3. What should an MNC consider when designing a policy regarding international career development?

A multinational company has operations in several countries. Therefore they have a significant amount of assets/offices in all the countries and derives profits from these operations. There has been a fair amount of impact in the way companies do their business and also on the human resource management in particular. MNCs must coordinate policies and procedures that effectively balance the needs and desires of host country nationals (HCNs), parent country nationals (PCNs) and third country nationals (TCNs). Therefore while designing a policy regarding international development, the following points needs to be primarily focused upon: a. Employees along with their spouse/family should be prepared well before going for international assignments. Tax equalization is the primary thing that should be taken into consideration while deciding upon the country and the compensation structure. Even if the compensation becomes favorable, it is very important that you equalize the tax payment structure so that employees dont have to overpay while going to other countries. Also proper care has to be taken for Sale/Lease of your principal residence at the time of leaving and company must reimburse costs in case there is a compromise on the rental/lease agreement. Travelling, air tickets and other costs related to settling must also be reimbursed so that the employee can settle in the new workplace without much of a hassle. Legal holidays should be properly designed as per the international country location and not based on the host country and the expatriates should be eligible for an annual vacation of 30 days and child education reimbursement should also be done (especially the cost of transferring the child from one school to another). Temporary shifting allowance (staying in hotels or temporary location) should also be reimbursed for a specific amount of time (for e.g. 15-30 days) Tuition reimbursement must also be done in case if the spouse wants to study there. Allowances should also be increased for places where people are not willing to go, so that employees who go there are compensated for the compromise they are making. b. Employees spouse should be given a chance to find her own employment opportunity in the foreign country and proper care must be taken on that front.

For spouse assistance, an MNC must contact and arrange for suitable opportunities for the spouse as well before they send the employees abroad. While applying for work permit, they must ensure that the spouse also gets suitable work permit and can continue her career if she wants to. Financial assistance is a short term objective and the company will have to spend a lot on this with no proper solution. Instead a portion of the money can be used to have tie-ups with job agencies and other firms. Also, the planning for international assignments must happen a lot earlier than it is supposed to be, so that employee and spouse can both prepare mentally and plan their career accordingly.