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OlgaStankeviciusColpoPRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

SOUTH AMERICA

Competitivenessand ChangeManagement

Read more on page 10 I N S I D E :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Citizenship Awards

BritishAmericanBusiness, Inc.

Managing Global Vendors

Europe: Linguistic Challenges

Identifying Talent for China

Human Side of Global IT

Travel Security

PUBLISHER’S DESK

Look What We’reDoing NowCORPORATE CITIZENSHIP AWARDS Presented in New York May 23rdand London November 28th

COMMUNICATOR OFTHE YEAR AWARDSPresented in New York May 23rd

With deep respect and bulging pride GLOBAL HR NEWS is in the process of determining win-ning entries and recommendations from industry peers.

In cooperation with a distinguished and independent Judges Committee GLOBAL HR NEWS willaward multinational company programs that...

(1) Prepare employees and families for effective international assignments ... language andinter-cultural preparedness training, family support, coaching while on assignment, successionplanning and re-assignment planning pre-repatriation; i.e. an increased corporate ROI on theinternational assignment;

(2) Foster exemplary goodwill in the international communities in which the company doesbusiness ... (sustainable development--not just profit and ROI, but also immediate and longterm social and environmental consequences of actions)

CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP AWARDS JUDGING COMMITTEE: PHILIP BERRY, Vice President Global Workplace Initiatives; Corporate Officer, Colgate-Palmolive.Philip Berry manages global diversity, compliance and proactive efforts to create an inclusiveworkplace environment on a global basis.

ANDREW KITTELL, ACS International Schools Ltd. (UK) Andrew Kittell is the Director ofCorporate Relations, ACS International Schools, London, England.

AUSTIN FRAGOMEN, Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy, LLP. Austin Fragomen is a Partnerand Chairman of the Executive Committee of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, theworld’s leading supplier of global corporate immigration solutions.

JUDSON SCRUTON, Director - New York & London - GLOBAL HR NEWS

COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR AWARDSOK, to be truthful we’re not looking for the best bee-esser… we want to know who is the bestyou know at making things happen… making difficult issues clearer and easier to manage.

Who is your favorite corporate HR Director? What makes you think the person is so special andeffective? Who is your favorite vendor-service provider? Tell us why.

GLOBAL HR NEWS will announce the winners of these special awards that recognize and honorcompanies, departments, Managers, and also sales people and service-providers who do what ittakes to make clients really happy, over and over again. They are the “great communicators”of our age and we will honor them with a prestigious award.

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2 Volume 5 / Issue 1

Volume 5 / Issue 14

CONTENTSPUBLISHER’S DESK, 2

XPat Moose, 41

NEWS

AKA luxury, 34

Joyce Sharkey joins TMC, 35

MSI offers HR services, 38

Gary Tice, VP Sales, 38

Cornerstone wins, 39

Employee Opinion Surveys, 40

New guide helps HR, 42

Exec Development, 43

LEGAL

News Passport Requirements, 14

EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES

Linguistic Challenges, 18

Managing Global Vendors, 22

Identifying Talent, 28

WORLD TRADE

Integration of South American Companies, 15

Growth of Brazilian Corporations, 37

British American Business, Inc., 16

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

Human Side of IT, 30

MANAGEMENT

Corporate Social Responsibility, 6

Travel Security, 8

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GlobalHRNews

Increasingly HR departments are becominginvolved in their companies’ Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) particularly inemployee issues such as assuring diversity inrecruiting and formulating policies for sus-tainability in international communities inwhich the companies do business.

But CSR is all over companies’ organiza-tional charts these days, as global compa-nies attempt to meet the challenges incommunity responsibility, sustainability, andsocial change in the 21st century.

Whether in the offices of human resources,community affairs, public relations, founda-tions, the CEO, or in their own departmentsvariously called Corporate Responsibility orCorporate Social Responsibility - the issuesand programs developed are highly rele-vant. So relevant, in fact, that some coun-tries are using CSR as a major way to attractinward investment. Would you believeWales? Wales and social responsibility?

