As in many other emerging market destinations, new kinds of living conditions combined with language barriers and unfamiliar cultural cues can result in a high level of stress and frustration for unsuspecting assignees—some of whom struggle to get things done in a manner and timeframe that they are unused to. 

I had the opportunity to record this video highlighting some of the main cultural differences that assignees and their families are likely to encounter from both a professional and a personal perspective.  The tips and discussion should provide useful insights on how to navigate these effectively, and make assignments more successful for both the relocating assignee, the family, and the employer.

Email this contributor at Jenny.Castelino@cartus.com

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Written by Jenny Castelino

Jenny is director of Consulting, Intercultural and Languages Solutions for the APAC region. She has been with Cartus for nine years. Jenny has been honored by Worldwide ERC for editorial achievement.

We were honored to win a Gold Award for Excellence in Employee Work-Life Balance! 

This award recognizes our innovative approach and best practices in delivering programs which enable our employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance. In particular, the judging panel had praise for our various work-life initiatives which enhance our competitiveness to attract and retain talent, as well as building a healthier and more resilient workforce. 

Priscilla Seow accepts the HR Excellence award.

At Cartus, we aim to become a global Employer of Choice and remain committed to making our company a place where people enjoy working. In Singapore, we have flexible working arrangements for the increasing numbers of young mothers and job rotation opportunities for our Generation Y employees. In 2009, we also piloted the Working from Home (WFH) program and today, 25% of our employees in Singapore are on this program. 

The Human Resources Excellence Awards are organized by the Human Resources magazine, a leading HR publication in Singapore with regional readership among the HR community. The awards program saw an impressive array of organizations across various industry sectors competing in 18 highly relevant categories. Winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges which consisted of senior HR practitioners from leading companies such as Shell, Unilever, Google, Siemens, and ANZ.

Email this contributor at Kenneth.Kwek@cartus.com

Written by Kenneth Kwek

Kenneth is senior vice president, General Manager of the APAC region. Worldwide ERC has honored him with the Meritorious Service Award.

As a whole, the real estate market is improving throughout the U.S., which may make this important step in the purchase process a critical issue. Cartus Home Loans explores the potential appraiser shortage and impact of inventory on the appraisal process.

Shortage of Home Appraisers
Many home appraisers left the field during the real estate downturn. As a result, securing an appraiser may prove to be difficult, leading to delays in the process. This shortage may impact the transferee’s timing, as well as affect corporations through increased costs for temporary living and storage if the appraisal process delays a closing.

Impact of Market Inventory
Due to the lack of market inventory in many locations, when a desirable property does become available, relocation buyers are often forced into a bidding war to secure the contract. On occasion, a buyer may submit offers over list price by a substantial amount in some markets.

When those winning contracts are submitted to the lender, the process begins on securing an appraisal. The purpose of the home appraisal is to assure the lender that the value of the property is appropriate. In a leading edge market, where prices are rising quickly, it can be difficult for the appraiser to secure the data necessary to support the negotiated contract price. 

The challenge? Homes that sold in the market just six months prior for less than the current market can only be adjusted by the appraisers within a standard range. If the market is rapidly rising in value, with scarce inventory leading to fewer sales, the appraiser may be unable to justify the contract price with the sold comparable sales. Unfortunately, Pending Sales can’t be fully considered in the appraisal, which means the assigned value may come in lower than contract price. 

The Buyer’s Choices
Armed with the information from the home appraisal, a buyer has three options with a low appraisal.

1. Renegotiate with the seller

2. Increase the down payment to cover the difference

3. Walk away from the deal 

Buyers have been successful in the renegotiation, armed with the information of the appraiser’s opinion of the property’s current value. The desired end result is to ensure that transferees are not overpaying for properties, which could become problematic later.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
In certain markets, and for the short term, home appraisal challenges may be a concern in the U.S. As sales continue to close in the “new, improved market,” the scales should continue to balance out for the buyer.

