www.mercer.com

Mercer Global Mobility Frequently Asked Questions

February 2010

Yvonne Traber, Geneva

Mercer Survey Coverage

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Mercer overview of the geographic locations (home and host) covered for G&S/COLA, housing, hardship, education and transportation data

All locations can be selected as home and host locations. Mercer’s unique approach is to cover city levels.

Cost-of-living & Housing. Background information to communicate consistent and fair compensation packages for transfers to over 300 cities including city-to-city index, housing and education costs.

Quality-of-living. Helps you to determine competitive hardship allowances, quality-of-living differentials for transfers to over 330 cities.

Tax reports. Authoritative guides on tax requirements and social charges to understand the impact of tax differentials between countries. Includes descriptions of tax law in more than 83 countries.

Short Term Allowance Tables. Provides information on daily allowances in a fair and consistent manner in more than 300 cities.

Employee Mobility Guides. Includes information on the culture, logistics and resources in each country with an introduction to the country and its people. Provides advice and tips on moving, entry requirements, customs, and import regulations.

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How do Mercer deal with requests for data for locations you do not normally cover?

Cost-of-Living/G&S or per diem/Short term assignment allowance Survey cost requests for a city that is not included in the standard Mercer data can be handled either by recommending a comparable standard location (no additional charge) or by conducting a full special survey (the fee varies based on the level of remoteness of the cities and any difficulties in finding correspondents).

Quality of Living survey requests for a city not included in the standard Mercer order form can be handled either by recommending a comparable standard location (no additional charge) or by conducting a full special survey (the fee varies based on the level of remoteness of the cities and research required).

Expatriate Accommodation Costs Table requests for a city not included in the standard Mercer order form can be handled by conducting a special survey.

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Mercer exchange rates and the methodologyWhen are they determined (date and frequency) and when are they published?

Mercer’s surveys use the monthly average exchange rate based on the mean of the bid and ask rates of Oanda.com.

The monthly average exchange rates are published on Global HRMonitor the first week of each month. In other words, the 01.02.2009 exchange rate corresponds to the January 2009 monthly average exchange rate published on the first week of the month.

Mercer online calculators in Global HRMonitor allow the user to update data to reflect exchange rate fluctuations.

Expatriate Accommodation Costs / Housing Allowance

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How often do Mercer price housing data and what times of the year?

The Housing data collection is done twice per year – at the end of February published early May and the end of August published early November.

If the rental market situation fluctuates a lot, we would monitor and update the data more frequently and include alert notes on the homepage of Global HRMonitor.

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What categories of property do Mercer price e.g. furnished/unfurnished, apartments/houses, number of bedrooms for each?

Mercer Housing data includes furnished and unfurnished apartments and houses from one bedroom to five bedrooms in three different categories:

- Table 1 – “Good level of accommodation in areas popular with both locals and some international assignees”

- Table 2 – “Excellent level of accommodation in areas preferred by international assignees”

- Table 3 – “Superior level of accommodation in exclusive areas.”

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Mercer Expatriate accommodation costs methodology (1/2)

Mercer works with multinational companies that apply different housing allowance policies. Our aim is to provide information (tables) to enable a company to manage host and home country housing costs according to their policy.

The Housing data collection is based on two different reliable sources for expatriate data (real estate agencies and relocation agencies), and our senior analysts based in our competence center will analyze and review the data before publishing the results on Global HRMonitor.

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Mercer Expatriate accommodation costs methodology (2/2)

Mercer provides two different types of Expatriate Accommodation Cost Tables for each of the 301 locations covered in the surveys. The data is updated in every location every six months.

– Tables by Type of Residential Area – These tables provide information on costs of accommodation in the areas where your international assignees and their families are likely to move. The areas have been selected to consider proximity to international schools, security, and accommodation standards. The tables contain prices for nine different categories of accommodation, including furnished and unfurnished houses and apartments.

– Tables by Income Level – These tables are calculated taking into account the employee home country salary/position level and provide you with an appropriate housing figure in the host city. The host country housing information can be selected either by number of bedrooms or by family size. You can use either table depending on the level of flexibility you want when assessing the housing cost. The data is provided for furnished and unfurnished accommodations.

