why do overseas assignments fail

The 5 biggest reasons for expatriate failure

International assignments are exciting for the individual, and can be hugely beneficial for the organization. But they are risky too: according to INSEAD, the  proportion of expat assignment failures  can be as high as 50%.

There are a number of reasons – some down to the individual, some to the organization – but any single one of them can result in an early flight home and a huge disappointment for company and assignee alike.

1. You chose the wrong person in the first place

This is the fundamental decision – and one that many companies get wrong. The problem is that, unless there is a precedent (ie you choose an individual with a track record of successful assignments in different countries),  it’s very difficult to isolate the qualities that successful expats need .

Sometimes, an assignee will thrive because they are adaptable; they are both sensitive to their new environment and able to shape their behaviors and lifestyle to fit in with it. However, sometimes the opposite is true. It is equally often noted that a successful expat is one with  a clearly defined set of values  that enables them to perform consistently, professionally and effectively regardless of their social milieu. Clearly, both characteristics are desirable, and ‘compromise’ candidates may be the ones most likely to succeed.

2. Lack of local support

It is not all about the individual. The host country has a crucial role to play, and the most important individual is the host sponsor. Their role is to provide the support in helping the assignee fit in, whether on a social, professional or domestic level –  without their support assignments can go wrong very quickly . Don’t forget that busy work schedules will quickly dominate and leave little time for the assignee to manage their own affairs – and also distract the hosts from their obligation to support the assignee. But if one individual has a clearly defined role to support them, they will not it slip down their list of priorities.

3. Disconnection from home country

It is important to keep in touch with colleagues and work life back home too. The more isolated an assignee is, the more likely they are to reject it – whereas our experience suggests that it is helpful to stay in contact. For this reason, companies are wise to assign a contact who is responsible for  keeping the assignee ‘in the loop’  about developments at home. They not only have a more balanced view of their role within the global organization, but are also better prepared for repatriation once their assignment is over.

4. Domestic difficulties

While children and spouses are frequent factors in early repatriation cases, it is extremely hard to spot because  most assignees are reluctant to share domestic or social difficulties  with the company. They usually believe that any problems will suggest to the company that they are “not up to the job” and therefore paper over the cracks rather than asking for support. Ironically, therefore, the people who could help most are the last to know. To avoid this, frequent and open communication is essential. The company needs to know that the assignee’s family is coping, and it should explain the need for open communication up-front – before they even leave the country. 

5. Failure to plan

In a perfect world, every overseas assignment would be strategically planned and carefully implemented. The truth of modern business is that organizational resource needs can change overnight – so there is sometimes little or no warning. The individual needs  time to prepare practically and mentally  for the assignment, and the organization needs time to put the right infrastructure in place: as mentioned in the last three points, it takes time to choose the right candidate, and to put in place the people required to support them. Sometimes they get away with it; sometimes, it’s no surprise that they’re on one of the first planes home. 

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Three Keys to Getting an Overseas Assignment Right

• Mark Alan Clouse and Michael D. Watkins

How to tackle a management role in a new cultural and regulatory environment.

Reprint: R0910N

The mergers that thrive postrecession will be those that focus not just on the numbers but on integrating and motivating employees. To extract lessons on how to manage the human side of M&A, Harvard Business School’s Kanter studied a dozen deals that overcame the usual barriers to success: employee shock, protests, and anxiety, all of which can fuel supplier unrest, government disapproval, and customer defections.

Procter & Gamble, for instance, faced the prospect of “blood on the floor” in its ranks when it bought Gillette, because headhunters went after Gillette managers. Yet P&G managed to retain a large percentage of them, and it enlisted employees in keeping suppliers, distributors, and customers happy. The company met cost and revenue targets within the first year, incorporated Gillette’s superior go-to-market processes, and continued to position itself for growth even as the current recession loomed.

Kanter highlights the key strategies behind effective integration by describing practices at P&G and two other companies: CEMEX, which needed to transfer know-how to acquired employees so they could absorb its processes quickly and meet global standards, and Publicis Groupe, which treated its mergers like reverse takeovers, allowing acquired talent to take the lead in building new capabilities.

