Chapter 4

Recruiting and Selecting Staff for International Assignments

Recruitment: Process of locating, identifying, and attracting capable

applicants.
Once an organization identifies its human resource needs through HR
Planning, it can begin the process of recruiting potential candidates for
actual or anticipated organizational vacancies.
• Recruitment is the process of identifying and attracting a pool of
qualified applicants for the vacant positions of an organization.
• It precedes selection.
• It aims to attract a pool of candidates to apply from which qualified
candidates can be chosen for the vacant positions in the
organization.

Recruiting Goals: To provide information that will attract a

significant pool of qualified candidates and discourage
unqualified ones from applying.

• Factors that affect recruiting efforts

– Organizational size
– Employment conditions in the area
– Working conditions, salary and benefits offered
– Organizational growth or decline

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 • Constraints on recruiting efforts include:
– Organization image
– Job attractiveness
– Internal organizational policies
– Government influence, such as discrimination laws
– Recruiting costs
A Usual Recruitment Process:
A recruitment process generally involves the following steps:
 Determining Vacancies
 Considering Sources
 Preparing & Publishing Information
 Processing Applications
 Notifying Applicants
Internal Recruiting: Positions filled within the firm. Internal recruiting has
several benefits:
 Workers know the firm’s culture, may not have new ideas.
 Internal advancement can motivate employees.
Sources or Channels of Internal Recruitment:
Internal Recruitment
 Job Posting Program
 Rehiring
 Succession Planning

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External recruiting: Managers look outside the firm for people who have
not worked at the firm before. External recruitment is difficult since
many new jobs have specific skill needs.

External Recruitment Channels or Sources:

 Walk-ins and Write-ins
 Employee Referrals
 Advertising
 Private Placement Agencies
 Professional Search Firms
 Educational Institutions
 Professional associations
 Labor Organization
 Temporary help Agency
 Employee leasing

Recruiting: A Global Perspective

For some positions, the whole world is a relevant labor market.
Parent-Country Nationals (PCNs) are recruited when-
 An organization is searching for someone with extensive company
experience to launch a very technical product in a country where it
has never sold before.
 Headquarter wants to control all strategic decisions.
 There is a lack of qualified HCNs and TCNs.
 Plans require technical expertise and experience.

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Host-Country Nationals (HCNs) are targeted as recruits when-
 Companies want each foreign subsidiary to have its own distinct
national identity.
 In some countries, laws control how many expatriates a corporation
can send.
 HCN’s minimize potential problems with language, family
adjustment, and hostile political environments.
Third-Country Nationals (TCNs) are the people who are not the
citizens of parent or host country of the business subsidiary.
 When PCNs are highly expensive to hire in the subsidiary and HCNs
are not that much of qualified, TCNs can be a major source of
recruitment. For example, some Indians are hired in Unilever
Bangladesh Limited.
 Recruiting regardless of nationality may develop an executive cadre
with a truly global perspective.

What is Selection?
Selection is the choosing and hiring of best fit applicant for the
organization.
Selection process is concerned with choosing most suitable individuals
from the pool of candidates for the vacant positions in the organization.

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The selection process typically consists of eight steps:
1. Initial screening interview
2. Completion of the application form
3. Employment tests
4. Comprehensive interview
5. Background investigation
6. Conditional job offer
7. Medical/physical exam
8. Permanent job offer

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The Selection Process:

Selection from a Global Perspective:

• Selection criteria for international assignments includes
– interest in working overseas
– ability to relate to different cultures and environments
– supportiveness of the candidate’s family
• Women executives have done well abroad in Asia and Latin America,
despite past reluctance to assign them to these countries.
The global manager
Myth 1: There is a universal approach to management.
Myth 2: People can acquire multicultural adaptability and behaviors.
Myth 3: There are common characteristics shared by successful
international managers.
Myth 4: There are no impediments to mobility.

