Sending Employee Overseas? What to Know Before Bidding Them Adieu

Sending Employees Overseas? What to Know Before Bidding Them Adieu

by Bettina Chang | Talent Management

Despite the economic downturn, many companies have shown they are committed to sending employees on international assignments. But the manner in which they determine candidate suitability and structure international assignments could spell the difference between success and failure.

Organizations are finding ways to cut costs in policy provisions, assignment types and program administration, and talent management is crucial to many aspects of international assignments, according to the results of a 2010 study by KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory firm.

The survey of about 500 organizations showed various reasons for sending employees abroad, explained Achim Mossmann, managing director of global mobility advisory services at KPMG.

"Specifically during the ongoing recession, companies broaden their overseas market because they lost business in the United States or western Europe," Mossmann said. "They want to broaden their client base and also take advantage of the resources."

The most important factor for talent managers is that global assignments are useful recruitment tools. Generation Y continues to view the opportunity for international assignments as a driving force behind employer choice, he explained.

However, because international assignments can be so expensive, talent managers must make a detailed assessment of who is qualified and well-suited to going abroad. Mossmann recommends using suitability assessment tools from service providers that specialize in these cases.

"Based on a set of criteria and questions, it can determine the intercultural suitability, not only in general, but they can compare specifically to the country that the employee potentially will go to," Mossmann said. "Most successful companies [use the service providers], but not all. Less than 20 percent use them. That's an area where companies could do better and be more successful."

For companies that conduct their own interviews, Mossmann recommend they take place in the home country and the host country. An assignee needs to have a level of curiosity and ability to deal with ambiguity in addition to the technical qualifications for the assignment.

Cultural differences are an essential factor, and a talent manager should assess how the assignee responds to cultural features specific to the host country. An example of cultural perceptions would be time and punctuality. In some countries, being late is an insult to colleagues and being on time is a virtue. In other countries, time is more fluid and punctuality is not emphasized. An assignee should be made aware of these cultural norms and assessed for suitability and adaptability to them.

Because the size and scope of global assignment programs is increasing at many companies, the administration of these programs has become more difficult. Forty-five percent of respondents to the KPMG survey report that they outsource parts of their international assignment programs. Outsourcing could be the answer for some companies, but not all.

Organizations with intricate global assignment programs that are idiosyncratic may find that administration needs to be in-house, Mossmann explained. On the other hand, when an organization has moved HR toward a strategic business partner role, it may find it is helpful to outsource the transactional work of administering program assignees to a service provider.

"[Using a service provider] allows us to focus on aspects like talent management, assessment, repatriation, finding the right position for somebody who will be returning," Mossmann said. "There is nothing worse than investing $1 million in somebody [to go overseas], then they come back home, are disappointed with the relocation, and six months later they start with your competition. Then your competition benefits from the experience that the international assignee gained overseas."

Other ways to cut costs while maximizing the return on investment of global assignments include using technology to improve communication and providing localized coaching and mentoring.

Organizations are increasingly incorporating global mobility departments with the talent management department to facilitate communication and improve the administration of international assignees.

"If you send people on international assignments because of personnel development, then you want to make sure there's a connection [between the two departments]," Mossmann said. "The combination between talent management and global mobility is on top of a lot of people's minds in the industry."

[About the Author: Bettina Chang is an editorial intern at Talent Management magazine.]