Global Staffing, Recruitment, & Selection

5/29/19 Global Staffing, Recruitment, & Selection Jessica M. Magnus, Ph.D., SPHR, SHRM-SCP Staffing attitudes of internationalizing firms Ethnocentric Polycentric Geocentric Regiocentric – PCNs are favored – HCNs manage subsidiaries – Ability is more important than nationality – Similar to geocentric, but limited to a given region Advantages & disadvantages of using PCNs 1 5/29/19 Advantages & disadvantages of using TCNs Advantages & disadvantages of using HCNs Determinants of staffing choices 2 5/29/19 Reasons for international assignments Position filling lack of available skills à PCN works abroad Management development - training, development, common corp. values Organization development - transfer of knowledge, competence, practices - exploit global market opportunities Types of international assignments Short term up to 3 months Extended up to 1year Long term 1 to 5 years (traditional expatriate assignment) Some non-standard assignments: Commuter go home every one to two weeks Rotational commute for set period followed by break in home country Contractual specific skills employees hired for 6-12 months on specific projects Virtual employee manages international responsibilities from base in home country Differences between traditional & short-term assignments 3 5/29/19 Determinants of staffing choices Factors that influence effectiveness of international assignments • Open environment » Support for cross-fertilization of ideas » Implementation of best practice • Knowledge/info travels freely between expatriate, host country, & parent country • Consideration for personal networks • Some knowledge transfer requires longer assignments (e.g., where there is much tacitness) • Expatriate’s ability & motivation to act as an agent of knowledge transfer • Abilities, motivations, relationships of locals Issues with international business travelers • • • • • Home & family issues Work arrangements Travel logistics Health concerns Host culture issues 4 5/29/19 Drivers for recruiting & transferring inpatriate mgrs. Desire to create global core competency & cultural diversity of strategic perspectives Desire to provide career opportunities in HCs The emergence of developing markets which often are difficult locations for expatriates: » Quality of life adjustment » Cultural adjustment International vs. domestic recruitment & selection Smaller number of external recruits Preference for internal recruitment » To reduce selection risk » To secure present & past human capital investments Expatriate failure rates 5 5/29/19 Factors in expatriate selection Overview of important adjustment variables Why expat assignments often fail? • Employers often fail to consider the ability of the expat and his/her family in adjusting to the expat assignment • Technically-oriented selection processes tend to ignore “softer skills”; technical skills receive a disproportionate focus • Managers selecting for expat assignments fail to consider all possible candidates, focusing mostly on those candidates known to them. 6 5/29/19 Essential skills for expats • Ability to communicate – via language and social skills appropriate to the culture • Willingness to communicate – willing to do the communication themselves rather than delegate • Openness to new experiences – from work to non-work scenarios Strategic role of expat assignments • Expat ventures fail at a rate of 50-75%, typically due to poor adjustment of expat or their family. • Three central strategic roles of international assignments: – Leadership development – Coordination and control – Information and technology exchange • Firm must let expat candidate know the strategic importance of the assignment Skills needed by expats Professional/managerial skills Conflict resolution skills Leadership skills Communication skills Social skills, particularly those that are relevant for the international assignment • Flexibility • Stability • • • • • – (ability to find stability in stressful circumstances; e.g., via hobbies, journals, etc.) 7 5/29/19 US firms often think females are not a good fit for international assignments • 90% of US expats are men • Many US firms believe women are less willing to accept international assignments and will be less well received than male counterparts on the expat assignment. • Study results do not support these assumptions Selection Methods for Expats • • • • Bio data – technical skills are more useful than demographic data Standardized tests – measure relational skills, openness to new experience, cultural flexibility, willingness to communicate, ability to develop social relationships, perceptual abilities, conflict-resolution style, leadership style Work samples that assess technical and social skills relevant to the host country Standardized interviews with pre-determined questions and response scoring; use situational items Considerations when selecting expats • 70%+ of expats are married • Expat spouses/families make up the vast majority of influencing factors for failed assignments • Reasons spouses may be opposed: – Dual career spouses may be concerned about loss of income or career mobility – Family concerns, including health care, education, living, etc. • Some companies are specifically responding to spouse concerns via “spouse pay”, etc. 8 5/29/19 Selection processes • • • • • • • • • Determine strategic importance of position Assess future needs Define candidates and roles Develop candidate pools Form a selection team for specific assignments Establish selection and performance criteria Administer tests Interview candidates and spouses Plan transition training and preparation 9