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Mercer home country housing norms methodology

Our research involves gathering and analyzing data based on the latest national statistics on family expenditure patterns in each of the countries covered. The data for each country is analyzed individually according to income level and by family size, whenever data is available and sampling reliable. In addition to the reports on family expenditure published by the respective national statistical offices, Mercer spends considerable time in discussion with the survey producers as well as with various authorities in order to obtain supplementary data.

Home housing expenditures include households that are both owned and rented. Housing costs for those households where the accommodations are owned include interest payments on mortgages, property taxes, repairs, and maintenance. As a rule, this does not include repayment of principal/loan as this is considered as savings.

Mercer has developed Home Housing Norm tables to enable companies to assess housing cost differentials between a home and host location when sending employees on international assignments. They are presented the same way as the Spendable Income tables – by income level and family size.

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What steps are taken to ensure that the expatriate accommodation cost data reflects current market conditions?

Table 1 areas are defined as "Good level of accommodation in areas popular with both locals and some international assignees." Table 2 areas are defined as "Excellent level of accommodation in areas preferred by international assignees." Table 3 areas are defined as “Superior level of accommodation in exclusive areas.”

The areas are grouped and classified following 10 major criteria: noise, loitering, security in the area, security of the property, convenience, pollution, public transport, international isolation, sports facilities, and the general characteristics of the area.

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What steps are taken to ensure that the expatriate accommodation cost data reflects current market conditions? Data updating process Our team of researchers collects all possible rents using two different

reliable sources for expatriates’ data: real estate agencies and relocation agencies. We select the agencies we are working with based on their knowledge of their city expatriate market, on the quality of the information they can provide us, and on the quality of their services. We also conduct some local audits; our team members visit the agencies locally to check how they are working and what services they can propose.

For each city, we compile a database of all prices we have collected for each type of accommodation. For each type of accommodation, the most representative price of all collected prices is updated or noted in our final table. This price is a median of all collected prices.

When determining the most representative price by area and size, a few elements are always considered, including:

- General availability of accommodation- Quality of accommodation (the price has to reflect prices of

accommodation suitable for expatriates, up to good quality standards, commonly named “western standard”)

- The local real estate market and its general evolution.

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What documentation or other types of information can Mercer provide to help support the housing data?

The Mercer Global HRMonitor homepage includes regularly published alerts and information on our data. We have also published a Survey of Expatriate Housing Costs and Practices in major cities worldwide www.imercer.com/expathousing

In addition to the standard average tables, Mercer now provides housing tables for 50 major cities around the globe, with monthly rental cost ranges for each type of accommodation surveyed for each of the categories. This additional data will allow companies further flexibility when building the assignees’ housing allowance. These new tables present a better picture of the local markets and make the tables useful for all assignees at any position level and for all assignments types. The selected areas are fully described, as well as the international school locations.

The publication includes companies’ practices and useful information on how they deal with housing allowance.

Goods & Services Allowance (G&S / COLA)

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How often do Mercer price your G&S data and at what times of the year?

The G&S data collection is done twice per year:- At the end of February/early March – published the first

week of May on Global HRMonitor- At the end of August/early September – published the first

week of November on Global HRMonitor.

When the economic situation fluctuates a lot, we would monitor and update the data more frequently, with alert notes on the homepage of Global HRMonitor.

Furthermore, our online calculators in Global HRMonitor allow the user to update the index on a monthly basis to reflect changes in prices and exchange rate fluctuations.

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What different G&S products/indices do Mercer offer and when would Mercer recommend using them? (1/3)

Mercer provides a choice of three cost of living indices that can be used to determine the COLAs:

Mean-to-Mean Index

This index compares the mean prices (the average of the price range of each item) in the base city to the mean prices in the host city. As a result, this index is not biased in any direction. This index is the best indicator of overall differences in prices between two cities, as it compares the average price range for each item both at home and abroad.

An important feature of this index is that it is reversible. It is particularly suitable when standards of living are similar between both cities and when the spendable income used in both the home and host countries is representative of a competitive international standard of living.

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What different G&S products/indices do Mercer offer and when would Mercer recommend using them? (2/3)

Mercer provides a choice of three cost of living indices that can be used to determine the COLAs:

Efficient Index

This index compares the average of the low and median price level in the base city to the average of the price range in the host city.

