International employers are reaching a tipping point when it comes to communicating with their overseas staff. The “Anatomy of an international business 2014-15” research by specialist international healthcare provider, Expacare found that nearly a third (29%) are using social media website Facebook to connect with their expat workers. However there is still a tribe of traditionalists as two fifths (37%) of businesses use post as the primary way to engage with their staff.
Despite Facebook rising through in popularity, newer social media platforms have had little impact on the way businesses communicate. Only a tenth (8%) use Twitter and 4% said that they use picture sharing website, Instagram. In terms of the effectiveness of contacting staff by these means businesses said that email was top (48%), followed by post (31%) and then Facebook (28%).
It is important for businesses to understand how their staff would like to be contacted once overseas, as many will spend months working away from home. The research found that nearly a third (32%) of employees are posted overseas for 3-6 months with regular return trips to the UK, while a further third (32%) said that they place staff overseas for 6 months to a year.
For those employees living overseas for long periods, the research uncovered that the most requested benefits package is private health insurance, with a quarter (25%) of staff asking for this from their employers. In addition, private health cover for dependents (23%) was also popular, along with nearly a fifth (19%) asking for critical illness cover, and nearly one in 10 (9%) requested a relocation allowance. The research findings reflect the need to provide employees with a flexible benefits package. Expacare’s wide range of international private medical insurance packages can be tailored to suit specific requirements which is crucial for employees that are working in countries that have varying standards of healthcare.
In light of this, employers were also asked how they think their employees would like to submit private medical insurance claims. Over two fifths (42%) suggested that doing this via email and only one in 10 (10%) would request a postal form, indicating that employees do prefer virtual communication thanks to its speed and efficiency.
Beverly Cook, Managing Director of Expacare, said: “Employers sending staff overseas to work and live are increasingly looking for innovative ways to communicate to their staff. While post still remains the go to form of communication, other tools are also becoming more popular, such as social media sites, Facebook and Instagram. It’s likely that over the next few years the popularity of communicating by these methods will increase and employers should look to stay ahead of the game by thinking about how they can improve communication methods.
“Staff are also increasingly wishing that they can submit health insurance claims via an app and employers should begin thinking about how they can make this possible. It’s important that when staff are overseas they have access to a tailored private health plan and also that they’re able to submit claims easily and quickly. This will ensure that staff can enjoy their posting overseas safe in the knowledge that they are covered.”