Events in Ukraine have been at the forefront of everyone’s mind, and global mobility is no exception. Clients are keen to understand how others are dealing with a broad range of challenges both for expatriates and local employees alike.
After the immediate response to secure peoples’ safety, companies are now grappling with a range of issues, ranging from the support offered to displaced employees to how to reintegrate evacuated expatriates. The focus now is to take fragmented reactive actions taken at the outset and convert them into a coherent ongoing support structure. To help companies share ideas and best practices, AIRINC conducted a live benchmarking survey to get real-time information on how companies are responding.
Unsurprisingly, finding shelter for displaced employees has been the top priority; 77% of companies with displaced Ukrainian employees have been helping them find temporary accommodation. Significant numbers of companies are also supporting their Ukrainian staff to find job opportunities in other countries. Support for long-term housing, allowances to cover lost goods and personal belonging left behind, cost of living payments, per diems and help with child education also feature in the mix of help that is being provided.
The ramifications have also spread more widely with sanctions impacting companies with operations in Russia. 90% of companies with expatriates in Russia have been carrying out evacuations of their expatriate staff. 44% have removed all international assignees, while other companies have evacuated non-essential staff or are carrying out evacuations based on employee requests. Half of respondents with operations in Russia are also looking for opportunities to support key local Russian staff to transfer internationally.
To find out more about the survey and to understand how companies are addressing the many challenges of displaced employees, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your usual AIRINC contact.