Visit our Cartus Home Loans page for timely information on various mortgage topics, and refer to our U.S. Market Watch for information on the continuing recovery in the U.S. housing market.

Email this contributor at Jill.schmidt@mortgagefamily.com

Written by Jill Schmidt

Jill Schmidt is a Sr. Account Executive with Cartus Home Loans. She has worked in the relocation and real estate industries for more than 30 years.

Subsequently, the construction industry modified these systems to provide drainability, which proved to be successful as long as flashing and drainage systems were installed correctly. 

But memories of such faux pas can be short; these days, another new product is being touted as an economical alternate for genuine exterior stone. It is called Manufactured Stone Veneer, or MSV; it’s concrete that has been cast and molded to look like real stone, but it may be even more troublesome than synthetic stucco because it holds even more moisture than its predecessor. 

Our Supply Chain partner US Inspect has published a very informative article about Manufactured Stone Veneer on its website, and we can’t recommend it too highly. It explains that problems can occur when concrete comes into contact with untreated or unprotected wood; water trapped against this wood can cause rot and deterioration. The article says that many contractors treat MSV the same as they treat brick veneer; but the two are not the same. Click this link to read the entire article. 

Manufactured materials aren’t the only hazards; another issue that homeowners dread discovering is termites. And if you are planning to sell your home, or are looking to buy one, the last thing you want to hear is the t-word. But it’s spring, and spring brings out the bugs, right? So if you see some small gnat-like critters on your windowsill, it’s nothing to get upset about—or is it? When one or two insects become a swarm … well, US Inspect offers guidance and advice on this topic, as well. 

Issues like these will be on the inspector’s checklist for both buyers and sellers. It always pays to see what the experts think about any given issue. Remember, knowledge is power!

Written by Kelly Burtar

Kelly Burtar is a director in Supply Chain management. Her responsibilities include the inspection, appraisal, and closing networks. She has 25+ years of relocation experience.

Sunset over Wat Arun, Bangkok.

Employees relocating to Bangkok, the main assignment location in Thailand, will find ample housing options, good medical care, and international schooling choices that are typically in close proximity to popular expat areas—a feature not found in many emerging market locations. Outside of Bangkok, housing and infrastructure can be a bit more challenging. Regardless of where you are in the country, cross-cultural issues and language can still present challenges, and gaining familiarity with customs and “do’s and don’ts” goes a long way toward enhancing productivity and building relationships. 

Luxurious and varied travel destinations, a vibrant restaurant scene, and Thailand’s reputation as the “kitchen of the world” make this a country many employees hate to leave. This video may have you packing your bags, as well!

 

Written by Ashley Barry

Ashley is the director of Supply Chain Management for Asia. She has more than a decade of global relocation experience, specializing in supplier sourcing, supplier performance management, and relocations to Asia’s key emerging markets.

Our recent Mobility Insights takes a look at current household goods shipping trends around the world, with particular focus on emerging market destinations in Africa, China, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Panama, Russia, and United Arab Emirates.

The Cartus Supply Chain Management team keeps a close eye on trends in global household goods shipments and updates our clients and assignees on various situations and potential solutions. Something we are seeing is that companies are being forced to place additional focus on compliance. For instance, stricter compliance in many locations around the world requires the physical presence of the assignee at the port on a more frequent basis, particularly in locations like China and the Middle East.

As a result, companies are placing additional focus on having the appropriate paperwork in place prior to shipment from the departure location. Also, when goods cannot be shipped until the correct paperwork for an assignee and family is in place—but the employee’s physical presence is required in the host location—storage in transit (or additional storage in transit) may be required, and this can be costly. 

We also offer some best practices for managing household goods shipments effectively, including: 

•  Ensuring that assignees have the correct visa and immigration paperwork and are fully briefed on shipment processes

•  Setting careful and realistic budgets

•  Being prepared for additional costs and support

•  Working closely with household goods services suppliers

•  Beginning the immigration process three to four months in advance 

I’ll be participating in a roundtable discussion on these topics and several others related to HHG shipping, along with several of my industry peers, at Worldwide ERC’s National Relocation Conference on Friday, May 17 in San Diego.