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 Expatriate Failure
 Premature return of an expatriate
 Under-performance during an international assignment
 Retention upon completion

Costs of Expatriate Failure

 Indirect costs:
 Direct costs:  Damaged relationships with
 Airfares key stakeholders in the foreign
 Associated relocation expenses location
 Salary and benefits  Negative effects on local staff
 Training and development  Poor labor relations
 Negative effects on expatriate
 Averaged $250,000 per early concerned
return  Family relationships may be
affected
 Loss of market share

Factors Moderating Expatriate Performance

 Inability to adjust to the foreign culture
 The Process of Adjustment
 Length of assignment
 Willingness to move
 Work environment-related factors
 Psychological contract/employment relationship
Moderators
• Inability to adjust to foreign culture
• Length of assignment
• Willingness to move
• Work-related factors
• Psychological contract

Performance

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1. Inability to adjust to the foreign culture
Cultural adjustment helps reduce the intensity of stress due to
acculturation and changes the candidate’s expectations to adjust to
the new situation. Black, Mendenhall, and Oddou (1991) have
suggested three kinds of adjustment for PCNs:

 Work adjustment to job requirements, working conditions,

management styles, and performance expectations.

 Interaction adjustment that emphasizes establishing good

relationships with HCNs and therefore stresses the necessity of
using the HCNs’ language adequately.
 General living adjustment, which covers adjusting to accommodation
facilities, shopping, local foods, etc. (Huang, Chi, & Lawler, 2005).
The GMAC-GRS 2005 global survey mentioned above reported the
following reasons for early return (in rank order):
 Family concerns
 Accepted new position in the company
 Completed assignment early
 Cultural adjustment challenges
 Security concerns
 Career concerns.

There are some other reasons for early return

 Spouse/Partner dissatisfaction
 Inability to adapt
 Difficulties with family adjustment in the new location
 Difficulties associated with different management styles
 Culture and language difficulties
 Issues associated with the accompanying partner’s career
development

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2. The process of adjustment
Phase 1 commences with reactions prior to the assignment – the expatriate may
experience a range of positive and negative emotions such as excitement, anxiety,
fear of the unknown, or a sense of adventure.

There can be an upswing of mood upon arrival in the assignment country that
produces what has been referred to as the ‘honeymoon’ or ‘tourist’ phase.
Then, as the novelty wears off, realities of everyday life in the foreign location
begin to intrude, homesickness sets in, and a downswing may commence – a feeling
that ‘the party is over’ which can create negative appraisals of the situation and the
location leading to a period of crisis.

Phase 2- This can be a critical time, and how the individual copes with the
psychological adjustment at this phase has an important outcome in terms of success
or failure. There is a suggestion that ‘failure as an early recall’ may be triggered at this
point. Once past this crisis point, as the expatriate comes to terms with the demands
of the new environment, there is a pulling up.

Phase 3- As the person begins to adjust to the new environment. This levels off over
time to what has been described as healthy recovery.

Phase 4- Adjustment

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3. Length of assignment
A longer assignment allows the expatriate more time to adjust to the
foreign situation and become productive.

4. Willingness to move
In a situation where an employee is a reluctant expatriate or
accompanied by reluctant family members, it is more likely that they
may interpret negatively events and situations encountered in the
new environment. Brett and Stroh found a significant causal
relationship between the manager and the spouse’s willingness to
move. They conclude that managers who are most ready for
international relocations are those whose spouses are also
supportive of that move – a not surprising finding.

5. Work environment-related factors

 Gregersen and Black found a positive correlation between what they
term ‘intent to stay in the overseas assignment’ and the PCN’s
commitment to the local company, adjustment to interaction with
HCNs, and adjustment to general living conditions. Adjustment to the
work role itself however, was negatively associated with ‘intent to
stay’.
 However, Bolino and Feldman found that effective skill utilization was
significantly related to job satisfaction, organization commitment,
and intent to finish the international assignment.
 Job autonomy is also a powerful factor influencing expatriate
turnover. Another moderator is the perceived level of organizational
support – from home as well as from the host unit.

