Identifying the Right Candidate for an International Assignment

The article was published in the OD/Leadership News, September 2003

Authors: Ilona Birenbaum and Jill Walsleben

Steve was a senior engineer with a multinational oil and gas firm that planned to expand its business to Russia. When the new business strategy was discussed at an all-hands meeting, Steve was ecstatic. Not only did an overseas assignment sound exciting, he was fluent in Russian.

Soon after the meeting, Steve spoke to his manager and expressed his interest in moving to Moscow for a three-year assignment. After learning that Steve spoke the language and was interested in having an international assignment, his manager thought Steve seemed like a perfect candidate.

Although Steve's wife was a bit reluctant to move to Moscow, Steve talked her into it and the family soon made the move. Within the year, Steve and his family were back in the United States.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Have you worked for an organization where a similar situation happened? Why wasn't this assignment successfully completed?

Too often decisions to send an employee overseas are made without laying the necessary groundwork to ensure success. In this case, Steve's desire to work abroad and his language skills were the primary criteria used in making this critical decision. Unfortunately, other factors are equally important in predicting the success of an international assignment. Global assignments represent a life change; they are not just another job! If all the appropriate areas are not considered, it is likely the assignment will end unsuccessfully.

The number one reason why international assignments are not successfully completed is the employee or their family's inability to adjust to living overseas. Realistic pre-departure expectations, motivation for going (e.g., the adventure, career development, escape a bad situation), a positive attitude and proper support systems are also critically important factors for global success. Yet, many companies only assess the candidate's technical expertise, management abilities, and previous international experience. Interestingly, research has found that previous international experience is not a predictor of future intercultural effectiveness.

In Steve's case, a number of issues should have been a red flag to the organization. In particular, his lack of realistic pre-departure expectations and his wife's reluctance to move.

To avoid a similar fate, companies need to focus on the selection process. Placing the right person, in the right job, at the right time significantly increases the likelihood that the candidate will successfully finishing the assignment. So how is this different from what you consider when making domestic hiring decisions? Well, the depth and breadth of these categories is larger. Moving an employee internationally requires that you also consider their family. Now the right person becomes the right family. And the right time also needs to consider timing for the spouse and children. The right job goes beyond considering the necessary technical competencies but also the candidate's intercultural adaptability. Fortunately, empirical research has identified a profile of skills for intercultural effectives. Although these skills do not guarantee success, overall success is impossible without them.

Identifying which employees have these skills requires that organizations begin identifying candidates long before they are needed for an assignment. In fact some companies, for whom globalization is a key business strategy, continually identify and track high-performing employees who depending on the timing might be right for a global assignment. Use of an electronic database allows the company to include information on the employee's skills and competencies, specifics on the family, locations of interest, language skills and any special needs.

When an international opportunity does become available, having such a database prevents line managers and HR from scrambling to find potential candidates. At this point, the employee and family are re-assessed to determine if their situation has remained the same and if they want to be considered for this particular international assignment.

Although the employee is the one completing the assignment, the whole family plays a role in ensuring the assignment's successful completion. In fact, the most common reason for the early termination of an assignment is the family's inability to adjust to living overseas.

To alleviate this potential problem, the entire family should demonstrate an authentic interest in moving and have realistic expectations of what it will be like to live in the host location. To assure realistic expectations, wise companies encourage the employee and spouse to conduct a reconnaissance trip to acquaint them with the location. For assignments considered to be a "hardship location", this step should never be skipped. During such trips, information may be gathered on local culture and customs, shopping, educational institutions, size of the expatriate community, potential work or volunteer opportunities for the spouse, medical care, ease of communication, banking, transportation, entertainment, housing, and other important factors. Although somewhat costly, such trips are effective in helping families decide if this is a place they could successfully live. It is far less costly to delay filling the job until the right candidate is found than to send someone and have to bring them home before the assignment is successfully completed.

Providing cross-cultural and language training is another important component to ensuring assignment success. The more prepared the employee and their family are prior to departure, the more likely they will assimilate into their new environment.

It is also important to consider repatriation as part of the selection process. The employee must have a clear understanding of how this particular assignment fits into his/her individual development plan and what type of assignment he/she may be considered for next. For companies using global assignments as part of their development process, this phase must be handled with extremely well. If the employee does not feel that their repatriation was successfully managed (to include the physical move, selection of the next assignment, listening to their recommendations regarding what needs to be done next in their prior post, etc.) they are likely to leave the company and apply their global experiences elsewhere.

Although a percentage of all international assignments may still not be completed successfully, carefully selecting the right employee and family, understanding the motivation behind and employee's decision to take on an overseas assignment, and providing them with a realistic preview of the job and the location will greatly increase the company's return on its investment.

Ilona Birenbaum and Jill Walsleben are the founding members of The Wynhust Group. Located in Northern Virginia, The Wynhurst Group is a consulting firm focusing on HR strategy and employee development programs.

They can be reached at www.thewyhnurstgroup.com

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