Working overseas is generally believed to be beneficial for career progression and important in the development of future corporate leaders. For Callum Young it had always been a dream.
Four weeks ago that dream finally came true with his move to Savills’ Seoul office in South Korea. But, says Young, he had to earn his stripes first.
Having spent four years in Savills’ Scottish investment team, Young first approached his manager in 2011 about the opportunity of working aboard.
Before making the big trip across the globe, Savills was keen that Young first get experience of dealing with international business through working in its London team.
That year he moved to the capital to join the City investment team and, over the following three-and-a-half-years, worked on 25 investment deals with a combined value of £4bn. Now he was ready to move overseas.
Young says that he chose Seoul as his location of choice as it had the appeal of being “the road less travelled” but was also full of opportunity. The city has more than 350m sq ft of offices and is ranked within the top five global investment markets.
For Young, working abroad is about getting exposure to a different culture and access to a higher level of client. In London he got to work on some very high-profile deals but says that while you would struggle to do bigger or more exciting deals than you get to do in London, in Seoul he has unrestricted access to some of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in South Korea.“It’s a different level of exposure,” he says.
Young also understands how important it is to have experienced a different way of doing business for career progression.
“If you want to get into management I think it is important that you have worked overseas,” he says. “It can open doors and gives you the ability to expand your network.”
For Young, the first four weeks have started well. He is picking up the lingo, meeting with high net worths and is able to share and learn from different practices and protocols.
“Real estate is pretty similar wherever you are,” he says. “If you can sell a building in one place, you can sell one anywhere.”
Moving markets
What advice would Young give those wanting to make a similar move?
• It is an employee’s market right now, so seize the moment. Ask when times are good and the boss is more likely to say yes.
• Demonstrate your worth. Do not underestimate the benefit of a good internal sponsor.
• Give yourself time to prepare for the new role. Do your homework.
• Think about where you are going to go and for how long. Have a contingency plan if it does not work out.
Tips for successful secondments
International mobility may sound glamorous but it comes with many challenges, says Savills HR director Noel McGonigle. In addition to the obvious issues of living and working in another country from a cultural perspective, there are other key issues that need to be taken into account.
1 Obtaining a visa This can be challenging, always takes longer than expected and often involves proving that no-one locally can do the job. Always use a local adviser, if you have no one in-house with the experience to do this. They know the requirements inside and out and know exactly what is expected, including a realistic timeline. Do not be tempted to allow people to go on a tourist visa and swap once they arrive in the new country, as penalties are severe.
2 Managing client expectations The key is communication. Talk to the clients as soon as possible and make sure they understand the handover arrangements, are introduced to whoever will be their new contact and, if practicable, ask them in advance who they might want to be their contact. Similarly, in a new country, make sure you have succession planning in place on the client team from the start for fixed-term secondments.
3 Tax liabilities on allowances It is important to understand the tax treatment of expenses around international moves both in the home country and the new destination. Expenses such as relocation, housing, school fees and cost-of-living adjustments can all attract tax penalties if not paid in the correct way. As this is a complex area, it is good to get specialist advice and most of the major accountancy firms have specialist teams for international mobility.
4 Accommodation At Savills we provide serviced accommodation until the employee has been able to find a long-term residence. Normally, we are able to help with the search using our in-house capabilities or through a local agency. For some short-term assignments, we normally just provide serviced accommodation.
samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
