaining competitiveness.

Over three-quarters of respondents to Cartus’s Biggest Challenges 2013 survey said that controlling relocation/ assignment costs was their biggest headache (76 per cent).

Around a third (28 per cent) also singled out structuring compensation packages as a challenge, with other surveys reinforcing these sentiments.

The Worldwide ERC and Towers Watson Global Talent Mobility Study: Regional differences in policy and practice found,

10 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

for example, that 73 per cent of respondents from Asia regarded compensation as an area of concern for crossborder new hires. Moreover, 60 per cent of respondents from European companies report their employees are most challenged by pensions/retirement coverage and tax issues in such cases. And in the US, companies identify taxation and compensation as the primary challenges for their crossborder new hires, followed by pension/retirement coverage.

Time for change?

Undoubtedly, taxation, finance and employment benefits function in a complex and fast-changing landscape and necessitate specialised, qualified advice – not least to ensure sound governance, financial propriety and profitability.

PAY & BENEFITS

Most companies with expatriate populations are now familiar with more-stringent tax compliance requirements, as governments look to boost tax take. Yet currency fluctuations and seismic changes in the employer pensions environment, particularly in the US, the UK and Europe, together with the retirement benefit implications of overseas mergers and acquisitions and the diverse needs of inbound talent from emerging economies, could mean that within the challenges are opportunities to evolve pensions and benefits offerings for globally mobile workers.

Benefiting from the benefit?

New research from Barclays, Talking About My Generation: Exploring the benefits engagement challenge, offers an intergenerational perspective on employee benefits. It also reveals the potential scale of opportunity for how employers can better support business goals and optimise returns on employee costs.

For a start, more than eight out of ten of the 1,200 Baby Boomer (86 per cent) and Generation X and Generation Y (both 87 per cent) employees surveyed said their current benefits packages were too inflexible to meet their needs. Significantly, the report concluded that “a serious discrepancy currently exists between the benefits packages provided by employers and the actual needs of employees”.

Pensions and benefits comprise a major and costly proportion of the overall expatriate package, especially in the US and Europe. This makes moving people, particularly business-critical technical staff, senior directors and young talent, very expensive, but employers could have an opportunity to really leverage the value of workplace pensions and benefits and hone offerings according to workforce profile.

What do employees want?

A number of research studies show that, done well, benefits packages can be highly effective in enhancing employee engagement. Hays Group research from 2012, for example, shows that organisations with high levels of engagement have 40 per cent lower employee attrition rates. PA Consulting’s 2013 study also suggests that highly engaged workforces are 87 per cent less likely to leave their organisations, and create an average 20 per cent performance premium. In the global mobility arena, with its longstanding issues of assignment and repatriation failure, the importance of pay and benefits in the context of growing assignment types is, therefore, potentially highly significant. What, then, do employees seek in their employment benefits and pensions?

According to the Barclays research, which was carried out in conjunction with Dr Paul Redmond, a leading generational expert based at the University of Liverpool, Generation Y looks for opportunities to rise quickly through the ranks and take on more responsibility. We also know from similar studies that Generation Y employees globally have high salary expectations, seek employers and roles that align with their personal values,

and rate starting salary and permanent contracts highly.

Yet workplace pensions provider NOW: Pensions’ May 2013 survey of 2,000 employees from across the generations found that, for Generation Y, security is often hard-won.

Struggling with graduate starting salaries on average 12 per cent lower than in 2008, a high student debt burden and rising living costs, 51 per cent of the Millennials it surveyed expected to be worse off than their parents in retirement, and 46 per cent failed to save on a regular basis. Generation Yers anticipate funding the shortfall in their retirement savings by planning to save more (56 per cent), with 31 per cent expressing an appetite to increase pension contributions.

Morten Nilsson, CEO of NOW: Pensions, said, “Skyhigh rents, the rising cost of living and stagnant wages have all made saving for the future near mission impossible for Generation Y. But, with final salary pension schemes relegated to the history books and state pension provision just £110 per week, saving for retirement has never been more important.”

The Barclays research suggests that pensions feature more highly for Generation X, the cohort frequently making the international moves, with 77 per cent valuing company pensions as a benefit. For Baby Boomers – along with Veterans the demographic closest to retirement – this figure is 71 per cent.

As KPMG’s Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey 2013 suggests, it’s little surprise that pensions top the list when removing localised workers from home-country company pensions schemes is the second most common localisation (29 per cent) policy. This could create additional uncertainty and stress to the psychological contract at a time of uncertainty, personal upheaval and career risk, and is where access to proper advice and guidance could make a real difference to engagement and, therefore, performance.

Taking advice Indeed, Barclay’s finds that what Generation X and Y have in common is that they “crave financial guidance”. Says Talking About My Generation, “We discovered that Generation X and Y are particularly responsive to the idea of being able to access a personal banker and mortgage adviser while at work. Our focus groups discovered Generation X managers who were being kept awake at night worrying about pensions and mortgages.”

Together, the insights from these studies and analyses could be useful pointers for opening conversations and new opportunities, as well as ensuring pay and benefits remain competitive, attractive, cost-effective and compliant in today’s marketplace. Starting a conversation could also open up discussions around the detail of ideal future benefits packages.

Few in the focus groups that accompanied the Barclays study were able to see beyond their current provision, with “flexible” and “more choice” being the main responses.

Is the time right, therefore, to start communicating more around international and expatriate benefits and pensions?

relocatemagazine.com | 11

STRATEGY

Global megatrends mean that mobility is rising up the business agenda. Yet research suggests that current mobility practices – particularly as they relate to talent management for the wider business and the global mobility function itself – are failing to keep pace with the rate of change. Ruth Holmes talks to the experts to find out where next for mobility and HR.

GLOBAL MOBILITY TRANSFORMATION WHERE

HR MEETS GM

12 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

STRATEGY

B

ack in the early 2000s, HR underwent a paradigm shift. By refocusing on how to add value to the business through strategic people practices, HR professionals made it their business to become more strategic, business-focused and transformational.

This ‘Ulrich’ moment – named after the highly influential US academic, Professor Dave Ulrich, who identified this wave of development within the function – has enabled HR to refocus, repurpose and redesign itself to build and support organisation capability and the bottom line by focusing on talent.

Where next for global mobility?

It’s no surprise, therefore, that global megatrends – such as the forecast that emerging markets are set to comprise over half of worldwide GDP by 2017 – are now sharpening HR’s focus on securing and deploying talent across borders.

Yet if we look at global mobility (GM) through a talent management lens, two new benchmarking studies point to dissatisfaction around its current role, among both HR’s ranks and GM professionals. For a start, global business services firm Deloitte‘s Strategic Moves annual benchmarking survey found that only 2 per cent of the organisations studied would call their global mobility functions ‘worldclass’; a further two-thirds added that global mobility practices in their organisations did not currently support, or help deliver on, wider business goals.

Earlier this autumn, new research from another global business consultancy, EY, this time from the perspective of global mobility practitioners themselves, drew a similar conclusion, and seemingly corroborates the sentiment of a need for change in global mobility functions.

The Your Talent in Motion: Global Mobility Effectiveness Survey 2013 found that more than half (56 per cent) of the 264 senior mobility executives interviewed said that they currently played no role in talent management and wider business objectives, and four in ten (42 per cent) said that they had no global talent management agenda.

The conclusion in both cases is that companies with internal global mobility functions and their outsourced partners could be deploying the GM team’s own talent more effectively, thus helping to secure competitive advantage in much the same way as HR has sought to.

Back to basics Explaining more about the background to these findings, Andrew Robb, leader of Deloitte’s Global Mobility Transformation team, comments, “From an organisational design point of view, GM is a subset of HR. But when HR went through a redesign, GM was left out, because it was regarded as being a bit strange and too difficult to do. It often has its own software, its own reward and HR policies, and so on. Consequently, mobility was left in the ‘too difficult

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STRATEGY

to solve’ box, and we see that with our client base.

“But now organisations are saying, but actually, mobility should follow the same path and direction of travel, and, as GM becomes more important, we need to adapt mobility and make it more aligned to our HR direction of travel. So GM is kind of playing catch-up with HR’s direction of travel.”

Evidentially and anecdotally, there is a groundswell of feeling that there is huge potential for GM practitioners to ‘play catch-up’.

Time for change?

Deloitte’s study looked at what the top three business challenges were and whether mobility was supporting the business to meet them. In other words, did mobility need to be more aligned with the business?

The results were clear. For around six out of ten of the just over 200 businesses surveyed, emerging markets, globalisation and increasing competition are the top three strategic challenges companies face today. Moreover, between 98 and 100 per cent of respondents agreed that global mobility was an important tool to address them.

“Overwhelmingly, across the board, mobility is fundamental in delivering those three goals. Yet fewer than a third say that global mobility completely addresses these top three issues. So there’s this massive gap between expectations and capabilities, and what organisations want global mobility to do,” says Andrew Robb.

“There are some companies out there who are worldclass and thinking ahead of the curve. But in reality, if we go back to global megatrends, business models are changing very fast.

“HR is catching up in terms of its own service delivery model and how it engages the business, but mobility is further behind that. So whilst mobility is making strides to close the gap, these are probably not quick enough, because the business is changing faster.”

Closing the gap Does GM, therefore, need to have its own ‘Ulrich’ moment and become far more business-focused and strategic? The survey evidence suggests so.

Tellingly, the top answers to the Deloitte survey’s question ‘What are the major challenges facing the GM function?’ were actively partnering with business to use GM effectively (66 per cent), regulatory and compliance issues (62 per cent), and integration with global talent management practices (61 per cent).

In terms of how teams are responding to these issues, 60 per cent are reviewing policies, 55 per cent are optimising policy, and 38 per cent are involved in mobility strategy review. “But,” says Andrew Robb, “this is to look at the issue from the wrong starting point: if you focus on talent and business alignment, then operational excellence, compliance

and assignee experience drop out of that, leading on to people, policy, process, technology, vendors, governance, and so on. Operational excellence isn’t enough, because talent mobility is the business.”

Resourcing and the ‘operational burden’ could be two key reasons why mobility professionals are struggling to address the challenges. Findings from the EY survey suggest that “the majority of mobility professionals are either on the outside, struggling to understand their future role, or are too busy with operational day-to-day tasks to elevate their role”.

Around half of the respondents report that their mobility team is understaffed and, while 68 per cent are heavily involved in preparing internal paperwork and sign-offs, 69 per cent say they are not involved in the assignee selection process.

The mobility function: where next?

Dina Pyron, EY’s global director of human capital, comments, “Mobility needs to be seen as a tool to enhance the talent pool, not simply an easy way to fill a vacancy without any strategic insight. Mobility professionals can play a more effective role in strategic business planning, rather than focusing on immediate needs, to drive competitive advantage for their organisations.

“The function must be connected or integrated with the talent management team, combining their specialist skill sets to improve the retention and development of top talent and potential future leadership.”

“When you examine it closely, GM plays a vital strategic role in an organisation operating across borders,” says independent global mobility consultant Laraine Nee. “It is the single business unit that touches every other function, be it finance, tax or HR. “The business, quite rightly, has to focus on what HR delivers and does. But the business will suffer if the global mobility function is not tied in, or there is no senior leadership team buy-in. It is that important.”

For Andrew Robb, too, the future for mobility will be to establish itself within the organisation as a true business partner. “Here, as well as formalising a mobility strategy and migrating capability to markets, GM delivers operational excellence, links in to talent integration and leadership development, and fills immediate needs.”

“Switching mobility from being very reactive to making something happen is where leading organisations are getting more insightful about this: leading mobility back to the beginning with the business partner concept, saying ‘this is what we think we can help you with’.

“If this is your problem statement, let’s think about how we can make that happen and solve that on a proactive basis rather than a reactive basis – that’s the big culture shift that’s happening more and more.”

It seems that, while mobility is increasingly important in today’s world, evolving and keeping pace with change has never been more crucial for GM.

Join the debate on the future of HR and global mobility via our website and the Connect and Grow initiative

14 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

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SECTION HEADING INTERNATIONAL BANKING ADVERTORIAL

Smoothing the way for international assignees The early opening of a bank account is a vital building block of the relocation package, and can make a big difference to an international assignee’s ability to settle in their new country and hit the ground running. Neil Barsby, head of NatWest Global Employee Banking, explains how his organisation can help.

U

nderstanding customers should be at the heart of any banking business, but much of the financial services industry still takes a uniform approach to categorising its clients. For example, it will often assume that two people who earn £50,000 or £100,000 look alike and have identical needs. Many financial services product offerings are based on that assumption. However, in reality the needs of people relocating can be vastly different and a more individual approach is required.

NatWest Global Employee Banking has years of experience supporting internationally mobile clients and has driven forward the delivery of everyday banking solutions which meet the needs of inpats. At the heart of this change was a recognition that salary alone is not the key determinant of an individual’s banking needs. For example, an inpat earning £50,000 with a wife and family will have very different needs from an inpat earning £50,000 who is footloose and fancy-free. This changes how we assist our clients based on their real practical and emotional needs when relocating to offer a very personal service.