Perhaps the first thought that comes tomind is centuries of poor mining practicesand generations of miners with black lungand communities hovering under clouds ofcoal dust. Not today. Since the late1990’s Wales has been governed by itsown National Assembly and is both amember of the UK Parliament and, as itsown European country, a member of theEuropean Union. With social responsibilitybuilt into their very constitution, Wales isinvolving a dynamic new economy withstrong activity in such sectors as aerospace,automotive, bio-technology, CRM, med-ical technologies, opto-electronics, phar-maceuticals, and renewable energy.

Wales prides itself on its innovative andsocially responsible business leadership.

And so it was that “International BusinessWales” recently held a Wales Week In NewYork City and as one of their concludingevents presented an Ernst & Young hosted

panel presentation entitled, “Brave NewWorld: Global corporate challenges incommunity responsibility, sustainability, andsocial change for the 21st century.”

The panel of speakers, all originally fromWales, was a very high profile group includ-ing: the Rt Hon. Rhodrei Morgan AM, FirstMinister of Wales; Guto Harri, the BBC’sNorth American Business Correspondent;Martin Coles, President of Starbucks CoffeeInternational; Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Presidentof the Center for Work-Life Policy; andHannah Jones, Vice President of CorporateResponsibility, Nike Inc.

With the BBC moderating the discussionand the First Minister of Wales providingthe welcome and description of the socialresponsibility structure of modern Wales,the other three panelists described thestrategic and business logic of their com-panies’ CSR.

Starbucks’ Coles defined CSR as “conduct-ing business in ways that provide social,environmental, and economic benefits forthe communities in which we do businessaround the world.” He pointed out thatStarbucks now provides health care for allits full and part time (over 20 hrs a week)employees and that contracts with their cof-fee farmers were for 10-20 years.According to Coles, these long termarrangements develop motivated employ-ees and sustainable high level crops thatproduce the foundation for Starbucksextensive expansion around the world.Starbucks opens two-three new stores a dayand has announced plans to open morethan three times the number of its currentstores to over 40,000 stores worldwide.

The Center for Work-Life Policy’s Hewlettmentioned that while many top compa-nies are deeply involved in CSR many, ifnot most, have been reluctant to talkabout CSR as they fear that it will be seenas a sign of weakness. She said thisappears to be changing.

As the publicity increases for these pro-grams more seem willing to talk abouttheir CSR and promote it as a source ofstrength. She mentioned Starbucks, Cisco,and Pepsi as examples. She reported onthe study she conducted entitled “TheHidden Brain Drain,” which documentedthat the ambition, talent, and cultural capi-tal of non-white, non-male, and non-western executives were not being real-ized. This study was sponsored byCitigroup, General Electric, PepsiCo, TimeWarner, and Unilever. Her report says thatseveral companies such as Ernst & Youngwith their “Inclusiveness AwarenessWorkshop “ and Lehman Brothers withtheir “Walking The Talk” have begun pro-grams which generate “organizationalchange and nurture diversity and succeedin attracting qualified individuals.”

“Doing good by doing good,” is the wayHannah Jones, Vice President of CorporateResponsibility, Nike Inc., explained the bot-tom line logic of such community affairs pro-grams as the ones she has help formulate atMicrosoft and Kimberley-Clark before takingup her position at Nike. She mentionedthat in the 90’s Nike had not taken CSRseriously and had been very defensive.Since then she says Nike has come to fullyembrace that CSR is not “risk-managementbut is, in fact, an opportunity for corporateinvention and growth.” She said that CSRis now a direct conversation betweenstakeholders and CFOs. Eliminating orreprocessing manufacturing waste productsis, for example, turning around what wasa $900 million dollar loss, Jones stated.“Corporate Social Responsibility is a wayfor a company to envision its place in theworld, “ she concluded.

This panel made a strong case that CSR isgood business practice both for a countryattracting inward investment and for a com-pany wanting to improve its bottom line. ■

MANAGEMENT

CSR: Profiting Countries and Companiesby JUDSON SCRUTON, Director - New York & London • GLOBAL HR NEWS


GlobalHRNews

Political instability; terrorist attacks; pan-demics. These are just a few of the

issues that affect business travel in anincreasingly unstable global environment.

These days the evening news is filled withstories of evacuation, kidnappings, naturaldisasters and airline security alerts. All ofthese situations are presented with varyinglevels of severity and can each have animpact on business travel. After 9-11,organizations realized the need for a com-prehensive travel security program. Withrecent events, the need has become con-siderably more urgent.

