{"id":1356,"date":"2013-04-25T13:50:30","date_gmt":"2013-04-25T12:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/?p=1356"},"modified":"2013-06-11T08:29:30","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T07:29:30","slug":"assignments-from-developing-locations-latest-survey-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/2013\/04\/25\/assignments-from-developing-locations-latest-survey-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Assignments FROM Developing Locations: Latest Survey Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"fish\"<\/a>Lately a lot is being said and written about the growing trend of sending international assignees to developing and emerging countries.\u00a0In fact, emerging markets have remained a hot topic in the current year, and mobility specialists and relocation managers continue to point to the many challenges in developing destinations: Security issues, appropriateness of compensation packages, and less attractive living conditions are just a few examples.<\/p>\n

However, given the business expansion and foreign investments into developing countries, assignees from developing locations are also on the rise. Such assignment types have been less common and hence are less known. Yet, the area demands more attention. A recent survey<\/a> by Brookfield Global Relocation Services (BGRS) indicates that assignments from developing locations differ from other assignments, and brings up a host of new facets of challenges and concerns.<\/p>\n

Following are the main findings from the relevant BGRS survey<\/a> (2013).<\/p>\n

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Where do they come from and where do they go?<\/i><\/p>\n

Although derived from quite a modest sample size in the survey, the main origin and destination locations of this assignment type are not surprising. Specifically, the main sources of assignees were developing economies such as India, Latin America and China, while the US headed the list of destinations with 70% of respondents citing it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\nWhy to recruit assignees from developing locations?<\/i><\/p>\n

The majority of assignments from developing locations are educational and developing in nature, as managers of newly established companies want to send their local employees to be trained in other locations. Therefore, the main purpose is to develop talent from emerging locations. In case an assignee is transferred from the company\u2019s subsidiary in a developing location to its headquarters in another place, such an assignee is termed inpatriate. According to my research<\/a>, inpatriates have an important role of so-called linking pins between HQ and subsidiaries, and are meant to facilitate knowledge flows between these units. As such, inpatriates go to subsidiaries not only to gain knowledge, but should be valued also for sharing knowledge about their local market, which can help the company in improving business strategies and practices in expanding into new emerging locations.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The other two cited reasons for hiring assignees from developing and emerging countries concern serving the interests of the host location, as assignees are recruited either to fill a skill gap in the host location, or due to their lower labor costs compared to host location nationals.<\/p>\n

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What are the common challenges and solutions for assignments from developing locations?<\/i><\/p>\n