The Idea in Brief

• International experience is as valuable as ever—particularly in today’s global organizations.

• But the personal challenges of an overseas assignment are also as daunting as they’ve ever been.

• Settling your family, adapting your communication style, and understanding the new regulatory environment are critical for transitioning successfully, the authors say.

Assuming a new leadership role is hard even in the best of circumstances: relationships are undefined, routines are unfamiliar, and expectations are often unclear. Now imagine yourself heading up a new unit or project in a corporate and national culture radically different from your own. To strengthen their CVs, many ambitious executives willingly learn new languages, uproot their families, and puzzle over local laws and customs.

• MC Mark Alan Clouse is the managing director of Kraft Foods Brazil. He was previously managing director of Kraft in greater China. Michael D. Watkins ([email protected]) is the chairman of Genesis Advisers, a Newton, Massachusetts–based leadership development firm. He is the author of The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels (Harvard Business Press, 2003). His new book is Your Next Move (Harvard Business Press, 2009).

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Avoiding Corporate Relocation Disaster: Why Overseas Assignments Fail

Posted on Nov 20, 2017

Guest blog by Mark Costa-Rising of Gerson Relocation

Across the globe, it is common practice to relocate employees for overseas assignments, rather than hiring domestic workers. Trusted and proven staff members are often considered more valuable than untested members of the foreign employee market, especially when it comes to critically important roles in managerial positions.

Moving staff abroad comes at a cost though — an average of around £90,000 per international transfer. With such heavy investments in one worker, HRs want to ensure their assignee secures a strong result on their overseas working projects. Yet, in reality, a high percentage will not.

40% of all overseas assignments are judged to be failures, with workers repatriated without completing their goals, often much earlier than expected. This is not a new occurrence either; since global mobility became commonplace in the mid-60s, failure rates for overseas assignments have remained largely the same.

Failure is not simply a role of the dice, though. There are reasons behind the figures. To avoid failure, or at least reduce the chance of it occurring, HRs need only pay attention to the lessons of those before them and work to overcome the most common problems.

70% of Failed Moves Are a Result of Family Issues

In a statistic that may shock some, international assignees dispel the myth that work comes before loved ones, with as many as 70% of failed overseas working projects put down to unhappy families. While it may appear that this creates a looming threat, uncontrollable by HR, there are actually plenty of ways you can get involved with an employee’s personal life to help ensure the assignment is a success.

The goal is to remove stressors. Moving abroad is a stressful experience, which can lead to culture shock, isolation, homesickness, difficulties settling in and general distress. Yet, in most cases, these problems can be remedied by removing said stressor.

You should keep an open dialogue with employees and identify any issues that they or their families are having. For example, if they are having trouble settling in, you can use third-party international services to help with getting to know the local area and integrating with the community. If cultural differences are a problem, you can provide support in the form of educational resources. If the family is having problems getting set up at home, assist them in gaining access to the day-to-day things they need, like transport, financial services, schooling, utilities, etc.

The more weight you can remove from their shoulders, the more likely they are to adapt, settle in and support your assignee.

9 out of 10 Recruiters See Language and Cultural Skills as Key to Achieving International Success

In two separate surveys, global recruiters & HRs identified language and cultural skills as the most important factors in a successful overseas assignment. Without these core abilities, workers cannot hope to communicate properly with their colleagues and international clients, and, as a result, risk confusion, misunderstandings and even disrespectful practices.

Despite this, overseas assignees are constantly hired without strong enough skills to manage the strain of culture and language, leading to early repatriation and the failure of their work projects. While arguments can be made that these skills will be learned over time, attempting to juggle important tasks while being unable to effectively convey messages puts workers at a severe disadvantage.

HRs must focus on assigning employees with the skills required to combat foreign-working barriers. A less experienced worker with advanced language skills and a knowledge of foreign cultures could be more valuable in an overseas assignment than an executive with decades of industry knowledge but no ability to overcome these barriers effectively.