These differences will already be reflected in relocation packages. For example, companies will recognise that it

16 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

is more difficult for a family to spend six weeks in a hotel than it is for an independent assignee. A family will have to organise schooling, childcare and accommodation within a fairly short space of time. An individual may have a different agenda – the cultural scene, for example.

The early opening of a bank account is a vital building block of the relocation package. We have found that assignees often do not prioritise their banking requirements, and yet if an assignee does not have a functioning bank account up and running by the time they arrive in the UK, it makes setting up a home challenging.

Understanding the needs of relocating assignees and having the right conversation with them can ensure that the transition goes smoothly. At each stage, we can build a better picture of what is important for every type of assignee. Taking a more individual approach, rather than believing that one size fits all, means that we can ensure that people relocating have access to appropriate banking services at the right time.

For managers and executives relocating to the UK, we offer the range of services that clients would expect, covering every aspect of wealth management, and have specialist

INTERNATIONAL BANKING ADVERTORIAL

teams at hand to help with mortgages, investments and borrowing. With lots of things to do and a limited amount of time, we realise the pressures that international assignees face. Our dedicated relationship managers form the focal point of our manager and executive service, with specialist banking services to meet the needs of the inpat’s lifestyle.*

Making relocation easy Moving to the UK is a significant decision for a family, and NatWest Global Employee Banking is here to make the process as straightforward as possible. We also recognise that relocation has an emotional as well as a practical side.

NatWest Global Employee Banking has an established team for the purpose of supporting people who are relocating.

This is a life-changing move and the process needs to run smoothly, and inpats need to have the right support as they are building their new life.

Once an account is open, relationship managers can assist assignees with a range of financial requirements.* For example, often when one partner relocates, the second partner is tasked with setting up a new home in the UK. This means that they will need bank accounts and other facilities, such as sterling credit cards, as a priority – perhaps more so than the partner who is working. If an inpat has older children, they too may need banking facilities, and parents may wish to start savings accounts for education provision.

Far more important for many of our assignees is making cost-effective international money transfers back to their home country. Many inpats to the UK will only be on assignment for two or three years and will therefore retain domestic properties and connections in their home country. We recognise that keeping the cost of regular foreign exchange transfers low* is vitally important, and therefore clients who hold a Global Select account can make online payments for free. We consider this to be a valuable benefit for our clients.

Depending upon the individual’s specific banking requirements, there may be a benefit to holding an account at different locations. NatWest Global Employee Banking offers two location options – either an onshore Select account or an offshore Global Select account, designed to offer many of the features of a UK banking service plus the additional benefits designed with the international client in mind – for example, multi-currency services.

Our clients have access to our ‘relocation hub’ featuring comprehensive guides to inpat life. These cover education for children, including how to understand the UK system and pick a good school, through to understanding UK culture and buying versus renting a home – and even details on top attractions for ideas of things to do in the UK as a family. These guides can help ease what can otherwise be a difficult transition.

Relocation can be particularly disruptive for children, who must often leave friends and family behind. At NatWest Global Employee Banking, we understand this and have created a separate section on our website where children can

meet Jerrie the bear, who finds he is relocating to London.

It talks about what he will leave behind – his toys, his bedroom – but also what he will find – new friends, a new country. The site has illustrations designed as a colouring book. We have striven to make it as interactive as possible, so that young people can share in the excitement of a move to the UK. Moving to the UK may feel like a daunting process but it doesn’t have to be. Our dedicated team are here to support your relocating employees and help them settle into their new life quickly and easily. We’re here to help them on every step of their banking journey.

Please visit www.natwestglobal.com for more details of the accounts on offer, or contact Neil Barsby directly on +44 (0)1245 355628.

The Global Employee Banking service is offered by National Westminster Bank Plc. Registered in England No. 929027. 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3UR. National Westminster Bank Plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

National Westminster Bank Plc is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, covers your account. For money held in a bank or building society in the UK, the scheme will cover up to £85,000 of your claim. Most people who make deposits, including individuals and small firms, are covered. Deposits in all currencies are treated the same. For more information on the conditions of the scheme, please contact the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk Our services are not offered to any person in any jurisdiction where their advertisement, offer or sale is restricted or prohibited by law or regulation or where we are not appropriately licensed.

Calls may be recorded.

*Subject to status

**Subject to exchange rates

relocatemagazine.com | 17

TURKEY

TURKEY’S YEAR OF

livingdangerously 2013 has been a rollercoaster year for Turkey, gateway to the Middle East, as it battles international condemnation to become, once more, a serious contender for EU membership. Ray Furlong, who presents The Newsroom on the BBC World Service, assesses the country’s current position.

18 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

TURKEY

I

t’s been a hair-raising year in Turkey, a year of wild oscillations between Middle-Eastern autocracy and serious EU candidate.

With the economy off the boil after years of surging growth, mass crowds took to the streets in June to challenge the authority of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In scenes eerily redolent of the Arab Spring, six people died as security forces launched a brutal crackdown.

When the suppression of the protests brought international condemnation, the political capital built up through years of courting the West and modernising the economy looked like being wasted. Crucially, Germany insisted on delaying a resumption of Turkey’s EU membership talks.

But Turkey turned it round. The protests died down. A brand spanking new tunnel under the Bosporus was opened.

And in November, the EU talks resumed – with the first new chapter of negotiations in three years being opened.

So where does Turkey stand now?

“The June events are no parallel to what happened in Arab countries,” says Turkey’s ambassador to London, Unal Cevikoz. “The protests in the Middle East were calling for a move from an authoritarian regime to a democratic and pluralistic system. This already exists in Turkey.”

This is an important point. There have been no serious concerns about the legitimacy of Turkey’s elections, and Prime Minister Erdogan has won them three times in a row, with a resounding share of the vote each time.

But Ambassador Cevikoz goes further, arguing that the demonstrations, far from casting doubt on Turkey as a modern, democratic country, actually prove it to be one.

“What happened in Turkey was a demonstration of the existence of a strong civil society, where people who are not happy are free to protest – a basic democratic right,” he says.

Mr Cevikoz does concede that the reaction of security forces was, at times, inappropriate, and points to an interior ministry investigation leading to court cases against senior policemen. But for critics of the government, this is glossing over an important point: the hard-line tone against the protests was set by Prime Minister Erdogan himself – who denounced protestors as “terrorists” and “looters”.

Mustafa Akyol, a columnist for the leading Turkish daily Hurriyet, wrote recently that Mr Erdogan had betrayed a very limited understanding of what democracy is.

“Erdogan only believes in ‘electoral democracy’, where political power is held by those who win the elections.

Yet, he has no interest in ‘liberal democracy’, where the elected are constrained by civil rights, limited by checks and balances, and are freely criticized by an independent press,” wrote Mr Akyol.

“He, in other words, seems to believe in ‘illiberal democracy’, where the elected leader has the right to do almost everything he wants.”

This, in a nutshell, is the concern of many of those who

braved the tear gas and the water canon in Istanbul and other cities earlier this year.

Nesrin Taraf, a London-based Turkish banker, says many in the City put Turkey in the same bracket as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as a priority for business opportunities.

She shares the concerns about how the protests were put down earlier this year, but says there’s also a surging optimism among many of Turkey’s liberal, educated urban middle classes.

“The very fact that young people took to the streets to voice a political view is a cause for optimism,” Ms Taraf says.

“Don’t focus on the end result: that the protests ended without achieving major changes. This is a process. Istanbul is now a whirl of discussion, people are getting active, the opposition may start to get more organised. At the very least, the government knows it has to take into consideration the views of the public.”

The violent suppression of the protests provoked blunt criticism from Washington and Brussels. Some Western leaders even started to ponder: are we losing Turkey?

“What’s happening in Turkey at the moment is not in line with our idea of the freedom to demonstrate or freedom of speech,” declared the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

“There were horrible images in which one could see that the approach was much too harsh.”

EU membership talks But the resumption of EU membership talks in November was, for Ambassador Cevikoz, an important sign.

“It is one minute to midnight. There is still time for Turkey to become a member of the EU, and I believe it will,” he says. “People in many EU countries are against us, but perhaps it’s more useful to name particular individuals.

President Sarkozy [of France] was one of them.”

Mr Sarkozy, of course, has now departed the Elysée Palace.

“After a three-year break in talks, we have restarted them. This will give us a new momentum in 2014. I can’t give you an accession date. But the process is not stalled any more,” adds Mr Cevikoz.

Certainly, Turkey has its friends in the EU. Britain is among the staunchest. “If you add up who I make the most phone calls to, the Foreign Minister of Turkey is up there with Hillary Clinton,” said Foreign Secretary William Hague in 2011.

But opposition elsewhere in the EU is as strong as ever – if not stronger. A foreign policy paper produced during coalition negotiations in Germany (between Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats) gives a sense of hardening attitudes.

“The [accession] talks that began in 2005 with the goal of [Turkish] membership are an open-ended process, with no automatism and a result that cannot be guaranteed beforehand,” it states.

relocatemagazine.com | 19

TURKEY

The words may sound neutral – technocratic, even. But they mean that, while all previous membership negotiations have resulted in the candidate state joining the EU, it need not necessarily end that way for Turkey.

As such, they reflect deep-seated suspicion of Turkey in Germany – the EU’s most powerful member.

In France, Mr Sarkozy may be gone but concerns are still strongly held. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders recently issued a report branding Turkey “the world’s biggest prison for journalists”, ranking it 154th out of 179 countries for press freedom.

Of course, Turkey – like any EU aspirant – must meet the so-called Copenhagen Criteria for human rights, democracy, media freedom, and so on. But for many in Europe, the concern is also about letting in a highly populous country with a much lower GDP, especially after the experience of enlargement in former communist Eastern Europe.

Changing face of overseas investment Yet economically, Turkey has made astounding progress in recent years – becoming a major global hub for investors.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was $124 billion over the last decade, compared with just $15 billion over the preceding 80 years put together.

This helped GDP record Chinese-style growth rates of around 9 per cent in 2010 and 2011, a stark contrast to

20 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

Europe and ailing arch-rival Greece in particular.

And as Turkey’s main source of investment, Europe, struggles to haul itself out of recession, investors from the Persian Gulf have picked up some of the slack.

Much of the growth has been powered by construction.

The tunnel under the Bosporus was a symbol of this, opened to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the republic by Kemal Ataturk – the grandaddy of Turkey’s West-looking modernisation project.

But another symbol of this was a shopping mall on one of Istanbul’s last major parks, the touchstone that sparked this summer’s demonstrations. The images of instability brought by their violent suppression were a dangerous risk for an economy so reliant on foreign investment.

Another concern about Turkey’s economic model is the role of domestic consumption in fuelling growth. Partly as a result, the country has developed a dangerous trade deficit which has spooked markets. In November, the Turkish lira was at historic lows against the dollar.

And the civil war in neighbouring Syria has also brought economic problems.

“We have 600,000 Syrian refugees, more than 200,000 of them in 26 camps all along the Syrian border,” says Ambassador Cevikoz. “Turkey is providing them not only with subsistence, but also health and education. This has cost us $1.5 billion in the last two years. There has been hardly any help from the international community, apart from a modest contribution from Britain and some other countries. This is a serious burden.”

Turkish GDP growth slowed sharply to 2.2 per cent last year – but the government’s target for 2013 is a healthy 4 per cent, and the economy is almost on track to achieve it.

Turkey has been through a tsunami of events this year: protests, repression, a refugee crisis …

But it seems to have taken the punch and kept going. It remains a popular destination for international business. The question remains, however, as to where it thinks it is heading – and whether it will be welcome when it gets there.

MIDDLESECTION EAST EDUCATION HEADING

Education in the Middle East LATEST REPORT

According to a recent report, expats in the Middle East are paying the most for the education of their children after relocation. Given that non-Arab residents are not permitted to attend state schools in the UAE, but must attend fee-paying independent schools, it is unsurprising that the costs shoot up for those on assignment with school-age children. However, the supply of good schools for the numbers of expats who need them is still not meeting the demand, claims an international schools research group. Rebecca Marriage takes a closer look.

T

his year’s HSBC Expat Explorer survey has revealed that expats in Middle Eastern countries are spending considerably more than the global average on childcare and their children’s education. The fact that expatriate students have no choice but to attend a fee-paying private or international school probably accounts

for the above-average education-related costs – but the future is looking brighter for families relocating to the region, as many new schools are opening year on year to meet the demand.

ISC Research, which takes a close look at global international school developments, predicts continued

relocatemagazine.com | 21

SECTIONEAST MIDDLE HEADING EDUCATION

growth for private school provision in the region. According to ISC, the number of teaching jobs at international schools in Abu Dhabi has increased by more than 40 per cent over the last four years, and is set to increase further this year, as four new British and American schools opened in the capital in the last few months.

