Compensating Executives Appropriately for Expatriate Assignments

¶ … International Compensation Package for Expatriate Executives Assigned to Mexico

This memorandum is in response to your request for a comprehensive and effective international compensation package to encourage the employees selected to take the assignment to facilitate the launch of the company's new operations in Mexico. The following recommendations are based on 10 equal expatriate positions with a domestic equivalent salary of $80,000. Notwithstanding these equivalencies, the research to date confirms that "one-size-fits-all" compensation packages may be less effective than individualized approaches that take executives' current life situation into account (Divakaran & Mani, 2012).

It is reasonable to suggest that some of these 10 executives (particularly those who are single) will require little or no encouragement to accept the assignment to Mexico, viewing it as a plum assignment given the lower cost of living and amenities that are available there (Cost of living comparison between Mexico and the U.S., 2015). By contrast, many if not most of these 10 executives may require significant encouragement in order to convince them that the assignment to Mexico is in their best interests because of the stress and anxiety that expatriate assignments can produce (Wederspahn, 1999).

First and foremost, the compensation package should include a 10% bonus for any executive who agrees to the assignment to Mexico. In addition, all executives should be offered adequate per diem payments that compensate them for the inconveniences they will likely experience as a result of relocation and separation from their family and friends in the United States (Segal, 2009). This is an especially attractive, cost-effective compensation strategy because although there are some percentage limits on meals and entertainment, per diem expenses for expatriate executives are almost entirely tax deductible (Segal, 2009).