With the increase of globalization, it is imperative that today's companies maintain that all-important competitive edge. Given the tremendous cost of expatriates, companies that do not proactively review the effectiveness of their international assignment programs on a regular basis run the risk of poorly executed policies, disenchanted and unproductive expatriates, and negative impact on the bottom line.

External benchmarking - that is, regularly evaluating your assignment policies against those of other comparable multinationals - is one critical part of reviewing a program's effectiveness. Typically, the results of policy benchmarking studies tend to focus on compensation and specific policy issues, which are certainly critical in terms of cost effectiveness and competitiveness. But are these the real issues of concern to expatriates?

Based on the results of almost 20 Expatriate Program Opinion Surveys that ORC has carried out for different clients during the last two to three years, there is a growing indication that issues such as career planning, relocation support, and communications are, in fact, very often the areas of primary concern to assignees. Indeed, these can be the issues that will ultimately determine your assignment program's success.

To gain a comprehensive view of the program, you typically need to assess the satisfaction level of the key stakeholders in your assignment program - expatriates, line managers, and human resources managers - all of whom play an integral part in a successful international program. One highly effective way of assessing their issues and concerns is to design and carry out systematic and well-thought-out opinion surveys.

Opinion surveys can explore a number of issues, each of which can be custom designed to fit your needs. Typically, questions will focus on trying to assess satisfaction levels with such aspects as:

• Policy communications
• Specific policy provisions, including expatriate allowances and benefits
• Relocation and family support
• HR management support
• Career and repatriation planning

In addition, it is important to make sure that participants have an opportunity to make suggestions for policies and services that they would like to see improved, and also to determine whether they believe the assignment will be (or was) beneficial to their career.

Opinion studies also allow a company to survey different types of assignees, such as short-term assignees, intra-regional transferees, repatriated expatriates, "inpatriates," and even assignee spouses. The differences and similarities in their responses can provide invaluable feedback on what areas of the assignment program are working well - and where the trouble spots are lurking (see Chart 1, "Example of Variation and Similarities by Group"). But don't embark on opinion surveys unless you are prepared to address the issues raised.

What Are You Trying to Find Out, Anyway?

Employers carry out expatriate opinion surveys for a number of reasons. The survey may be part of a major re-engineering project that encompasses a review of all HR policies, both domestic and international. Or, it might represent a periodic internal survey to keep an eye on the effectiveness of existing policies, or perhaps an ad hoc study to determine the need for revised or additional provisions. In some cases, the survey might focus on particular issues (e.g., allowances, cultural orientation) or certain service providers (e.g., moving companies, language schools).

To determine exactly what type of opinion survey is needed ask yourself: What do I really want to know? What information is critical to get a complete picture of how effectively our international assignment programs are being managed and perceived by the stakeholders?

The answers to these questions will aid in the design of an opinion survey that will produce the most focused and relevant information. Even if you are asking very specific questions, make sure you give participants the chance to tell you what is really on their minds and what suggestions they have for improving the program. Don't underestimate the value of their ideas. But don't embark on opinion surveys unless you are prepared to consider their criticisms and suggestions and address the issues raised.

Methodology Should Suit the Survey Objectives

Once you decide what you need to know - the questions you need answered - the next step is to determine the proper methodology to support the survey objectives. From a technical aspect, opinion surveys can use a number of different techniques and tools, the most common of which include written surveys (questionnaires), interviews, and focus groups. Determining which type works best for the organization depends on a number of relevant factors.

Questionnaires.
Written surveys, for example, typically have a combination of multiple choice or open-ended questions. Multiple-choice questions are easy to complete and tabulate responses. The following is an example (as are the questions shown in Chart 2, "Sample Multiple-Choice Questions"):

How satisfied are you with your assignment package terms and conditions?
q Very Satisfied
q Satisfied
q Dissatisfied
q Very Dissatisfied

The downside to such objective measures is that they do not allow participants to explain the rationale for their responses or elaborate on particular concerns. For this reason, it is best to also include a number of open-ended questions, such as:

• What type of problems and challenges are you (and your family) encountering at your current location? Have you been given enough support/assistance to combat these challenges?
• What level of support have you received from the HR department in your home and host countries to resolve any problems?
• Who is responsible for preparing and scheduling repatriation or next moves to another foreign assignment? Have specific plans been established?
• What do you see as the major strengths/weaknesses of your assignment expatriate program?

Using open-ended queries in a questionnaire format allows the respondent to answer without feeling the limitation of a yes/no, multiple-choice answer. They are definitely a way to gain valuable insight into an issue. Without the limitation of multiple-choice answers, the respondent's answers often bring forth issues that the question designer never even thought about. However, the downside to including too many open-ended questions is the difficulty in easily quantifying the results, thus requiring a narrative summary and analysis of the issues.

