| | JUNE 201619CIOReviewmessage, but the global handbook is really more myth than reality. The best practice is to develop regionalized or preferably country specific policies or handbooks. Legal requirements vary by country and the last thing you want to do is inadvertently extend protections that don't apply outside of the US. Most countries have common basic policies that include equal employment opportunities, acceptable use of IT/monitoring policies, anti-corruption, work from home, data protection and leave of absence. With just few employees, employee handbooks may be overkill but there is merit in undertaking the development of key policies as appropriate for each location.Equity PlansFor many companies, global equity programs are necessary for competing and retaining key talent. Staying on top of compliance requirements can be a real struggle often forcing companies to cut back the equity plan offerings to locations where they can comply rather than take the risk of non-compliance. Understanding tax treatment, reporting requirements, employer social tax obligations, vested rights and entitlements are very big challenges.Companies should manage and administrate these programs in the U.S. to be certain that plans are operated in a consistent manner across the globe and all U.S. and local laws are followed.Keeping Private Data Private Especially Outside of the US HR departments are collecting and storing vast amounts of employee related data from payroll to employment history. While these personal bits of information are useful, they also create challenges for the HR teams to comply with global employment laws, maintaining data security and upholding employee privacy.Many countries require businesses to register with the local Authorities and provide detailed information about the company representative responsible for data protection. In numerous countries breaches of Data Protection laws can be a criminal offence. Some examples are Argentina, Finland, Hong Kong, India, and U.K.Managing Employee Performance Issues In certain countries, there is a legal process to follow in dealing with performance issues. You may want to consider developing a grievance/disciplinary process or adopt the legal process as your policy to make sure you are managing to local requirements. Sometimes a conversation is all that is needed to improve conduct or performance. However, when the issue becomes more serious, realize you may have to follow a specific legal processor or you could be considered at fault by the employment tribunals and subject to an increase in termination compensation cost.Payroll System: One Platform is a MythThe reality is that, one platform does not serve all. Different countries ultimately have different payroll systems to address localized needs. For example, payroll may be managed by a service provider such as ADP around the world but each country's platform is localized. The one platform system is a myth.MobilityInternational assignments provide great professional development opportunities for employees but they are expensive and often the return on investment is not realized. Make sure all parties understand the long term cultural adjustment required and the implications of the cost. Whether you have a comprehensive global mobility plan or do things on the cheap, you should prepare an International Assignment Letter that discusses the duration of the assignment, currency and compensation, benefits and repatriation issues. It is essential to understand the tax impact of the assignment to all parties, whether you tax equalize or not. Saying GoodbyeIt takes longer to end employment relationships and it costs more, therefore, it is very important to implement good hiring and performance management processes. If performance is not up to the mark, the employee must have time to improve and be coached to improve their performance. All of this needs to be documented and cannot just be in English. Most countries have a specific termination process that needs to be followed that can take from weeks to months. The European Union leads the way in creating some of the most onerous termination laws with Italy, Belgium, and Spain being some of the most difficult jurisdictions with regards to employee terminations. "In some cases, the cost of terminating an employee (including mandatory notice periods) can reach three times the base salary."As they say, "there's no place like home" but global expansion does not have to be all lions and tigers and bears! It really is possible to demystify the process and figure out where you are going and how to get there with support from your Wizards of HR and legal team. Rules are different and complicated
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