Here is the bottom line when it comes totravel security:

Organizations have a responsibility to keeptheir employees safe while traveling.Increasingly, companies from all sectorsface a legal responsibility to demonstrateduty of care towards employees and con-sumers. Any company found to be defi-cient in terms of its response to a crisis

could in theory be found negligent for fail-ing to provide adequate warning, training,or protection for employees or customers.

If a major incident occurs, can you immedi-ately find out which employees may be inthe affected location? Do your travelershave access to 24-hour professional securi-ty advice both before they travel and in theevent of a crisis? Were they given theproper information prior to their trip?

If you have travelers going to high risk des-tinations you need to ensure that the nec-essary security and travel measures are inplace. To achieve this requires a layeredand procedural travel security policy whichincludes authorization, pre-deploymentbriefs and on the ground support.

To avoid a costly legal and reputationalfall-out when something goes wrong, itmakes sense for companies to put in placea proper system: for assessing the risk of adestination before the employee is sentthere, for monitoring event during the stay,and for keeping everyone informed of trav-el schedule changes. They should also beable to guarantee their workers that in theevent of an incident, everything will bedone to help them and get them home.

The peace of mind a guarantee like thisgives the employer, the employee, not tomention the employee’s family, is not to beunderestimated. One recent case whichhighlights these factors involved a softwareconsultant who was traveling to Lagos forthe first time. It was arranged that hewould be met at the airport by a driver,sent by the client, who would take him tohis hotel. But the consultant disappeared.Finally, after two days, he was found, terri-fied and injured, outside the hotel -dumped from passing car. Apart from thetrauma to the consultant himself and itsknock-on effect on other employees and

morale in general, his managers faced theadded expenses of replacing lost tickets,passport, laptop and valuables.

This incident could easily have been avoid-ed if the software company had consultedtravel risk experts. They would haveinformed the traveler of the need for ameet and greet procedure in Nigeria andwould have made sure that he had a pho-tograph of the driver before he left. Theywould also have made sure that an itiner-ary and communication was in place andthat everyone involved was briefed thor-oughly beforehand.

It is no use waiting until trouble occurs toinstitute a company-wide travel policy - aprotocol should already be in place beforesending anyone abroad. These guidelinesshould be based on a thoroughlyresearched hierarchy of dangerous placesaround the globe, so any proposed destina-tion can instantly be recognized as Low,Medium or High Risk.

For example, High Risk (Category A) coun-tries, such as Iraq and Somalia, would comeup as strictly out of bounds to any businesstraveler. Medium Risk (Category B) countries,which might include Russia and Nigeria,would require prior permission, a compre-hensive travel briefing and instructions forspecial precautions to be taken. And travel-ers to Low Risk (Category C) countries wouldof course need no special authorization.

In addition to timely pre-trip informationand briefings, the most assured way of anemployer keeping employees safe is bykeeping them out of harm’s way. A goodtravel tracking program, whether developedinternally or provided by a third party, willalert and inform security and/or HR depart-ments that an employee will be traveling toa “no-go” or to a high risk destination.This enables the company to prevent thetravel from taking place or choose how bestto keep the employee safe. This will beespecially useful in the event of a pandemicsuch as avian influenza. In terrorist attacksituations like 9-11, a tracking program willallow companies to locate and communi-cate with their travelers with ease.

If even after all these preventive measureshave been put in place, and an employee

CONTINUED — PAGE 32

MANAGEMENT

Travel Security:Why Your Company Needs an Effective International Program

by LAURA WINTHROP, Vice President, Travel Security ServicesCONTROL RISKS • [email protected]

Volume 5 / Issue 1

GlobalHRNews

10

COMPETITIVENESS AND CHANGEMANAGEMENTIn a world of controversies, adversities andopportunities in a scale of complexity neverseen before, to generate and sustain busi-ness value is the core expectation of everyshareholder, investor and executive. It lookslike there is an almost tacit agreement inrelation to the components that have to bepresent so that the “value generation andsustainability” effectively occurs.

