5 Reasons your company should be conducting pre-assignment discussions with international assignees and their partners

“Over 80 percent of companies do not conduct assessments on either candidates or their accompanying family prior to sending them on an overseas assignment. The few companies that assess assignees focus primarily on areas impacting job performance.” 

Worldwide ERC Support and Retention Strategies.

It is tempting to read this quote and automatically assume that organisations are missing something in their process in not conducting assignee assessments. For most companies, the investment in globally mobile talent managed employees is significant (estimates range from US$250,000 to 500,000 per annum on average) added to the possibly already significant investment in a talent-managed employee, surely it pays to make sure that the best people and families are being sent abroad.

However we think that it depends on the purpose that those assessments serve and how they are conducted. If they are used simply as a score card to determine those for whom expatriation seems a good fit and for those whom it does not organisations may be missing a huge opportunity.

At Simpson Wiles and Associates we believe that it is at the point of the relocation decision that potential candidates and their families should be given the time and space to think through their relocation opportunity with the guidance of professional relocation coaches skilled in guiding their decision making process. And that rather than see it as an assessment process both HR and potential candidates should see it as an opportunity for an open assignment discussion. The objective is to develop the candidates and families awareness of the personal challenges and opportunities offered by relocation and the pros and cons to them from a personal perspective. Rather than providing a tick box yes/no response to suitability it opens the question up to the candidate and their family and encourages them to judge their suitability themselves.

The advantages of this process are:

1.     “Know yourself”

The value of the assessment comes from developing a comprehensive understanding of the assignees strengths and identifying areas where support may be required. Developing an individual’s self-awareness and ability to self-evaluate and adapt is an important skill in learning how to operate in new cultures

Offering the same opportunity to partners (and even older children) can allow them to make the same evaluation of their ability to operate successfully in a new culture.

2.    Gaining clarity about the basis of the decision to relocate

When times get tough, as they undoubtedly will, it is important that assignees and their families have a clear rational for having moved. For the assignee, the motivation may be the career development, the compensation or an expectation of promotion during or after the assignment. The interview assesses not only motivation but assesses alignment between the employee’s expectations and the organizations expectations of what the assignment will accomplish.  It can also represent the beginning of a conversation about goals for the assignment and career progression afterwards.

For the partner, reasons may be more complex and the decision often represents a considerable personal compromise on the part of the partner from the perspective of the partner’s own career or personal life.  The fewer personal reasons the partner has to relocate, the more likely it will be that the partner will struggle to make the transition.

3.    Understanding how well prepared the family is for the challenges of expatriate life

One of the cornerstones of the Thriving Abroad philosophy is that a successful relocation is based on an informed relocation decision.  Potential assignees and their families often make their decisions to relocate based on a glamorous perception of life in a foreign country or on the basis of being flattered that their organization sees them to be capable of important work abroad. In doing so they may fail to consider or make assumptions about critical aspects of their lives.  Whilst a positive mindset is one of the most valued characteristics for successful adaptation, unrealistic expectations can soon turn the positive to negative. Once identified, these assumptions and expectations can be addressed and more realistic expectations can be built.

4.    Enabling provision of the right support

The relocation interview with the employee and family affords the ability to identify key areas in which additional support might be required. By offering support that is tailored to the individual needs of the assignee and family rather than a one size fits all approach, the employee’s probability of success in the role is enhanced.

5.    Protecting your investment in your employee

All of these reasons for conducting an interview with a potential assignee and his/her partner support the final and most important one.  That is, by using the interview to learn, educate and support, you are protecting your significant investment in a valued and high potential employee.

The Thriving Abroad DECIDE program is designed to support your assignees and their partners through an international relocation decision.  It includes a relocation interview with a relocation coach. Participation in the DECIDE programme will allow employees and their partners to make an empowered and informed decision and develop a positive relocation mindset.

You can read more about DECIDE HERE.