In Dubai, the number of teaching jobs has also risen sharply, by over 30 per cent since 2009. The Abu Dhabi Education Council has approved 47 new schools, to create an additional 60,000 places. This is welcome news, given that ISC reported long waiting lists for most premium international schools in Abu Dhabi.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the government schools regulator in Dubai, also reports healthy growth for its private-schools sector.

“Since KHDA was established in 2007,” says Dr Abdulla Al Karam, director general and chairman of KHDA’s board of directors, “30 new schools have opened, including six in 2012/13. The private schools sector in Dubai continues to show robust growth year on year.”

According to a KHDA report on education developments in the region, in the 2012/13 academic year there were 153 private schools operating in Dubai following national curricula from the UK, US, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Education, catering for 90 per cent of the private school student population. The number of students at UK curriculum schools is reported to be the highest, with 70,860 students, or over 30 per cent of all private-school enrolments.

“There is an ever-increasing demand in the UAE for a quality British education as more families relocate from the UK,” says Nav Rai, of Repton School, Dubai. Repton was one of the first British public schools to establish a campus in the region, drawing on the reputation and 450year history of its sister school in Derbyshire.

However, homegrown school groups are emerging as some of the most dominant operators in Dubai and look to be working quickly towards easing the shortage of supply of school places in the region. GEMS Education, Taaleem and Innoventures account for most of the private schools.

GEMS Education, for example, has 19 schools, accounting for 25 per cent of total private-school student enrolments.

In fact, GEMS Education announced this year that it had raised AED2 billion in bank finance to continue its plans to expand its number of international schools in the UAE. According to ISC, the Gulf States have committed to investing US$200 billion for up to 6,600 new schools and 1,200 university campuses by 2020. Coupled with developments from the expanding school groups, the future could be looking brighter for assignees seeking to secure a place at a good school for their children.

See the Education section of relocatemagazine.com for updates and practical advice

22 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

SECTION HEADING

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relocatemagazine.com/careers relocatemagazine.com | 23

SECTION HEADING CANADA

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

RELOCATION IN CANADA’S ICT AND VIDEOGAMES SECTORS

24 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

CANADA

C

anada can now boast that its videogames sector is the third-biggest in the world in terms of employment; it overtook the UK’s back in 2010. With the global industry likely to be worth US$93 billion in 2013 according to IT research firm Gartner, that’s no mean feat.

Furthermore, while employment levels in Canada’s wider information, communications and technology (ICT) sector have stagnated, those in the games industry are set to continue on an upward trajectory.

The industry has been helped by a steady post-recession economic recovery in Canada. Similarly, the outlook for the next few years is looking quietly promising. While the government is working on restraining spending to tackle its fiscal deficit, it’s also looking to address the shortfall by promoting energy projects and expanding trade and investment links that reduce its dependence on the US. One upshot of this has been the recent Canada/EU trade agreement, which the Canadian government claims will create 80,000 jobs and boost GDP by 0.6 per cent. The deal removes 99 per cent of tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as cutting huge amounts of red tape. This, in particular, could have serious implications for relocating transferees as bureaucratic obstacles are removed.

The Bank of Canada recently cut its economic growth forecasts for 2014 and 2015, to 2.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively. It expects the economy to return to full capacity by the end of 2015, however.

ICT sector: all change

Canada’s videogames sector is the world’s third largest in terms of employment, and the country’s wider information, communications and technology sector is also a significant contributor to the Canadian economy. Mark E Johnson investigates how this is affecting relocation.

The wider ICT sector is a significant contributor to the Canadian economy, having added CAN$67.2 billion to GDP in 2011, when it accounted for 3 per cent of employment nationwide. It is, however, in a state of flux.

An example of this comes from one of the industry’s hubs, Vancouver. “The IT business has changed a lot, even in the last few years. Electronic Arts (EA) had a huge presence in Vancouver, and they pulled out. Locally, a lot of people were saying, ‘Oh, if EA’s going, what’s going to happen?’ But I think that may have been a lot to do with their static business model. Everyone’s basing it on remote workers. As long as you’ve got an internet connection, it doesn’t matter where you are, and it’s a lot cheaper doing it that way,” said Toby Smith, operations manager for KRP Communications, a Vancouver IT company.

The mainstream tech sector as a whole favours smaller companies and studios. As of 2011, there were around 33,300 companies in the industry, employing 521,702 people (though that figure represented a 1.1 per cent drop from the previous year). Of those companies, 85 per cent have nine employees or fewer.

There’s not a vast crossover between the traditional ICT and games sectors. Although official figures do fold games under the ICT banner, they’re typically perceived as largely separate from one another. “There’s some crossover with the film and visual effects industries, and I know some of my co-workers have experience in both, but generally I’d say the games industry is pretty well insulated.

relocatemagazine.com | 25

CANADA

“Other big companies, like Autodesk, Google, Facebook and SAP, have offices in Montreal, so it makes it a pretty lively IT hub,” said Dan Lowe, senior animator at Ubisoft Montreal, one of the largest games studios in the country.

Sana Huq, an international mobility specialist also working at Ubisoft, said crossover happens “not as much in the technical category but more so with management positions from the film and television industry”.

The highly particular demands of many ICT jobs mean it’s often necessary for tech companies to hire from outside Canada. “On the tech side, I’ve been working with a couple of Bulgarians, a Sri Lankan, a couple of South Africans and a couple of Canadians,” said Toby Smith. “The products I work on are pretty specialised. It would take me 12 to18 months and up to CAN$20,000 to get someone trained up properly.”

In contrast to the wider ICT sector, the games industry is still structured, to a large degree, around the big studios necessitated by expensive AAA games such as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed and EA’s FIFA football series.

With new consoles launching from Sony and Microsoft this year, the demands of AAA development are only likely to increase.

While 88 per cent of games companies are classified as small (from five to 99 staff) or micro (up to four staff), the remaining 12 per cent of companies employing 100 or more staff actually account for 68 per cent of games sector employment.

26 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

Employment hubs and relocation trends In total, there are currently 329 games studios in operation in Canada. That’s down 5 per cent from 2011, but the total number of employees has actually grown 5 per cent since 2011, to 16,500.

The Canadian government is known for providing generous tax credits to games and film-related digital media companies, with Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario leading the charge.

Provincially, Quebec has the largest concentration of sector activity, with much of it focused around Montreal. Ninetyseven companies employ 8,750 staff. That’s followed by British Columbia with 67 companies and 5,150 total employees. With its more recent introduction of tax credits, Ontario is the third-biggest province, with 96 companies and 1,850 staff.

As the numbers suggest, the Ontarian industry is made up predominantly of small and micro-sized firms focused on the booming casual and mobile games markets, though the tax credits are beginning to draw in larger companies.

The games industry workforce is predominantly male (84 per cent), with the average age at just over 30 and the average salary being CAN$72,500. The overwhelming majority has been educated to university/college level.

International transferees already make up a significant component of the workforce. “Around 25 per cent of Ubisoft Montreal employees come from other countries, and the top three regions of origin are, in order, France, UK and the US,” said Dan Lowe.

That trend is set to continue. A recent report from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada notes, “As our industry grows, we face an increasing shortage of experienced talent across all job categories. Deepening the pool of domestic talent and having timely access to the best international talent are both critical solutions to ensure the videogame industry can continue to succeed.”

Despite these issues, a report from Nordicity states that positions for junior staff requiring recent graduates are relatively easy to fill. The majority were made up of local hires in 2012, though 15 per cent came from other regions in Canada. Just 4 per cent were hired from abroad. At the senior level, however, positions are more difficult to fill and many staff are recruited from outside the country. The report identifies immigration processing times ranging from seven weeks (for the USA) through 11 (in the UK) up to 13 weeks (for Western Europe) as problematic.

Sana Huq noted that the situation was improving and that “there weren’t many school programmes adapted to the game industry ten to 15 years ago”. The Nordicity report further indicates that demand for intermediate staff is likely to grow significantly in the next 12 to 24 months, with a predicted 853 roles needing to be filled. There are likely to be 640 senior positions to be recruited for. Overall, the sector is likely to fill approximately 2,200 roles over the period.

A common thread among British developers working in Canada is having been forced to look elsewhere following studio closures in the UK. “In recent years, job prospects in the games industry have been slim in countries like England and Australia, and US visas can be difficult to get

CANADA

hold of because there’s a limited allocation,” said Dan Lowe.

The critical mass of companies in Canada provides a draw, too. “I felt there was a potential for me to become settled here without the upheaval of relocating once again if, for some reason, my job didn’t work out,” said Chris Brooker, senior level artist at Warner Brothers Games Montreal.

Salary is also an issue. One developer recalled that he was offered double the salary he asked for. “On top of that, they paid out an incredibly generous relocation package.” That’s not an isolated occurrence. “When I entered my new job of a similar level here in Montreal, [my salary] had almost doubled,” said Mr Brooker. “Until UK developers can offer a competitive wage, I doubt I would ever consider returning.”

A vibrant industry The Canadian games industry is thriving and generating new jobs, compared with its UK counterpart. “It’s a troubled industry in the UK. Multiple developer/publishers are shutting down year after year. In contrast to the UK, just the other week there was news of Ubisoft in Quebec expanding their studio to create 500 new jobs. Then, only a week or so later, there was news that Warner Brothers (also in Quebec) was expanding and creating 100 new jobs. In both cases, it was partly due to the government providing support to the industry,” said Adam Capone, environment artist at Longtail Studios.

While Quebec is the only province in which French is the majority, and official, language, the clustering of games companies in the region can make the language barrier a problem, particularly for the families of transferees. “The language barrier can also be especially difficult on partners and families who move with you. While the games companies don’t require their employees who work on productions to speak French, most other companies do, so it can often be difficult for your partner or spouse to find work.

“Also, recent laws in Quebec have made it difficult for non-French speakers to remain in the [province] as permanent residents, so it’s expected for you to learn the language, and some people have a hard time with that,” said Dan Lowe. Many companies, such as Ubisoft, do offer free French lessons, though.

Despite drawbacks centred on language and immigration processes, however, the influx of foreign transferees into Canada looks set to continue.

See the Canada section of relocatemagazine.com for updates and practical advice

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relocatemagazine.com | 27

TALENT: CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

IS TALENT MANAGEMENT

ready to embrace global mobility?

High on the agenda for companies seeking global growth, talent management has long been a staple of the conference circuit. Fiona Murchie reports on a stimulating presententation at the recent Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium, which championed a new partnering approach.

A

refreshing session from Angela Lane, vice president of talent management at pharmaceutical research and development company AbbVie, at October’s Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium in Dallas brought a new perspective to the talent management debate that has been included in the conference circuit for several years.

Ms Lane is an engaging speaker, and, with carefully moderated questions from Michael Washbourn, senior manager of global mobility operations at Pfizer, she championed a new partnering approach. What could be better than aligning global mobility programmes with talent

28 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

management to achieve maximum return on investment?

We all know how crucial talent management is in the highly competitive world of pharmaceuticals.

Angela Lane held out a beacon of hope for those managing cost-driven mobility programmes, and her sunny Australian disposition no doubt added to the powerful logic of her arguments in driving partnership forward in the organisations she has worked for.

It has been a tough time for talent over the last five years.

The economic situation suggests it is time to pull back on global mobility, but pharmaceutical companies, like other

TALENT: CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

businesses, are chasing complex and increasingly difficult markets. Therefore, there is a tension.

Skills shortages create the need for global mobility programmes, but there are questions to be asked about how successful international assignments are in building international capability. A true strategic partnership between talent and global mobility holds the key to success.

Research shows that skills are developed and honed through international assignments.

Angela Lane urged the audience to try and think of the role of global mobility in terms of talent management, and to help decision-makers see talent management as investment, not cost. With only 2 per cent of talent getting to the highest level, talent should be measured and supported as an incredibly valuable and scarce resource.

If you look through a different lens, and start to see moving talent like an investment portfolio, with assignees a bit like the stock, then you will expect, on balance, more successes than failures. Behind this portfolio approach, international assignees are a high-risk investment, and talent management has the role of managing the risk and asking and answering questions such as: • Am I managing the risk – are there local options?

• Am I managing return?

• Is the selection of talent robust?

• Will the talent perform?

• Am I managing the cost?

Ms Lane concluded that talent management can lift its game in all these areas, and partnering with global mobility

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TALENT: CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

The role of talent management is to ask and answer:

could be the ideal way of achieving this.

Ways in which to start the conversation, she suggested, include arranging a discussion within your organisation, speaking to an expat, going to a talent review, and asking to use the big data that global mobility has access to. You might even consider positioning yourself as global talent.

A good starting point is to establish in your organisation how you would describe the relationship between talent management (TM) and global mobility (GM). The answer could range from a true strategic partnership, where GM and TM together drive talent deployment as part of an integrated strategy to build international capability, to the other end of the spectrum.

