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International Job AssignmentsMultinational Screening, Selection Criteria and Adjustment Tools
While expatriates can reap significant benefits and additional compensation from international job assignments, many return to their home countries unhappy.
Many international job assignments end even before an expatriate’s formal agreed-upon duty is over. This happens despite human resource testing and interviewing procedures for both managerial and technical candidates. Adaptability ChallengesTypically, reasons for returning to one’s home country go beyond failing to do a good job. Adapting to the host country’s culture usually forms the steepest barrier. Specific issues include:
Selection CriteriaBecause of these adaptation challenges, multinational organizations now impose rigorous selection criteria to select managers or officers for overseas assignments. General criteria include the individual’s adaptability, motivation, experience, education, age, leadership skills as well as physical and emotional health. Also, a successful international assignment depends heavily on the support of the spouse and children. Today, organizations also examine a number of characteristics to gauge whether an individual is fit for an international job assignment. These include the individual’s:
Adaptability SkillsMultinationals also test an individual’s adaptability for the following skills.
Adaptability Screening GuidelinesWho makes the best candidates for an overseas assignment? In their textbook International Management, Culture, Strategy and Behavior, Hodgetts and Luthans formulate the following list of principles.
Cultural Adjustment ToolsBefore leaving for an international job assignment, many organizations provide anticipatory adjustment tools through pre-departure cultural seminars and workshop training. Once the individual arrives in the overseas assignment, multinationals usually contribute in-country adjustment support mechanisms. These enable the expatriate to:
ReferencesThis article presents independent insights based on research from International Management, Culture, Strategy and Behavior (6th edition, Hodgetts-Luthans-DOH).
The copyright of the article International Job Assignments in Multinational Expansion is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish International Job Assignments in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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