6. Psychological contract/employment relationship

 The nature of the employment relationship
 Relational: broad, open-ended and long-term obligations
 Transactional: specific short-term monetized obligations
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  The condition of the relationship
 Intact: when employee considers there has been fair
treatment, reciprocal trust
 Violated: provoked by belief organization has not fulfilled its
obligations

The Dynamics of the Employment Relationship

Likelihood of Exit

Organizational Commitment
 Affective component
 Employee’s attachment to, identification with and
involvement in the organization

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  Continuance component
 Based on assessed costs associated with exiting the
organization
 Normative component
 Employee’s feelings of obligation to remain

Selection Criteria in MNCs

 Technical ability
 Cross-cultural suitability
 Family requirements
 Country-cultural requirements
 MNE requirements
 Language

Factors in expatriate selection

 Technical ability
• Naturally, the person’s ability to perform the required tasks
is an important consideration. Technical and managerial
skills are therefore an essential criterion. Indeed, research
findings consistently indicate that multinationals place
heavy reliance on relevant technical skills during the
expatriate selection process.
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  Cross-cultural suitability
• Expatriates require cross cultural abilities that enable the
person to operate in a new environment. There appears to
be a consensus that desirable attributes should include
cultural empathy, adaptability, diplomacy, language ability,
positive attitude, emotional stability, and maturity.

 Family requirements
• The contribution that the family, particularly the spouse,
makes to the success of the overseas assignment is now
well documented, as we mentioned above in relation to the
impact of the accompanying spouse/partner on early return.
• It should be pointed out the spouse (or accompanying
partner) often carries a heavy burden. Upon arrival in the
country of assignment, the responsibility for settling the
family into its new home falls on the spouse, who may have
left behind a career, along with friends and social support
networks (particularly relatives).

 Country/cultural requirements
• As discussed in Chapter 1, international firms are usually
required to demonstrate that a HCN is not available before
the host government will issue the necessary work permit
and entry visa for the desired PCN or TCN. In some cases,
the multinational may wish to use an expatriate and has
selected a candidate for the international assignment, only
to find the transfer blocked by the host government.

 MNE requirements
 Situational factors often have an influence on selection decisions. For
example, the MNE may consider the proportion of expatriates to local
staff when making selection decisions, mainly as an outcome of its
staffing philosophy. Other situational factors include the following:
 The mode of operation involved
 The duration and type of the assignment
 The amount of knowledge transfer
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  Language
 The ability to speak the local language is an aspect often linked with
cross-cultural ability. Language skills may be regarded as of critical
importance for some expatriate positions, but lesser in others, though
some would argue that knowledge of the host country’s language is an
important aspect of expatriate performance, regardless of the level of
position. Differences in language are recognized as a major barrier to
effective cross cultural communication.
 Another component to language as a situation factor in the selection
decision is the role of the common corporate language. As previously
discussed, many multinationals adopt a common corporate language as
a way of standardizing reporting systems and procedures.

Mendenhall and Oddou’s Model

 Self-oriented dimension
 The degree to which the expatriate expresses an adaptive
concern for self-preservation, self-enjoyment, and mental
hygiene.
 Perceptual dimension
 The expertise the expatriate possesses in accurately
understanding why host nationals behave the way they do.
 Others-oriented dimension
 The degree to which the expatriate is concerned about host-
national co-workers and desire to affiliate with them.
 Cultural-toughness dimension
 A mediating variable that recognizes that acculturation is
affected by the degree to which the culture of the host
country is incongruent with that of the home country.

Solutions to the Dual-career Challenge

 Alternative assignment arrangements
 Short-term
 Commuter
 Other (e.g. unaccompanied, business travel, virtual
assignments)

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  Family-friendly policies
 Inter-company networking
 Job-hunting assistance
 Intra-company employment
 On-assignment career support

Barriers to Females Taking International Assignments

External Barrier Self-established Barriers

 HR managers reluctant to
select female candidates
 Some women have limited
 Culturally tough locations
willingness to relocate
or regions preclude
 The dual-career couple
female expatriates
 Women are often a barrier
 Those selecting
to their own careers by
expatriates have
behaving according to
stereotypes in their
gender based role models.
minds that influence
decisions

Tips for Interviewing Effectively

 Decide what you’re looking for.
 Plan the interview.
 Put the applicant at ease.
 Work from a list.
 Listen and follow up.
 Take notes.
 Close the interview gracefully
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Final Thoughts: Excelling at the Interview
Suggestions for making your interviews as an applicant successful are:
 Do some homework on the company.
 Get a good night’s rest the night before.
 Dress appropriately.
 Arrive for the interview a few minutes early.
 Use a firm handshake.
 Maintain good eye contact.
 Take the opportunity to have practice interviews.
 Thank the interviewer at the end of the interview and follow
up with a thank you note.

Thank You Very Much and

Have a Nice Day

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