Expatriate Benefits Education and Training
Learn how to create competitive but efficient expatriate compensation packages
With even the smallest companies opening offices overseas, understanding expatriate benefits and compensation is a must for any business. Providing expat benefits involves more than putting together a nice retirement package or providing health insurance. Expat compensation may also include reimbursement for relocation, or to pay for the technology needed for expat employees to stay in touch with friends, family, colleagues and associates in the United States. You'll also need to understand any foreign laws and regulations that impact the kind of expatriate compensation you're allowed or required to offer.To understand and implement expatriate compensation packages, you'll probably need training, either in a formal setting or one-on-one from a consultant. Expatriate benefits education and training can include the following:
- Getting a degree in human resources with a focus on management and compensation
- Taking workshops, seminars or classes
- Hiring a consultant to train your staff about expat employee benefits
Get a human resources degree that covers expatriates compensation
At the very least, you'll need an undergraduate or graduate degree in human resources, which can serve as a foundation for more specialized training. Most universities offer both bachelors and masters, or even doctoral degrees, in human resources, including how to manage expatriate employees.
Try: Consider an MBA with an emphasis on human resources, like that offered by Columbia University. Or, search for online human resource degree programs at HRDegrees.
Sign up for a seminar, workshop or class focusing on compensation for expatriates
A seminar, workshop or class, either in-person or online, can serve as a refresher to your human resources training, or provide more in-depth instruction in specific expatriate topics.
Try: The ERi Distance Learning Center offers an online / self-study course called "Determining an Expatriate's Compensation." The course covers how to set compensation for employees on foreign assignments, including compensating them with a series of allowances, and how to "tax equalize" their compensation. The course is designed for HR managers and generalists, and requires some college-level coursework and algebraic training as prerequisites. Associates for International Research, a consulting firm, offers seminars for executives who manage expatriate programs.
Hire a consultant to teach you and your staff about expatriate compensation and benefit packages
While many consultants and coaches will create and oversee expatriate benefit programs, many will also train you so you can do it yourself. This method is more "hands-on," and will allow your company to be more self-sufficient, rather than having to turn to an expert every time you have a question. An added benefit is that you can train your entire company at once, rather than only select employees.
Try: IBIS provides international HR consulting and training on everything from compensation to sick time to vacation to overtime. IBIS will provide country-specific legal information, in addition to helping companies put together efficient, tax-effective programs. The firm also ensures that benefits for expatriates are competitive with local practices. Worldwide Consulting Group will teach your company how to put together expatriate compensation programs, create expatriate policies, provide expatriate medical insurance, and even repatriate employees.
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