Expatriate Management Committee
March 10-12, 2004
The EMC met in Scottsdale, AZ, on March 10-12, 2004.
representatives from:
3M
American Express
Bank of America
Bechtel
Boeing
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Cemex
Cisco
Citigroup
Coca-Cola
Colgate-Palmolive
Corning
Delphi
DuPont
EDS
Eli Lilly
ExxonMobil
Fluor
Ford
General Motors
GlaxoSmithKline
Hewlett Packard
IBM
Intel
Johnson & Johnson
Kellogg’s
Lockheed Martin
Lucent Technolgoies
Marsh & McLennan
McDonald’s
Participants included
McKinsey
Microsoft
Motorola
NCR
NFTC
Nortel Networks
PepsiCo
Philip Morris International
Procter & Gamble
Raytheon
Schlumberger Oilfield Services
Shell International
Siemens
Wal-Mart
Thank you John Murphy and Sue Mrotek of Motorola for all of your work in making
arrangements locally. Your efforts helped make this a very successful event.
Localization: Principles & Concepts
Representatives of American Express, Hewlett Packard, and Procter & Gamble described
how their respective organizations address the issues and implementation of localization.
Expatriate Management Software Systems: Pros & Cons of Various Systems
An ongoing problem is that there isn’t one single end-to-end system. Currently
customized sub-systems are bolted on to available programs. One goal is to have greater
web access/utilization integrated into mobility management systems.
A major issue can arise if the current tax provider’s system is used and a change is made
in tax providers. This situation is exacerbated by Sarbanes-Oxley-related changes.
Data security is another issue. Lastly, there is no single global payroll system.
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Expatriate Management Committee
March 10-12, 2004
Tax Equalization Collections
A discussion was held on how to effectively collect tax equalization reimbursements.
Some companies incorporate tax equalization collections into letters of assignment and/or
have the expatriate sign a form acknowledging their obligation to settle promptly with the
employer.
A related requirement is to have the employee bear responsibility for any penalties and/or
interest that was incurred due to the expatriate being late in filing his/her tax return.
Where a problem arises it is effective to advise the expatriate’s senior management as
soon as possible so as to have added leverage.
Lower Cost Policy Alternatives
Key factors are company culture and human resources philosophy and where the push for
lower costs is coming from within the company.
A company case study was presented by Bank of America. Each year actual expenses are
tracked against the budget to determine if a given assignment should be continued or if
the assignee should be localized or repatriated.
Communicating and Explaining Policies: Best Practices
Representatives from Delphi and Nortel described how they communicate the elements
of their programs.
In one case 100 current and former expatriates were used as a focus group to review new
policies.
Use of a web-based policy guide and manager’s toolkit is on the company’s intranet site.
Farewell Betty Halverson, Kellogg’s
The EMC bid a fond farewell to Betty Halverson of Kellogg’s. Betty has been an active
member of the EMC for some years. We wish her all the best. She was last seen
surrounded by three cowboys and a sheriff in Reata Pass.
Welcome Carl Brosman, Boeing
The EMC welcomes Carl Brosman and Boeing into membership.
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Expatriate Management Committee
March 10-12, 2004
Company Profile: Hewlett Packard
Beverly Webb provided an overview of the history and current business strategy of HP.
Benchmarking Update: Compensation Survey & Metrics Survey
A status report was provided on the expatriate compensation survey.
A survey is being developed to meet increasing pressures on IHR departments to measure
and justify effectiveness of international assignment services.
Self Service Expatriate Orientation
The Raytheon representative described how they developed a CD to communicate policy,
information on medical coverage, security information, emergency contacts, banking
services, and relocation team contacts.
The Raytheon Enterprise Employee Locator System was also described. It includes
cross-border business travelers as well as assignees.
Sub-Committees
The Tax, Operations, Technology, and Communications sub-committees met to discuss
topics for the fall 2004 meeting.
The next EMC meeting will be Monday, September 20 through Wednesday,
September 22, 2004 in Boston.
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