The return of an assignee from a long-term assignment can be a time of uncertainty for both the returning expat and the company. The returning expat faces a new environment both at work and in their personal life, which in turn may affect their work performance. Internal changes such as new leadership or new technology, no matter how small, can result in a significant change to the employee who has been overseas for several years. At the same time, the company is wondering how to integrate this employee back in to their workforce and capitalize on the experiences they had while on assignment. Companies need to ensure that they are getting a return on their significant investment and not losing talent upon repatriation.
While most companies don’t have a formal program to reintegrate expatriates, we are seeing pre- and post-repatriation follow-up and assessments being implemented to help employees and managers process and understand the learnings and value obtained from the mobility experience.
The Impact Group offers an article that will inform you of three things that returning expats seem to get caught off guard by as they repatriate back to their home country. Check it out!