Management des ressources humaines à l'international - en anglais

International Human Resources Management

Initial situation

A female UK employee works for a petrochemical industry in the office. The company sends her to an Arabic-speaking and Muslim country in North Africa, probably Libya, to gain a contract with the Libyan government to drill for oil.

After she arrives in the foreign country, many problems arise, as the process of preparation was insufficient in several ways. In the following we will point out the possibilities for improvement concerning a successful expatriation.

What IHRM should consider before expatriation

To guarantee an effective expatriate management, we recommend that International Human Resource Management (IHRM) install a standard expatriation process.

1. The process starts with the planning period. In this stage, HR employees must consider if an expatriate is the best choice regarding the global sourcing decision and cost effectiveness. In this case study, the current organizational policy is that each individual on its fast track should occupy at least one position overseas. The resulting problem is that IHRM does not consider if the employee is willing to go to a foreign country or has international competence. Furthermore, this policy implies choosing an expatriate rather than a local. Generally, sending a Parent Country National does not guarantee success and furthermore it is not always necessary for the individual’s career. In order to gain the most effective use of human resources, we recommend changing this company policy.

2. The second step is the selection process. Here, the focus is especially on soft skills, for instance, intercultural empathy, interpersonal skills and emotional stability. In this case, the UK employee has neither the technical skills nor the international experience that might be important, and she does not have the required language skills to negotiate in Libya. IHRM has to consider if she is the right person for this job and, if so, how they can train her for the challenges abroad. Furthermore, IHRM should document the objectives for the time abroad and should provide further information about the foreign country, e.g. culture, risks, political situation, etc.

3. The third step is the pre-departure training. The preparation must be adapted to the individual situation and unique needs of the expatriates and the assignment. In this case study, IHRM failed to train the employee in how to behave and act in the Islamic culture and what challenges she might face, particularly as a woman.

4. The next stage is regular monitoring of performance abroad. IHRM should provide further support or training as needed to ensure a successful placement.

5. Finally, an effective process considers repatriation. IHRM should consider the challenges that the expatriate may face in transitioning back to her home country.

What an employee should consider before expatriation

In this case, the woman’s research was inadequately prepared with insufficient time, so she was not able anymore to react and was faced with surprises.

An employee who is interested in going to a foreign country should carefully consider several factors early in the process before making the decision to go abroad.

A profound analysis of the host or third country is very important: How is the situation in my future country?

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