75% of Businesses Are Setting Assignees up for Failure

As we’ve identified in this article, the biggest issue facing international assignees is a lack of preparation when it comes to international work. Whether they’re unable to communicate correctly, can’t decipher the work culture or have family problems too difficult to overcome, most dilemmas can be avoided through pre-move prep.

When it comes to preparation of assignees, though, the majority of businesses are guilty of a lax attitude towards the process. Only 25% offer full cultural and language support, with as many as 16% of brands providing nothing in the way of pre-move prep at all. Given the problems faced and the lack of support, it may even be considered remarkable that the rate of failure isn’t higher.

At a price tag closing in on £100,000 per move, HRs need to push for greater investment of resources in corporate relocation preparation. This will, of course, drive costs up further, but the benefits of success vastly outweigh the price of failure.

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How to Avoid Expatriate Failure

Anne morris.

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Deploying an employee to work overseas on assignment or as a relocation is an investment which can help your organisation take advantage of the global economy. Unfortunately, as is the case with any potentially lucrative investment, international assignments carry a high risk of failure. Expatriate failure can be expensive for your company and an unwelcome experience for the assignee, especially if they are forced to return to the UK prematurely and having not completed their assignment or met their objectives.

An awareness of the common causes of expatriate failure can help your HR department plan a water-tight international relocation strategy, to protect your organisation’s commercial objectives and the employee’s wellbeing and support their ability to perform.

This guide discusses practical steps that HR professionals can take to minimise the chances of expatriate failure, but also to derive the maximum benefit from overseas assignment success. In most cases, international assignments afford the expatriate employee the chance to acquire valuable new skills and experiences, which can be put to good use by the company upon their return.

What do we mean by expatriate failure?

Expatriate failure is a term used to describe any unsatisfactory outcome of sending an employee on an international assignment. This encompasses ‘complete’ failures, which would usually result in the employee returning to the UK without completing the assignment; and ‘partial’ failures, which may include poor performance or failure to achieve specific commercial outcomes.

The cost of expatriate failure

Globally, expatriate failure rates are consistently high due to the mental, emotional and physical strain placed on employees who relocate abroad.

Research has shown that expatriate failure rates are higher among employees sent to developing countries and lower among those sent to economically flourishing countries. In some parts of the world, relocating an employee from the UK carries around a 50% chance of failure.

Successful long-term international assignments typically cost an employer as much as three times the employee’s annual salary.

If the assignment is not a success, your organisation may not see the commercial gains needed to balance the investment and could be forced to spend more money bringing the employee home ahead of schedule.

Beyond the financial cost, there is also the impact of the experience on the employee. They may have been selected for their skills and knowledge, and a premature and unsuccessful return to their home country may impact their confidence and their pride, potentially precipitating a fresh start with a new employer.

Reasons for expatriate failure

There are many factors that can contribute to expatriate failure. Often, failings in the expatriate employee’s support system both at home and abroad are to blame.

In other cases, the assignment was doomed to failure from the outset, as the employer choose the wrong person to send on the overseas project.

If your expatriate employee does not possess the personal qualities necessary to thrive in the new environment, no amount of support provided by the organisation can ensure the assignment is a success. When planning any international relocation, keep the following common causes of expatriate failure in mind.

Poor candidate selection

When there is a lot riding on the success of an overseas project, employers often select their best and brightest employee for the international role with little regard for the other qualities they will need to be successful. While you must choose an employee with the skills and experience necessary to complete the project, personal qualities such as adaptability, open-mindedness and a love of different cultures are arguably more important. To avoid expatriate failure, employers should consider their candidate’s personality, lifestyle, interests and previous experience with foreign cultures. Keep in mind that a ‘love of travel’ will not always translate to expatriate success, especially if the employee in question spends a lot of their travel time in English-speaking areas, around other British people (e.g. at holiday resorts) or in foreign places where they can easily access familiar foods and other items from home.