On the hard side, or pragmatic, we canplace the market, the client and the con-cept that involves the whole strategy,structure and management.

On the soft side, there are the team com-petencies and the leadership ability to alignthem in the correct direction to obtain dif-ferentiated results.

...the core agenda of the leaders is pri-marily, besides delivering short-termresults, modeling and managing the

changes required to assure sustainabil-ity and differentiated results; this is

the most natural path to follow.”

We can say that the core agenda of theleaders is primarily, besides delivering short-term results, modeling and managing thechanges required to assure sustainabilityand differentiated results; this is the mostnatural path to follow. Migration manage-ment turns to be the most important themein the professional life of every executiveand a central pillar of competitiveness.

It is within this business context that thechange management is defined as theprocess of aligning the staff and the organi-zational culture with the changes occurringat the levels of business strategy, structure,systems and processes of an organization.

When it comes to change management,what makes the difference is not only“what” needs or has to be done, but“how”.

While “what has to be done” is easilyunderstandable and generally based onlogic and good sense, the way we imple-ment a decision leaves either positive ornegative consequences.

Change management, therefore, is vital toassure:

1 the sense of responsibility and commit-ment of the people involved with thechange in progress, or to be implement-ed,

2 that the implemented improvement issustainable and measurable, and

3 the improvement of the capacity to attainfuture changes. In summary, changemanagement prepares the organizationand the staff to quickly and effectivelyrespond to the daily challenges.

MANAGING CHANGESA change is always a transition processbetween a current situation and a desiredfuture situation. To cover this process it isnecessary to consider its two dimensions:organizational and personal. The organiza-tional change is usually quantifiable, subject

to examination and even to a forecast, andtherefore, it can be planned and controlled.

But changes at individual levels are indis-pensable and without them organizationalchanges become impossible. However,they are more complex and can not becontrolled nor precisely quantified, factthat adds an additional complexity for thechange managers to deal with.

Figure 1 (opposite page), exemplifiesthese two dimensions and shows somevital components to achieve success.

A successful management requires theassociation of some factors that form akind of success formula:

(Successful Change = V + N + T + C + R).

Vision – it is important to have a clearvision of where we are and why; where wewant to go and why, when, with whichresources and to which risks we want tobe exposed to.

Need – the change has to be imperativeand the current situation can not be anoption. One of the main roles of a leader isto create “discomfort” with the status quo.

TOOLS AND RESOURCESMethodology, knowledge, experience andindependence are some of the essentialsuccess factors at planning and implement-ing changes.

“... the companies go through five-year cycles on average, which ask for

more important changes than theusual ones, with the aim to repositionbusiness, innovate, improve the per-formance, ensure competencies and

knowledge,...”

Communication and Feedback – It isnecessary to frequently monitor the inter-nal and external environment and thepower groups, work with ambiguous situa-tions, communicate clearly and make somedirection adjustments, if necessary.

Reward – A successful change requiresthe due recognition of achievements andprogresses and the structure of differenti-ated systems of rewards and education.Moreover, there is no change without aneffective sponsorship and many times it isrequired the appointment of a specializedteam (change agents) to support and

COVER STORY

The Challenges of Change Managementby OLGA STANKEVICIUS COLPO, Human Resources Services (HRS) Territory LeaderPRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, South America • [email protected]

11Volume 5 / Issue 1

GlobalHRNews

motivate it, or it should be a “businessimperative”.

The pain arising from keeping the currentstatus should overcome the pain producedby the fear of changes and the unknown.

CONCLUSIONWe can say that the main role of seniormanagement is to manage the present, toselectively forget the past and to replenishfor the future. The change occurs exactlyat this process of building up the futureand the business sustainability and lasting-ness depend on how successful the changeprocess is carried out.

Everyone can introduce and initiatechanges with relative easiness... but this isnot the real challenge...

The verdict given by the employees andclients about your capacity of taking themwith you is what makes either a winner ora loser in the change game. ■

make the process easier, due to the factthat people’ s resistance oscillates alongthe time, depending on their expectationsand on the quickness and efficacy of thecommunication and education process.

LEARNED LESSONSChange processes happen every day, butthe companies go through five-year cycleson average, which ask for more importantchanges than the usual ones, with the aimto reposition business, innovate, improvethe performance, ensure competencies andknowledge, etc.

