The Expat
Checklist
The
Practical and Simple Guide to Developing a Successful Expatriate
Agreement
copyright © Richard Balderrama
The Expat
Checklist is a practical and simple guide to items
that should be considered in an expatriate agreement,
including hints on developing a successful expatriate agreement.
"Kudos to the Expat Checklist!
This checklist was really the only thing I found on the web that
discussed all the upfront issues and gotcha's to watch out for in
negotiating my expat contract. This definitely helped me to
think of
a few things I would've forgotten until it was too late. It
was very helpful!"
-
Expatriate in Geneva
The Expat
Checklist is based upon the experience of the author - a sales and
marketing executive with an International MBA. It includes
input from other
expatriates, and most importantly benefits from the mistakes the author
and other's made during various expatriate agreement negotiations.
The author's own expatriate experience was ultimately
successful,
despite an acquisiton by a competitor and resulting
lay-offs during the assignment. His expatriate
agreement
was the key to that successful experience.
As
in any decision, there is a risk and
reward. The goal in every business agreement is to ensure that
the risk is managed in order to maximize the potential reward.
In an expatriate agreement, that reward for the employee can
be
career-oriented,
financial, or a cultural experience for the family.
The
Expat
Checklist is the tool the author wished he had when
negotiating his own agreement. It is written for expatriates
to
help others enjoy successful expatriate experiences. The
Expat
Checklist will also benefit HR departments wanting to understand an
expatriate assignment from an employee's perspective, and wanting a
checklist in order to develop a successful expatriate experience for
their employees.
Purchase
The Expat Checklist
Information
for Thunderbirds (Graduate School of Global Management)
Table of Contents
Excerpts
Please give us your feedback. Contact the author at
rick@expatchecklist.com.
Other
Useful Expatriate Links
International cost of living analysis tool.
ExPatriate
Insurance Plans - ExPatriate Health and Travel Insurance
plans form InternationalCitizens.com
www.talesmag.com
Current expatriates share their experiences through articles.
This contains mostly articles on cultural differences, but
some
articles on moving pets, etc. can be helpful.
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The Expat Checklist includes:
- Seven Simple Points to Get Started
- Salary (includes: cost of living research,
currency issues, etc.)
- Money Matters (includes: banking, credit and
credit cards, taxes, etc.)
- Insurance (includes: medical, life, car, etc.)
- Retirement Planning
- Housing and Car
- Schooling (for children)
- Move Package hints
- Repatriation tips
- Planning for the Worst - A Merger or Lay-off
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Exerpts from the Expat Checklist
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Preface
The
first time I moved
overseas for work I was 21 years old, and moved to Japan
with a single suitcase, no
knowledge of Japanese, and a bucketful of naïve optimism. The second time I moved
overseas for work I
was 40 years old, married with three daughters, 2 dogs, horse, house,
cars, and
concerns about health insurance and my retirement planning.
My
first overseas experience
did not prepare me at all for negotiating an expatriate contract that
fit my
life 19 years later.
In
negotiating that
expatriate contract I found a lot of resources about managing through
culture
shock, but what I needed was a quick checklist to use as a guide for
negotiating my contract. I
didn’t have
time to read lengthy books – I was a busy executive working a
full time job,
researching a potential move overseas at night, and trying to take care
of a
family. And so I
reached out to my
network, listened to the advice of other expatriates, and in the end
negotiated
a contract that proved to be the basis of a successful assignment,
despite an
acquisition of my company by a competitor.................
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Exchange Rate Risk
Inevitably,
someone
will own this risk, and it is usually the employee.
So,
you’ll need to negotiate how this risk is
managed, and that ultimately will depend upon how
the
salary payments will work
(as discussed earlier in the document).
If
your salary is
denominated in the home-currency, buy you are paid in the work-country
currency,
then you’ll want to negotiate a
setting of the exchange rate on a monthly or
quarterly basis, with a volatility band to limit your exchange rate
risk exposure. This
also benefits the
company.........
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Investments at
Home
Check with your current
investment advisor to ensure they are registered to take orders from
overseas
clients. The
investment advisor that has
been servicing you locally may not be able to service you
from overseas. If
they cannot, then locate an advisor that can
provide you service while you are overseas.
Otherwise, you may be forced...........
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Home Visits
Many expatriate
packages include home visits each year for the family.
If this is offered, you’ll want to negotiate
flexibility in the home visits so the agreement reads that the trips
can be
used for visits home, or can be used for visits to other destinations
provided
those trips do not exceed the cost of the trip to your home of record. This can benefit
everyone
as the expatriate
has flexibility to meet family at a location closer to their work
country in
order to limit travel time for young families, and the company benefits
by
potentially paying less...............
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