In this scenario, there may be tension between TM and GM, if talent management wants outcomes that are inconsistent with good global mobility practices. Most organisations probably fall somewhere in between, where there may be a good relationship but no real connection or understanding of how to work together.

But, as Angela Lane put it, “Global mobility is a vital lever within any fully fledged talent strategy. The challenge for global mobility and talent management is to manage this critical talent investment.”

Ms Lane’s presentation accentuated the fact that economic growth requires global mobility, despite companies continually seeking to reduce costs. The real opportunity, she spelled out, was to manage return on investment (ROI), and she made a powerful case for seeing assignments as an investment in building international capability. Her vision of a new partnership between talent management and global mobility strategically supports short- and long-term growth.

Under this new philosophy: • GM and TM manage investments, not cost • GM and TM manage a very scarce resource • GM is an equal partner with TM • GM and TM are responsible for ROI “A new philosophy would change how we look at international assignments … They are a high-risk investment in shortand long-term capability, and therefore our role in managing assignments changes,” said Angela Lane. She puts a powerful case for the new ‘investment’ mindset, which has implications for the role of talent management and global mobility. “It requires a different approach from both. The potential is a richer role for both, as well as improved return for the business.”

Who could argue with that? Whether you are in talent management or global management, this is the type of question you should be considering to move things forward and add value to your role and the success and bottom line of your organisation.

30 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

1. Am I managing risk?

• Are there local options?

2. Am I managing return?

Selection of talent • Will the talent perform?

• Is the talent ‘learning-agile’?

• What is the plan to leverage these skills post-assignment?

Selection of assignment •D oes the assignment build the right ‘international’ skills?

• Do these skills contribute to scarce organisational capability?

3. Am I managing cost?

• Do we have a process which consolidates learning, so breakeven is achieved quickly?

• Does the assignee have an objective to develop a successor and build a local pipeline?

• Do I interview assignees post-assignment, to understand what they learnt and how they learnt it?

The role of global mobility is to ask and answer: 1. Am I managing ‘risk’?

• Have I ensured a range of integration strategies is in place?

• Have I reduced the administrative burden on the assignee?

• Do I take accountability for the whole package?

• Do I reach out to the expatriate personally and satisfy myself that they ‘landed’ well?

2. Am I managing ‘cost’?

• Am I continuously managing the typical costs?

• Generally, am I working with vendor partners on tailored solutions for countries/genders/ages/ seniorities?

• Am I working with vendor partners to assess risks and costs before assignee selection?

3. Am I managing ‘return’?

• Do I think long term and create end-to-end policy solutions?

• How is ‘potential’ defined?

• What is our post-assignment retention policy?

• Do I actively manage assignment length for breakeven?

• Do I know which of my programmes have the best ROI? • Do I track data that provides business insight into investment and return?

“These strategies may bring incremental cost,” said Angela Lane, “but it’s a cost of doing business in the global economy.”

So be brave and state your case, as she urges.

TALENT: CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS!

This could be a truly inspirational partnership, and it’s one we will explore in the Spring 2014 issue of Re:locate, when David Schofield, of Murray Court Consulting, will share his views, following a similarly lively session on talent and mobilty integration at the WERC Symposium.

To keep up with the debate, join us for the Talent Meets Global Mobility webinar series in 2014.

You can also join in the debate and move things forward in your organisation via the Re:locate Connect and Grow initiative.

Find out more at:

relocateglobal/connectand grow Keep informed and join the talent and global mobility debate via relocatemagazine.com

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relocatemagazine.com | 31

SECTIONCONFERENCE TALENT: HEADING ROUND-UP

Social media and recruitment THE WAR FOR TALENT GOES VIRTUAL Adopting more innovative recruitment practices is high on the wishlists of many HR professionals in emerging and developed economies – especially those seeking to attract the attention of talented Millennials. Ruth Holmes reports from the Emerging Markets HR Summit in London.

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TALENT: CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

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recent global survey by recruitment firm Futurestep found that 74 per cent of HR professionals believed their company should be more innovative with its recruitment and talent management practices.

Speaking at the second BOC Emerging Markets HR Summit, held in London in October, Suzanne McGettigan, of LinkedIn Talent Solutions for the UK, Europe and Africa, gave an overview of how some companies were choosing to fight the war for talent via social networking sites like LinkedIn – especially for scale hiring, to develop the business or new locations.

Ms McGettigan pointed out that although just 20 per cent of site users are actively looking for work, a full 95 per cent could be said to be passively looking, in that they have ticked the box to be notified of relevant job offers.

This, she believes, makes the business networking site a “goldmine” for recruitment, especially for scale hiring to develop businesses or new locations, and has led to the company offering tailored solutions for corporate recruitment, including corporate LinkedIn pages and recruitment portals.

With employer branding also high on the agenda and a key consideration for job hunters – especially in many emerging economies and for Generation Y, who research suggests both prize and seek sound ethical practices in their employers – Christophe Ginisty, president of the

International Public Relations Association, discussed the virtues and power of an online social media presence.

He also advised delegates at the Emerging Markets HR Summit to ensure that any online or social media presence truly reflects the real values of the organisation and invite employees to share the values rather than dictate them.

With this in mind, Mr Ginisty presented seven steps for HR practitioners to lead and collaborate on more engaging social media that enables the company to promote openness and dialogue: 1. Partner with employees when defining values – consider employees as partners.

2. Co-create and distribute a social media code of conduct and liaise with employees – they know what is possible.

3. Name and media train the most exposed people.

4. Don’t speak on behalf of anybody.

5. Present a communications strategy before running it – employees often have no idea about campaigns before they happen.

6. Rethink the concept of confidentiality completely.

7. Engage where conversations are happening – this could be through mainstream channels, not always through new media channels.

Share your thoughts on using social media in recruitment.

Email editorial@relocatemagazine.com

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relocatemagazine.com | 33

MILLENNIALS

MILLENNIALS

TALKING ‘BOUT MY GENERATION? Spring 2013’s Re:locate opened a conversation about what future leaders seek in their work, especially as regards mobility. Here, we continue the discussion with the latest insights and practice, digging deeper to explore the realities forward-thinking companies face as they respond to trends.

Ruth Holmes picks up the story.

D

emographic change is happening now. One example of how times are changing is that, of every ten people in the UK in the mid-1950s, four were children and six were adults. Today, the balance has shifted to two children to every eight adults.

It’s not just developed economies that face pressing people and skills challenges which hamper competitiveness.

In many fast-growing emerging economies, both homegrown and international investors face a talent paradox: talent pools may be long on raw skills in the right age cohorts, but often they fall short on basic and high-touch knowledge skills required in this post-industrial age.

Both scenarios are compelling reasons why companies are focusing on their employer brand and looking at how they can adapt and re-energise their approach to this new demographic reality to attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders.

Managing a multigenerational workforce Research carried out by global business consultancy EY in June 2013 suggests that many organisations still see managing multigenerational workforces as a challenge. Just over two-thirds of the 1,215 managers from the three main working generations (Baby Boomers, X and Y) questioned said that they found managing what is very often a threeand sometimes a four-generation workforce an issue.

Somewhat more encouragingly, the same proportion also reports that their organisation has made some effort toward “alleviating the challenges in managing a generational mix“. Most common among these efforts are to include work-style accommodations (37 per cent), team-building exercises (36 per cent), generational differences training (32 per cent), cross-generational networking (26 per cent) and tailored communications (25 per cent).

Yet the EY study also identified two of the biggest challenges to managing a multigenerational workplace: different work expectations (77 per cent) and unease with younger employees managing older employees (72 per cent).

Generation Y, in particular, achieved the highest ranking on three out of four negative traits.

The EY survey respondents regarded Generation Y as most “entitled” (68 per cent), “lacking relevant experience” (59 per cent) and “difficult to work with” (36 per cent). On a positive note, almost eight out of ten questioned said

34 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

that they regarded Generation Yers as “best” at being “tech savvy” (78 per cent), social media opportunists and leveraging social media beyond marketing (70 per cent).

Building greater understanding Canadian customer loyalty and consumer data provider LoyaltyOne is actively responding to the changing face of the labour market by investigating the perceptions and realities of managing a multigenerational workforce.

Diane Dowsett, associate vice president of talent management at LoyaltyOne, explained why the organisation is taking such an active interest in the issues.

“We know that we have to work today to create the environment we want ten years from now.

We need to understand the value sets and expectations of the next generation of leaders.

Then we need to make those connections and shift where we are if need be.”

With this in mind – and at a time when the company is entering new markets, including Brazil and India – LoyaltyOne carried out its own research of 1,000 Gen Yers and Gen Xers in partnership with independent research body the Conference Board of Canada.

The study – one of an ongoing series of measures that included a roundtable event with other employers to share practices and ideas – compared the two generations’ preferences around leadership and management style, coaching and mentoring practices, career, and learning and development

MILLENNIALS

expectations. The study was then run internally among LoyaltyOne’s own 300 or so Millennials.

The internal and external findings were largely congruent and have added an insightful level of challenge and practical application to the company’s approach to managing Generation Y. “The most important thing that came out of the research,” notes Sofia Theodorou, LoyaltyOne’s senior vice president of human resources, “is that it challenges some of the ready assumptions about this generation that, when tested, were found to be wrong.”

Myth one: the technology generation?

Among the most surprising findings that have helped LoyaltyOne hone its practices and thinking around what attracts and motivates Generation Y in the workplace is the role of technology in the workplace.

“In the area around talent management – and learning and development in particular – we intuited before the survey and focus groups that a good learning strategy going forward for Millennials should be learning through technology,” explains Diane Dowsett. “So we were a little surprised when our Millennials said, ‘No, we don’t want that! We want face-to-face! We want standard instructorled classroom training. We absolutely want face-to-face experiential learning, and the more opportunity to work across the generations, the better’.”

In light of the results, LoyaltyOne has now refocused the delivery of its development activities for 2013 and 2014, “tailing back on online learning and focusing more on experiential learning,” says Diane Dowsett. “And from a leadership perspective, we therefore need for this generation to have engaging leaders who are really willing to spend a lot more time mentoring and coaching than previous generations.”

Myth two: the ‘me’ generation?

“Generation Y is the latchkey generation,” says Sofia Theodorou. “They come to the table with a bunch of ideas and value a manager who will listen and engage in a dialogue with their ideas, even if they aren’t implemented or taken up. This forms part of the relationship and retention lever for this generation.

“Something we’ve therefore instituted here at LoyaltyOne is that our CEO holds one or two focus groups with Millennials every single year to listen to them. They have an audience right through to the top guy in order to ask questions, answer questions our CEO has about what it is like to work here for their particular cohort, and the kind of things we should be thinking about.”

The company also runs different mentoring programmes and is piloting a scheme that partners people from across the workforce and generations looking to learn from each other, not just the Millennial from the senior person.

LoyaltyOne’s analysis also revealed that, while Millennials

are very ambitious and seek rapid progression, more than anything else they aspire to work-life balance and alignment with their values.

“Here’s the deal,” explains Sofia Theodorou. “Millennials are not willing to sacrifice their life and have the work ethic of previous generations. Generation Y wants their personal life to have much more meaning. What’s interesting about that is that their expectation for career movement and expectation for increased salary is no different from previous generations.”

When it comes to managing these expectations, revisiting flexible work policies and the technology infrastructure to equip such flexibility could be how to make these values a reality, suggests Ms Theodorou. Managing expectations around rapid career progression could be addressed by looking at creating project structures to support that. “How do you double the number of lateral moves to keep them motivated, excited and engaged, and retain them in the long run?” she says.

“We’ve also developed our hugely successful CommunityOne day, where everyone gets a paid day out of the office to commit their time and skills to a charity or cause that is close their heart. This is something all our employees value. We’ve seen huge levels of return on engagement here, especially among our Millennial cohorts across our offices.”

Minding the generation gap But how do all these practices sit with Generation X and the Baby Boomers, especially when perceptions of Generation Y are the most negative? “Every generation has a perception of the generation that comes after it and a stereotype associated with it,” says Sofia Theodorou. “Every generation views the next generation as lazier and less committed, with a lower work ethic. But there are so many great things about the Millennial generation in terms of their passion for social causes and world causes that benefit us.

“My argument would be that the Millennial generation is not actually that different from other generations; it’s just that how these expectations come to life may be a little different compared to previous generations. From a career stage perspective, as Generation Y gets older, their philosophy and how they adapt will change. That’s just part of the natural order.”

The outcomes are such that LoyaltyOne is confident that recruitment and retention of Generation Y is “not an issue” because of the energy and focus it has given to creating a culture and environment where multigenerational working can thrive. “Maybe we need to start thinking about being the right organisation for the talent that is out there, as opposed to just searching for the right talent for our organisation?” reflects Sofia Theodorou. “We need to start thinking what we need to do internally in order to be the place of choice for some of our talent, particularly Millennials.”