As a result, this index will show a greater COL differential than the mean-to-mean index (11%). It is particularly useful as it shows the user what the difference would be if a lower price base (such as less expensive stores and discount stores) were to be used in the base city instead of the mean base, which reflects a broader range of stores in the base city including the high priced stores.

This index may reflect COL differentials as they should apply to very experienced shoppers in their home city and when salaries are noticeably lower than in the host city.

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What different G&S products/indices do Mercer offer and when would Mercer recommend using them? (3/3)

Mercer provides a choice of three cost of living indices that can be used to determine the COLAs:

Convenience Index

This index compares the average of the low and median price levels in the base city to the highest prices in the host city, except for selected categories or items such as electric appliances, clothing, energy costs and car prices for which it uses the average of the price range.

Thus, it allows the expatriate to purchase food, beverages, domestic supplies, personal care, sports, and leisure items at the most expensive or convenient stores. This comparison is useful because often when a family is transferred abroad to a new location it can take time to become familiar with the range of stores at the new location for the inexperienced shopper.

This index can be used in locations where even the slightest bit of adaptation is not always evident and where the choice of stores is limited.

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Mercer G&S pricing methodologies (1/2)

Mercer uses local field researchers to gather the detailed pricing information. These researchers are usually residents of the surveyed location and are able to provide accurate view of the Goods and Services purchased by the expatriate population.

Mercer provides our team with detailed instructions and a questionnaire of nearly 200 products that are priced in every location.

Extreme care is taken to ensure that prices are gathered at the appropriate retail outlets in order to give a true indication of price levels at each location.

Those products are included in a basket of 10 categories of Goods and Services:

- Food at Home Domestic Services- Alcohol and Tobacco Utilities- Household Supplies Food Away From Home- Health and Personal Care Transportation- Clothing and Footwear Sports and Leisure

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Mercer G&S pricing methodologies (2/2)

A key element of any COL index is the weighting of each item in the basket. The weights should reflect the income disposal pattern of individuals.

National statistics provide good indications of overall patterns within a given country; however, it is clear that even within the same country not all households spend their income in the same manner.

Mercer’s approach of using typical items and weightings based on a basket which most families consume, whether at home or abroad, provides a logical compromise.

The COL Index is not a quantity-weighted index but rather a price relative weighted index (the weights are taken as the arithmetic mean of spending patterns in the base and host cities).

These differences are measured by comparing the prices of the international basket in each location.

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How Mercer apply exchange rates to the G&S allowance?

Mercer’s surveys use the monthly average exchange rate based on the mean of the bid and ask rates of Oanda.com. The monthly average exchange rates are published on Global HRMonitor the first week of each month.

The G&S data collection done at the end of February/early March uses the monthly average exchange rate of February (published in March).

The G&S data collection done at the end of August/early September uses the monthly average exchange rate of August (published in September).

Mercer online calculators in Global HRMonitor allow the user to update G&S data to reflect changes in inflation and exchange rate fluctuations as well as inputting your own organization exchange rate to calculate the appropriate G&S allowance.

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Where product pricing are collected for Mercer data?Mercer G&S price collection process (1/4)

The prices are gathered at a range of retail outlets at each location and include typical supermarkets, department stores, and specialized / convenience shops.

A city profile is prepared for each location containing the stores to be used in the survey. The city profile contains the names of the shops where one will find the quality and choice of items that are comparable internationally.

Extreme care is taken to ensure that prices are gathered at the appropriate retail outlets in order to give a true indication of price levels at each location.

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How product pricing are defined for Mercer data?Mercer G&S price collection process (2/4)

In general, each item selected in the master list needs to satisfy three main criteria:

Be representative of, and significant within, its basic heading

Be characteristic of an international comparable standard of living and pattern of consumption

Be as similar as possible – an item should have the same characteristics in each place; this feature is also called "comparability."

Basically, there are two types of definitions of items: those with specified brand and model and the generic ones for which a number of technical characteristics are specified, but not the brand.

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How product pricing are defined for Mercer data? How Mercer deal with non available product locally?Mercer G&S price collection process (3/4) An important distinction of our methodology is the treatment of items

not available locally. When the index is applied to the full goods and services amount we also ensure that it reflects the fact that in some locations a number of items may not be available, may be of poor quality, or there may be little choice. Therefore, these items are likely to be purchased in the home country (or third location).

