Serviced Apartments and Duty of Care - How Human Resources Can Strengthen Commitment to Employees

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Caring for Your Business’ Most Important AssetrnYour employees are your most important asset, and your commitment to their welfare is of paramount responsibility. This commitment is especially true and tested when you send your people abroad for assignments.rnrn In the light of events such as 9-11 and the SARS outbreak, corporate travel has taken on a new face. Posts involving international travel used to be sought after, but are now perceived by employees to involve certain risks. For this reason, duty of care and employee safety has become more important than ever for any company sending staff on international assignments. rnrnDuty of CarernHuman resource managers used to believe that hotels could fulfil the needs of employees, and they were therefore the de facto choice for corporate housing. However, the changing business landscape means that employees on international assignments are now faced with different circumstances and expectations.rnrnThese changes mean they have different needs, which hotels are unable to fully respond to. In these circumstances, a company\\\'s commitment to its employees is tested and challenged. As Helmut Berg, the president of the European Relocation Association (EuRA), said, “Companies recognise their duty of care towards staff, particularly with the growing difficulty in finding people to go abroad, they want to take particular care of their people and they lay on home finding, orientation and immigration services.” rnHotel rooms still serve a purpose in that they can cater to the immediate needs of the business traveller on short-term assignments. However, employees on longer assignments have different needs. When employees stay away from home for long periods, their sense of normality can become aggravated and disturbed. This disturbance may result in physical and emotional stress, which in the long run could affect productivity. rnrn This commonly happens to those who are away from their families. Human resources in multinational corporations are starting to realise that practical issues such as budget constraints are not the only things they need to take into consideration when sending employees international assignments. They also need to take an employee\\\'s personal and emotional needs into account. Ensuring that employees have a good work-life balance is fast becoming an important issue for HR departments. rnrnTo help achieve this, many companies now even encourage their staff to take their dependants and partners with them on international assignments, and this is where corporate housing becomes a paramount consideration.rnrnWork-Life Balance and Serviced ApartmentsrnThe right accommodation can be the key to achieving a proper work-life balance to ensure that employees are both happy and productive. Serviced apartments offer a sense of freedom and normality which can\'t be offered by hotels. This sense of freedom empowers expat employees to achieve a good work-life balance by enabling them to set their own schedule and enjoy day to day activities in a home from home environment. rnThere are three major factors as to why serviced apartments are the best choice for housing employees on international assignments.rnrnrn Quality of life – Serviced apartments (which are also known as aparthotels) allow people to live and move in an environment that is more akin to a home than a hotel. Corporate apartments offer expats the freedom, space, mobility and privacy to function just as they would in their own homes. In an apartment they can relax and look after themselves in a way that is simply not possible in a hotel. This in turn makes them feel like less of a tourist and more at home wherever they may be.rnrnrn Health – Since the SARS outbreak, health has become a major concern for business travellers. In a serviced apartment, an employee can take an active role in housekeeping and prepare their own food. The facilities for food preparation also mean that eating out is a choice, not a necessity. rn Safety – The safety of your employees when they are working in a foreign country is of paramount importance. The security services offered by serviced apartment complexes meet international standards and are on a par with (if not better than) the security offered by hotels. Serviced apartments also provide a level of privacy that serves as an added security measure for your employees and their dependants. In addition, most serviced apartments are strategically located near (if not at the heart) of business districts and airports, which are easily and safely accessible by car or public transport. rnAchieving a good work-life balance can be hard even when at home, and this difficulty is further magnified in another city or another country. A company can demonstrate its commitment to the welfare of its employees by choosing expat housing which fully meets the needs of those who work abroad. As Charles McCrow, the managing director of the Apartment Service, puts it, “An apartment is a bit more like normal home life. This leads to a happier worker, greater work productivity and fewer HR issues”

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

To find out more about how your company can better care for your employees when they are on international assignments, you can go www.apartmentservice.com .

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