Start Right: Support Your Assignees Through the Preparation Phase of Expatriation:

 



In our blog post Six Minimum Low Cost High Impact Ways, we suggested six ways to provide cost effective networking support to expatriates and their accompanying partners. Today we share our ideas about the kind of support the assigning company can provide during the preparation phase of the expatriate preparation.

There is no doubt that this is a stress filled period for the assignee and their relocating family. Just looking at the broad headings on the picture to the right shows how much there is to do.

It is no wonder that many assignees and families arrive in their new locations, frazzled and stressed which is not a good way for the assignee to start a new work role or the family to embark upon adaptation to their new lives abroad.

From the perspective of the HR department it can be difficult to judge the role that the company should play in supporting the assignee and their family. You probably avoid intervening in the day to day lives of your home country employees and question how much involvement and support is acceptable or desired for the assignee? This quotation taken from the Prudential’s “Many Voices, Many Women Survey” gives an insight into the answer:

"It may be a new role for you, as a human resource manager, to be so involved in an employee’s family life, and of course it is a role that must be played carefully. No one wants to be intrusive in someone else’s life and marriage. But the overriding finding from our research, and that of virtually every other research study available, is that most families appreciate and indeed, demand a company’s concern and involvement when they make an international move".

Three ways to support the preparation process:

Rested Really Does Equal More Productive:

Feeling, jet lagged and stressed is not the best way to start a new job. This is something we all recognise on an academic level but somehow it seems to be missed on a practical level.

We have lost count of the number of stressed friends we have sad goodbye to who have informed us that their partner is either already "in situ" at his/her desk or starts on Monday. Moving yourself, your family and all your possessions half way round the world, after weeks of clearing, sorting, goodbyes and endless documentation and bureaucracy is NOT an easy task.

Suggested Action: Give employees time to relax and recuperate and you will reap the rewards in a better settled family and a more energetic and focused employee.

Take time to discuss with employees and their partners the support your company is prepared to provide and set realistic expectations:

Guzzo (1994) found that where assignees perceived the organisational support to be insufficient, commitment to the organisation and assignment was reduced, and Wiles (2002) found that where the expectations of support by the accompanying partners was met general adjustment was improved.

This is where a personal touch from HR would be beneficial. A meeting about what is most important to the assigning family is a good investment of HR resources, giving HR the opportunity to explain about the scope and scale of support, and so set realistic expectations. Clarity in this respect helps the assignee to appreciate the support that is provided and maximise their use of it.

One comment from a partner in an article posted by ECA International said:

"Larger companies generally don’t need convincing of the benefits of partner support. Nevertheless, while support may be available, it is not always offered in an efficient, proactive manner. Partners often need to rely on their own initiative......"The assistance that we get is passive in nature.... It should be standard procedure for someone in the HR department to have a chat with the partner before the move. Help is not actively provided, and everything had to go through my husband."

Suggested Action: Find sources of support for the accompanying partner and family and take time to understand their needs. Provide access to materials and programs that will help expats and their families to prepare both emotionally and practically. For example why not provide access to our PREPARE programme, non-intrusive but focused support.

Host country mentors:

This is an inexpensive way of helping assignees and their families to settle into their new environments with local tips, advice, support and friendship.

 Suggested Action: Invite employees in the host locations to volunteer to participate in a "welcome" program.

Sources:

Guzzo, R.A., Noonan, K.A., & Elron, E., (1994) Expatriate Managers and the Psychological Contract, Journal of Applied Psychology, 79,4, 617-629

Wiles, L., (2002) Investigating the Relationship Between Expectations and Adjustment to International Assignments. MSc Dissertation, University of Leicester.