Are They in Your Policy?

Although there is a great deal of discussion about spouse/partner assistance, in this age of dual careers, to what extent is it an integral part of every relocation policy? According to Mescal, there are no easy, uniform answers.

According to a 2001 Runzheimer survey, approximately 44 percent of corporations offer either formal assistance or assistance on a case-by-case basis in their domestic relocation policies. Internationally, according to ORC Worldwide’s most recent survey, 51 percent of companies surveyed do not provide assistance to expatriate spouses.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy from Career Strategies, Wilmette, IL, said all her research indicates that it will be difficult enough to relocate employees younger than 35 years old, let alone relocate them without family incentives. According to Kennedy, this age group has its own agenda, and it is not that of a good corporate soldier. They put family first, and then they look at location, industry, and specific job. Because this age group puts family first, they are going to be looking for family-friendly components in the policy, and that includes spouse/partner career assistance. Corporations that did not previously feel the need for this benefit in their policy must look at it more seriously as they try to relocate the under-35 age group.

The International Challenge

Let us first take a look at international policies. Almost all HR practitioners readily admit that the spouse strongly influences an international assignment; however, they are hard-pressed to find a solution that meets everyone’s needs. Many policies generously make $3,000 to $10,000 available to spouses who need assistance finding employment or career enhancements in the host location. This provision almost always requires back-up receipts.

This allowance is not without its challenges. One HR administrator told me she battled long and hard to get a spouse/partner career assistance allowance in her policy, only to find out that many of the spouses were taking time out of their careers to enjoy the culture, sites, and history of the host location. This challenge is not universal, however (See sidebar).

Many policy administrators of small populations go out of their way to develop tailor-made solutions for spouses who wish to work in the host location, such as finding opportunities within the host country operation or tapping into their peer network to identify opportunities. As you can imagine, this sends a loud message about their commitment to the success of the assignment, but runs the risk of developing into an overwhelming administrative burden.

A number of studies have indicated that the principal reason for an international assignment failure is spousal dissatisfaction. It is easy to argue that an “insurance policy” must be put in place to re-engage the spouse in their new surroundings, and spouse career assistance goes a long way toward that end, although this is sometimes used for continuing education, community research, and other activities that assist the accompanying spouse to integrate into the new community.

According to the ORC Worldwide survey, expatriate spouses received the following types of assistance/compensation:

• 20 percent career counseling;
• 20 percent résumé/curriculum vitae preparation;
• 28 percent job-search assistance;
• 6 percent company employment;
• 11 percent partial financial compensation for lost salary; and
• 21 percent retraining/tuition reimbursement for continuing education.

Some companies have adopted a “family allowance” in their relocation policy, which offers more flexibility for each family’s unique situation (and cultural differences). This allowance, with back-up receipts, can be used for such things as continuing education, job search, a trip home to visit children left behind in school, or airfare for an elderly parent who lives with the family.

Less common in policies are provisions to assist in receiving or reimbursing work permits. Compensation for lost wages is rare, as it could potentially make the assignment cost prohibitive. The ORC Worldwide survey indicates that 83 percent of companies do not provide financial assistance to address the loss of a spouse’s income, but 24 percent do assist with work-permit assistance.

The Domestic Challenge

On the domestic front, the same issues apply. Even if the spouse does not have a career, they are most likely happily engaged in their present location. What is in it for them to move?

Since a domestic relocation usually is considered permanent, most spouses expect to become re-engaged in the new location. A modest allowance of $1,500 can go a long way in validating these expectations. For a spouse seeking employment, this easily covers assistance in writing a résumé, identifying potential employers, and refining interview skills.

Pat Ward, who has headed up the spouse career assistance department of TheMIGroup, Whippany, NJ, since 1998, relishes the challenges of her job. She tells of one transferee whom she assisted by finding not-for-profit opportunities with several organizations, one of which was Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network. Another accompanying spouse requested assistance setting up a Web-based business to sell homemade doll clothes.

This type of assistance can make a tremendous difference for spouses who are moving into small urban or rural areas. Someone moving from Chicago, IL, to New York, NY, might say, “yes, there probably are lots of opportunities in the new location.” However, if they are moving from Chicago to Oshkosh, WI, his or her response might be, “what am I going to do there, sell overalls?” In these out-of-the-way locations, opportunities are harder to identify, and some assistance or hand-holding becomes all the more necessary.

The spouse career policy component also is very valuable when moving families into higher cost-of-living areas, where dual careers are essential for the family to maintain the standard of living they had previous to the move. And, as Andrea Bauler from Reuters, New York, NY, points out, this benefit is a great incentive in a group move situation (See sidebar above.).

For those spouses not currently in the workforce, relocation can be even more daunting. They often wonder how they can leave their extended family, what they will do without their network of friends, or sometimes cannot imagine living in a community other than the one they have lived in all their life. These comments do not often reach the HR administrator’s ear, but, as you can imagine, transferring employees hear them all the time. What can be done to get these spouses excited about their relocation?

There are spouse/partner assistance programs designed to give these spouses road maps. By researching the new location in advance, an employee may identify groups and organizations of interest to the spouse, which can act as a pep rally for the move.

A road map is developed and a counselor works with the spouse so he or she can see that life in the new location is not as overwhelming as originally thought. As a result, the employee is able to focus on his or her new job because his or her partner is supporting the move.

This relocation resistance is hard to quantify, as it is conducted within the confines of a family environment. The deal may be shut down before options are even discussed. How many “case by case” decisions are not made because spousal resistance to the move does not reach HR?

Helping the cause of spouse/partner assistance allowances is the growing number of male spouses relocating and requesting assistance. According to the most recent Worldwide ERC® Family Issues survey, 25 percent of trailing spouses are male.

Spouse/partner career assistance provisions in a relocation policy have to reflect a corporation’s culture, be cost-effective, and easy to administer. However, given the positive psychological effects of recognizing the spouse’s contribution to the assignment, not to mention the practical support of the allowance, every policy should address it in one form or another. Relocation and recruitment today are too costly not to have partners pulling in the same direction.

Carol Mescal, CRP, is senior consultant, client services Chicago region for TheMIGroup, Buffalo Grove, IL.