MOBILITY REPORT
The challenges of recruiting globally mobile employees
Global work is crucial for the employer and employee, so why is there such a critical shortage of employees who are willing to be globally mobile – and what can employers do about it? Michael Dickmann, professor of International HRM at Cranfield University School of Management and strategic adviser to the RES Forum, and David Enser, partner and head of Cross-Border Employment and Reward Innovation at the RES Forum, identify the importance and impact of global work on future career outcomes.
T
he RES Forum recently surveyed more than 80 mid- and senior-level GM professionals in multinational
organisations around the world as part of the research for its series of upcoming reports linking areas such as global talent management (GTM), programme design and global people effectiveness, to the employee value proposition (EVP). The data delineates a positive picture
for individuals who go on international assignments. They are likely to benefit in terms of their career, performance evaluations and leadership opportunities, while firms reap a range of benefits due to the stronger performance of expatriates and good retention figures. Firms have successfully addressed some of the challenges of the past – such as career wobbles and repatriate churn. However, differences in the benefits of international work for men and women and an enduring problem finding enough global talent, present some of the challenges of the future. To negate this, companies need to rethink and shape their global employee value proposition.
HOW IMPORTANT IS GLOBAL WORK FOR EMPLOYEES’ CAREER OUTCOMES? Global work experience increases in importance with seniority. In the last two decades, we have heard that working abroad has a positive influence on staff careers. But how important is it for career progression and are there diverse patterns among different staff categories?
The survey answers showed that in 71%
of organisations it was ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ important for executive managers to be globally mobile. In more than half of multinational corporations (MNCs) (56%), this was the case for senior managers, while in more than a third of firms (36%) it was ‘highly’ important for managers. In marked contrast, it was ‘not at all’ or ‘only slightly’ important for about half of professionals or entry-level professionals. Only in about a quarter of companies was it ‘highly’ important for their staff career advancement to have global work experience. Thus, it is still the case that the more employees aspire to reach senior management positions the more important international opportunities will be for them. Given the growing prevalence of Millennials in organisations and their stronger push to want to work abroad, as well as the current shortage in workers willing to move abroad, this may increase dramatically in the coming years. ‘Key decider’ roles increasingly need
global insights. For two-thirds of executive managers (68%) and half of senior managers (52%), it is ‘highly’ important to have had international assignment experience prior to being promoted to a senior leadership role. This percentage decreases dramatically at lower levels of seniority, with only one in five (17%) managers and one in 30 (3%) professionals needing global work experience before being promoted. While these are the requirements for promotion in diverse companies, what does this mean for the general career advancement patterns after working abroad?
Global work results in better career
progression, especially for career development and knowledge assignments. The survey evaluated the career progression of repatriates by comparing their careers to their peers who have not worked abroad. The good news is that only in very few cases do the careers of repatriates (provided they stay with the organisation) turn out to be worse than those of their non-expatriated peers. While in some organisations the career impact of people with and without global work experience is similar – especially for those on position filling (47%) and control and coordination (35%) assignments – there are many repatriates whose careers benefit from working abroad. Even though many respondents were unsure about career development (about a third), one in two repatriates on career development assignments and one in three (38%) on knowledge acquisition/transfer assignments experienced a career that is better than that of non-expatriated peers. In addition, one in five repatriates on other types of international work gained career benefits when compared to peers who have never worked abroad. The better career progression of repatriates is a strong argument for GM departments to demonstrate the attractiveness of working abroad.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF
INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS ON FUTURE CAREER OUTCOMES? Remuneration, promotion and performance are often good in the first year after return. MNCs could improve their GM insights into the effects of working abroad. Between a third
42 | RELOCATE | SUMMER 2019
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