Selecting employees to work abroad and establishing suitable career paths for foreign staff is just the tip of the iceberg. Equally important is the training and preparation they and their families receive before and during an assignment.
If a high failure rate as well as poor performance is to be avoided, certain guidelines must be followed. In particular awareness of two of the most common problems:
o Misguided guidance that does not take into account differences in individual perceptions of environments abroad.
o Organizational diffusion that afflicts any expatriate placement system that does not integrate the functions of selection, orientation and repatriation in a conceptually and procedurally cohesive system.
individual perceptions
Technical skills and professional knowledge are not in question here: Of the majority of expats who fail their jobs abroad, studies show that around 80 percent fail due to poor personal adaptation rather than technical skills or inadequate jobs.
However, for all levels of employees, the costs of a failed expatriation include initial hiring costs, relocation expenses, premium compensation, repatriation costs, and replacement costs, as well as the tangible costs of poor job performance. However, evaluation of the reasons for failure abroad and a review of the burgeoning literature on this topic indicate that an important “first principle” of human relations is ignored or insufficiently considered. That is the fact that individuals differ in their perceptions of the same reality.
This is, therefore, the single most destructive aspect of the current cultural preparation of expatriates. Sadly, the information is delivered in a video or a one-day talk by a self-styled “expert,” all of which fit neatly into the American quick-fix mentality and thus have enormous appeal. Unfortunately, these programs generally do more harm than good. They tend to leave behind individuals conditioned to respond to stereotypes rather than think for themselves. Instead of trying to convey “the truth about Tokyo,” orientation programs should make it clear that employees and family members will be experiencing their own Tokyo. No matter what you have heard or read, your experiences will be unique. Consider how difficult that could be. be to describe the essence of America to a foreigner who has no points of reference. How do you explain New York versus California or the South? If the right people are selected, they themselves will take the time to study the country, its history, and furthermore, they will find that the local nationals, sensing a genuine interest, will go out of their way to help them understand it, in the long run this is the only guidance. culture that is effective because each family assimilates it at their own pace and from their own perspective.
Selection/Orientation/Repatriation
In the system suggested here, the normally separate selection, orientation, and repatriation processes represent a continuous process through which employees are identified, oriented to their new assignment, and, when appropriate, prepared for return to the U.S. Repatriation in this system it is functionally integrated with the selection/orientation process. Allow those who help identify employees for overseas assignments to gauge their judgment by knowing the “who, what, and why” of returnees: failures and “success stories.”
As noted in a previous article, overseas assignments should be part of a company’s well-planned and well-communicated overall career development program for certain shortlisted employees, rather than a “plum” available only to a select few or an interruption. of the race suffered by the unfortunate. .
In light of the perception issues discussed above, the orientation program should consist of three elements, all designed to provide the proper mindset. This would include:
An initial orientation
or culture
An overview of the traditions/history of the country; government/economics; and living conditions, all designed to give insight into the country and its people with a strong emphasis on flexibility rather than rules for specific situations and the (often erroneous) opinions of others.
or Assignment
Job requirements and expectations, length of assignment, expatriate benefits including salary/allowances; tax consequences; repatriation policy.
or Relocation
Clothing/housing requirements; health requirements; visa requirements, shipping/packaging of goods to be shipped abroad, storage of household items in the United States; Disposal/rental of US homes, foreign homes
A pre-departure orientation
Because the initial orientation often takes place a month or more before the actual departure, a pre-departure orientation is recommended. This is to provide employees and their families with the information they will need in transit and upon arrival, as well as to emphasize the material covered above. Also covered:
o A basic introduction to the language, most likely to be remembered when the opportunity to use it is near.
o Additional reinforcement of key behavioral values, especially open-mindedness.
o Information en route, emergency and arrival.
Arrival orientation.
Upon arrival, the employee and family must be met at the airport or other embarkation point by an assigned company sponsor to ease the transition during the first month in the country.
conclusion
Too often, expatriate orientation programs and policies lose sight of the fact that ours is a culturally pluralistic society made up of individuals with an almost limitless range of attitudes and reactions to what they see, hear and experience. The very experience in the foreign environment without a daunting and often misleading orientation program will ultimately determine the attitudes necessary for a successful and productive adjustment.
Within this conceptual framework. An effective overseas staffing system has been suggested that unifies the objectives and functions of selection, orientation and repatriation. Such an approach allows management to take advantage of the fact that the three processes are related and each corroborates the effectiveness of the other.