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John O’Connell currently serves as Vice President of International Strategic Solutions for Bristol Global Mobility, a full service boutique-style relocation company based in the United States that has been operating since 1997. John studied international management in college and graduate school and has worked for global companies since the early 1990’s.  Over the course of his career, he completed two overseas assignments (both in France) on behalf of different employers. He recalls how the two experiences greatly differed because he received very little relocation support initially and full relocation support during the second assignment while in a senior level position with a large relocation company.  John has been involved in the employee mobility industry since 1998.

 X-Expats: What types of services do you provide to client companies? 

John O’Connell: We provide a full range of US-domestic and international services.  We often begin by consulting with a client regarding their policies.  We then leverage a series of best practice processes we’ve developed to create a relocation program that meets the specific organizational needs of the client company.  We assist with virtually every aspect of employee mobility – including candidate assessment and training, financial management, and all logistical services associated with moving and settling into a new location.  We leverage technology quite heavily, which provides a great benefit to our customers.  It is critical for relocating employees and client contacts to have real-time information and we are well-positioned to deliver this to them. 

X-E: What is the typical profile of companies requiring relocation services (i.e. size, industry)? 

JOC: These days, there is truly no typical profile.  We work with clients in many different industries.  Some of these organizations are start-up companies in the process of relocating their first few employees; others are Fortune 500 companies moving hundreds (or thousands) of people on an annual basis.  

X-E: Do you have statistics about the percentage of companies requesting repatriation services for their transferees? 

JOC: While I haven’t seen specific statistics on this, I would say that virtually every company requests some form of repatriation services.  The breadth and depth of the services requested can vary dramatically.  At a minimum, an organization may require assistance in moving an employee’s belongings back to his or her home country.  In the best case scenario, a company will have given extensive consideration to repatriation planning and will not only authorize assistance with the logistical aspects of repatriation, but will also offer comprehensive support - including formal repatriation training delivered by an intercultural specialist.  

When planning an international move, it is important to check the cost of living index to ensure that your revenues will be sufficient to cover the costs you will incur in your new city of residence. X-expats interviewed Steven Coleman, Chief Instigator at Xpatulator.com a web-based service that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences. Steven started out in Human Resources and eventually specialized in Reward Consulting, which included Expatriate Pay / International Assignment related projects. Now, he oversees all aspects of Xpatulator’s content including data collection, calculators, and reports.  

X-Expats: How do you gather the data to conduct the surveys? What methodologies do you apply to determine the ranking of cities? 

Steven Coleman: We use more than 50 types of data sources, including our Xpatulator algorithm. The algorithm calculates the quantity and price ratio for a minimum of 3 products or services for each item in each basket so that we report prices for the same quantities in each location.  Xpatulator.com gathers information for approximately 140 different goods and services. We collect the price and quantity of each item. For ease of use, the 140 goods and services have been grouped into 13 basket groups. Our methodology to compare the cost of living is to use the total cost of the basket in each location. The difference in the cost of the basket at the ruling exchange rate is the cost of living difference. The methodology in our Cost of Living Index calculator (COLI) is to allow the user to choose the Home / Base Location and then to choose up to 281 Host Locations.