Share your views on how best to support relocating Millennials via Re:locate’s Connect and Grow initiative

relocatemagazine.com | 35

ENTER TODAY! The closing date for entries is fast approaching, so it’s time to submit your entry for relocation’s premier awards.

A

s global growth continues, your talent will be in demand to meet evolving business needs and increasingly complex relocation challenges.

Celebrate your successes, raise your organisation’s profile, impress potential customers and investors, improve business planning, and enhance your employer brand by entering this year’s Re:locate Awards.

These prestigious awards, which have grown from year to year, celebrate the contribution made to global business by relocation, reward those who make a difference in this field, and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. As well as recognising those in HR roles, they pay tribute to the expertise of the wealth of service providers, from relocation management companies to financial and property professionals, who, together, make up this diverse industry Organisations of all types and sizes, from the UK and beyond, will benefit from entering. With a choice of awards for HR and service providers, including four exciting new categories for 2013/14, there’s sure to be one that’s right for you.

36 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

NEW CATEGORIES In response to changing times and feedback from HR and relocation professionals and our team of independent judges, we’ve introduced four exciting new categories for this year’s awards.

1. B est Managing or Growing Talent Initiative – For HR and mobility professionals managing domestic or international assignments, and those from talent management, recruitment and resourcing teams and departments.

2. Financial Support & Innovation – For providers of specialist financial support to corporate clients and/ or relocating employees and their families. Banks, tax experts, and pensions and foreign exchange advisers are just some of the specialists who may wish to enter.

3. Immigration Team of the Year – For providers of specialist immigration support to companies that are relocating employees and their families. Specialist immigration companies, relocation management teams

AWARDS

with an immigration section, HR teams working with external suppliers, relocation management companies or destination service providers, and inhouse corporate immigration departments are all eligible.

4. G lobal Health & Wellness – For the wide range of companies that provide health and wellness solutions, from international medical insurance to workplace wellness and employee assistance programmes.

Suppliers of security services and emergency assistance are also eligible, as are organisations providing family support, including childcare and eldercare solutions. Employers may enter their inhouse wellness schemes.

For full details, see relocatemagazine. com/awards

WHY ENTER? Share expertise and good practice, and receive the recognition you deserve!

These prestigious awards really are the ones to win. For HR people, they’re the ideal opportunity to demonstrate how you and your team have been rising innovatively to the latest mobility challenges, whether you are managing long-term, short-term or any other type of assignment. Show us, for example, how you are managing new markets, supporting talent and diversity, or dealing creatively with assignees’ property requirements.

There’s plenty of scope for those on the supplier side, too. Previous supplier winners have found that, as well as providing recognition for a job well done, their award has been a valuable marketing tool and PR opportunity that has raised their profile and brought contacts and business opportunities.

You can highlight work in progress, not just completed projects.

AWARD CATEGORIES TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN RELOCATION INSPIRATIONAL HR TEAM OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Cartus BEST MANAGING OR GROWING TALENT INITIATIVE

NEW

BEST HR & SUPPLIER STRATEGY OR TEAM RELOCATION SERVICE PROVIDER OR TEAM OF THE YEAR BEST PROPERTY PROVIDER OR SOLUTION FINANCIAL SUPPORT & INNOVATION

NEW

NEW IMMIGRATION TEAM OF THE YEAR GLOBAL HEALTH & WELLNESS

NEW

EXCELLENCE IN EMPLOYEE & FAMILY SUPPORT Sponsored by Weichert Workforce Mobility BEST INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION SERVICES PROVIDER RELOCATION PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

KEY DATES AWARDS WEBINARS November 2013 onwards ENTRY DEADLINE Friday 28 Februar y 2014 GALA AWARDS DINNER Wednesday 14 May 2014

relocatemagazine.com | 37

AWARDS

WEBINARS Tune in to our new series of webinars, and get on the fast track to awards success.

These lively and informative sessions provide key background information for compiling your entry, including interviews with previous winners and top tips from our team of independent judges. Register at relocatemagazine.com, where you can also sign up for our special awards newsletter.

HOW TO ENTER

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS Through association with relocation’s premier awards, our sponsors and supporters – who are vital to the continued success of the Re:locate Awards – position themselves at the forefront of the relocation industry.

We are thrilled that long-standing sponsors Cartus and Weichert Workforce Mobility have signed up again this year, as has loyal supporter Team Relocations.

3 EASY STEPS

1. Visit relocatemagazine.com and sign up for our awards newsletter and webinars.

2. Download an entry form.

3. Submit your completed entry form by email.

If you’d like to join them, call Garry or Susana on +44 (0)1892 891334.

“Winning this award is an honour because is given by our peer group and reflects one’s standing within one’s own industry. It conveys a sense of being appreciated, and gives a huge boost to your confidence.”

Elaine Crowe, Rank Group, winner, Relocation Personality of the Year (UK) 2012/13

“We are proud to sponsor this award, in recognition of the support which we, as service providers, receive from these organisations, as well as the support they provide to relocating employees and their families.”

Andreas von Strachwitz, Weichert Workforce Mobility, sponsor, Excellence in Employee & Family Support

“The Re:locate Awards have become a showcase for all that is best about the relocation industry. By providing a focus for achievements in key areas such as innovation, best practice and great service, they contribute to the setting of high standards across our industry.”

Rob Carter, Team Relocations, Re:locate Awards Supporter

“I am hugely proud to lead this team, who are a total inspiration, and I will be thrilled to take this award back to the office tomorrow. Thank you!”

Bev Latham, Lloyds Register People Stream team, winner, Inspirational HR Team of the Year 2012/13

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relocateglobal.com relocatemagazine.com | 39

ENGAGEMENT

MAKE IT HAPPEN IN 2014

CREATE THE BEST WORKPLACE ON EARTH

Joining the centenary celebrations at the CIPD’s annual conference, Fiona Murchie discovered that engagement and innovation were high on the agenda for HR professionals moving forward as the recovery kicks in.

40 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

ENGAGEMENT

Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones deliver their keynote address

R

ob Goffee, emeritus professor of organisational behaviour at London Business School, and Gareth Jones, visiting professor at IE Business School Madrid, provided an energetic and polished keynote address that set the tone for hard-pressed HR professionals, who are all too often at the sharp end of change but not given the opportunity to lead the way.

Having co-authored Clever: Leading Your Smartest, Most Creative People, their latest work together examines what it takes to create the best workplace on earth and was published in the Harvard Business Review in May. Creating the best workplace on earth is, of course, a brilliant aspiration for the HR profession and CIPD members celebrating 100 years of their organisation. It is equally relevant for those in the global mobility sphere.

The concept is perfect for organisations wanting to inject the entrepreneurial spirit into their environment, and there is plenty to take away for anyone leading a team in companies large and small, wherever they are in the world.

As the churn in the Fortune 500 illustrates, nowadays everyone who wants to survive has to be exceptional in

Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones

performance. Against a background where authenticity is a necessary but insufficient condition, Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones advocate encouraging an attitude of ‘be yourself more, with skill’ as the key to creating a sustainable and engaged team.

They are studying what it takes to make an employee declare, “This is the organisation of my dreams,” and looking unashamedly at aspiration.

In the Harvard Business Review, they shared their agenda for what makes the most productive and rewarding workplace: • Let people be themselves • Unleash the flow of information • Magnify people’s strengths • Stand for more than shareholder value • Show how the daily work makes sense • Have rules people can believe in As they whisked through the potential elements it takes to build the organisation of your dreams, it became clear that creating the best workplace on earth is achievable with the right will, takes engagement to a new level, and provides an exciting new model for HR and all leaders.

Gareth Jones explained that people really want to do good work, make customers happy and invent new things, and this is very promising territory, with a role for HR leading their organisations into the future.

It is also important for HR to champion doing the right thing. With the catalogue of business disasters and trust issues, HR should be in the business of moral authority, he declared.

“HR is in the business of building the organisation of your dreams.” Gareth Jones and Rob Goffee left the audience to contemplate this exciting new job description. continues overleaf

relocatemagazine.com | 41

MAKE IT HAPPEN IN 2014

ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGING FOR SUCCESS Helen Amery

Creating an engaged workforce is at the top of the agenda for many organisations, with a recent survey revealing that 64 per cent of employees feel they have more to offer.

The strength of the recovery and competing on the global stage are dependent on an engaged workforce, which is why the government commissioned the Engaging for Success report. The report’s authors, David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, are convinced that engagement is more than just another management fad. There is a realisation that the old ways of doing things are no longer fit for purpose, as people are no longer prepared to come to work and leave their brains at the door.

The days of automatic deference are gone, and leaders now have to earn the right to manage. Trust in the establishment, government, financial institutions, and the church have all taken a battering, and organisations that don’t ‘get’ how the world is changing will ultimately fail. MacLeod and Clarke are convinced that the appetite to be engaged is there and that a well-managed UK workforce is world-beating.

Find out more in our Spring 2014 issue. In the meantime, check out the report at www.engageforsuccess.org In April 2013, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Management Innovation Exchange (MIX) invited HR and business leaders to discuss how HR could play a role in eliminating the barriers to adaptability in organisations. Discussions took the form of a hackathon – an online problem-solving event designed to harness the collective intelligence of progressive HR and management practitioners from around the world.

42 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

More than 1,700 people signed up for this hands-on, collaborative effort, which focused on finding, developing and implementing real-world solutions that could be experimented within real-world companies. Commenting on the report, Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, said, “If we’re to truly learn the lessons of the last few years, we need to be bold.

“Organisations can’t afford to see change as something that only happens every few years. Change is happening all around us, at an unprecedented rate.

“HR has got to step up to the task of creating agile organisations with the capacity to change constantly, and without that getting in the way of purpose and delivery. The hackathon we’ve worked with Gary Hamel and other thought leaders to facilitate has been an energising experience. The participants have shown what can be achieved if we challenge everything and collaborate to drive innovation.”

The CIPD conference showcased some of the hacks, including the Mix it Up Hack, facilitated by Boots. Helen Amery described how Boots had embraced the concept for short two-week projects. A manager spots an opportunity and advertises for support, and people put themselves forward to help. It is fast-paced, with lots of benefits. She explained, “It is about making development accessible and people feeling valued and invested in. Jumping in promotes a learning culture, a chance of hitting on something brilliant, of finding better ways to do things.”

The experience at Boots had clearly helped it to break out of silo working. As HR and line managers know, it

ENGAGEMENT

is all too easy for people to get caught up in a bubble.

Perceptions that a department’s efforts are not appreciated lead to frustration and disengagement. This can quickly lead to losing sight of the bigger picture and what can be achieved together.

Helen Amery’s advice: “Start small, and keep it simple; there are no rules. Enlist co-conspirators, and keep telling the story over and over. Start living that culture, and invite people to come on the journey and learn together – share successes, and gradually it becomes what you do.”

Inspired by this initiative, Re:locate intends to generate hacks in 2014 for our global mobility community. We will focus on generating radical yet practical ideas to address specific management challenges. The aim is to leverage collective intelligence on global mobility and relocation, widen the profession, and reach out and connect with colleagues around the world. It’s all about creating more value, innovation and creativity. We hope to generate some real energy and momentum, have some effective conversations, and work together to solve some of the challenges of fast-paced global growth.

To join in:

We will connect with the entire global community, including:

• Listen to the webinars • Sign up for the e-newsletter • Share your views on our website, via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

• HR • HR global mobility specialists • Pay and benefits • Talent management • Recruitment • Academics • Lawyers: immigration, employment law

Re:locate

BOOK CLUB

relocatemagazine.com/bookclub

• Suppliers: relocation management companies, removals, and destination service providers • Property • Education and schools • Mobility associations • Language and cross-culture • Property

Neuroscience is flavour of the month, and Dr Janet Smith explained to the CIPD audience how they could understand, engage and motivate their employees using the science of neurology. We will explore this further in our Spring 2014 issue.

In the meantime, you can catch up on the subject with this new book from Kogan Page, £24.99.

Coherence The Secret Science of Brilliant Leadership Dr Alan Watkins Coherence explores the fundamental issues that can limit a leader’s effectiveness and ability to lead, and provides solutions – from biological to behavioural – designed to improve business results.

The author, Dr Alan Watkins, is an affiliate professor of leadership at the European School of Management, London. He argues that today’s problems cannot be solved with yesterday’s level of thinking. CEOs fail, and leaders burn out, because our thinking has not “speeded up or powered up”.

Says Dr Watkins, “In my view, there is an urgent need to develop more enlightened leadership in organisations. I am very optimistic about the potential of human beings and what is possible.” His book promises to give decision-makers the power to make “brilliant decisions” under pressure and achieve sustainable success at every level.

relocatemagazine.com | 43

WOMEN LEADERS

WERC delegates

‘lean in’ As the debate around female leadership continues, what does it take to survive and thrive as a woman in the workplace? Fiona Murchie investigates.

