Expat assignments create or destroy value and leave positive or negative legacies depending on the success of the expat’s ability to integrate into the host culture(s). Cultural integration requires global skills on the one hand and acceptance from the host country office (even when taking on a global role while sitting at the host country office) on the other hand.

The 2016 Lockton Global Forum took place over two days in May 2016 in Lockton’s offices in the City of London. It was attended by more than 100 delegates from 13 countries. The 2016 Forum featured a great number of in-depth presentations about generic challenges and possible responses, making it a good opportunity for global HR practitioners to sit back and reflect on their practices at a strategic level.

Why do so many well-being programs fail to deliver the outcomes that companies hope for? Their marketing makes well-being programs look highly appealing, and they feel right. But when organizations perform a dispassionate retrospective analysis of what has changed, looking for indications that benefit costs are being reduced due to improved health, there is invariably little reliable evidence.

Administering global healthcare benefits has become a daunting task for multinational employers. Local compliance and medical cost containments have become our biggest challenges, and insurance carriers, third party administrators, consultants, and brokers are busier than ever looking for relevant information that will make the difference in their value propositions. One of the major elements of the cost containment equation, however, continues to be overlooked.