John (not his real name) had always wanted to see Russia and had been in line for a global assignment for a while, so when he was offered a role there in 2021, he was thrilled to accept the opportunity. CapRelo’s mobility team quickly helped him find housing and get settled in.

But what was to be a three-year assignment took on new challenges when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Suddenly, access to news from outside Russia was restricted and the news John did receive gave him a very different view of the Ukraine situation than reality. In his mind, there was no danger and no reason to leave his assignment. Had it not been for his quick, persistent, and well-informed mobility consultant, John may have been stranded there still.

It was only after continuous long conversations with his CapRelo consultant that John was finally convinced to leave the country. By then, however, American companies like Visa and American Express were no longer doing business in Russia, and strict travel restrictions were in place.
Even moving from one in-country location to another was fraught with risk and danger. Working with her trusted network, the consultant managed to book an airline ticket for him to Turkey. Despite flight snafus and long waits in airport queues, John eventually made it safely to Vienna. Thanks to his consultant’s persistence and strong vendor connections, his belongings made it onto one of the few air shipments out of the country, too.

Though the name is changed, the story is a real example of the potential challenges of keeping employees safe and protected in global assignments when civil unrest arises. Here’s some things to consider when considering global assignments, and ways to protect your assignees when unexpected crises arise.

Expect the unexpected: navigating civil unrest.

While it might be natural to think that situations like John’s are issues for far-flung global locations, the reality is that civil unrest isn’t relegated to one particular area or region. In fact, a recent Institute for Economics and Peace report showed the U.S. among the 50 least peaceful countries in the world!

One need only think back to the 2016 protests and riots in Milwaukee and Portland that were triggered by the  officer-involved shooting of Sylville Smith. “While the protest in Milwaukee began peacefully, the scene soon became violent and a number of businesses were either damaged or destroyed during the night’s rioting,” notes a recent FEI Behavioral Health report.

We can thank technology in large part. In decades past, analog news cycles were slower and from fewer sources, and access to current events was not always, well, current. But social media and mobile phones have enabled news to spread within minutes – even seconds – worldwide. An incident in a middle east country, for example, can be reported via social media in real time and disseminated to millions of viewers, often sparking quick escalation.

“Thanks to the internet, with news consumption far greater than it once was, even those who live far from crises now live in a digital world of constant, dire updates,” notes the New York Times. “A major story, like a mass shooting or the war in Ukraine, can feel ever-present in our lives.”

All this may make it seem that the world is more dangerous than in the past. Not so, say mathematicians at York University. Their study found that over the past 30 years the world has actually shifted to a higher level of peace in general. Even so, companies must be strategic in where they place employees and how they keep them safe while there.

6 ways companies can protect assignees.

Having a robust security program in place is imperative in today’s global environment. CapRelo recommends six key components that your company’s security program should have.

Stay aware of local situations.

Stay tuned in to world events and be prepared to act quickly. “Companies should ensure that they keep up with the latest official travel alerts from the US government,” says Scott Addaman, executive VP with CapRelo partner Going-there, Global Destination Services. “Level 4 warnings in particular are to be heeded, as these are countries where it may be highly dangerous for an assignee to remain.”

If volatility or unrest erupts in a location that threatens assignees, it is best to advise the assignee to leave the country as soon as possible by any safe route or by airline if flights are still available, he says.

Rely on trusted local advisors.

There’s no substitute for having knowledgeable and well-connected local partners to step in times of volatility. They can handle the wrap-up (departure service) of the assignee’s lease, utilities and other matters in the country, as well as arrival and temporary housing in many countries to which the assignee evacuates. “Companies can also contract with security firms that specialize in evacuating employees from conflict zones, such as Smart Risk or Solace Global,” says Addaman.

Conduct mandatory employee training.

Every assignee – and their families – should be equipped with the information and tools to know how to respond if an unexpected emergency happens. Walk through specific emergency protocols. For instance, if something happens, your protocol might specify that all employees and families come immediately to the office or to a pre-determined location. In the event of a crisis, employees should know where their passports are stored and how to quickly get to them, how to get their children from school, instructions for the spouse, where to access transportation out of the region and so on. Empowering your assignees and their families with a well-communicated, well-understood crisis plan is the foundation of a solid security program.

Offer employees cultural training.

Help assignees avoid potentially hazardous situations by providing pre-assignment cultural training. Share cultural norms to expect, red flags to spot and specific situations or locations that may be less safe.

Maintain real-time employee information.

While it is important that the HR team know where their employees are at all times, it is never more so that when a country experiences civil unrest. Have appropriate systems in place to be able to immediately access emergency contact numbers and get people moved quickly, either through coordination with a call center or through on-site services.

Provide necessary security.

While it can be costly, providing security for your assignees and their families is another key piece of safety programming. Do employees need specific vehicle transportation, security guards to take children to school, gated and secure housing communities? Adequate security may mean shortening an assignment so you don’t always have the same people at the same site, or changing work rotations or travel routes to lessen the ability to observe an employee’s movements.

The RMC’s role in protecting assignees.

There’s perhaps no bigger responsibility for global mobility consultants than helping protect their clients’ assignees. How do you know if your mobility partner can be relied on in cases of crisis or civil chaos to get your employees out of harm’s way?

1. Make sure your relocation management company works with the same protocols in place as those of your own company. Not an off-the-shelf program that you must conform to, but one that is aligned specifically to your policies and procedures.
2. Verify that your mobility partner maintains contact details for every assignee at all times, from where they are during working hours, to where and when the children are at school, and the spouse’s daily locations. Ask what technology systems they use to manage that data and what backups are in place in the event of system failure.
3. Ensure that your mobility partner has strong trusted local vendors within immediate access – travel agents, transportation companies, mobility expeditors, secure housing options, etc. “A local professional consultant should be able to immediately understand if there is any emergency in his location,” says Doron Neev, general manager with CapRelo partner firm Corporate Resources Group Ltd in Israel. “In the case of Israel, we are a tiny country, and every emergency is usually a total one for the whole country. A professional consultant will understand better what the rate of direct risk in each location are and can instruct the assignee if or where he should go while on emergency.” In addition, Neev says, “They can advise the RMC on housing areas to avoid. A few years ago, we had a company that needed her assignees to live in the south and we advised them to avoid the locations which were in the range of the missiles.”
4. Look for a hands-on company. Even a seamless relocation is stressful. Your employees deserve a mobility consultant willing to invest in them personally. The best relocation management companies make human interaction a fundamental part of their approach, whose consultants take personal interest in each assignees’ needs, not simply handing the work over to vendors.

Summary

At CapRelo, we believe that ensuring employees’ safe and productive relocations is best done as a partnership between our seasoned, on-the-ground experts, and our clients’ HR experts. We treat each individual employee as our highest priority, not a number on a database, and that is one reason for our 96% assignee satisfaction rate.

As one senior HR staffing specialist told us recently, “CapRelo has done a really good job at helping to be an extension of HR versus a contractor or another provider for us.”

Learn how CapRelo can support your employees.