It is under these circumstances that a goodprogram of change management producesthe difference between success and failure.Some of the lessons learned along theyears in management processes are quitesimple and, although not always observed,can be synthesized as follows, with anadditional warning:

There is no methodology, President, Directoror Advisor capable of making miracles whenthe product is not even reasonable.

Without a sponsor (most of times, thePresident) the change never occurs.

If the company has knowledge, methodol-ogy and assigned time, it can change byitself, without the support of an Advisor(“make or buy”).

Many internal groups have competency topromote effective changes that are notalways legitimized by the company due tolack of independence.

The daily routine is one of the most signifi-cant obstacles for transformation projectsconducted by internal groups.

Political aspects and cultural barriers arethe greatest difficulties to overpass.

Whenever the required change is frontallyopposed to the company culture, eitherthe culture or the change has to bealtered. In a confrontation between cultureand change, generally the former wins. It isnot true to say that modernization projectsmay generate unemployment. No job isguaranteed. Most part of people knowswhen they are competent and when theyare dispensable.

In summary, a program of change manage-ment prepares the organization and thestaff to quickly and effectively respond tothe daily challenges. It is correct to saythat transformation projects demandpainful decisions to be taken by the execu-tives. In general, these decisions wereknown, but hidden or postponed.

The sooner the change starts, the lesspainful it will be. But the inspiration forchanging should not be a trend. Thereshould be a reason, a dream, an ideal to

FIGURE 1 – ARCHITECTURE OF CHANGE

Os desafios da Gestãode Mudanças

Olga Stankevicius ColpoOlga Stankevicius Colpo é sócia daPricewaterhouseCoopers e l’der da área deOrganização e Capital Humano.

COMPETITIVIDADE EGESTÃO DE MUDANÇASEm um mundo de contradições, adversi-dades e oportunidades e, em uma escalade complexidade nunca vista, gerar e sus-tentar valor do negócio é a expectativacentral de todos acionistas, investidores eexecutivos. Para tanto, parece que existeuma concordância quase que tácita quantoaos componentes que precisam estar pre-sentes para que a tal “geração e susten-tação de valor” efetivamente aconteça.Do lado “hard” ou pragmático podemoscolocar o mercado, o cliente e a concepçãodo negócio - que envolve toda a estratégia,a estrutura e a gestão; do lado “soft” colo-cam-se as competências da equipe e acapacidade da liderança para alinhá-las nadireção correta para a obtenção de resulta-dos diferenciados.



GlobalHRNews

• CHANGE MANAGEMENT – CONTINUED

Podemos dizer que a agenda central dosl’deres é principalmente, além de entregarresultados no curto prazo, modelar e geren-ciar as mudanças requeridas para assegurara sustentabilidade e obtenção de resultadosdiferenciados. É esse o caminho maisgenu’no a ser trilhado, onde gerir amigração passa a ser o tema mais impor-tante na vida profissional de todos os execu-tivos e um pilar central da competitividade.

É dentro deste contexto de negócios quegestão de mudanças é definida como oprocesso de alinhamento das pessoas e dacultura organizacional, com as mudançasque ocorrem no n’vel da estratégia denegócio, da estrutura, dos sistemas e dosprocessos de uma organização. Quandose fala em change management o que faza diferença não é apenas “o que” precisaou deve ser feito e sim o “como”.Enquanto que “o que precisa ser feito” éfacilmente entend’vel e usualmente temlógica e bom senso, o que deixa marcaspositivas ou negativas é o como implemen-tamos uma decisão.

Gerir mudanças é fundamental para asse-gurar:

1 o sentido de responsabilidade e compro-metimento das pessoas para com amudança em curso ou a ser efetuada,

2 que a melhoria implementada seja sus-tentável e mensurável e

3 a melhora da capacidade para obtermudanças futuras.

Resumindo, prepara a organização e as pes-soas para responder com maior prontidão eassertividade os desafios cotidianos.

GERENCIANDO MUDANÇASMudança é sempre um processo de tran-sição entre uma situação atual e uma situ-ação almejada futura. Para percorrer esteprocesso é necessário atentar para as duasdimensões que o compõem, a dimensãoorganizacional e a dimensão pessoal. Amudança organizacional é usualmentequantificável e pass’vel de verificação e atémesmo de previsão podendo, portanto, serplanejada e controlada.

