Traditional expatriate classifications apply to a conventional framework of employment where the individual’s career is meant to be fixed with one, or very few, employers. However, in the past few decades the traditional career path has been changing, and by now one’s successful career is a matter of personal responsibility, initiative, and is quite likely to go beyond one organization. A new breed of expatriates, the so called ‘international itinerants’, has emerged.
Statement: The key to successful expatriation lies more in developing appropriate skills than in possessing favorable personality traits.
Searching for the qualities of an ideal expatriate has been at the forefront for academics and practitioners for several decades now. Today, the attention in cross-cultural people management has shifted from stable personality traits to dynamic competencies, emphasizing the development of social skills. Does this trend suggest that ‘the ideal expatriate is developed rather than born’?
Emotional and Social Intelligence Competencies: Their Nature and Guidelines for Development
Today, speaking about cross-cultural HRM is hardly possible without mentioning the trendy terms of cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence and the competencies related to them. This is not surprising given that the increases in mobility and businesses expansion across borders over the last few decades have translated these concepts into organizational applications such as personnel selection, assessment and development.
Benefits of Social Capital upon Repatriation: Managerial Implications
There is increasing evidence that a person’s “social capital” plays a crucial role for benefits from an international assignment to materialize – and my recent study entitled ‘Knowledge Benefits of Social Capital upon Repatriation: A Longitudinal Study of International Assignees’ (2012) shows that this not only applies during the assignment but also upon repatriation. Focused on inpatriates, my study suggests that the social capital that assignees develop during their posting at the host unit relates to their access to and transfer of host-unit knowledge upon return.
Global CEOs about Talent: Key Challenges and Key Actions
The Global CEO Survey conducted by PWC revealed that despite of all the economic uncertainties, business leaders still believe that the trend of global integration will stay on track, and maintain the commitment for doing business globally stronger than ever before. To support the main direction of business expansion, CEOs highlight strategies for managing talent as their top priority.
Getting from One Side to the Other: Practical Tips to Survive Transition
One of my latest posts discussed the stages of cross-cultural transitions based on the book ‘Third Culture Kids: Growing up among Worlds’ (2009). Of course, the described stages do not constitute a straightforward pathway through the transition process, as everyone goes through the stages at different pace and in a different pattern. However, everyone still experiences the impact of mobility and challenges of transition, hence I found it worthwhile to summarize some of the survival steps for cross-cultural transitions provided in the book.
Follow-up on emerging markets: The war for talent
Scarce local talent in emerging markets tops mobility challenges according to the recent Mercer HR & Mobility Challenges of Emerging Markets Survey. Echoing these findings, the latest article in McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of McKinsey & Company, posits that ‘competition for talent in emerging markets is heating up’ which the authors attribute to two main reasons: scarcity of local talent, and reluctance of parent country managers to go abroad.
Cross-cultural transitions: The experiences of Third Culture Kids
The term Third Culture Kid (TCK) usually refers to a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture, growing up in a highly mobile and cross-culturally diverse environment. A quite recent book by Van Reken and Pollock ‘Third Culture Kids: Growing up among Worlds’ (2009) draws on the experiences of the TCK individuals, showing that although growing up in a culturally diverse world is certainly enriching, it also implies some real challenges along the way…
Latest expatriate stats: The List Topping countries
Recently, Brookfield Global Relocation Services released their 17th Global Relocation Trends Survey report, which gives a comprehensive overview of current trends, challenges and solutions in the world of global mobility. Take a look at the latest capture of top countries for current expatriate destinations, emerging destinations, as well as challenging destinations for both, international assignees and program managers.
Spotlight expatriate taxes: The case of ‘accidental expatriates’
The 2011 HSBC expatriates report shows that 71% of expatriates have experienced more complex finances since relocating abroad, with taxation issues possibly being one of the highlights. Although expatriate tax management generally follows the two main approaches several unexpected challenges still arise. Take a look at the case of ‘accidental expatriates’.
Following the business prospects: ‘Glocal’ students
Last week my post discussed workforce localization trends in developing markets. Although the trend naturally affects the working population, one might expect that it also has an impact on younger generations of farsighted students. Thus, following up on the topic of localized employees, let me review an interesting read on the localization of students.
Asia is going local: Foreigners need not apply
‘Forget expats’ and ‘Foreigners need not apply’ – these statements sound rather uncommon in today’s environment of multinational business. However, a recent WSJ article uses these statements to describe the shift in recruitment practices in Asia. Specifically, the article notes that western companies doing business in Asia now tend to prefer local employees, as opposed to expatriates, to fill important executive positions.
A follow up on cultural intelligence
Following up on one of my blog entries about the cultural intelligence construct, I would like to provide some further details on how to assess cultural intelligence and how to differentiate it from other concepts, specifically from the openness to experience concept of the Big5 personality traits.
A new perspective on mobility professionals: The role of risk management
From a company’s perspective, the relocation of an employee to another country for a longer period of time sounds quite manageable. However, operating globally and moving multiple employees to different destinations for different time periods becomes a much more complex matter. This complexity is reflected in an ever increasing number of service providers that give rise to a new breed of service professional called mobility professionals.
Why cultural differences matter and how they can be managed: Managing People across Cultures at IESE Business School
Dealing with cultural differences is an inevitable part of every cross-cultural encounter and one that simply cannot be overlooked. Scientific research implies that there are very real differences in how people from different cultures process information. However, the brain processing patterns are not permanent, as cross-cultural experiences can change them. So what does this mean for managing people across cultures?
Spotlight International Recruitment: Strategies, data and implications
Following up on my previous post about global labour market trends, this entry will focus on the topic of international recruitment. In particular, the increased international mobility of the global workforce goes hand in hand with a growing demand for international recruitment by companies. The Global Talent Mobility Survey (2011) identifies two main strategies that ensure successful international recruitment: the ‘work to people’ strategy and the ‘people to work’ strategy.
