By train, plane, and automobile, this week Bennett International’s CEO Elizabeth Sawyer traveled to Munich, Germany to participate in the annual EuRA conference. As moving employees abroad becomes the norm rather than the exception, conferences such as EuRA gather global mobility leaders together to find mobility solutions in support of these modern business go-betweens.
In bygone days, moving an employee from point A to B was more harrowing. Over great seas, vast steppes, and foreboding deserts in 1269 the Venetian merchant Marco Polo tirelessly journeyed over 15,000 to the court of Kublai Khan in Beijing where he resided for 24 years. This epic undertaking was conducted in the name of international commerce and served to inextricably link China, the Middle East, and Europe through trade and mutual interests. By 2019 the movement of international transferees for business has thankfully become less daunting, but the commercial goals are no less lofty.
According to a report by the financial consultancy Forecast, there are currently 58 million expats worldwide working abroad for diverse multinational firms. To put that figure into perspective, the average population size of a country is only 34 million. A far cry from Marco Polo’s Silk Road caravan, this mobile nation of transferees has engendered an intricate and multifaceted support network of HR personnel specializing in Global Mobility.
The EURA conference aims to “promote the benefits of a professionally managed relocation to companies with globally mobile employees.” During this week long conference, participants will discuss and share insight into an array of topics including: visa requirements, handling international political developments, security, locating adequate housing, resolving language barriers, securing culture training, moving familial belongings, transportation to the new destination, and tax issues on foreign earned income, and our favorite counseling families in finding and enrolling their children in suitable schools.
For our part, Bennett International Education Consultancy will be providing key insight into how relocating families both cope with and require support in the educating their children abroad. Our CEO Elizabeth Sawyer is in Munich to present The Power of Narrative on Wednesday, May 2 with Jon Harman of CORT. Elizabeth will then participate in the panel discussion Get Ready for the Future: Remaining Viable in the Global Mobility Industry on Thursday, May 3.
As the relocation of multinational employees becomes more routine, gone are the days that the solitary explorer archetype braves a remote region to secure commercial benefits. In the 21st century team work holds sway. Employees relocate with their families, a myriad of personnel support every nuance of the relocation process, and no location is considered remote. At Bennett, our essential task is to support the family’s well-being by sourcing schools for children at new destinations. This week, join us in following our CEO Elizabeth as she confers with other experts and presents the case for education and right-fit schools. With proper educational support, maybe even Fatina, Bellela and Moretta Polo might have joined their famous father on his road to China.