EVANS together with RBC and the Goethe-Institute in Moscow has conducted a study about the challenges of employing highly skilled foreign employees. During the study EVANS researchers interviewed those responsible for greeting and accommodating foreign employees in Moscow. 54 major Russian and foreign companies took part in the study. Participants cover every major industry: finance, automotive, oil and gas, food processing, construction and professional services.

In general, the results of the study are encouraging. No participants mentioned safety of their employees as an issue of concern. Nobody complained about infamous Moscow cost of living or quality of the real estate or real estate agents.

Expat package remains extensive in spite of the crisis. All survey participants confirmed that the inviting company assist in finding accommodation for the foreign employees and covers the cost of the move. About 78% of the companies use external service providers (real estate agents, movers, consultants) in this process. To reduce costs 10% of companies look for discounts and special offers, 9% foster long term relationships with various contractors, 3% use an individual approach for each issue; other participants couldn’t name a particular cost reduction strategy.

Most companies leave it up to the employee to sign the lease agreement after some form of company approval, 10% concludes the leases in the name of the company and 8% have no set policy and make their decisions on the spot. None of the surveyed companies complained about misuse of funds or any other issues with the housing allowance for the foreign employees. 97% of the companies assist in settling the family, buying a car, searching for domestic help and providing other assistance to make the move easier (most companies only help with some, not all of these issues).

There was a variety of responses most challenges with relocation and employment of foreigners in Russia. 36% of respondents named property management, shopping, complexity of everyday life the biggest issue. Low quality of building management, issues with moving furniture and other large items from abroad, custom clearance and other small issues become a big challenge for foreign families in Moscow. For 29% of companies the main problem is finding schools and kindergartens for foreign children, providing high-quality medical care and recruiting domestic help and nannies. 21% complain that very few Muscovites speak a foreign language, making interaction of the foreign employees with different city organizations and government bodies very difficult, 12% are not satisfied with the neighborhood infrastructure. One of the participants was particularly dissatisfied with the Russian bureaucracy and voiced concern about "unreasonably long waits for obtaining working permits for foreign workers and other necessary documents, as well as excessive documentation requirements for the company and staff".

Despite the difficulties associated with staying in Moscow only one company could remember the case of foreign employee refusal to work in the Russian capital. Interestingly, while the safety of expats was not among the issues of the host’s concern, 25% of surveyed organizations take special measures to ensure safety, including hiring special security companies. 42% of companies acknowledged assistance from international organizations in solving specific problems of foreign employees. Several organizations received a special note, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federal Migration Service, Turkish embassy among them.

Anya Levitov, Managing Partner of Evans comments on the results of the study: "The results of this research were unexpected for us. Issues of personal safety and cost of living in Moscow do not worry expats and their employers. Problems of adjusting to the new city: language barrier, inability for most spouses to continue their career, quality of school education, household complexity of everyday lie and bureaucracy really do make life in Moscow harder than in other major cities. It's a shame that our capital is a difficult place to live and to find English-speaking people, but it will take years to improve this situation".

Evans Property Services is one of the leading full-service real estate companies with offices in Moscow, Russia and New York City, United States. The company was founded in 1991 by experienced brokers Anna Levitov, graduate of Wharton Business School, and Karina Kheifetz-Sagieva, University of Pennsylvania graduate.

Evans is the member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and Worldwide Employee Relocation Council (Worldwide ERC).