Personal Interviews.
Although time consuming, individual interviews can be very valuable in providing a detailed understanding of the issues at hand. Personal interviews allow an opportunity for the expatriate, line manager, or HR manager to truly feel "heard" - which is especially important in getting feedback from senior executives.

Some people are more candid with their answers in a face-to-face meeting with an interviewer. However, as the expatriate or line manager might feel ill at ease with an internal interviewer, an outside consultant is sometimes the best person to conduct these interviews.

There is another factor to consider when conducting interviews. As most individuals do not like to be forced to respond to questions immediately, without preparation, it is generally a good idea to distribute the list of questions in advance. As with open-ended survey questions, analyzing and quantifying the results objectively can be very challenging.

Focus Group Discussions.
These forums can be useful, especially in locations where the company knows there are problems and challenges within its international programs. By providing a safe and nonjudgmental time and place to share ideas and gather information, focus groups can target key issues.

Although they may save time by simultaneously processing large numbers of respondents, they may also intimidate those who feel uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups - particularly if the individual has a negative comment. On the other hand, a good facilitator will usually be able to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to make a genuine contribution.

Taking a Balanced Approach

ORC regularly uses expatriate program opinion surveys as part of the major global expatriate program review projects we conduct for our clients. We often conduct surveys using web-based technology, typically using a mixture of multiple choice and open-ended questions, supplemented with a number of select individual senior management interviews. The process also includes focus groups where there appears to be a particular problem location. In all cases, ORC assures the participants that their responses are strictly confidential in order to encourage candid feedback (see Chart 3, "Recent Client Opinion Surveys.")

What Do You Do With the Results?

So now you have the answers from expatriates, line managers, and HR managers, what do you do with all the results? Clearly, the responses can be tremendously valuable for a number of purposes. Consider the following:

Identifying Critical Issues.
After taking sufficient time to analyze the results, you will most often see major themes running throughout all participant responses. If there is an issue, you will usually see it in the responses from both expatriates and managers. For example, some of the key recurring issues and concerns that have shown up in recent ORC client surveys include:

• Poor communications with assignees
• Lack of relocation support
• Inconsistency of treatment among expatriates
• Lack of systematic repatriation planning

These issues may be specific to a region (European transferees) or type of assignment (short-term developmental assignments), or affect the entire program. However, knowing exactly which assignees are affected by these issues is half the battle.

Monitoring Vendor Performance.
Responses regarding vendor performance (e.g., relocation, cultural orientation, language training) provide management with an accurate and objective picture of the quality of vendor services. Sometimes, the results of opinion surveys will instigate further investigation into vendor performance.

Obtaining Management Buy-in.
The output from opinion surveys provides a clear and objective assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your expatriate program. The results are an invaluable tool to take information to management so they clearly see what changes, if any, need to be made to your policy. It becomes much easier to obtain management approval of reasonable and cost-effective modifications to the policy when they have credible proof of the need from assignees and managers. To make your point, it is often more effective to use actual quotes and examples provided by both managers and expatriates rather than rely solely on a simple list of issues and the percentage of people who agree that "x" is a problem (see Chart 4, "Brief Quotes Are Worth 1,000 Words").

Communication and Feedback Lend Credibility

One very important use of the study results, not listed above, is to communicate them not only to management, but also to the participants - proving that the survey was not undertaken in vain.

On a final note, don't forget the old story of opening Pandora's box! Once you give everyone the chance to express their views, be ready to deal with the issues that emerge. Too often, companies embark on opinion surveys and then wait months, and often years, before taking action on the results.

Remember, the worst feedback is no feedback at all!

Roger Herod is senior vice president, international compensation consulting, and Christine Langlands is a consultant, both in Organization Resources Counselors, Inc.'s Chicago office.

Chart 1: Example of Variation and Similarities by Group

Chart 2: Sample Multiple-Choice Questions
For the following items, how satisfied are you with the assistance provided for your international assignment?

Chart 3: Recent Client Opinion Surveys
Some of the major multinationals for which ORC has recently carried out Expatriate Program Opinion Surveys include:

• Alcoa Inc.
• Archer Daniels Midland Company
• Caterpillar Inc.
• Monsanto Company

Chart 4: Brief Quotes Are Worth 1,000 Words

Primary Issues	Line Managers	International Assignees & Spouses
Cultural Training	"Cultural training is rare."	"Success requires adapting to the cultural differences." "We need to know before arrival what, at least, some of the different cultural priorities, approaches, and attitudes are."
Orientation & Settling-In Assistance	"Significant need to improve orientation and cultural training programs."	"It takes the employee twice as long to accomplish settling in without help, which is a waste of valuable employee time." "We didn't get the information we needed at the beginning about public transport, schooling, and numerous other practical matters."
Compensation Program	"Uneven, too individual, too complex." "Lack of transparency."	"Depends on the assignee's ability to negotiate, or 'who you know'." "Conditions are too individual.""I was told not to worry, but I should have."