When calculating the COL index we will replace the price of these items by the price of the same item in the home country. This is particularly true for clothing items, for example, that are not of good standard and quality in many locations. The result is that the index is not affected in either direction.

Note: As an alternative, the Global HRMonitor calculator allows you to substitute the home city prices for items not available with the prices in a third location of your choice. It also allows you to calculate the index based on available products only.

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How product pricing are collected for Mercer data?Mercer G&S price collection process (4/4)

The Mercer surveys are conducted simultaneously during a 10-day period at the end of February/early March and again end of August/early September. Our surveys normally require a research effort involving a maximum of eight working days by a trained researcher. Mercer also uses members of its staff to participate in the verification of the survey work performing detailed quality-control checks on the data for consistency, completeness, accuracy, and comparability. Each senior analyst is assigned a number of locations for which he/she is responsible:

- Relations with and training of field staff and correspondents

- Development of location profiles- Monitoring of price and inflation at the locations- Item-by-item price quote verification- Participation in peer review processes- Responding to customer queries.

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Who conducts product pricing for Mercer data? Quality and accuracy (1/4)

The accuracy of our indices is a direct result of the quality of our work and our adherence to high standards of performance throughout the entire index design and production process. This is achieved by the following:

Training of pricing correspondents:

Quality assurance begins with the selection of the person who will complete the questionnaire. Extreme care is taken to ensure the person is familiar with the shopping habits of international families at the location.

Our correspondents actively participate in the establishment of each city price sample and outlet profile, make recommendations for changes that may be necessary due to changes in shopping patterns at the location, and carry out the price survey. Pricing correspondents are not employees of Mercer.

They are independent researchers who are paid a fee or retainer to assist in the data gathering process. Local Mercer offices around the world play a key role in identifying suitable pricing correspondents. We retain only those correspondents meeting Mercer performance and quality standards.

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Who conducts and checks product pricing for Mercer data?Quality and accuracy (2/4)

At present there are nearly 350 correspondents/field representatives hired by Mercer to gather the detailed pricing information where surveys are conducted.

Researchers are usually residents of the surveyed location. On average, we train between 40 to 50 new correspondents every year – meaning that the mean length of service tends to be between four to five years.

Experience of analysts and staff:

Our survey analysts are university graduates. Initially they are trained by, and carry out local data gathering activities with, a senior analyst in order to become familiar with the survey objectives and the activities necessary to assure accurate results.

They are fully trained in data quality assurance procedures by a senior analyst or supervisor. All senior analysts are fully experienced in in-depth price surveys, and carry out independent price quality-control audits.

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Who checks product pricing for Mercer data?Quality and accuracy (3/4)

First stage supervision and quality checks:

Our experienced analysts review the price of each item to check the comparability of the products and the accuracy of the data submitted by the correspondents.

This is a critically important activity involving substantial feedback communication with our correspondents and researchers. This feedback assures that the quality of our pricing operations not only is maintained but is also augmented.

The analysts responsible for verifying the data work in close collaboration with experienced supervisors. They check for brand consistency, package sizing, technical specification, comparability, and availability of items.

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Who checks product pricing for Mercer data?Quality and accuracy (4/4)

Data processing checks:

The data processing reliability procedures developed by Mercer reflect the need to perform quality checks throughout the entire process, from data entry precision verification to the determination of the COL index results.

Our state-of-the-art programming and data verification software stores time series on brands, package sizes, prices, currencies, and product-service availability, permitting us to carry out sophisticated data verification.

– Peer review checks – Peer review is a standard quality control process we carry out in which another analyst or supervisor reviews the work of the pricing correspondent and the analyst. The peer reviewer is someone who has knowledge of the survey location, experience, and responsibility for data analysis and survey work.

– Independent audits and checks – We perform “spot check” independent audits to verify the accuracy of the work and data provided by our correspondents. These audits are conducted regularly at our own initiative, and may also be conducted at the request of our clients.

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What products do Mercer offer to accommodate G&S data requirements for short-term assignees?

Mercer has developed a unique approach to daily allowances that is specifically structured to meet the needs of companies and their employees on short-term assignments.

The allowance tables and corresponding calculator are built around a standard short-term assignment basket that includes expenses unique to these assignments – meals at home and in restaurants, laundry and dry cleaning services, personal care, entertainment, transportation, telephone, and accommodation costs.

