HSBC Expat today announces the official launch of its annual Expat Explorer Survey. With a brand new look and feel for 2012, the Expat Explorer survey promises to be bigger and better to mark the 5th year of the largest global survey for expats.

2011 saw nearly 3,400 expats participate from over 100 countries across the globe to have their say about their experiences working and living overseas. This year, HSBC Expat is calling for expats everywhere to take part in the survey to ensure that their current country of residence features in the league tables published on the interactive online tool.

“The survey has grown from strength to strength. This is the 5th year we’ve run Expat Explorer and we wanted to celebrate this important milestone with a revitalised look to keep it fresh and engaging for expats when they visit the survey,” said Dean Blackburn, Head of HSBC Expat.

“We’ve listened to feedback from the community and we are committed to ensuring that the findings are topical and relevant. 2012 should be an interesting year and we want its story to be told by expats across the globe. This year, we’ll be focusing on new, emerging and important issues which matter and asking expats how they’ve fared after the global economic turmoil and social unrest faced in some countries. On the more practical side, we’ll be asking for hints and tips on what life is like on the ground to provide the most comprehensive picture, and help the Expat Explorer survey continue to be a valued resource for the expat community.”

The 2012 survey will track trends and discover how expats’ lifestyles, economic outlook and experience of raising a family abroad have changed following their move to a new country. Last year’s survey revealed that expat wealth remained widely immune to global economic troubles, even in countries which have experienced significant turbulence in 2010. Expat finances in countries such as Egypt, Bahrain and Japan were resilient to the wider turmoil.

Other key findings from the 2011 research included:

• Expats in the Middle East were the most likely to head home as a result of economic conditions
• UK performed well economically against EU counterparts
• Thailand offered great quality of life for expats, scoring top in the 2011 Expat Experience league table
• Singapore offered the best of both worlds for career prospects and quality of life
• France led the way as the best country for raising children abroad

“The Expat Explorer survey offers a fascinating look into what it’s like to live and work abroad, and provides us as a business invaluable insight into expat life. Last year, the survey revealed that expat finances remain robust in spite of global economic conditions. We’re keen to track how this trend has evolved and developed over the past year. That’s why we’re asking for expats to not only complete the survey themselves, but also encourage them to share it with friends, family and colleagues to help us capture those unique expat insights,” said Dean.

If you’re an expat and want to find out how your country performs, how your fellow expats are coping or even where your next trip might take you, make sure your voice is heard so get involved today.

Check out the new look survey and share your experience of life abroad by filling in the Expat Explorer 2012 survey here.

Follow the updates and join the debate online:
Tweet at: http://twitter.com/expatexplorer
Share your experiences: http://expatexplorer.blogspot.com/
Visit the tool: http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/

Media enquiries to:
Katy Ringsdore
PR Manager
HSBC Expat
+44 (0)1534 606865
katy.ringsdore@hsbc.com

Karen Butcher/Joey Ng
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
+ 44 (0) 207 413 3181/(0) 207 973 5941
Karen.Butcher@hkstrategies.com
Joey.Ng@hkstrategies.com

Notes to editors:

About the Expat Explorer survey
The Expat Explorer survey, now in its fifth year, is the largest global survey of expats. Commissioned by HSBC Bank International and conducted by a third party research company, nearly 3,400 expats took part in 2011.
Individuals from four continents described the opportunities and challenges they experienced living away from home. The survey provided an insight into how expat life differs from country to country, continent to continent and from an expats’ country of origin.

An expat is defined as someone over the age of 18 years old and currently living away from their home country (country of origin). The survey was designed to capture the views of the internationally representative expat population.

HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North America, Latin America and the Middle East. With assets of US$2,418 billion at 30 June 2010, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’

HSBC Expat
HSBC Expat is a trading name of HSBC Bank International Limited. HSBC Expat is an award winning provider of offshore financial services, with its head office based in Jersey, Channel Islands. It also has representation in the Isle of Man, Dubai, Hong Kong, South Africa, and an affiliate office in London. As part of HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC Expat has the experience to offer customers living and working abroad, tailored offshore financial solutions. For more information visit: www.expat.hsbc.com

This NDTV video (New Delhi Television) reports that a Norwegian government agency, Child Protective Services, took an Indian couple’s children into custody due to their inappropriate behavior: the parents hand fed their children and slept in the same bed as their children.

What do you make of this story? Is this truly a cultural difference and an excessive abuse of power, or is it clear that we are missing some key information?

Sean
RW3 CultureWizard

Interested in receiving the CultureWizard Digest every month? Click here to sign up.

Check out CultureWizard Digest #44 here!

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE:

* Rethinking the French Work Ethic
* Working with Africans
* Who Knew T.E. Lawrence was a Culture Coach?
* Axioms of Language and Humor

CultureLinks
+ Curious Travel
+ Reconsidering Motivation and Time
+ Shyness and Culture

CultureTips
+ France

RW-3.com

Interested in receiving the CultureWizard Digest every month? Click here to sign up.

Check out CultureWizard Digest #41 here!

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE:

* Acquiring Talent in China
* 9 Hours Capsule Hotel
* Women Avoid Marriage in Asia
* Fake “Apple Stoer”

CultureLinks
+ OnStar Expands Globally
+ Fast Food and Cultural Sensitivity
+ Visiting and Expat This Summer?

CultureTips
+ China

RW-3.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGaVFRzTTP4

South Koreans have one of the longest work weeks anywhere (see our previous post on prosperity and culture here). Tesco chose an innovative strategy that seems to resonate with the local populace.

However, the consumer’s inability to examine the quality of produce, for example, might dissuade one from adopting this way of grocery shopping. What does it say about culture in South Korea? Is there a value system, a driving force of culture, that is saying, “it is better to save time shopping by doing so on this subway platform than taking away from my free time to relax, be with family, etc.”?

Would this work in, say, a European city? Grocery chains in the US are no stranger to home delivery, but this convenience may not be valuable in European locales. What about a Chinese city? How does work-life balance change a culture’s focus on convenience? Thinking further about emerging markets, how does the process of industrialization change culture in general?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

I was so struck today by a remark a delegate voiced in one of our training sessions. We were talking about time zones and how complicated it is to arrange conference calls between the US and India because of the time difference. Some people said it was hard to work until 7pm and then get home (after braving the traffic) and have a call with colleagues in the US at 8pm. One fellow raised his hand and said, “It’s very difficult when you stay awake til midnight and then most of the team on the other end doesn’t even dial in.”

I know that time zone differences are among the most challenging aspects of virtual teams, and the idea has always been to “be fair” and rotate the pain. But it became so strongly personal as I listened to this manager, thinking of him staying awake until midnight only to have many of his colleagues on the other end not show up. Can you imagine how enormously frustrating and demoralizing that would be? What would that do to his morale?

Charlene