Article 1: The right way to manage expats

Summary

Having a workforce that is well versed in the habits of the world is a

competitive necessity. At present, about 80% of medium and large companies send
professionals abroad. On average, it costs two to three times as much to have them
in an equitable position at home. It will cost. The authors say that most companies
are recovering from the low return on such a foreign investment. He says a
quarter of those who complete assignments leave their company within a year of
returning home. Executives generally are not inclined to pamper their well-paid
representatives. Human resource managers are often implicated in the
administrative details of international assignments. Only 11% of human resource
managers in the United States have ever worked abroad. GE Medical Systems has
seen international sales grow from 10% to over 50% of its total sales.
Companies that use the following three strategies have generally been
successful in effectively managing their Ex-pats:

1) When making international assignments, they focus on knowledge creation

and global leadership development.
Many companies send abroad people who make little business sense
in the long run. Most of the time, people sent overseas are there to meet a burning
business need, writes Peter Bergen. They say that companies that manage their
expats effectively view foreign assignments with long-term eyes. Even when
people are sent overseas, they are expected to put out fires. The reason for sending
a person overseas must go beyond an immediate need of the business. They must
moreover be about ensuring the organization’s health in the long term.

2) They assign overseas posts to people whose technical skills are matched or
exceeded by their cross-cultural abilities.
Managers often send people on overseas assignments who are
capable but culturally illiterate. Companies that manage expatriates successfully
use a variety of tools to assess cultural sensitivity. Most evaluate people early in
their careers in order to eliminate some from a potential pool of expats and help
others build cross-cultural skills, writes Shashank Jauhar.
 The following are some of the similar characteristics of companies
that seek in their potential expats:
● A Drive to Communicate
● Broad-Based Sociability
● Cultural Flexibility
● Cosmopolitan Orientation
● A Collaborative Negotiation Style

3) They end expatriate assignments with a deliberate repatriation process.

Expat expats are often frustrated and saddened by the blasé attitude
at headquarters toward their return and by their new jobs. When they have gotten
used to running a foreign operation, senior expats may be especially disappointed.
According to the author, successful businesses used simple procedures to solve
these issues. It is seldom cost-effective for a company to provide repatriation
programs in-house unless its volume of international assignments is heavy. Most
companies that offer such programs outsource them to professional training
companies.
Companies that manage their ex-pats successfully follow the three
practices that make the assignments work from beginning to end.
1) They focus on creating knowledge and developing global leadership skills;
2) They make sure that candidates have cross-cultural skills to match their
technical abilities, and
3) They prepare people to make the transition back to their home offices.
As a result, those companies are poised to be successful in tomorrow’s
global market by making their international assignments financially successful
today as well as making the process easier on the expatriates.

My thoughts :

The author makes valid arguments to show that following the three
aforementioned practices make for successful expatriation and repatriation of
employees and makes the assignments work for the organtions and the
expatriates. The author substantiates their claims with multiple examples of
companies that were able to manage the process well by using all three practices
in unison or following a couple of them.
Article 2: 5 Tips for Managing Successful Overseas Assignments

Summary

Sending skilled employees abroad can be a promising method to use the

advantages of a worldwide economy. Yet, expatriation can be amazingly costly.
Numerous associations come up short on the expertise for streamlining its
possible advantages, leaving them unhappy with its results.
The following are some of the tips espoused by experts for successfully
managing overseas assignments:

1) Have a compelling purpose — and the right person.

There must be a clear organizational requirement and a compelling reason
why this requirement cannot be met with the local person from the foreign
country. Every person the author spoke to emphasized the importance of choosing
the right people for the right reasons.

2) Assign top-notch home and host sponsors.

Companies tend to lose touch with ex-pats they send abroad. Sponsors can
oversee the assignee's experience on both ends, at the home base and another at
the destination. Most successful sponsors are typically people that are abroad
themselves. they must even have enough experience within the organization that
they will help mentor the assignees.

3) Stay in frequent contact throughout the assignment.

Communication is vital throughout a foreign assignment, specialists say.
Home sponsors ought to keep soon-to-be-returning workers top of mind. The
assignee will update the host and home sponsors on how the assignment is
proceeding, how vital information is acquired, identifying how firms can use the
knowledge and improve for the future.

4) Make a plan for reintegration.

Communication between the assignee and sponsor should also include a
conversation six months before the end of the assignment to discuss the
reintegration process. Once next steps have been established, time must be set
aside for when the employee comes home to reintegration. It's critical to build a
structured transition process with a mixture of check-ins, assistance and
downtime.

5) Develop ways to share knowledge from the assignee’s experience.

For companies to get the most out of expat assignments, employees must
catalog and share what they have learned and experienced. Companies can host
special sessions on managing global work and intercultural communication. This
can not only help the expats discuss their work overseas but also divulge valuable
details to future expats.

My thoughts:

For the successful management of an overseas assignment, the author

emphasises the importance of choosing the right people for the right reasons,
guiding them throughout the process with a suitable sponsor, establishing good
communication, making a plan for repatriation and sharing their experiences
when they return.