The calculator allows you to design your own basket by adding or removing items from the Mercer basket, adjust the quantity or frequency of purchase, and choose from low, medium, high, and average daily reimbursement rates.

The data included in the short-term allowance calculator is gathered and analyzed at the same time as the data included in the Cost of Living/G&S reports. As such, it is updated every six months at the same time as the Cost of Living/G&S reports.

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What Mercer includes in the standard basket of goods and services?

There are approximately 200 products included in the Mercer basket of Goods and Services and they are grouped into the following 10 index categories:

- Food at Home- Alcohol and Tobacco- Household Supplies- Health and Personal Care- Clothing and Footwear- Domestic Services- Utilities- Food Away From Home- Transportation- Sports and Leisure.

Transportation

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Mercer transportation data

Transportation costs are included in the Mercer Cost of Living/G&S survey; these costs include automobile purchase (such as compact car and family car), automobile operating expenses (such as road tax, insurance, tires, motor oil, and gasoline), and public transportation.

The transportation data collection is done twice per year:- At the end of February/early March – published the first

week of May on Global HRMonitor- At the end of August/early September – published the first

week of November on Global HRMonitor.

Mercer prepares home country car norms tables.

Because companies tend to follow host country car policy practices, Mercer also publishes “International Car report per country” on an annual basis, providing additional car allowance/lease costs and local market practices based on our Local Salary and Benefit Surveys results.

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Mercer transportation cost methodology

Mercer uses local field researchers to gather the transportation pricing information. These researchers are usually residents of the surveyed location, and are able to provide accurate view of the Goods and Services.

Mercer provides our team with a detailed questionnaire that is priced in every location. Extreme care is taken to ensure that prices are gathered for the appropriate car in order to give a true indication of price levels at each location. The process and methodology is the same as for the G&S data collection and process. Those products are included in Mercer Cost of Living basket transportation category.

Mercer Global HRMonitor online calculators allow the user to include or exclude categories of the G&S data to reflect car and utilities policy practices.

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Do you consider lease costs and/or purchase costs of vehicles?

The Mercer Cost of Living/G&S survey collects data for transportation costs including cost of automobile purchase (such as compact car and family car), automobile operating expenses (such as road tax, insurance, tires, motor oil and gasoline), and public transportation.

Because companies tend to follow host country car policy practices, Mercer also publishes “International Car report per country” on an annual basis, providing additional car allowance/lease costs and local market practices based on our Local Salary and Benefit Surveys results.

Quality of Living / Hardship allowance

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How often do Mercer assess living conditions for the purpose of producing hardship data?

Mercer Quality-of-Living/Hardship Survey is updated once per year in September and published the first week of November.

During the year, Mercer continuously monitors all cities in the database. Should a city be impacted due to extreme political situation, economic turmoil, or natural disasters that would fluctuate considerably the quality of living in a given location, an alert note would be posted on Global HRMonitor homepage.

The Quality-of-Living Reports cover 330 cities around the world. The flexibility of the report ensures that each of these cities can be used as a base city and can be compared to any other city (Host City).

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Mercer Quality of Living methodology (1/3)

The purpose of the Quality-of-Living Reports is to provide companies with an objective, consistent, and comprehensive evaluation of the relative differences in quality of living between any two cities.

The Quality-of-Living Reports aim to overcome as many of the potential weaknesses of "traditional hardship" ratings as possible. These ratings are often viewed from a national perspective, where positive elements are rarely taken into account or overshadowed by negative elements.

Thus, the starting point of our approach was to list 39 quality of living factors that could be used to make the comparison.

These factors were carefully selected to represent the criteria by which most international executives felt the standards of quality of living should be compared. In order to be considered as a valid criterion, each factor had to be: – Neutral and objective – not biased from a national perspective– Measurable– Relevant to single persons and families– Applicable to persons with high standards of living.

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Mercer Quality of Living methodology (2/3)

In order to establish such criteria, several key considerations had to be overcome, such as deciding what was to be the basis of the comparison.

The approach has been to avoid the national and cultural differences and to compare factors that are of basic concern for all international employees. In this way, we eliminate comparisons, which are biased toward an American, European, or Asian standard.

Other issues also had to be dealt with, such as those concerning distances and languages.

