Are you relocating your employees abroad? Then it is important to take their family and kids into account. On the one hand, an international relocation can have significant benefits for a child. Such as a broadened worldview, cultural adaptability, and multilingualism. On the other hand, expat kids often face challenges in developing their sense of belonging and individuality, experience higher levels of anxiety and can feel rootless. Edufax invites you to explore a key, yet often overlooked, stakeholder in a successful assignment: the relocating child.
The expat kids challenge
The 2018 survey conducted by EY found that 40% of assignments that fall short are due to child-related issues. Because of this, investing in the resources, support, and transitional care necessary for a relocating child is not only a socially responsible decision but also a business influential one.
Expat kid problems
In Santa Fe’s 2020 Global Mobility Survey, only 10% of global mobility professionals viewed “lack of suitable education provision” as a challenge facing global mobility in achieving their objectives. This challenge ranks at the end of a very long list of challenges. Remote working policies, immigration compliance and internal restructuring to name a few. While facing some of the most difficult hurdles we ever had to face, tackling educational and child-related issues can easily slip to low priority.
Happy expat children
Let’s start with the data. Interestingly, mobility managers based in North America reported a higher concern of lack of suitable education provision. Followed by respondents based in Asia and lastly Europe. What makes this a challenge? In Edufax’s experience “lack of suitable education provision” can mean inappropriate schooling options in the host location, inadequate policy coverage by your own organisation or even that the offered support by your team and vendors misses the mark. However, beyond ensuring a cost-effective relocation, it is important to recognise that one of the people impacted by your team’s ability to face these challenges is a child whose happiness, wellbeing and educational experiences can make or break an assignment.
