Many of us have heard about going the extra mile, giving a special effort to accomplish something. But
what does it mean to go the last mile? One might think of a marathon runner pushing to finish the race. In business terms, going the last mile means completing the most difficult part of the journey.
In online shopping, going the last mile means getting the product to the customer’s home. In telecommunications, it’s about that last leg to deliver service to the end user. In humanitarian efforts, it’s getting relief supplies from a central distribution point to the people who need them.
Celergo’s CSO Michele M. Honomichl explains that in global payroll, going the last mile is the one piece of the process that cannot be automated. If your organization is going into a new country, you need to get a handle on just how long that last mile can be.
Elsewhere in this issue, Rena Pirsos, JD, brings you Part II of “Managing Compensation for Global Assignments,” this time focusing on the importance of competitive benchmarking if you have employees working abroad.
Finally, Hong Kong’s 418 Rule refers to an employee who is employed by the same employer for four or more consecutive weeks and works at least 18 hours in each of those weeks. You’ll have the opportunity to learn much more about this integral part of Hong Kong labor law as part of an in-depth feature article.
Respectfully yours,
Dan Maddux
Executive Director
Global Payroll Management Institute, Inc.