The following attributes may also minimise the likelihood of expatriate failure:

• The ability to speak a foreign language (even if that language is not spoken in the overseas location, interest in foreign languages suggests interest in other cultures, and a willingness to learn new skills)
• Being single or without children (do not rule out people with dependant families altogether but finding a candidate who could relocate by themselves reduces the chances of expatriate failure being caused by domestic issues)
• Excitement about the project itself (it is not enough simply to find an employee with exceptional skills, they must also be genuinely passionate about the organisation’s goals and feel personally invested in the success of the overseas project)

Inadequate support systems

Comprehensive support structures are essential for international assignment success. Expatriate failure is often caused by lack of practical support in the host country and/or disconnection with the home environment. It is crucial that relocation support does not end as soon as the employee has arrived at their new destination. Your expatriate employee should be assigned a personal mentor in their host country, whose role it is to oversee their adjustment to the new environment and be a first point of contact when they require additional support. You should account for both in-work and personal-life issues when assigning a mentor. Consider that the employee may need assistance with:

• Negotiating the new work environment
• Building social connections outside work
• Organising services like having a phone line installed or making an appointment with a doctor

Just as employers must choose the right employee for an overseas assignment, they must choose the mentor for that employee wisely. If possible, select a mentor with expatriate employee experience so that they can empathise with the relocating employee’s struggles.

Lack of expatriate training

Expatriate failure becomes far more likely in situations where the employee has been given insufficient training prior to the move. Expatriate preparation should not be rushed and must include cultural and language training where applicable, in addition to basic training regarding their role and assignment. Your expatriate employee must be prepared with:

• The language skills necessary to communicate with their colleagues, navigate, purchase provisions and services, and make casual conversation
• Knowledge of cultural and societal norms in their host country (especially any differences which could lead to conflict or cause offence when not acknowledged)
• Basic knowledge of the area in which they will be living and working (e.g. public transport, schools, restaurants and other facilities)

Effective planning is the key to avoiding expatriate failure. Employers must ensure that every aspect of the employee’s new work and living situation has been considered, so that measures can be put in place to prevent problems. International relocation training plans vary in content and structure, depending on location and the duration of time the employee will be abroad. In general, it is wise to allow for at least one month of training time prior to the move. Preferably, this training should be conducted within your employee’s normal working hours.

Poor communication

Employers should develop a plan for structured communication with their overseas employee. Part of your support plan should include keeping the expatriate employee ‘in the loop’ with regular communications from the UK office. Consider assigning a point of contact at home and scheduling weekly or fortnightly update calls or emails. ‘Casual’ communication arrangements are not sufficient as the absence of a structured plan often results in dwindling contact, which may leave the employee feeling isolated.

Make sure your expatriate employee knows who to contact if they require additional support beyond scheduled communications. Your training programme should include making the employee aware of potential issues they may experience while settling into the new environment, such as culture shock, social isolation or domestic difficulties (when relocating with a spouse or child). The employee must understand that such difficulties can ultimately lead to expatriate failure and for that reason, they have a responsibility to report problems and seek assistance. Make it clear that you are keen to offer all necessary support but that you can only do so when you are kept informed about problems, as they arise.

Prepare for repatriation 

When planning to avoid expatriate failure, keep in mind that it is not only your employee’s experience abroad that must be considered. Depending on the length of time your employee was overseas, they may need help settling back into the UK work environment. You cannot call the international assignment a success if the employee’s performance or personal wellbeing suffer due to insufficient support when they return home.

Failure to consider the implications of repatriation often results in poor talent management. Consider the fact that the returning employee has likely acquired valuable new skills, knowledge and experience during their time abroad. These are assets to your business that may be wasted by sending the employee back to their previous job role. It may be more appropriate to move the employee to a new role in higher management or an entirely different sector within the company. Ideally, this is something you should consider and discuss with the employee when ironing out your initial plan and the terms of the international relocation. Remember that at every stage of planning, prioritising your employee’s career goals and personal wellbeing is the secret to avoiding costly and disruptive expatriate failure.

Need assistance?

DavidsonMorris’ global mobility specialists work with global employers to support development of high-impact talent mobility strategies and programmes. We understand the challenges pf overseas assignments facing both the employer and the employee and can work with you to provide expertise and insight into effective management of assignments to avoid expatriate failure.