Distances from home and language differences will vary for each expatriate and for each location; as a result, individual circumstances cannot be accommodated within the framework of global comparative analysis. However, differentials such as these can be assessed by the expatriate manager and, if wanted, can be easily integrated into any allowance indicated by the quality of living evaluation.

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Mercer Quality of Living methodology (3/3)

How did we define an ideal or best type of climate? One can argue that for a person going from tropical climate to a North European climate there are differences that may require some adaptation. The same can be said in the opposite direction. However, our aim is not to say that simply because there are differences that this constitutes a “hardship.”

Our aim is determine to what extent these differences in climate can be considered negative or positive from a quality of living consideration. Thus, even though two locations may have totally different climates, the quality of living may not necessarily be higher or lower. The result of such considerations is a valid compromise that permits companies to deal with the concerns of employees who are transferred overseas.

The Quality-of-Living Reports contain the essential information that any expatriate family is concerned with, be they Indian, Chinese, American, German, or French. We fully understand that our aim of maximum objectivity and international applicability may not be accepted by all. However, we believe that with the Quality-of-Living Report, a significant attempt has been made to provide a useful tool for anyone needing to assess the impact of expatriation on the quality of living.

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Mercer Quality of Living survey process

Data for the reports was gathered using a questionnaire developed by Mercer professionals around the world in close cooperation with some of our major multinational clients and experts in the field.

Each city was evaluated in terms of the 39 questions, on a scale from 0 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score). A copy of the questionnaire is provided with each report.

The first step in the service process is the data collection phase. Here, field researchers, along with consultants based in our network of offices worldwide, supply the initial data, evaluations, and comments for the reports.

During a second phase, the data is reviewed and analyzed by regional centers.

In the third and final phase of the process, the results of the data collection are compared and controlled by global analysts, ensuring consistency among all of the cities surveyed.

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Mercer Quality of Living weighted factors

A key element of the Quality-of-Living Report is the weighting or the importance placed on each category in the survey. The weights are designed to resemble how individuals rank the different categories in relation to one another. For this reason, the weights are based on results of a pilot study conducted by Mercer, which questioned expatriates on the importance they considered each of the 39 issues should be given. There was no attempt made to breakdown these weights by nationality, as our intention has been to avoid differences due to nationality and culture.

As a result of that survey, we finalized the weighting as follows:

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Mercer Quality of Living report features

An important benefit of the service is that the user is provided with all the data in a clear and simple format. With each report companies receive the following information:

Weighted index comparison between base and host city

"Score" sheet with concise up to date comments for each section

The complete Quality of Living report

The Quality of Living Reports are designed to increase the acceptability of the expatriate compensation package.

Mercer’s Quality of Living survey compares cities and shows an index of results that allows the recommendation of a percentage of annual base salary following the Mercer Quality of Living allowance grading table.

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What supplementary information on the location can Mercer provide as well as the actual data?

MercerPassport gives you access to the following:– The world’s premier country guides, Employee Mobility Guides and Start Guides,

covering 95 major countries and containing reliable, in-depth information on a country’s culture, logistics, and resources. Each report focuses on one or more major cities within each country and provides important contact numbers, useful links to websites, and up-to-date facts and figures.

– Quality of living information covering up to 330 cities across the globe. Focusing on living standards and the local environment, users are provided with a picture of the level and range of available of facilities within a given city.

– MercerPassport’s Work Permit portal, provided in cooperation with NetExpat, provides advice and sourcing work permits for employees and their accompanying spouses or partners. MercerPassport spouse users are entitled to a free counseling session, conducted over the telephone, based on the applicant’s CV. NetExpat provides information on the type of work available in the host country and advises on the requirements for obtaining a work permit.

– Mercer’s CostAdvisor, a tool that compares the price of everyday items, such as a cup of coffee or an international newspaper, in hundreds of cities across the world. The tool helps expatriates keep tighter control on their finances. It is particularly useful for the business traveler, as prices are given in a range of currencies. Tipping protocol is available for 56 countries.

– News and articles. Each international assignment brings its own challenges and demands. Exclusive articles by experts in the field discuss openly and honestly the ups and downs of international expatriate life and how family members may be affected.

Further questions?

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If you have any questions that cannot be answered in this document or in any others provided on the Global HRMonitor website, then please contact us on: – Globalmobility.helpdesk@mercer.com

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