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An Expatriate

It was compelling to unpack the concerns the employee raised at the interview with HRM officers. It was obvious that he had a bad experience and due to inability to assimilate in France for both himself and his family he had to break the contract and return to the States. I felt that his emotional needs were not met and this was probably felt by his wife also which compounded on the family situation. He admits to being partially responsible for the failure in relocation however overall the support network post relocation failed him and he did not communicate this back to his manager. The employee assumed that even after breaking the contract he would be offered the same position that he had when he left, and rightly HR had already filled the role. I thought it was very generous to offer him the same salary and to consider his feedback post return.

We are not aware with this example of how the employees was selected or nominated to relocate. Chew (2004) provides detailed examples of variables that should be considered when it comes to planning that skills alone do not attribute to the success of an expatriate success (Chew, 2004). More commonly Ronen’s model suggests attributes for consideration:  Job factors, relational dimensions, motivational state, family situation and language skills which have proven to be effective (Chew, 2004).

The following are suggestions for the success of and expatriate relocation:
  • training prior to departure to focus on culture, language, schooling, spousal employment options, this is all designed to assist with the adjustment
  • counselling for both employee and family or spouse so that they are prepared for the change
  • ongoing support once relocated from a local company or support person to ensure that adjustments take place
My own experience as an expatriate working abroad allowed me to assimilate with the local culture and community and this was done with a local mentor at the company who helped to enhance my local experience. I was offered opportunities
to participate in corporate social events in the evening, weekends away and various meetings that were help at client locations in the city. This support allowed for me to get comfortable much faster and to have a local friend that I could contact.

Overall the success of the expatriate depends on having the right person and a suitable business case for the assignment as this is a big business decision that will require extensive support along the journey. Molinsky and Hahn (2016) recommend three things for consideration : the person must be open minded and want to adapt to the local culture; will the assignment develop the skills of the expatriate and, how this will benefit the business post return (Molinsky et al., 2016). A local mentor to assist with integration and a plan for reintegration when the expatriate returns back will assist with a successful outcome. The importance of lessons learnt post return will reinforce the need for overseas assignments and the knowledge that comes back to improve business outcomes will support this experience in the future.

References:
Chew, J. (2004). Managing MNC expatriates through crises: A challenge for international human resource management, Research, and Practice in Human Resource Management, 12(2), 1-30
Molinsky A, & Hahn M. (2016). 5 Tips for Managing Successful Overseas Assignments. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/03/5-tips-for-managing-successful-overseas-assignments

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