Expatriate failure FAQs

What are the major causes of expatriate failure.

A number of reasons are commonly cited for expatriate failure, including social isolation, culture shock, family pressure and responsibility overload. Ultimately, the employer should develop and follow a robust and extensive candidate selection process and provide ongoing support while the employee is overseas to minimise the risk of assignment failure.

How should you select candidates for overseas assignment?

Beyond technical and organisational knowledge and competencies, assignees should also demonstrate an understanding of what the experience will entail and the ability to cope with the full demands of living overseas such as having a positive mindset, showing adaptability in challenging circumstances, language ability, local cultural knowledge and confirmation of family support for the move.

How can DavidsonMorris help?

DavidsonMorris are experienced global mobility advisers, working with global employers to help improve the impact and return on their global mobility programmes. We can provide guidance and insight into how to select and support overseas assignees to minimise the risk of expatriate failure.

Last updated: 2 May 2023

Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.

She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.

Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator , and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals

• Anne Morris https://www.davidsonmorris.com/author/anne/ Family Visa UK: Explore Ways to Apply
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About DavidsonMorris

As employer solutions lawyers, DavidsonMorris offers a complete and cost-effective capability to meet employers’ needs across UK immigration and employment law, HR and global mobility .

Led by Anne Morris, one of the UK’s preeminent immigration lawyers, and with rankings in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners , we’re a multi-disciplinary team helping organisations to meet their people objectives, while reducing legal risk and nurturing workforce relations.

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4 Reasons Why Global Assignments Fail and How to Prevent It

Understanding the core issues that lead to a failed assignment is the solution to your mobility program’s success.

Mobility professionals understand the weighty cost of a failed assignment; the price tag of an unsuccessful assignment may amount to five times or more than the employee’s salary. Failed assignments also affect a mobility program’s positive ROI, diminish retention rates and available talent pools, and negatively influence future program budgets. With so much on the line, what can be done to facilitate higher assignment success rates?

Employees will face various challenges throughout their assignment term. While there isn’t any one-size-fits-all solution, understanding these common difficulties can help your mobility program make the necessary changes to reinforce assignment success rates.

A lack of spousal and family consideration in the relocation

An assignee’s family plays a consistent role in assignment success rates, as a partner or spouse’s dissatisfaction with relocation is one of the most common causes of assignment failure. Causes for family discontentment include inadequate accommodation for children in the relocation process, insufficient cultural and language training for the household, and a lack of career support for spouses.

Organizations are beginning to recognize the value of providing family support by extending relocation assistance to their employee’s partners and families. If an assignee’s family is pleased with their relocation experience, the employee can focus more on their work, ultimately improving the likelihood of assignment success. 

Mobility program benefits should address the many stressors of a family’s cultural adjustment when moving abroad. Family language training, spousal career aid, and assisting with children’s education arrangements are a few suggested family support benefits. 

Ill-matched employees and relocation assignments

Many globally mobile companies neglect to formally assess candidates for assignments, leading to poorly matched relocation roles. Unsuccessful international assignments are often due to faulty candidate selection. Mobility programs can combat assignment failure rates by investing in an assessment process to identify appropriate candidates.

Too many companies overlook the importance of maintaining a candidate pool for global assignments or lack a process for employees to declare their willingness to work abroad. Providing a method for employees to self-identify their interest in international assignments can help companies expand their talent development pool. For example, during an initial interview, include opportunities for a potential employee to communicate an interest in relocation.

Providing additional assignee assessments, such as self-guided family and personality assessments, is also recommended to ensure you’re pairing the most suitable employee with a relocation role.

Minimal or no cultural awareness training 

Though multi-level cultural competence leads to assignment success, companies often neglect to offer cross-cultural training as a core policy benefit. Some may only provide minimal training to cover fundamental tourist protocol issues. As a result, an inability to adapt to the host location is a frequent reason for global assignment failure.

