The high tech and manufacturing industries are leading in the area of danger planning, but even they generally lack specific plans for each country in which they operate, the KPMG Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey 2005 found.

“At the time the survey was conducted, 26% of all participants, 31% of high tech respondents, 30% of manufacturing respondents and 17% of the financial services industry respondents had a global emergency plan in place,” KPMG’s Global Mobility Services group director Sandra Cittadini.

“However, only 7% of high tech industry respondents, 17% of respondents from manufacturing companies and 13% of financial services respondents had a specific plan in place for each country where they had assignees,” she said.

In the current unpredictable environment, companies have a duty of care to fully appraise their assignees on emergency procedures before leaving their home location, according to Cittadini.

“Precious time can be lost if there is uncertainty surrounding correct procedures, which can further endanger the lives of the assignee or their family,” Cittadini said.

About 43% of financial services respondents had a contract with a service provider for emergency evacuations and assistance during a crisis, compared to 33% of all participants.

In response to a perceived increase in danger for assignees abroad, 44% of all organisations surveyed said they would reduce the number of assignees in high-risk locations, 18% said they would reduce operations in high-risk locations, while 24% would increase their reliance on local nationals in the area.

The survey also found 33% of assignees leave an organisation after returning from an international assignment because they are offered a better job in another organisation, while 53% of organisations surveyed included de facto partners of the opposite sex in the definition of family this year, compared to 24% of companies surveyed in 1999.

Some 41% of survey respondents include de facto partners of the same sex in the definition of family in 2005, compared to only 17% of those surveyed in 1999.

Around 26% of respondents did not provide job search, visa assistance or allowances to accompanying spouses or partners of assignees whose careers were interrupted by the assignment.

About 41% of all survey participants provide an unlimited hardship or danger allowance.