Despite technological advances that allow employees to virtually connect with other offices around the world, the necessity of sending workers overseas still remains. In today's hyperconnected society, it is often easy to forget that cultural and logistical hurdles exist when considering employee expatriation.

Hurdles that not every employee will be adept at vaulting, experts say.

 Working and living in a foreign country is stressful because it encompasses a series of changes, each of which requires a great deal of patience, skill and determination to handle," Isabelle Duguay, a psychologist with Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, points out.

"Problems that would appear to be routine at home can seem insurmountable when overseas."

According to the ORC Worldwide 2007 Expatriate Work-Life Balance Survey, more than half (55%) of today's international assignees suffer from stress caused by longer workdays/weeks and cultural differences. Two-thirds (65%) feel pressure to appropriately manage work/life balance while assigned internationally.

To assure both a success for the company and a meaningful experience for the employee, HR/benefits professionals must carefully evaluate employee candidates significantly prior to departure, as well as consider the logistics of overseas assignments.

Choose the right candidate

In today's world, candidates are less likely to pack their bags and head abroad simply at a company's whim. It's a thought-out process that involves pre- and post-training and extensive interaction while overseas.

This costly venture can make or break an employee's experience with the company as well as the company's international persona, so it's important to make sure that candidates are chosen carefully.

"The first thing you need to do is identify which high-talent potentials are within the company," says Steve Watson, international chairman at Stanton Chase, a global recruiting firm.

"The successful people are the listeners, the collaborators, the team-oriented players," says Watson. "Successful [overseas employees] have less of an ego than those in American companies."

After identifying the top performers, Duguay suggests evaluating your employees based on their personality type, leadership abilities and potential ability for cross-cultural management.

Equip candidates with the proper tools

Employees traveling overseas will need various personal and professionalinformation.

In addition to securing the vitals - such as proper work visas, passports and health insurance - there are a variety of additional factors that can make or break corporate experience abroad.

If an expat candidate is not fluent in the language of his or her assignment country, consider a tutor or online language program for both the employee and their family, says Watson.

While fluency is not necessary, proficiency goes a long way toward employee happiness and foreign workers' acceptance of their new colleague.

In addition to language classes, consider funding a "pre-site visit" for the employee and spouse so that they can evaluate rental properties, if not already provided by the company, as well as schools for necessary dependents.

This will alleviate much of the stress associated with moving and "changing" jobs, says Watson.

Financial education is also necessary. While employees may need assistance of their own with establishing bank accounts and credit abroad, employees conducting business transactions or trades should have some basic experience with dollar exchanges.

"[Understanding] the differences between the Chinese yen or the Mexican peso and how it's trading against the U.S. dollar [is] very important," says Watson.

Likewise, Chris Gardiner, associate director of Lloyds TSB International, notes that establishing personal bank accounts and credit abroad is a critical step.

"From an employer's perspective, they have a salary to pay the individual traveling," he says. "From the employee's perspective, money is paramount from the day they step off the airplane."

Lloyds TSB is the first British offshore bank to be granted a license in the United States, resulting in what they term "borderless banking."

The company maintains an offshore bank account domiciled in the dollar, sterling and Euro.

Manage assignment expectations

Duguay says her company found three major roadblocks to an employee's success abroad.

The first two are an expatriate's or spouse's poor adaptation to the assignment country.

Pre-evaluation for adaptability in a variety of situations, as well as personality evaluations prior to expatriation, can often mitigate these factors by simply sending the correct candidates abroad, she says.

The final roadblock, she says, is lack of cross-cultural management experience, which can translate into poor business experiences, particularly when cultural nonverbal cues and skills are misinterpreted.

Again, proper education should be able to mitigate the worst of these faux pas.

Consider asking the company EAP if they provide global services, says Duguay.

Many EAPs offer the ability to check in with employees on overseas assignments and make referrals if necessary.

When searching for an EAP that meets your needs, select one with a history of proactive and thorough case management experience, Duguay says.

Continue contact through repatriation

Although often forgotten, a strategic approach also should be taken with repatriation, says Watson.

While abroad experience can be seen as a sign of corporate trust in an employee, a lack of post-assignment contact can trigger feelings of displacement and quickly send employees job searching, negating the time and money spent training him or her overseas.

Additionally, consider that many of the stressors present upon expatriation can occur during repatriation as well, particularly if the employee has been on assignment more than a year. Mitigate the culture shock by helping employees readjust in a similar manner to pre-trip orientation.

Solicit the employee's feedback on the experience, as it may help one better shape a program for future employees.

One last key point: "The most important part of the experience is making sure the employee has a meaningful job when they return," says Watson.

Top expat stressors

•  62.8% Challenges of a new job

•  44.6% Inability to take part in activities available at home

•  42.8% Loss of support network

• 40.7% Language/Cultural difficulties

• 37.9% Spouse unable to find work

Source: ORC Worldwide, 2008.