Performing a role successfully in a foreign location requires understanding and acclimating to the host country’s culture. Responsibilities such as following a goal-setting process in the host country can be a significant challenge for candidates if language and cultural barriers aren’t adequately addressed through training. While mobility programs are under pressure to reduce overall costs, cross-cultural training is one area that shouldn’t fall on the budget chopping block. 

Failure rates are closely tied to an individual’s ability or inability to integrate and adapt to a new culture successfully. Through cultural training, assignees are better equipped to succeed in their new roles as they’ll be comfortable experiencing the culture of their host country and embracing the local community.

Unmet role and relocation expectations

Unmet job expectations are a prevailing cause of assignment failure. A lack of clarity in expectations and unclear goals can quickly lead to strain on foreign assignees. If an employee feels that their expectations aren’t being met, it could lead to frustration and even resentment.

We recommend documenting the reasons for the relocation (such as a business need and/or professional development) and the employee’s and manager’s agreed expectations. This discussion and documentation gives both parties a reference point regarding future check-ins or performance reviews.

Before addressing expectations with an employee, mobility counselors should ask themselves: “If I agreed to go on a global assignment, what would I expect?” Higher wages, new skills that will benefit you in the future, or advancement in your career? Empathizing with an assignee’s relocation experience will help you better understand how to improve the process and extend adequate support.

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Survey: Companies Fail to Train Managers for Overseas Assignments

The increasing number of international assignments requires professionals who are skilled in global operations; yet a recent survey found that as many as two in five managers fail when they’re sent abroad.

Only 58 percent of overseas assignments are judged successful, according to the 202 CEOs and senior HR professionals surveyed by workforce solutions provider Right Management.

“This has to be one of the most disappointing findings of our survey on global leadership development,” said Bram Lowsky, group executive vice president of the Americas at Right Management. “Given the investments being made in bringing along a new generation of leaders and their growing need to be able to think and operate globally, for 42 percent to fail when they’re sent abroad is hard to fathom.”

Europe, the Middle East and Africa reported the greatest level of success, with 63 percent of executives completing assignments abroad, compared with 54 percent in Asia Pacific and 57 percent in the Americas.

Why Do They Fail?

The survey found disparities in the preparation that managers were given before an assignment. Respondents revealed that the most common methods of preparing employees for foreign assignments are giving an overview of cultural differences and providing language training (particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific). The Americas are more likely than other regions to provide little or no training, the survey found.

Twenty-five percent of the organizations surveyed provide language training. While only 18 percent of North American employers offer language lessons, 33 percent of European, African and Middle Eastern companies does so. An average of 16 percent of companies worldwide give minimal or no preparation at all to employees going on an international assignment. And “22 percent of North American employers do virtually nothing,” said Lowsky. “No wonder so many people don’t perform well outside their home country.”

According to Lowsky, language or cultural training alone is not adequate. “The latest research suggests that the best companies utilize a comprehensive battery of assessments with the candidate to determine whether or not an expatriate assignment will actually work. Being aware of potential derailers that could stand in the way of success is critical to understanding and adjusting to an international role.”

According to Bridget Beattie, regional general manager at Right Management in India, Australia and New Zealand, many organizations make the mistake of assuming that a successful leader in one part of the world will find the same success in another. “Before considering whether a leader is ready for an overseas assignment or a role with global responsibility, organizations need to do more than simply provide cultural awareness and language training,” she said in the report. Companies should make sure individuals have developed a global mindset, she explained.

Organizations are advised to conduct a thorough assessment of the candidate and his or her family to determine if an expatriate assignment will work, the report said. International assignments affect the family members of the expatriate employee, and they need to be prepared and supported, too.

Developing a Global Mindset

Raphaele Gauducheau, general manager of the Mediterranean region at Right Management, noted that in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, putting leaders into cross-functional or cross-business-unit roles helps prepare them for future global assignments. “It forces leaders to get out of their comfort zone and think differently with fresh perspectives,” she said in the report.

Establishing a selection process that includes screening for key competencies—such as the ability to adapt socially and cultural fluency—and setting up a local, on-the-ground network to prepare and ease expatriates into their new role are additional ways to bring about successful overseas assignments.

