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Let us discuss expat life

  • Was the employee being unreasonable in his requests? 
The employee feels that he is not in the wrong, and based on my observation, he is responsible for all that has happened.  He sold his home.  He didn’t have to do that.  While I am unaware of his finances, he could have easily rented his home instead of selling it.  The way that he is telling his side of the story is that he tried, his wife tried, they were over the head and had not done their own research.  However, I can understand that he wishes to return back to his previous assignment and that is reasonable. 
  • How did the HR team handle the situation? 
The HR team provided several options for the expatriate.  He was offered a lower ranking position but able to retain his current salary.  He was offered comparable positions in different Chicago, and Los Angeles and retaining his current salary.  It appeared that the HR Team was attempting to provide various solutions but the employee seemed dead set on returning back to New York in his previous position.  
  • Given what you know about the challenges of expatriates, was there anything that the company should have done for this employee and/or his family? 
There are six categories which can be attributed to expatriate success according to Ronen (1989), “Job Factors, Relational Dimensions, Motivational State, Family Situation, and Language Skills.”  The only category which the expatriate clearly had no issues with was Job Factors.  However, the expatriate had issues with Language Skills and lacked the follow-up regarding continuing the educational process regarding French, as well as his family members.  The Family Situation was also an issue as the spouses were not content with the move and felt like the employer was not completely transparent with the assignment.  However, the spouse was not adapting to France.  Clearly, the Motivational State had completely dissolved and issues of performance regarding the expatriate would be problematic.  The inability for the couple and their child was at issue since their Relational Dimensions had dissolved and their empathy for the French people wained.  The company should have allowed more visits back to the USA where the family could be grounded.  A cycle of every three months would have allowed for them to have something to look forward to.  There should have been follow-up with the expatriate and the language skills of the family as an inability to communicate effectively was critical for mutual success.  They would have benefited from having mentors for the transition and networks of other expatriates for a support group.   
  • Who is ultimately responsible for making sure the expatriate experience is a successful one? 
Ultimately it is the responsibility of the expatriate to foster a successful experience for the family.  However, still culpable, the employer needed to have a better support network for the family. 
  • Provide an analysis and suggest some solutions and strategies for improving expatriate success. 
Peer support network, follow-up language assessments, regularly scheduled return trips back to the USA, additional information regarding EAP programs for issues related to the host country, gradual immersion by sending the expatriate, and the family, to the host country. 
  • If you have ever been an expatriate, please use your own experiences to enhance the discussion.  
Never have I been an expatriate employee.  However, my love of different cultures would surely not be a problem. 

References:
Ronen, S. (1989). Training the international assignee. (1st ed.). San Francisco: Goldstein.
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