Global Mobility

Some advice on how to survive your time away from home.

Accepting a global mobility assignment can be challenging, living and working in a different country, both for the employee and their family. However, it can be an exciting and enriching experience for all – but you need to approach it with the correct frame of mind. Here are some tips :

Preparation and Education

Before you leave for the assignment, make sure you read up on the country where you are going. Do not limit yourself to books – but also explore the country via the internet, newspapers, blogs, or magazines. Make sure your children can read about it also, often childrens books are very illustrative of a country, it’s people, language and culture. Once you’ve arrived, read the local papers, visit the local library and become familiar with the issues that matter to your neighbours. Start language classes before you leave for your assignment and continue with them once you arrive. Make sure you seek out opportunities to “practice” your new language skills with locals – they will appreciate you communicating to them in their native tongue.
Once you’ve arrived, visit museums, libraries, village halls, sports centres and places of worship in order to gain an understanding of the history, customs and practices of those who live there. Also, make sure you visit sporting events, concerts, theatre, races, and exhibitions; so as to mingle with the local population and share in their interests and recreational past-times.

Get familiar with your surroundings

You may live somewhere where things are poorly sign-posted, or everyone “just knows” where things are. You need to get out there are EXPLORE – preferably on foot, or by bike (if appropriate) – the neighbourhood. You may find a pedestrian passage-way leading to your local school, saving you a 20 minute journey through busy traffic. Explore the shops nearby – find out what goods they sell, your local butcher, fruit shop or supermarket. Visit shops when it’s quiet so you can chat to the staff and ask about local produce, ingredients, recipes, cuts of meat etc. Also try the local restaurants and sample the cuisine of the country where you are – try the “specialities” or “chef recommends”.
Take time to explore the local countryside, museums, libraries, sports venues, shopping malls and architecture. Assuming it is safe to do so – try public transportation – buses, trams, metro, cable car, etc. You will be able to mix with the local population and experience life as they do.

Develop your social circle

This takes a lot of effort, but with some persistence you will soon establish acquaintances and from there your network will soon grow. Be friendly, smile and introduce yourself and show your interest in meeting people. Try not too seek out too many expatriates like yourself; make an effort to meet the locals – in the pub, at church, at the school gate. If the law permits, get a job – failing that, you can always volunteer and meet people that way. Or help out at the school, church or sports team/club. You may also join a special interest group – a book club, walking club, art club, drama club, sports club – or take up a part-time course of study. It’s important to have a varied social circle – you can learn so much about a culture by comparing it to what you know, and what others know.

Embrace the differences

Rather than criticise or get annoyed by the difference in culture, habits and behaviour – try and analyse why this might be. Also, try and see what might be the advantage of the difference. Remember that no one culture is correct about everything, so be enthralled by the environment, analyse the interesting facts, and savour the experience. It’s also useful to acknowledge the diversity of what is culturally acceptable and learning about this is what makes each person unique. You won’t have to put up with it forever, so take it on the chin and accept it for now!

It’s not for ever!

The 3-year assignment will go by very fast. It will take you 1 year to settle in, 1 year to enjoy it, and the last year to prepare for the next move! Overcoming the difficulties in your new environment will help you grow, make you more resilient and change your outlook on life. It will also enrich your perspective on life and you will consider yourself no longer a citizen of a country, but a citizen of the world!

Enjoy the opportunity to live somewhere else, with a different climate, food, and culture. Take pleasure at being “teased” with new traditions, beliefs and customs. And don’t forget to incorporate these new things – where appropriate – into your way of life.

That will be the most important gift you take away from the overseas assignment – enrichment.

Selecting the wrong candidate for an overseas assignment can be a costly experience for a Company and a traumatic one for the candidate and family involved. Hence, it is important to spend the time, effort and expense to select the appropriate candidate for the job.

Applicants for overseas assignments and global mobility initiatives for companies may be screened for technical competence, language skills and interpersonal skills. Often, the successful completion of previous overseas assignments may be viewed as appropriate criteria for selecting an overseas assignee. Whilst these factors are important in screening candidates, there are other factors just as important. These are: family conditions, company support, cultural flexibility and a talent development system.

Many companies use either self-assessment tools or formal interviews on the potential assignee, their spouse/partner and older children to assess whether all family members are ready to undertake this important move. One must ensure that all family members have thought carefully as to whether the overseas assignment is suitable; this may include things such as the partner/spouse giving up or postponing their work/career, children sitting important examinations (GCSE’s, International Baccalaureate), or any health or schooling issues. It is important to remember that no matter how successful the employee is at his/her overseas assignment, they most probably will not hesitate to pull out if the family are not happy at the overseas location.

It is very important for the company to support its employees once they arrive at their destination. Many sub-contract this to a third-party relocation company. One of the important services provided by these relocation companies is called Destination Services; this assists the family to find suitable housing, schools, and social networks. They will also assist with selling or property management of the house in the home country. These services are as important as the basic services such as household goods moving, cross-cultural training and language instruction. It is important for the company to ensure the third-party provider is continually monitored for appropriate service levels. Also, the services shouldn’t stop once the family has arrived and settled in the new country. The relocation company should also offer in-country counselling and follow up on a regular basis. Unexpected problems will arise at any time of the assignment and it is important that the company supports the employee and their families for the duration of the overseas assignment.