Ron Pilenzo, president & CEO of The Global HR Consultancy, based in Hobe Sound, Fla., and former president of the Society for Human Resource Management, agreed that the lack of attention to the cultural differences in the expat selection process is critical. Most U.S. companies simply try and match skills and pay little attention to the economic, political and cultural differences in an overseas assignment, he said. "Most expat failures are attributed to a mismatch of the individual's spouse, or family members and believe that pre-assignment training and counseling will fix the problem. But the most critical mismatches of an expat with wide differences in values, beliefs, managerial style and team orientation in a different cultural setting will blow up the assignment and leave a wake of destruction behind," he said. "All the training and preparation in the world cannot fix the wrong person going into the wrong country or region where the diffierences are so huge that they cannot be overcome by preparation before or during an assignment."

Roy Maurer is an online editor/manager for SHRM.

Follow him at @SHRMRoy

Related Articles:

Job Security Top Incentive for Expatriate Employees , SHRM Online Global HR, June 2013

International Assignments Expected to Increase in 2013 , SHRM Online Global HR, May 2013

New York Maintains Rank as Lowest-Risk City for Business Worldwide , SHRM Online Global HR, April 2013

Be Careful When Drawing Up Expatriate Agreements , SHRM Online Global HR, March 2013

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Reasons for expatriate failure and how HR can help

One of the costliest elements of expat management is expatriate failure. we look at the usual causes and what hr can do to reduce the chance of expats not completing their assignment., what is expatriate failure, reasons for expatriate failure.

A study by Cornell University showed some of the most cited reasons for expatriate failure were:

Culture shock:  The ability to adapt to new and different cultures is key to expatriate success. Professionals who do not possess these skills innately can often struggle in a new environment. A good beginning is not always a sign of success,  culture shock  has many phases and a honeymoon period at the beginning is common.

Family:  Often ignored by companies sending employees abroad, the families of expatriates have a significant impact on their success. If a spouse or child is struggling to settle in to the new environment, it is highly likely to impact on the employee’s performance and willingness to complete the assignment.

How can HR help prevent expatriate failure?

Sending the right people.

Just because an employee has the hard skills needed to excel at a role at home, it does not mean they are the right person to send to do that role abroad. It is essential you are involved from the very beginning of the process and interview potential expatriates to identify those with skills like:

Cultural flexibility: a love of travel may not be an indicator of cultural flexibility if the candidate spent all their time with people from their own country and ate familiar foods most nights. Look for those who love to learn about and interact with people from different cultures.

Enthusiastic communication: was there someone in your office who tried their halting Spanish with a client or wanted to learn some Mandarin from suppliers visiting from China? They may be the right person for an international role as they may be more willing to pick up the local language and adapt their communication style to local norms.

Cosmopolitan outlook: when interviewing potential candidates look for examples of understanding other cultures, whether that is a diverse social network, learning other languages or adapting to another culture while studying or travelling abroad.

Expat training

Expat support.

HR support should not end once the expat is in situ. A lack of local support can be a contributory factor to overall expatriate failure so building a support plan once they arrive at their new destination is key. Elements to include are:

Local support: pair the new arrival with a fellow expat or local colleague who can offer them advice on getting set-up in their new country. Things like having cable installed or finding a family doctor can be confusing and very frustrating when you don’t understand the process.

Updates on home country: keep your expats up to date with what is happening in their home office with fortnightly calls or emails from a nominated contact. This helps the person remain in the loop with what is going on in the office but also prepares them for their return home as their assignment comes to an end.

Satisfaction surveys: have employees working abroad complete short satisfaction surveys at regular intervals to identify problems before they become serious. Use the feedback provided to optimise pre-assignment training for future expats.

Plan for repatriation: the companies with the most successful expats took repatriating the employee at the end of their assignment seriously. Unfortunately, many businesses do not take such care. Former expatriates are expected to return to their home office as if they had never left despite the fact colleagues and company objectives may have changed in the time they were away.

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