What To Do With Expats Who Have Returned?

The Harvard Business Review has published several insightful articles on expats and how companies can better equip them for success.

In "The Right Way to Manage Expats," they offer several keen recommendations for employers. One is helping them repatriate well.

"Effective companies…prepare [returning expats] for changes in their personal and professional landscapes….Although participants find repatriation programs useful, it is seldom cost effective for a company to provide them in-house unless its volume of international assignments is heavy. Most companies that offer such programs outsource them to professional training companies or form consortiums with other companies to share the costs. Effective companies have realized that the money they spend on these programs is a small price to pay for retaining people with global insight and experience."

We have seen firsthand what personal debriefing can do for not just the expat employee, but for the whole family. It can drastically change their perspective, help them make sense of their experiences, and move forward with more clarity.

What has been your experience? If you've repatriated or work for a company who employs expats, what does your employer do for returning expats?