For more information on HHG shipping, you may also want to listen to a recording of Cartus’ eLearning webinar Trends in International Household Goods Shipping, 2013 and Beyond.

Email this contributor at Jim.Edwards@cartus.com

Written by Jim Edwards

Jim is vice president, Supply Chain Management. He is responsible for the company's moving services function. During his career, he has worked on health and welfare benefits, employee relocation, recruiting, and mergers and acquisitions.

And judging by the interest in Cartus’ news release earlier this month, we’re not the only ones excited about the tool: national news outlets The Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! Finance recently carried articles about it.

For HR executives, trying to identify the right candidate and then fully understand how much it’s going to cost to get that candidate to their new location has never been easy to grasp and understand the business implications—until now.

The International Quick Cost Projection Tool—which includes assignment cost information from more than 70 countries—allows companies to quickly generate high-level cost projections with minimal data entry. The tool is a cost-effective way for both large and small companies to enhance their international pre-assignment planning, and helps them more effectively plan and manage their global workforce.

Say a company needs to get an engineer to Singapore, and the relocation manager/recruiter has narrowed the list to three candidates: one in Germany, a second in Australia, and a third potential transferee in California.

Using the tool, recruiters can run “what if” scenarios to compare and contrast the cost of moving potential candidates for international assignment while coming up with an indicative cost estimate to move this engineer. The estimate would be based upon either:

•  An industry best practice long-term or permanent move policy; or,

•  A cost template that more closely aligns to the company’s own long-term or permanent move policy.

The tool also allows HR to compare and contrast the cost of long-term assignments (1-5 years), or permanent transfer situations. 

In addition to saving a lot of time, the tool is extremely cost effective, with new pricing tiers that can go as low as $50.

Additional information on the International Quick Cost Projection Tool is available here, or, to receive a free trial subscription, contact me, Sean Raney,  at IACSAdministration@cartus.com.

Contact this contributor at Sean.Raney@cartus.com

Written by L. Sean Raney

Sean is vice president, International Assignment Compensation Services. Sean has more than 27 years of experience in a multitude of global mobility positions.

Lack of availability in Paris rental market
High demand for rental accommodation continues to push up prices in Paris, so as tenants opt to stay longer in their current property, it leads to a lack of availability. With this in mind, should relocating employees’ property criteria be too strict, their search for a home may be a challenge.

Fortunately, availability of one property type has increased recently: furnished apartments. Furnished apartments on long-term leases used to be quite scarce in the city but are becoming more common, as landlords now realize furnished leases offer tax breaks and flexible lease clauses—good news for those on assignment!

Early searching is not advisable
The property market in Paris moves very quickly, so we advise assignees not to start looking for a property too early. Doing so can mean that when the home-finding trip takes place, the properties selected are no longer available. Instead, we recommend that property searches be conducted about a week before the home-finding trip is scheduled, to ensure that preferred properties are still being offered for viewing.

Click the link to view our Paris Market Watch.

Email this contributor at Isabelle.Grimbert@cartus.com

Written by Isabelle Grimbert

Isabelle, who has worked in the relocation for 17 years, is in charge of the Cartus office in France as Operations Director. She has lived in Hong Kong, Australia, New York, and Puerto Rico.

The effects of these events on relocations to Brazil were the subject of a panel discussion at the recent conference on Managing Globally Mobile Talent for Competitive Gain in Rio de Janeiro. Samar Jeradi of LARM Brazil attended the conference and shared insights and recommendations from that panel discussion with the attendees, many of whom were from the oil and gas industry. While the primary focus will be on Rio, effects will extend to other areas of Brazil like São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Recife, and Salvador.  

