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For executives, one key to company leadership positions remains a successful overseas assignment. Organizations rely on managers to conduct business all over the world. First-time expatriates need know that the potential effects, both positive and negative, of overseas assignment are enormous, both professionally and personally.
Executives considering their first expatriate assignment can reduce their career and personal risks with thorough preparation. There are four factors that are especially critical to a successful assignment abroad, for both the company and the expatriate.
• Cross-cultural preparation that emphasizes flexibility and adaptability.
• A company approved plan for upward career opportunities with emphasis on what is planned on return from abroad.
• An expatriate package that properly supports employee needs.
• Attention to the needs of spouses/partners and family.
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Proper cross-cultural preparation helps to relieve two concerns for the first-time expatriate. The new country will cause culture shock and often increase the difficulty of intracompany communication. Cross-cultural training programs are offered by the most progressive employees. Whether or not your company has a formal cross-cultural training program, it’s clearly an advantage to become familiar with your host country’s history, customs, and etiquette, before you go. For a general rule of thumb, focus on positive aspects of the host country and rarely mention the better things of your home country. It is very easy to offend host country nationals without intending to do so.
No matter how complete your cross-cultural preparation or how many times you have visited your host country, there is still a difference between theory and reality. When you finally begin living and working abroad, the common trait shared by successful expatriates is their ability to be flexible and adaptable. You will not be effective and happy in your assignment if you do not assimilate as much as possible into the new culture. You can not afford, financially or professionally, to recreate your home country lifestyle.
Successful expatriates are able to put aside preconceptions about work and relationships. They quickly recognize and adapt to new cultural customs. The leadership style that made you successful in your home country may not work as well somewhere else. Business culture varies by country, so sensitivity to different ways of achieving goals is essential. Working knowledge of the host country language helps enormously in expatriate assignments. Even though currently English is the language of business, the English speaker should try to learn some of the host country’s language. Such knowledge contributes significantly to establishing good relationships with staff and business partners. |
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The majority of expatriates originate from the company’s home country. Often candidate expatriates are reluctant to go abroad because of the considerable professional and personal risks. To address professional needs, an executive needs to ask some hard questions before accepting a foreign assignment, particularly about what going abroad will mean for your future career with the company. Although your immersion in a foreign business culture can increase your value to a company’s global operations, it can also lead you to a career backwater. Going abroad requires that you strategically manage your career, by making sure you are not out of sight and out of mind, particularly as the head office hires new people who don’t know you. Expatriates often return home to find their companies are not prepared to place them in a suitable position. As a result, most returned expatriates leave their companies in about two years. Another company reaps the benefits of the employee’s overseas experience, not the company that sent the employee abroad. If you are prepared to switch companies, an expatriate assignment still is often the shortest path to a senior leadership position.
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Regardless of the global scope of your employer, the human resource department might not have much of an international mindset. It is critical to make sure that the agreed expatriate package meets your personal financial and quality of life goals.
Relocation Assistance:
A good relocation company in your host country can take care of many details that would cost you time and money to find out for yourself. Relocation experts can take care of moving your personal possessions to your host country, negotiate a real estate lease, obtain necessary residency permits for yourself and your family, and help you with getting utility service.
Compensation Package:
Your salary needs careful consideration. The simple logistics of how you will be paid can cause you stress and frustration. Understand which currency you will receive as compensation, and whether your company will protect you from exchange rate fluctuations and tax disparities. Banking regulations in your host country are another important consideration.
Allowances:
The costs of sending an expatriate on a foreign assignment can easily equal the employee’s salary. Allowances for housing, children’s education, visits back home, expatriate clubs, a car and sometimes a driver, are just some of the additional costs a company might cover to keep an expatriate safe, happy and financially whole. Large companies are more likely to offer these benefits than a smaller firm. If your company has no allowance policy, you might want to negotiate a package that meets your priorities.
Health Care:
Another critical issue is health care coverage for yourself and your family. Your health care coverage abroad should cover your health and prescription medication needs satisfactorily, including the option to return to your home country for major problems as well as annual check-ups. If your company’s health care policy does not extend to an overseas stay, you will need special coverage.
Financial Support:
You should find a tax attorney who can appropriately handle your multinational tax obligations. Make clear who covers these fees and costs. |
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No matter if you are a retiree, student, or professional, most foreigners initially prefer the company of people from their own cultural background and only gradually make contact with the locals. This is especially the case for newcomers who don’t speak the local language well and have difficulty communicating with the locals. Sharing your first impressions and experiences with other foreigners helps you bridge this initial period of adjustment and deal better with the daily challenges of living abroad.
Expatriates often meet informally at a local café or pub, or they may host frequent get-togethers. In small cities and towns, expatriate communities are usually small and people get to know each other quickly. In larger cities you may need to pursue more formal channels to make contacts with expatriates, possibly through your consulate, Chamber of Commerce, or English-speaking social clubs. To find out if there are gatherings of English-speaking expatriates in the location to which you are moving, look for a local English-language newspaper. In many foreign countries there are publications for English-speaking residents that advertise social clubs, services, rental, work opportunities, as well as contact information for the expatriate community.
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With the Internet it is relatively easy for expatriates to find resources and connect with other expatriates online. The enormous increase in online discussion groups in recent years has made this kind of information easy to come by. Now there are hundreds of message boards, e-mail discussion groups, forums, and blogs on the Internet where people can ask questions, exchange advice, and provide support for each other in all aspects of living abroad. Some websites specialize in building online support communities for expatriates, and even provide consulting services for those who only recently moved abroad and need special support. Many companies advertise their services for expatriates on websites; these range from callback services and mail forwarding to travel and health insurance to assistance with moving and settling abroad.
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After several years abroad in a successful foreign posting, the expatriate and accompanying family members now face a new challenge: coming home. Repatriation causes its own issues for the employee and the family because even if circumstances at home haven’t changed that much, expatriates now view them with a new perspective. While reverse culture shock will probably not be as dramatic as the initial introduction to the host country, expatriates and families should expect some initial difficulty in adjusting to home life. For the employee, the critical issue is whether he or she is still relevant to the company back home. Too often, a company does little to incorporate the expatriate’s experience and knowledge gains. As mentioned earlier, taking an overseas assignment to boost your career may mean taking a senior position with another company. If you prepare yourself for this possibility, your career can maximize on your experiences abroad.
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