I

t was great to see such a good turnout for the session How to Grow Your Career: A Female Leadership Perspective at October’s Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium in Dallas.

Inspired by some of the themes from Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, a panel consisting of Denise Clemens, senior vice president of people resources at Corner Bakery Café, Traci Morris, chief operating officer of Brookfield GRS, and Elizabeth Perelstein, chairman of School Choice International, shared insights.

Brenda Harrington, president and CEO of Adaptive Leadership Strategies, was a fine facilitator from whom we would all have enjoyed hearing more.

Getting noticed, taking risks For Denise Clemens, being prepared to take risks early on in her career has stood her in good stead. She knew from the start that she had to make a name for herself, get out there and build relationships, “so that people start to realise who you are,” as she put it.

By mid-career, she was taking stock and asking what it would take to be a VP in her company. She comes across as highly professional, calm and purposeful, but realised early on that you need to be strategic in order to further your career.

In what appeared to be a characteristically understated way, she urged the audience to be “a bit aggressive and do the jobs that get you noticed”. As she pointed out, men are very deliberate in their approach to promotion and not afraid to ask for positions they want.

An authentic message built on experience shone through for women aspiring to reach the top. Don’t underestimate the importance of maintaining relationships, or the value of the lighter touch.

An aptitude for fantasy football had done her no harm, she reflected, and it is important to remember that people feel more comfortable promoting someone they know.

Asked if gender makes a difference, she conceded that women took things more personally. In a heated discussion, women will often carry the debate with them and internalise it, whereas men will forget all about it and be best friends next day.

44 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

WOMEN LEADERS

On the importance of formal education, she felt that an MSc in HR had given her a wider perspective, as sometimes you can get ‘siloed’. Education can give you an edge, but it is hard work and you really need to want to do it, particularly with family commitments to juggle as well.

Attitude is key Traci Morris is the new boss of Brookfield GRS, and an altogether different character.

Asked for the secret behind getting where she is today, she had no hesitation in declaring that it is all about attitude. “You can do anything you put your head to. Numerous times I’ve been scared to death. Don’t be scared to lean in.”

She was equally candid about asking for opportunities, Traci Morris , Brookfield GRS revealing that, of her seven executive posts, she had asked for five of them. Her experience was that using an open approach where you put yourself forward, being brave, and trusting that you can figure it out and will deliver will get you a long way and on the shortlist for the next big thing.

It is also important to receive constructive feedback about how you are doing and actively seek development opportunities. Watch leaders who are highly effective and be aware of your own personal style were further tips for success. Relationships are important, and making a goal of turning round a weak relationship can be highly effective in championing your cause.

When quizzed on work-life balance, her stance was typically pragmatic.

“You have to believe you can have it all, because you can. But you have to have priorities and hold dear to what is important to you. For example, go to your child’s school soccer match and it doesn’t have to be at the expense of your career. You are in control. Get your family engaged, get your partner and family to buy into what you want and need from them.

And your family will step up if they know it is dear to you.”

But, she warns as the mother of a big family, “You have to be highly organised. Calendar everything in your life. Don’t sell yourself short on preparation time and allow it to eat into your personal time. It is a typical female trait to react and over commit. Instead, learn to manage other people’s expectations.”

Managing your time effectively is obviously crucial in any top job. Tellingly, Traci Morris revealed that she sets aside an hour at the end of the week to write thank-you emails. Managing your time to that level of detail allows you to hold on to the things that are sacred and make a difference to your personal style of management.

It is inevitably tough at the top, and the panel were quizzed about how they dealt with big challenges or mistakes.

For Traci Morris, it was about pausing, taking a deep breath, and putting the challenge in a box. She found it was really important to slow down and seek out people who can help you to be objective.

For when things do go wrong, she had some wise advice.

“Those big mistakes don’t happen with just one person. You can’t accept all the fault, so get it out of your head. Write it down and put it where it belongs. Don’t let it drain your energy.”

Make time for personal development Coming from an education background, the third panellist, Liz Perelstein, of School Choice, had a light-bulb moment early on in her career when she realised it was OK to aspire to make money. Feeling comfortable with that had been really important in establishing her business, as had including financial goals across all areas and celebrating successes.

For those who shy away from the financial arena in the work context, there are plenty of people willing to share their expertise if you only ask.

Liz Perelstein put a lot of emphasis on personal development and ensuring you stick to having those meetings that will lead your career or your business in the right direction and don’t let the “fires of the day” derail you. Always stretch yourself and follow up on what you have learned.

Throughout her career, she had found mentors to be extremely helpful and generous with their time. To understand what you are good at and what to leave to others is extremely important.

Ms Perelstein was emphatic that “you do need to delegate to grow a business – women find that difficult.” Her advice was, “Have a team you can trust, and be strategic.”

Networking and development groups can be extremely helpful, but move on to another one when you get too comfortable, and keep challenging yourself.

Commenting on what was the best piece of advice she had been given, Liz Perelstein revealed that, while still at university, she had been told, “You don’t have to knock so lightly.” She had learnt from that the right to have confidence in herself.

“Know yourself, what you do well and don’t do well,” she said. “There are plenty of internet tools that can help you with this.” Her secret of success was a good team, and to have people who complement her.

“Love what you do,” she concluded. “You will work smarter and harder if you are passionate.”

Our next feature will explore issues raised in the Female Leaders session at the CIPD Annual Conference. Look out for our series of webinars and website coverage of developing women leaders in 2014.

Get involved with the women’s leadership debate via Re:locate’s Connect and Grow initiative

relocatemagazine.com | 45

SECTION HEADING EDUCATION

MOVING BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM CHOICES managing the challenges

Although the smooth transition to a new school is one of the most important considerations for relocating families with school-age children, many parents are unaware of the complexities of moving between different educational systems around the world. Rebecca Marriage examines the potential pitfalls and the crucial timings and considerations that they will need to take into account.

O

ne of the most important and challenging aspects of any relocation for families with children of school age is the smooth transition to a new school in their new location. The upheaval and social implications are obviously at the forefront of many a concerned parent’s mind, but many families are unaware of the complexities of

46 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

moving between the different educational systems around the world. Repatriating to the UK after being overseas, for example, poses some unique challenges, particularly when entering the mainstream GCSE and A-level years.

Moving to another country with school-age children can be an emotional time for many families. Unsurprisingly,

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Our campus-specific Admissions, Housing and Transport experts work closely with parent-assisted Welcome Teams, International Groups, Parent/Teacher Organisations and Buddy programmes to create a smooth, seamless and happy transition. That is why each year literally hundreds of families from more than 70 countries make ACS ‘the’ bespoke solution to their educational and lifestyle needs.

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relocatemagazine.com | 47

SECTION HEADING EDUCATION

parents will look to make the move as trouble-free as possible for their children and do their utmost to ensure that they are happy and settle quickly in their new school. But, when it comes to repatriation following completion of an assignment, children may be required to re-enter the education system in their home country and, without careful consideration and planning, could encounter significant difficulties.

Planning ahead – choosing a curriculum “Of course, it is important that any school has good teachers, good facilities and will be a place where you think your child will thrive,� says Professor Deborah Eyre, education director for Nord Anglia Education, a global group of international schools. “But whether they will settle easily into the new school and whether, in due course, they will find it easy to reintegrate into their home country is also important, and it’s here that curriculum matters.�

Professor Eyre believes that the most important consideration when choosing a curriculum in a new international school setting is its international transferability. “Choose a curriculum with maximum international currency,� she advises. “That means one that will be recognised by education systems across the world. The English National Curriculum, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the American curriculums are the most transferable and hence a good choice.�

British schools overseas Many families relocating from the UK may not be aware that a growing number of schools based overseas follow the English National Curriculum closely. Choosing this option comes with the added advantage of being able to review inspection reports, which have been approved by the Department for Education for some British schools overseas (BSOs), similar to those carried out by Ofsted in England.

A British education has become hugely popular across the globe and, according to ISC Research, there are more than 2,000 schools outside Britain teaching parts of the English National Curriculum which would typically prepare students for GCSE and A-level examinations.

According to the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), a membership association of British schools overseas (BSOs), “Choosing a British international school not only gives students the benefit of a British education, it is also eminently transferable. The structure and consistency of the National Curriculum allows students to move easily, if necessary, between British schools in various countries, including the UK, and facilitates an easy progression to university in the UK or elsewhere in the world.�

However, parents are advised to note that BSOs tend to fill up quickly, due to the appeal of the increasingly

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SECTION EDUCATION HEADING

popular British-based curriculum for local families looking to improve their children’s educational prospects. “Contact schools as soon as you know that you may be moving abroad, as high-quality education offered by British schools overseas means they are often over-subscribed, and while places may be available mid-year at short notice, students have a better chance of securing a place at a quality school by making admissions enquiries early.”

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a well-established international programme of learning, taught by schools in over 140 countries. Many international schools across the globe offer the IB, due to the transferable nature of the learning programme and the typically transient academic lives of their pupils.

“Wherever students have studied the IB before coming to the UK, its fundamental approach to learning and assessments is the same worldwide, allowing students to seamlessly pick up their studies where they left off,” says Linda Kavanagh, dean of admissions at ACS Egham International School.

“Whilst an IB programme will vary slightly in content from school to school, a flexibility that adds to its strength, IB students around the world are fundamentally assessed

against the same criteria, set by the IB, outside local government intervention. The IB provides a continuity and rigour that few other qualifications can boast, and its increasing popularity is reflected in the growing number of IB students worldwide year on year.”

But the IB does not only offer this ‘seamless’ transition for students of the programme. Ms Kavanagh believes that an IB school could also offer the potential for successful integration for those who have chosen a different curriculum.

“For those students coming from a non-IB school,” she says, “the programme, through its focus on skills and research, coupled with its global outlook, allows students to integrate smoothly.”

Problematic moves – exam-age students For parents who have chosen internationally transferable curriculum options for their children with repatriation or further international moves in mind, the final stage of student assessment and end-of-school examinations will be clearly mapped out. However, for those families that find themselves in the difficult position of re-entering the UK after studying a potentially incompatible programme of learning overseas, the path ahead will not be so straightforward.

“Transitioning back into the UK education system is a

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relocatemagazine.com | 49

EDUCATION

very difficult proposition for many students,” says education consultant Elizabeth Sawyer, of Bennett School Placement.

“Despite some changes and increased flexibility in the UK system, it remains an ‘exam-bound’ system, and if students step out of it at certain points, it can be virtually impossible for them to step back in at the age-appropriate year.”

One of the most difficult times for children to repatriate to the UK is any time during years 10 or 11 (age 14–16), when they are completing the GCSE programme. As this is a twoyear course and the exams are regulated and controlled by different examination boards across different schools in the UK, it can be impossible for a student to change schools at the end of Year 10, even if he or she is already studying for GCSEs. “For example,” says Ms Sawyer, “if the student has already embarked on a GCSE programme in one school, it is unlikely that the subject offerings, curriculum and examination board at School A will align with those of School B.” In fact, if a student has not yet started the GCSE programme at all, a UK school is unlikely to accept them into Year 11, given that a year of coursework will have been missed. For families considering an assignment outside the UK, therefore, it is crucial that they give thought to the GCSE years well in advance, so that they may plan accordingly.

“With appropriate planning,” says Elizabeth Sawyer, “there are ways for students to repatriate successfully, assuming a degree of flexibility. One suggestion is for families to discuss the timing of moves with their corporations ahead of time and try to avoid moving students during Years 10 or 11. This may involve agreeing that an assignment will be three years instead of two, or vice versa, such that students may return home either before or after GCSES, but not during the two-year programme.

“If students return to the UK after year 11 without having completed GCSEs, we have found that there is an increasing willingness on the part of schools to accept them for the next stage of education – A levels or the IB Diploma programme – even without the GCSE credential.

“Sometimes, if a family is repatriating to the part of the UK where they originally came from and can be back in touch with the student’s original school, this can be a good approach. The former school of a student will often be willing to make exceptions and be accommodating where other schools might not.”

Timing Another consideration that is often overlooked by families is the significant disparity between academic calendars in the northern and southern hemispheres. The academic year in the southern hemisphere typically aligns with the calendar year (approximately between January/February and November/December). In the northern hemisphere, the academic year typically runs from late summer/early autumn to late spring/early summer.

When moving between hemispheres, parents are advised to discuss in detail with the new school the best method of

50 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

dealing with a transition to a different point in the academic year. There might be the option of either repeating a halfyear of study or jumping ahead – which, of course, will come with its own unique set of challenges, and the child may need to be offered extra support by the school.

There are clearly many considerations for globally mobile parents with older children approaching exam age. The boom in international schools and British schools across the world offering internationally transferable programmes of learning could be the answer for many, but, with the costs that are likely to be incurred in sending their children to such schools, many families will prefer to take advantage of the local state-school provision.