One may find evidence of international experience(s) on a candidate’s CV/resume and they may also provide evidence that the employee is able to adapt to new surroundings and appreciate other cultures. However, it is important to dig deeper into these experiences and ensure that the candidate also has innate cultural sensitivity and honesty. One may also investigate the cultural sensitivity of the spouse/partner so as to crystallise the opinions and mindset of the family when interacting with local people in their new country. If the posting is of a managerial caliber then it is important to find out how the candidate will interact with local colleagues – peers, superiors and subordinates.

It is important to keep monitoring the success of the overseas assignment, but also to manage the global talent management programme as a whole. Employees on overseas assignments need to know what will happen to them after the assignment. If repatriated, then they need to guided and managed “back” to their home country. Mentoring whilst at the overseas assignment and regular visits back to the home location and company office will demonstrate to the assignee that the company has not forgotten them and is planning for their next move.

Flexibility, judgment and maturity are three important personality traits for a successful expatriate assignee. These traits, coupled with a professional screening process and ongoing support mechanism will assure the appropriate selection of the candidate. This will lead to the successful completion of the overseas assignment, and ultimately the achievement of overall company goals.

One might assume that during this recent recession, there would be a tendency to limit overseas assignments for budgetary reasons.  Overseas assignments can be expensive, especially when there are families involved – there’s the cost of the move (ie tickets, household removals), school fees, rent + utilities, home-leaves, and tax equalisations.

On the other side of the spectrum, one must consider the value of the experience.  For the employee, a foreign assignment will be seen as a vital part of their career development plan and it may open doors for promotion.  The experience and achievements during an overseas assignment can be beneficial to the organisation as well as the individual (both during the assignment, and also after).  Studying, training, seminars or meetings cannot replace the daily experience of working in an overseas environment, with local staff, suppliers, customers and officials.

Let’s take a step back.  Global Mobility or Expatriate Management can be traced back to the early days of mankind. Our forefathers, as far back as biblical times (ie exodus from Egypt) had well documented trade and migration routes.  Many civilisations abandoned their homelands to seek land and opportunities for themselves and their families. In more recent times, civilisations were influenced by the expatriate activities of the Vikings, Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook and the Pilgrim Fathers.

Expatriate Assignments

Expatriate Assignments became a big thing during the colonisation of Africa and also during the spread of the British Empire in Asia.  How many Europeans went to Africa, and how many British expatriates ended up various countries of the British Empire – the West Indies, India, Singapore, Malaysia or Hong Kong?  Overseas assignments were also abundant for Americans during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts with hundreds of thousands of military personnel (and families) stationed in South East Asia.

In the late 1990’s an overseas assignment often took the form of a lesser-regarded employee being assigned to some remote outpost; well away from the high-flyers at the Head office.  Today’s assignments are different – the expatriates are the most senior and well-respected executives of the organisation.

This is evidenced by the statistic that in the UK more than 30% of all CEOs of the FTSE 50 companies are non-UK nationals.

Changes in the expatriate profile and assignment type.

The profile of the typical assignee and assignment type is changing. There are 2 reasons for this: -

1. Cost.  the younger, unaccompanied assignees on short-term or extended business-trip-style mobility are less costly than the accompanied, long-term family mobility
2. Business needs – there is a growing need for short project and technical-skills-transfer driven assignments.  These do not need a 2-3 year long-term stay by the assignees.  However, long-term assignments are still used for management and leadership roles.

Since 2007, long-term assignments have declined and more and more short-term options are presenting themselves. These shorter and more flexible assignments include extended business travel and the assignees are known as Short-term Business visitors. The assignments are usually for specific projects and last one year or less.

Another type of short-term assignment is the “Commuter Assignee”, where the employee works overseas during the week and then returns home every weekend or fortnight. For obvious reasons, these are more plentiful intra-regional (London-Brussels), however a number of trans-regional ones (New York- London) have recently presented themselves.

The profile of the assignee is also changing.  In the past, the typical expatriate family was a “mature” family; now the trend is to use young and single people.  Since 2007, the under-30 age group has increased from 19% to 29%, while singles have increased from 29% to 42%. The 50+ age group’s expatriate participation has remained unchanged.

The assignee gender profile is also changing. Women comprised 21% of the expatriate population in 2007; this has now declined to 19%. The family profile has also changed; the number of married and accompanied expatriates has decreased from 53% to 38%.

Latest Trends

The current recession has seen changes in the number, types and profiles of overseas assignments.  However, the on-going trends of companies with respect to globalisation, “follow-the-sun” initiatives, outsourcing, and technical projects will ensure that Global Mobility expertise is needed more than ever.  The challenge for global mobility professionals and service providers will be to keep up with the changes and trends which will evolve during the rest of these recessional times, and once more prosperous times return.