Recruiting & Selecting Staff for International Assignments

8/11/2019 Recruiting & Selecting Staff for International Assignments

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Recruitment is defined as Searching for andobtaining potential candidates in sufficientnumbers and quality so that the organization canselect the most appropriate people to fill its jobneeds.

Selection is the process of gathering informationfor the purposes of evaluating and deciding who

should be employed in particular jobs. Difference between Domestic and International

staffing are firms attitude towards staffing.


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1. Myth 1: There is a Universal approach toManagement

2. Myth 2: People can acquire multiculturaladaptability and behaviours E.g. case of SouthKorean firm based in Vietnam

3. Myth 3: There are common characteristics

shared by successful international managers

4. Myth 4: There are no impediments to mobility


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Expatriate failure means that an expatriate returns to the homecountry or resigns from the job before the international assignment isfinished.

Percentage of Expatriates who do not perform satisfactorily

Expatriate Failure Rate:

U.S. Businesses lost US $ 2 billion per year due to failed foreignassignments.


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Premature return of the Expatriate A selection error? Ineffective expatriate management policies Ineffective performance by Expatriate Adjustment issues Problems at assignment location

Case of a US Family posted to Australia, Melbourne.

Cost of failureDirect & Indirect DirectAirfare, Relocation expense, Travelling, salary, training etc. If the position

involved contact with host government officials and key clients, this may result inloss of market share, difficulties with host government etc.

IndirectLoss of self esteem, self confidence, and prestige among peers forExpatriate concerned; Future performance may be marked by decreasedmotivation, lack of promotional opportunities or even increased productivity tocompensate the failure.


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Moderators:Inability to adjust to foreign culutreLength of assignmentWillingness to moveWork-related factorsPsychological contract

Performance

Intention to Stay or Leave


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Expatriates often relate experiencing these phases andawareness of the psychological adjustment processcan assist the expatriate in adopting positive copingbehaviours.

Family members may experience the phasesdifferently or all together, hence impacting theperformance of the expatriate.

Companies can assist in the cultural adjustment of

expatriate and the employees family. E.g. NorwegianMNCNorsk Hydro has developed a family mentoringprogram. It is supervised by Corporate ExpatriateServices Staff, Norsk employees volunteer to adopt avisiting family.


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Length of assignment E.g.Avg assignment for Japanese firms is 4-5 years compared with American

firms of 2-3 years. This longer assignment allows the expatriate more time to adjust to the foreign

situation. Also, Japanese firms do not expect the expatriate to perform up to full capacity

until the 3rd

year.

Willingness to move A reluctant expatriate or hesitant family members are more prone to interpret

negatively events and situations. E.g. Reasons for lesser British expatriate failure rates were that British managers

were more internationally mobile than US managers. They perceived an overseasassignment as a desirable opportunity - an opportunity to travel and liveoverseasleading to a positive outlook on the foreign assignment.

Work-environment related factors Job autonomy is a powerful factor influencing expatriate turnover. Perceived level of organizational support (Home and host unit), Skills utilization,

commitment to organization, lack of challenge at work etc are moderators thatwork towards expatriate attrition.


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Employment Relationship


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Relational ContractBroad, Open ended and long term obligationsbased not only on monetized elements, but also on socio-elements.

Transactional ContractSpecific, short term monetized obligations.

ConditionState of Psychological contract i.e. an employees belief

regarding reciprocal obligations between the person and theemploying organization.

IntactnessPositive side of P.C. Employee considers a fairtreatment from employer and believes both parties have delivered onthe deal.

ViolatedNegative side of P.C. Organization is believed to have notfulfilled its obligations.


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Selection is a 2 way process between theindividual and the organization.

It is a challenge for those responsible forselecting staff for internationalassignments to determine appropriate

selection criteria.


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Factors in expatriate selection


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1. Technical Ability: Technical skills are an essential criterion. But, these must be clubbed with Managerial skills so

that the competence of the local staff also increases.

2. Cross-Cultural Suitability Desirable attributesCultural empathy, Adaptability,

Diplomacy, Language ability, Positive attitude,Emotional stability, Maturity.

Research literature (especially U.S. literature) refersto the Big Five personality Test assessmentExtroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness,Emotional Stability & Openness / Intellect.


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3. Family requirements The accompanying partner (or spouse) has the

responsibility of settling the family into its new home,he/she may have left behind a career alongwith

friends and social support networks, adjustment intonew style of living (viz. employment of servants,education of children, etc)

Studies emphasize the link between the favourableopinion of the spouse to the international assignmentand expatriate assignment.

Yet, companies appear reluctant to include thespouse in the selection process.

Concern for childrens education, ageing parents,Single parents (in case of Divorcees) may be aconcern in Expatriate selection.


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4. Country/ Cultural requirements International firms are usually required to

demonstrate that an HCN is not available before thehost government will issue the necessary work

permit and entry visa. HR must keep up-to-date with changing legislation inthe countries in which the multinational is involved.

A group of more than 20 MNCs (Shell, BritishAirways, Uniliver, PWC etc) has established anorganization called PermitsFoundation. It attemptsto promote the improvement of work permitregulations for spouses of expatriates & raisegovernment awareness of connection between workpermits and employee mobility.


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6. Language Language skills may be regarded as of critical

importance for some expatriate positions, but lesserin others.

Yet, some argue that knowledge of the host countryslanguage is an important aspect of expatriateperformance, regardless of level performance.

From the MNC perspective, language is placed lower

down the list of desirable attributes. For non-English speaking countries generally theHost countries adopt English as the corporatelanguage.


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Use of Selection Tests Mendenhall & Oddou propose a 4-dimensional approach that

attempts to link behavioural tendencies to probable overseasperformance:

1. Self Oriented dimension The degree to which the expatriate

expresses an adaptive concern for self-preservation, selfenjoyment and mental hygiene.2. The Perceptual dimension The expertise that the expatriate

possesses in accurately understanding why host nationalsbehave the way they do.

3. The others oriented dimension The degree to which the

expatriate is concerned about host-national co-workers anddesire to affiliate with them.4. The cultural-toughness dimension A mediating variable that

recognizes that acculturation is affected by the degree to whichthe culture of the host country is incongruent with that of thehome country.


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Equal Employment Opportunity issues This involves taking into consideration the

increasingly conflicting national laws onemployment.

A caseletIn 1993, one of the Hyatt hotels inAustralia had to explain to the EEOCommissioner on national TV as to why it wascirculating an internal memo that violated

Australian EEO legislation. The internal memoconcerned was from a Japanese Hyatt hotel thathad vacancies for 2 young single males.Identifythe EEO issues herein.


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1. Short term Assignments: In a worldwide survey, 72% ofresponding firms used short term assignments as analternative means of satisfying the international assignmentneed.

2. Commuter Assignment: Here, the spouse may decide toremain in the home country and the couple work out ways tomaintain the relationship with the help of the firm. E.g.Subsidized telephone bills, 3 return airline tickets etc.Couples may also move jobs in adjoining countries (e.g.from Hongkong to Bangkok) This makes commuting easier.

The survey found that 46% firms had such arrangements(compared to 19% in 1996)

3. Other Arrangements:1. Unaccompanied assignments50%2. Replacing assignments with travel57%

3. Virtual Assignments16%


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Recruiting & Selecting Staff for International Assignments

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