Contudo, mudanças a n’vel individual sãoimprescind’veis, sem elas as mudanças

organizacionais não acontecem. Mas,estas são mais complexas e não podem sercontroladas e nem quantificadas com pre-cisão, fator que imprime aos gestores demudança uma complexidade adicional.

A figura abaixo exemplifica estas duasdimensões e evidencia alguns compo-nentes vitais para obtenção de sucesso.

Uma gestão bem sucedida requer a com-binação de alguns fatores, que constituemuma espécie de fórmula de sucesso:(Mudança bem Sucedida = V + N + F + C + R).

Visão - é necessário ter-se uma claravisão de onde estamos e porquê e paraonde queremos ir e porquê; em qualdimensão de tempo, com que recursos,que riscos queremos correr.

Necessidade – é necessário que amudança seja um imperativo e que a situ-ação atual não seja uma opção. Uma dasprincipais funções de um l’der é criar o“desconforto” com o status quo.

Ferramentas e Recursos – Metodologia,conhecimento, experiência e independên-cia são alguns dos fatores cr’ticos de


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sucesso para planejar e implementarmudanças.

Comunicação e Feedback – É necessáriomonitorar constantemente o ambienteinterno e externo, os grupos de poder, tra-balhar com situações amb’guas, comuni-cando com clareza e fazendo, senecessário, alguns ajustes de rota.

Recompensa – Uma mudança bem suce-dida requer que seja dado o devido recon-hecimento às conquistas e progressos, eque sejam estruturados sistemas diferenci-ados de recompensa e educação.

Adicionalmente, uma mudança não acon-tece sem um efetivo patroc’nio e muitasvezes requer a alocação de equipe especial-izada (agentes de mudança) para apoiar efacilitar o processo uma vez que a resistên-cia e o compromisso das pessoas oscilam aolongo do tempo em função de suas expec-tativas, da prontidão e também efetividadedo processo de comunicação e educação.

LIÇÕES APRENDIDASProcessos de mudança acontecem e acon-tecerão a cada dia, mas todas as empresaspassam por ciclos, em média a cada cincoanos, que requerem mudanças menos cor-riqueiras que as do cotidiano para reposi-cionamento dos negócios, para inovação,para melhoria do desempenho, para asse-gurar competências e conhecimento,etc. Énesta circunstância onde geralmente umbom programa de gestão de mudanças é adiferença entre o sucesso e o fracasso.Algumas das lições aprendidas ao longodos anos em processos de gestão demudança são extremamente simples, porisso mesmo nem sempre respeitadas,podem ser sintetizadas abaixo com umalerta adicional:

1. Nenhuma metodologia, Presidente,Diretor ou Consultor faz milagre quan-do não se tem um produto razoável.

2. Se a mudança não tiver umPatrocinador (que na maior parte dasvezes é o Presidente), nada acontece.

3. Se a empresa possuir conhecimento,experiência, metodologia e recurso detempo alocado, ela pode mudar sozin-ha sem apoio de um consultor (“makeor buy”)

4. Muitos grupos internos têm competên-cia para efetivar mudanças, mas nemsempre são legitimados pela empresa

FIGURA 1 – DIMENSÕES DAS MUDANÇAS

por não terem independência.5. A rotina do dia-a-dia é um dos maiores

entraves para que grupos internos con-duzam projetos de transformação.

6. Aspectos pol’ticos e barreiras culturaissão as maiores dificuldades a seremtranspostas.

7. Quando a mudança requerida é diame-tralmente oposta à cultura da empresa,ou de muda a cultura ou se muda amudança. Num choque entre cultura emudança, usualmente a primeira vence.

8. É falso dizer que projetos de modern-ização podem gerar desemprego.Ninguém tem garantia de emprego. Amaior parte das pessoas sabe quandosão ou não competentes e quandopodem ser “descartáveis”. Quando sãotratadas com dignidade e a empresa sepreocupa com sua empregabilidadepodem aprender e recomeçar - emqualquer idade.