Whichever option parents choose, they will always have to be thinking one step ahead when it comes to their child’s education and will need support, help and advice when making those ‘make-or-break’ decisions. “We have worked with families who have chosen any one of these paths,” concludes Elizabeth Sawyer, “and we have seen students transition very successfully, even late into secondary schooling. The trick to such success is planning ahead, so that families will be well-prepared in all ways: psychological, academic and financial.”

See the Education section of relocatemagazine.com for updates and practical advice

SECTION EDUCATION HEADING

Education in England ALL CHANGE Why is the national curriculum changing? What exactly are the reforms to GCSE and A level? What is a Free School, and should I send my child to one? All these questions and more will be of concern to relocating parents making education choices for their children in England as the coalition government hits the midpoint in its troubled programme of education reform. Rebecca Marriage examines the changes, and takes a look at how independent schools are responding.

T

his autumn, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published the results of its adult literacy and numeracy skills test in 24 developed nations. Young people in the UK came a dismaying 22nd out of 24 for literacy, and 21st for numeracy. The UK government has seized upon this new evidence that England is falling behind in what it is calling ‘the global race’, claiming that the results support its ambitious programme of education reform.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has often cited schooling systems in growing markets as a model for schools in England. He has set about trying to emulate education systems in countries like Japan (which had the highest average numeracy score in the OECD study), Hong Kong and Singapore, praising, among other things, their longer school days and rigorous approach to core academic subjects.

English Baccalaureate One of the first steps in education reform, following the formation of the coalition government, was the introduction of the English Baccalaureate in 2010. This was initially

introduced as a performance measure for schools – giving a snapshot of pupil performance in an academic core of subjects – offering incentives for schools, and encouraging students to continue to study these subjects post-16. The measure recognises where pupils have secured a C grade or above in English, mathematics, history or geography, the sciences and a language.

In 2012, Michael Gove announced that a new English Baccalaureate Certificate (EBC) would become a new GCSEequivalent qualification and would, in fact, take the place of a selection of core GCSEs from 2017. The proposal was met with great resistance from school leaders, teaching unions, and arts and sports luminaries, owing to the potential sidelining of subjects in arts, sports and vocational studies.

Mr Gove announced in February this year that the EBC would be scrapped, and it became the first of a series of troubled education initiatives from the Education Secretary.

GCSE and A level Instead, Mr Gove has watered down his original radical overhaul of GCSEs, admitting in a speech to the House of

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SECTION HEADING EDUCATION

Commons that it was “a bridge too far”, and is adjusting the existing examinations in an attempt to make them more rigorous and less open to grade inflation.

Final exams will be taken by students at the end of the twoyear course, instead of the previous modular system. Grading will be numerical, rather than the current format of A*–G, and there will be restrictions on resits, with less emphasis on coursework and more on final exams. See box, p54.

From summer this year, A levels were subjected to the same restrictions, and all exams were taken in the summer, with resits brought to an abrupt end. Teaching of the new GCSEs in English and maths will start in 2015, with other subjects starting in 2016.

Revised national curriculum In January 2011, Mr Gove announced a complete review of the national curriculum in England. There has been a national curriculum since 1989, and, since its introduction, the aim has been to ensure that all schools are providing the same standards of teaching and learning across the country.

The national curriculum sets out the learning goals for children aged from five to 16 in state schools, with the exception of Free Schools and Academies (see below); these are free to devise their own curriculum, but many still follow the structure set out in the national curriculum.

However, Mr Gove believed that the curriculum was

52 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

not sufficiently rigorous or challenging for students, and highlighted the concerns of employers that school leavers were entering the workplace lacking basic literacy and numeracy skills.

The new curriculum has been significantly slimmed down, and it is placing a stronger emphasis on skills such as essay writing, problem solving, mathematical modelling and computer programming.

The majority of the new national curriculum was due to come into force in September 2013, but, after an initial false start, was pushed back until 2014, after accusations from school leaders that the revised programme had been rushed. Schools will now have a year in which to prepare to teach it.

Teachers’ response to the new curriculum has been lukewarm, to say the least. Many believe that the time frame is too ambitious, but the biggest criticism comes from those who claim that the curriculum has been designed by politicians rather than those experienced in teaching and school leadership.

“Drafting a curriculum is a highly specialised and professional task,” said Brian Lightman, leader of the ASCL headteachers’ union. “Unlike previous versions of the national curriculum, which were drafted with a heavy involvement of teachers and school leaders, these proposals have been driven and closely directed by politicians, without that professional input.”

Parents can see the content of the new curriculum for themselves at www.gov.uk/government/collections/ national-curriculum

Testing times for literacy Alongside the introduction of the new national curriculum, the government has implemented new literacy tests for primary school children at the ages of six and 11. This is, in part, in answer to industry concerns that children are leaving school lacking basic skills. In fact, business organisation the CBI reported in a recent skills survey that almost half of firms surveyed were putting on basic remedial training in literacy and numeracy for employees.

According to government figures, in 2012 almost 177,000 six-year-olds were identified as being below the level expected at that age in a new test to check the reading standards reached in early Key Stage 1. The test is now in its second year and is based on ‘synthetic phonics’, a system that asks children to identify sounds of letters and groups of letters so that they can then decode and read real words.

The other new test for primary pupils, introduced in 2013, is the Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test. It was taken for the first time in May 2013 by more than half a million 11-year-olds in England, and is part of the national tests, known as Sats, taken by children in their final year of primary school. In the test, pupils are asked to spot adverbs, nouns, adjectives and pronouns.

EDUCATION

Core maths and English As children move from primary school to secondary school, the pressure to strengthen core literacy and numeracy skills will continue. The government recently announced that, from the autumn term this year, all pupils who fail to achieve a good pass – C or above – in English or maths GCSE by the time they finish secondary school must continue to study the subjects in post-16 education until they attain these qualifications. According to government figures, 285,000 pupils who left secondary school aged 16 in 2012 were without a grade C or above in both GCSE English and maths.

Responding to these figures, Mike Harris, head of education and skills policy at the Institute of Directors, spoke for the business community. “The competitiveness challenge that the UK faces is global and unrelenting,” he said. “Increasing education standards is extremely important to businesses, and ensuring that all young people leave education literate and numerate is employers’ number-one priority for improving the education system.”

Free Schools and Academies But what about those state schools not required to teach the national curriculum? Free Schools and Academies are English state-funded schools, but are independent of local

authorities, unlike other state-funded schools. One of the main differences between Academies and Free Schools and other state schools is that they have control over what curriculum they deliver, provided that it is balanced and broadly based, and that it teaches English, mathematics and science, and makes provision for the teaching of religious education.

The new Free Schools that opened at the start of this academic year numbered 93, bringing the total number of Free Schools in England to 174. The government claims that three-quarters of the 71 new mainstream Free Schools are opening in areas with a need for new school places.

However, the Free Schools programme was recently beset by controversy when the Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, called for Academies and Free Schools to be forced to employ only qualified teachers and teach the national curriculum like other schools.

Currently, these schools are allowed to recruit unqualified teachers.

Education Minister Elizabeth Truss, on the other hand, has responded by saying that their independence is the “whole point” of the schools and these very freedoms are helping them to outperform maintained schools. Ms Truss believes that independent fee-paying schools are a great example of this model, “operate well” without being required to hire qualified teachers, and have done so “for hundreds of years”. continues overleaf

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Visit www.dldcollege.co.uk or Call 020 7935 8411 relocatemagazine.com | 53

EDUCATION

Independent schools go international Indeed, independent schools in England have long been granted the freedom to devise their own curriculum, as they are entirely separate from the state-run education system in England.

Some independent schools are even turning to international-style qualifications and preparing their students for, among others, the international GCSE (iGCSE), originally designed for students studying overseas.

Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) developed the iGSCE over 25 years ago, and it is reportedly growing in popularity for 14- to 16-year-olds around the world. “Cambridge iGCSE has grown significantly in popularity over the past few years,� says Michael O’Sullivan, chief executive of CIE. “Schools recognise that its linear structure offers rigour and effective preparation for the next stage of their students’ education.

For sure, they are also mindful of planned educational reforms such as the recently proposed changes to GCSEs and A levels.�

Miss E D M Woodhouse, head of English at Queen’s College London, echoes this point and explains why education reform in England has driven the school to seek an alternative. “We took up Cambridge iGCSE five years ago, partly because we were exasperated by the way the education landscape was being shaped.�

Jeremy Lewis, head of school at ACS International School, Egham, has been teaching the International Baccalaureate programme for many years and thinks that the exam reform in England has the potential to overlook the importance of project work. “The emphasis on exams as the best means of assessing students’ academic capabilities undermines the extremely valuable role of coursework and projects that enable students to demonstrate their strengths, valuing the whole learning process, rather than total reliance on a final examination result.�

Many globally mobile parents have already recognised the value of the IB when seeking an internationally transferable programme of learning for their children. “The IB remains a genuinely international organisation offering three programmes that are taught and respected on a global level,� says Mr Lewis, “nurturing students to develop critical thinking skills with a truly international outlook on life, all elements that neither the EBacc or GCSEs currently provide, but which are increasingly valuable to students of the 21st century.�

Of, course only time will tell if the government’s programme of education reform is having the desired effect, but, in the meantime, relocating employees with school-age children will continue to require meaningful support to understand their school choices and help to navigate a complex education system.

The new GCSEs at a glance

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It was a perfect fit for our children as they have a French background which we did not want them to lose; but we also felt their continued knowledge of English is essential in today’s environment.�

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Ofqual has now confirmed some of the key features of the new GCSEs in English literature, English language and maths, which will be taught from September 2015. New GCSEs in other subjects will be introduced from 2016.

Key features of the new exams include: • A new grading scale that uses the numbers 1–9 to identify levels of performance, with 9 being the top level. Students will get a U where performance is below the minimum required to pass the GCSE •A fully linear structure, with all assessment at the end of the course and content not divided into modules.

This is to avoid the disruption to teaching and learning caused by repeated assessment, and to allow students to demonstrate the full breadth of their abilities • Exams only in the summer, apart from English language and maths, where there will also be exams in November for students who were at least 16 on the preceding 31 August Commenting on the new exams, chief regulator Glenys Stacey said, “We realise introducing the new GCSEs alongside other changes will be challenging for schools, teachers and students. But the prize – qualifications that are better to teach, better to study, better assessed and more respected – will be worth it.â€?

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NEWS & ANALYSIS

AUSTRALIA

‘open for business’ Following Australia’s recent change of government, Deborah de Cerff, CEO of the Victoria-based Employee Mobility Institute, looks at the latest developments in employee mobility Down Under.

During the past year, Australian business has been affected by changes to immigration policy, tax legislation and economic flux.

These factors have had a considerable impact on employee mobility.

New immigration policies have increased the cost and duration of visa application. Tim Denney, managing director of Berry Appleman & Leiden, asserts that there has been a significant increase in the cost of recruiting foreign employees.

“Government processing fees have more than doubled since July 2013 for some visa categories,” he says. “The government has changed how sponsorships are assessed, including tightening of English language criteria, increased training requirements, and escalated powers of inspection.”

Changes to tax legislation have also greatly affected employee mobility into Australia, with the removal of living-away-from-home allowance tax concessions from the vast majority of expatriate employees working there. Since the tax restrictions came into effect on 1 October 2012, the impact has been felt throughout Australia.

Kumar Krishnasamy, partner at BDO Expatriate Services & Employment Taxes, says the changes “increased the talent shortage in the country, making it more difficult for employers to secure the right skill set for their business – or have to pay higher taxes to do so.”

Mr Krishnasamy also considers Australia’s interpretation of the double taxation agreement between Australia and other countries a factor in discouraging short-term business visitors, who, in many cases, are required to pay tax when working in Australia for less than 183 days. This is often at odds with other countries, which may exempt short-term business visitors working in their country.

The impact has also been felt in other industries, such as furniture hire and temporary accommodation.

This year, the mining and resources industry experienced a cyclical downturn. An industry leader has used this as an opportunity to review the ability of its resources and to send skilled technical sources on short-term assignments to Asia and the Middle East. From a global mobility perspective, outbound assignments have tripled for this company in the last 12 months, and given it the opportunity to capitalise on emerging markets.

Even in the face of increasing obstacles to global mobility, Australia continues to be a fantastic place to live, with outstanding opportunities, a high-quality lifestyle and a good economy. The recent establishment of a new government provides a positive opportunity for continued growth and expansion in business.

For the latest news and articles on Australia’s relocation scene, visit relocatemagazine.com

IT’S A ZOO AROUND HERE

The new rules for better communication Nigel Risner

Published by Limitless Publications, £15.99

In the ‘communications zoo’, everyone is trying to communicate in their own language and style. The result can be chaos. Playful, extrovert monkeys attempt to joke with careful, analytical elephants, and impatient lions can be at odds with nurturing dolphins.