One of the most critical areas is housing, which will also be affected by the lack of temporary accommodations, hotels, and rental properties. Schooling comes in a close second. LARM offers a number of recommendations for companies to help limit the impacts on settling in, productivity, and costs, which will be especially intense if relocations occur during the busier months in the U.S. and UK (June, July, and August).

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Availability of Properties and Increased Rents: The Olympic Games Committee will be sending about 600 people to Rio within the next three years. This will decrease the number of property options in the market and increase the average price for rentals, particularly in Barra da Tijuca and Zona Sul.

Recommendation: In addition to the usual impact of tourism during the months of June, July, and August, the sports events will further impact the market and make orientation and home-finding visits far more difficult. Due to probable lack of availability, it will be important to plan carefully so that both companies and assignees have realistic expectations. 

Lease Extensions/Renewals Challenges: Leases do protect assignees from landlords’ early terminations due to the rigorous legal process for landlords to terminate early. After the lease contract expires, landlords may choose to extend or not extend the leases, in addition to asking for a rent increase for whatever amount they want. Currently, landlords are requesting increases of between 30-75%.

Recommendations: 

Curitiba

1. Start lease renewals early—at least six months prior to the lease’s end date. Rents will most assuredly still go up.

2. Be aware that additional costs may also include “Forced Local Moves,” where the assignee must move either due to their own, or the landlord’s, stance on a variety of issues (failure to make repairs, rent increases, etc.). In these situations, there is a good chance that increased rental unit prices will mean that assignees may find themselves faced with only lower quality properties being available.  

Schools: International schools will continue to have few vacancies.

Recommendations:

1. Plan early if children will be accompanying the assignee.

2. Note that the American School will be opening another branch site in Barra da Tijuca for grades K through 5 next semester. 

Immigration: New laws regarding extension of visas and individual visas are in effect that could have varying impacts on assignees. A bit of good news is that some of these could benefit families seeking to bring their nannies or other household help with them on assignment. Look for more information in subsequent posts! 

Most important, and overall: Planning is critical and is key to managing impact of these events. Good planning and communication can help ensure that expectations are understood, particularly cost impacts. 

For more information on Brazil, see our Emerging Markets resource area and our On the Ground Series video on Brazil.

Email this contributor at Terese.Kowalski@cartus.com

Written by Terese Kowalski

Terese is manager, supply chain management for the Americas. She has more than a decade of global relocation experience, specializing in supplier performance, supplier sourcing management and relocations to the Americas' key emerging markets.

The Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation celebrates 20 years of program history this year, with more than 37 million youth and adults participating at some 3.5 million workplaces each year. 

Cartus has been hosting our event, organized by the Human Resources staff and volunteers, for more than 10 years, and it never disappoints! The goals of the event go beyond just one day—the children see what their parents do at work, get an opportunity to spend a bit of quality time together in the workplace, have a chance to think about building their own futures, and experience some good, old-fashioned fun, all at the same time.

After registration, our guests were treated to a lively presentation based on the popular board game Life from Tony Bosco, vice president in relocation accounting. The interactive presentation got the children thinking about their future and set the tone for the day’s fun.

Groups led by volunteer guides then broke out into an array of sessions, including a modified game of The Price is Right, a presentation on technology in the workplace, a tour and hands-on exhibit of a car carrier and a moving truck, a session of Toastmasters’ “Public Speaking for Kids (101),” a Mandarin lesson led by our Intercultural and Language Solutions group, and a discussion about “The Feelings of Relocation” led by our Learning and Development group.

A move can be frightening for children, but they also bring a natural curiosity for new places, and it showed when we asked many of our visitors “If you could move anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?” and “What language would you most like to learn?”  As always, when asking children questions, it was fun and sometimes surprising to hear their responses.

To watch video highlights from our Take Your Children To Work Day, click here or on the image below.

Email this contributor at Patrick.Lewis@cartus.com

Written by Patrick Lewis

Patrick is manager, marketing communications at Cartus. He has more than 15 years of marketing, communications, and writing experience, and a decade of global relocation experience.