Catch up on the state of destination services across Asia

There are a number of acronyms in global mobility that those new to the industry may take some time to pick up on. One of those is DSP which stands for destination services providers.  These companies provide an amazing set of support services for those moving into a new location. 

What all is included when someone references “destination services?” Pascal Cheung, client services director for Plus in Hong Kong, takes a look in this Relo Tip Tuesday video.

In the video, Pascal explains how services like area orientations, home-finding support (which is most always focused on navigating the local rental housing market), settling-in services and school search support are critical elements to supporting the expatriate and family as they transition into being "on assignment" in the host location or moving into their permanent transfer location.

Through our global supply chain team, Plus sources partners in probably every location that a mobility program is sending someone.  While technology has played a bigger role in connecting people and delivering the destination services, much of the delivery has remained face-to-face.  However, the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely impacted service delivery capabilities, particularly in specific locations depending on whether the location is a hot spot on lockdown or under stay-at-home orders. 

Obviously COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the expatriate experience no matter what stage of the process someone was in, be it in the early expatriation stage of addressing the needs of leaving their home country and getting set up in their host location, the "on assignment" stage, or the repatriation stage of departing their host country location and returning back to their home country or next location.

With many  APAC countries reopening, the scope of services that were suspended during the lockdown are slowly changing on a regular basis and services are being provided in-line with the appropriate government’s guidelines, as some of the countries are back to business as usual but with precautions in place (China, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia) and some are still suspended (Japan, Indonesia, Philippines).  

Our partners are providing frequent updates as situations and restrictions are changing constantly. One of our partners, Relo Network Asia, provides some insight into many locations across the APAC region. In their latest update:

• Thailand has lifted its national curfew, permitting non-essential businesses and schools to reopen.
• Taiwan is easing some border restrictions for essential business travelers and students from low-risk countries. 
• In Malaysia, foreign knowledge workers holding key posts with existing immigration status may return to the country.  A process has also been put into place for employers to apply for approval of new immigration passes for the same category of worker.

See their article below for more and get their latest updates related to COVID-19 here.