Performance coach and motivational speaker Nigel Risner, who enthralled the audience at November’s Relocation Agent Network conference with his lively and thoughtprovoking presentation, has developed a highly individual understanding of Re:locate communication styles. In his new book, he sets out his animals-and-zookeeper model, explaining how you can identify and relate to the personalities in your relocatemagazine.com/bookclub life, at home and at work.

BOOK CLUB

56 | Re:locate | Winter 2013/14

NEWS & ANALYSIS

SERVICED ACCOMMODATION: Meeting your duty-of-care needs?

Globalisation continues at an unprecedented rate, and the demand for employees to work outside their home countries shows no sign of slowing. As new and emerging markets open up, navigating the often-complex landscape of global accommodation requires relocation professionals to work in partnership with experienced providers.

These professionals know how important it is to find accommodation for employees that meets their organisation’s safety and security requirements. This is a significant concern for organisations that are committed to ensuring reasonable care for employees who are relocating or on temporary assignments.

It involves management of risks beyond the typical health and safety considerations of a familiar work environment.

does not address the full spectrum of duty of care that is designed to mitigate risk and minimise the impact of unanticipated events, so organisations can quickly get back to business.”

Oakwood Worldwide collaborated with a leader in safety and security process development and implementation to bolster its crisis response process. The result is a comprehensive dutyof-care programme that encompasses information protection, disaster preparedness, property safety and security, mass notification, crisis management and business continuity planning.

Serviced apartment provider Oakwood Worldwide has made a substantial investment of strategic resources in developing and implementing a holistic duty-of-care programme. The programme relies on a strong crisis-response process that can identify guests in need and provide required – and often life-saving – assistance.

“Many global accommodation providers have a crisisresponse process,” said Debbie Lundon, EMEA region MD for Oakwood Worldwide. “However, that approach is reactive and

Leaders ‘lack collaborative skills’ Companies pursuing high-performance practices – those characterised by small, highly-focused teams of complementary skills, with clear accountability for performance and achieving targets – are seeing a return on their investments, but a lack of inclusive leaders who can fully tap into the skills and expertise available risks hindering further sustainable growth.

This is the finding of new research looking at the experiences of 821 senior managers and HR leaders in 14 countries across the world, carried out by global consulting firm EY. Respondents who rated their companies “excellent” at building diverse teams “were much more likely to have achieved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation growth of greater than 10 per cent over the past year,” said the report.

Yet around half of the respondents felt that their company did not have leaders with the “inclusive leadership skills” – the ability to demonstrate clear leadership and direction, create an open and inclusive team culture, empower team members, and develop and coach – to further motivate and manage diverse, high-performing teams.

Winning the talent war A global insight and network are vital for companies seeking the talent they need to succeed in the global economy, says David Wightman, national business development manager, Crown World Mobility.

Talent management is an operational need. Today’s business environment, competitive marketplace and economic climate make it vital to keep key personnel motivated. The relocation service a company provides is a critical part of the negotiation in winning the talent war.

Global mobility should be part of a company’s culture; one of the most common success-drivers in the most prosperous global companies is the ease, transparency and nimbleness demonstrated when moving talent. Using talent mobility to develop and retain top-tier talent enhances a company’s programme and maximises ROI. Crown World Mobility works with companies and HR professionals to feed into their global mobility and talent management strategies to source individuals with the right competencies for any given market to amplify success. Companies need to have a global insight and network – this is where the capabilities of a global mobility partner who ‘walks the talk’ are key. www.crownworldmobility.com

relocatemagazine.com | 57

DIRECTORY

Re:directory AREA GUIDES

Essential Contacts...

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS

RELOCATION MANAGEMENT

Tel: +44 (0)1892 891334

Association of Relocation

360 Relocations

Email: orders@profilelocations.co.uk

Professionals (ARP)

Contact: Tony Squire

Website: www.profilelocations.co.uk

Contact: Tad Zurlinden

Tel: +44 (0)1923 235360

Area: National

Tel: +44 (0)8700 737 475

Email: sales@360relo.com

Email: enquiries@arp-relocation.com

Website: www.360relo.com

Website: www.arp-relocation.com

Area: Worldwide

Profile Locations Contact: Fiona Murchie

BANKING NatWest Global Employee Banking Contact: Neil Barsby

Area: National

Tel: +44 (0)1245 355628

Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Email: neil.barsby@natwestglobal.com

Development (CIPD)

Website: www.natwestglobal.com

Tel: +44 (0)20 8612 6200

Area: Worldwide

Website: www.cipd.co.uk

DESTINATION SERVICES PROVIDERS

Area: National

Profile Locations

Relocation Professionals (EuRA)

Beswick Relocation Services Limited Contact: Oliver Beswick Tel: +44 (0)1477 533 533 Email: oliverb@brsuk.com Website: www.brsuk.com Area: National & International

European Association of

Contact: Vanessa McConnell Tel: +44 (0)1892 891334

Contact: Tad Zurlinden

Email: relocation@profilelocations.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)8700 726 727

Website: www.profilelocations.co.uk

Email: enquiries@eura-relocation.com

Area: London, South East, Aberdeen

Website: www.eura-relocation.com

Quintessential Relocation Consultants

COMPANIES

Area: International

Bournes Relocation Solutions Contact: Jeremy Chandar Tel: +44 (0)1797 228000 Email: relocation@bournesmoves.com Website: www.bournesmoves.com/relocation Area: Worldwide

Contact: Jo Stoddart

FOCUS

Cartus

Tel: +44 (0)1481 257200

Contact: Alessandra Gnudi

Contact: Nigel Passingham

Tel: +44 (0)20 7937 7799

Tel: +44 (0)1793 756000

Email: agnudi@focus-info.org

Email: trustedguidance@cartus.com

Website: www.focus-info.org

Website: www.cartus.com

INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Area: London, South East

Area: National & International

William Russell Limited

Contact: Deborah de Cerff

Contact: Zoe Lawrance

Tel: +61 (0)4225 77724

Tel: +44 (0)1276 486477

Email: deborah@relocationnetwork.com.au

Email: jo@quintessential-relocation.com Website: www.quintessential-relocation.com Area: Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney)

Email: zoe.lawrance@william-russell.com Website: www.william-russell.com Area: UK, Middle East, Far East, Asia,

The Relocation Network

Website: www.relocationnetwork.com.au Area: Australasia

RECRUITMENT

IMMIGRATION SERVICES

First Choice Staff

Paragon GeoImmigration

Contact: Lorne Jennings

Contact: Elaine Martin

Tel: +44 (0)20 8529 2981

Tel: +353 (0)1811 6630

Email: lorne.jennings@firstchoiceuk.com

Web: www.paragongeoimmigration.com Area: Worldwide

Contact: Simon Robins Tel: +44 (0)1635 271271 Email: simon.robins@connells.co.uk Website: www.connellsrelocation.co.uk Area: National & International

Europe, Africa

Email: emartin@paragongri.com

Connells Relocation Services

Website: www.firstchoiceuk.com Area: National & International

HCR Group Contact: Simon Hood Tel: +44 (0)1256 313741 Email: shood@hcr.co.uk Website: www.hcr.co.uk Area: UK, Worldwide

Red Recruit

Interdean International Relocation

Contact: Caroline Seear

Contact: Rob Lucas

Tel: +44 (0)1621 840600

Tel: +44 (0)20 8961 4141

Email: info@pro-linkglobal.com

Email: caroline.seear@redrecruit.com

Email: rob.lucas@interdean.com

Website: www.pro-linkglobal.com

Website: www.redrecruit.com

Website: www.interdean.com

Area: Global

Area: Worldwide

Area: Worldwide

Pro-Link GLOBAL Contact: Andrea Elliott Tel: +44 (0)20 3004 9276

To advertise here please call: +44 (0)1892 891334

Paragon Relocation

SCHOOLS

Contact: Liam Brennan

TASIS The American School in England Contact: Karen House

Tel: +44 (0)20 7559 3412

ACS International Schools

Email: lbrennan@paragonrelocation.com

Contact: Fergus Rose

Website: www.paragonrelocation.com

Tel: +44 (0)1932 867251

Website: www.tasisengland.org

Area: Worldwide

Email: frose@acs-england.co.uk

Area: West London, Berkshire, Surrey

Website: www.acs-england.co.uk

SIRVA Worldwide

Area: London, South East

Contact: Alistair Murray Tel: +44 (0)1793 606527 Email: alistair.murray@sirva.com Website: www.sirva.com Area: National & International

Team Relocations Contact: Colin Atkins Tel: +44 (0)20 8955 1312 Email: colin.atkins@teamrelocations.com Website: www.teamrelocations.com Area: Worldwide

Time Relocation Contact: Val Gascoyne Tel: +44 (0)20 7989 0741 Email: info@timerelo.com

Dwight School London Contact: Mrs V Rose Tel: +44 (0)20 8920 0637

Email: ukadmissions@tasisengland.org

SERVICED APARTMENTS The Apartment Service Contact: Melanie Degand Tel: +44 (0)870 080 2303 Email: melanied@apartment.co.uk

Email: vrose@dwightlondon.org

Website: www.apartmentservice.com

Website: www.dwightlondon.org

Area: UK & Worldwide

Area: North London

SACO The Serviced Apartment Company International Community School

Contact: Xiu Xiu Sun

Contact: Matthew Cook

Tel: +44 (0)203 405 2877

Tel: +44 (0)20 7402 0416

Email: xsun@sacoapartments.com

Email: matthew.cook@ics.uk.net Website: www.icschool.co.uk Area: Central London

International School of London (ISL) Group of Schools Contact: Heather Mulkey

Website: www.timerelocation.com

Tel: +44 (0)1483 750409

Area: National & International

Email: admissions@islondon.org

Weichert Workforce Mobility

Tel: +44 (0)1932 582316

Website: www.islschools.org

Website: www.sacoapartments.com Area: National & International

SPOUSAL ASSISTANCE/ CAREERS Profile Locations Contact: Fiona Murchie Tel: +44 (0)1892 891334 Email: careers@profilelocations.co.uk Website: www.profilelocations.co.uk Area: National & International

Area: London, Surrey, Qatar

Contact: Andreas von Strachwitz Tel: +44 (0)1293 813838

International School of Macaé

Email: avonstrachwitz@weichertwm.com

Contact: Leslie Anne da Mota

Website: www.weichertworkforcemobility.com

Tel: +55 (22) 2765 5199

Area: Worldwide

Email: admissions@ismacae.com

REMOVALS AND STORAGE Bishop’s Move Contact: Neil Bishop Tel: +44 (0)20 8391 8269 Email: neil.bishop@bishopsmove.com Website: www.bishopsmove.com Area: Worldwide

Online Directories

Website: www.ismacae.com Area: Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Kent College Canterbury Contact: The Registrar, Mrs Jayne Simpson Tel: +44 (0)1227 813 981 Email: registrar@kentcollege.co.uk Website: www.kentcollege.com Area: South East

DT Moving

Marymount

Contact: Tim Daniells

Contact: Admissions

Tel: +44 (0)20 7622 4393

Tel: +44 (0)20 8949 0571

Email: london@dtmoving.com

Email: admissions@marymountlondon.com

Website: www.dtmoving.com

Website: www.marymountlondon.com

Area: Worldwide

Area: London

relocatemagazine.com

Industry jobs at: www.relocatecareers.com

GLOBAL WORKFORCE SUMMIT Talent Mobility in EMEA www.WorldwideERC.org/emea14 11-12 February 2014

l

London, UK

Lancaster London Hotel

The Latest Talent Mobility Data, Answers, Solutions!

If you are charged with developing solutions for talent mobility challenges in EMEA and ensuring HR and mobility functions are positioned for success, the Worldwide ERC® 2014 Global Workforce Summit: Talent Mobility in EMEA is for you.

The Summit provides a forum for HR and talent mobility professionals to hear proven solutions and build the knowledge base necessary to remain compliant and manage business risks, contain costs, work successfully in emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa, and cultivate effective communication strategies between employers, relocation service partners and employees. Corporate HR professionals are invited to accept our complimentary registration offer.

COM P regi LIMENT st A Corp ration RY for or dele ate/HR gate s.

For fifty years, Worldwide ERC® has been bringing workforce mobility professionals together to learn from and share information with one another on the latest trends and strategies.

In addition to the Summit sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to boost your knowledge and professional development by participating in its signature Global Mobility Specialist (GMS)® and Global Mobility Specialist – Strategic Talent (GMS-T) training programs.

Find more information and register today at http://buzz.mw/b5i8m_l Spon p nsorrs to o date: da ate: Sponsors

Worldwide Relocation & Movi ng

Workforce Mobility

Media partners:

If you are interested in sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities, contact Manu Lizzio-Hashime at MLizzio-Hashime@worldwideerc.org, or +1 703 842 3427.

Are you responsible for talent management in the Asia Pacific region as well?

Be sure to save the dates for our Global Workforce Summit: Talent Mobility in APAC, 26-27 March 2014, Shanghai, China. www.WorldwideERC.org