International Business - Expatriate Selection

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It an earlier post I noted that American corporations continue to believe of themselves as American, not multinational, thus assignments overseas are not viewed in a strategic totality, but rather as a nuisance that should be dealt with from time to time. So, when a requirement surfaces for a manager in China, Africa or elsewhere, there commonly ensues a mad scramble to locate a person willing to take the position. Overlooked is regardless of whether that person and his/her loved ones are really suited for the position and the required life style. The result can be an expensive disaster for each the business and the household involved.

Profitable expatriates are born not produced. People assigned overseas ought to bring to the job the innate capability to live and work in a unique culture and the personal characteristics crucial to adjust to a assortment of business enterprise styles and ethics. Only a sharply focused selection program designed to identify the suitable attributes can determine who has the "appropriate stuff." American firms spend millions each year determining which workers really should be in management or sales, why should expatriate service obtain much less attention?

The current practice of a two 3 year assignment overseas as component of what is otherwise regarded as a stateside career will no longer suffice. Once individuals (and their families) have been identified as international material, their careers will need to be channeled in that direction.

Indeed, in the absence of such a career path, a position overseas can be a career breaker. When out of enterprise view, staff overseas can be divorced from their support systems and mentors. Usually a return soon after a 3 to 5 year assignment can be as daunting as going abroad in the initial location. Without having a solid career path in place, there may well be no "next" assignment.

This paper proposes that a corporation with international operations generate career paths and succession planning for workers suited to international work in the very same way they are developed for employees in other disciplines.

The initially step in this procedure is a abilities inventory. Given existing computerization, there is no reason for a business not to have a complete history on every single employee. And when this will not and cannot supply a total picture of every employee, it would permit management to identify those staff who have experienced relocation, who have traveled extensively, who have numerous abilities and maybe some language capability. From this initial screening, further evaluations can be made.

When identified, employees and their families should certainly undergo a rigorous screening method to establish their suitability for an international assignment. This would incorporate, in addition to their normal management capabilities, high inner work standards, a focus on outcomes, a desire to comprehend and a willingness to accept and appreciate other cultures, a willingness to try new issues, independence (the family members can operate as a unit without sizeable or many support systems), no overriding family or personal challenges and most importantly - want to be there.

Immediately after qualifying for an international position, the employee must be assigned to a stateside position that coordinates international operations until such time as an overseas assignment becomes on the market. Of equal importance is a through grounding in corporate operations and culture.

A little understood or appreciated facet of overseas work is the role that individual relationships play in achievement. They are the glue that holds international operations together, especially in the Far East. Creating and nurturing them takes time and energy. Thus, five 10 year assignments need to be viewed as the norm.

Establishing career paths that integrate international operations as portion of a strategic whole diminishes repatriation disasters and permits the company to take a even more sane approach to expatriate staffing. A lot more importantly, when not on overseas assignment, these staff can bring much a necessary global perspective to business programs and plans. Qualified and profitable international staff are an expensive and essential resource that should be nurtured and utilized completely.