9. É verdade afirmar que projetos detransformação “obrigam” os execu-tivos a tomarem decisões dolorosas,que usualmente já eram sabidas, masocultadas ou postergadas.

SOUTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE20-21 February 2008 • Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

more info: www.globalhrnews.com

10. Quanto mais cedo começar, mais tênueserá a dor da mudança. Mas não sedeve ir atrás de modismos; deve-se teruma razão, um sonho ou um ideal ouser um “business imperative”. A dor demanter o status-quo deve ser maior doque a dor do medo da mudança e dodesconhecido

CONCLUSÃOPodemos dizer que o papel principal daalta administração é o de gerenciar o pre-sente, esquecer seletivamente o passado ereabastecer-se para o futuro. E, é nessaconstrução de futuro que a mudança acon-tece e de seu sucesso depende a sus-tentabilidade e perenidade de negócios.

Todos podem introduzir e iniciar mudançascom relativa facilidade .... Mas que essenão é o verdadeiro teste ...

É o veredicto dado pelos funcionários eclientes sobre a sua habilidade de levá-losjunto com você que o tornam um vencedorou um perdedor no jogo da mudança! ■

NOTE: Change Managementen Español, go to page 46


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International travelers should beaware of new documentary require-

ments for admission to the UnitedStates. These new requirements arepart of the US government’s broaderefforts to enhance border security andensure document integrity.

Effective January 23, 2007, individualstraveling by air to the United Statesfrom Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean,Central and South America, andBermuda will be required to presentvalid passports or other acceptabletravel documents when entering or re-entering the United States.

The new passport requirement is thefirst phase of the Western HemisphereTravel Initiative (WHTI), a two-partsecurity program that will eventuallyextend the passport requirement totravelers by land and sea as early asJanuary 1, 2008. The WesternHemisphere is comprised of theUnited States, Canada, Mexico, theCaribbean, Central and South Americaand Bermuda.

Previously, citizens of the UnitedStates, Canada, Mexico and Bermudagenerally enjoyed waivers of therequirement to present a passportwhen entering the United States fromwithin the Western Hemisphere. U.S.,Canadian and Bermudan citizens werenot required to present a passportwhen entering from the Western

Hemisphere as long as they providedsatisfactory evidence of their identityand citizenship. Mexican citizens arriv-ing in the U.S. at air ports of entryfrom a contiguous territory needed topresent only Form DSP-150, the com-bined B-1/B-2 visa and Border CrossingCard (BCC). All other foreign nationalsseeking entry into the U.S. through airports of entry were required to presenta valid unexpired passport issued bythe traveler’s country of citizenship.

As of January 23, these passportwaivers ceased. Beginning on thatdate, all individuals, including US citi-zens, who are entering the UnitedStates by air from any part of theWestern Hemisphere must presenteither (1) a valid passport; (2) a NEXUSAir Card or (3) a Merchant MarinerDocument (MMD). The NEXUS AirCard is issued pursuant to the NEXUSAir Program, an airport border clear-ance pilot project that allows pre-screened, low-risk travelers to beprocessed quickly by U.S. and Canadianborder officials. Note that the NEXUSair card will be accepted only if pre-sented at a participating NEXUS port.The MMD, also known as the “z-card,”is issued by the United States CoastGuard to merchant mariners and canbe used as a travel document onlywhen presented in the course of offi-cial maritime business. Members ofthe United States military, when travel-

ing on official orders, may continue topresent their military ID and orders forentry into the U.S.

Travelers entering from U.S. territo-ries, including Puerto Rico and theU.S. Virgin Islands, are not required topresent a passport to enter the UnitedStates.

Other Western Hemisphere countriesthat also waive the passport require-ment for nationals of countries in theregion may begin requiring valid pass-ports for admission. Passport require-ments may also be enforced to ensurethat the foreign national has the nec-essary documents for completing his orher departure. Airports and carrierswho permit individuals to board an air-craft for travel to a destination forwhich they do not have the requiredadmission documents are levied penal-ties. Although these countries havenot yet announced plans to changetheir entry requirements, changes inresponse to the US WHTI are possible.

Human Resources professionals whoare responsible for facilitating or moni-toring the movement of internationalpersonnel should remind managersand employees of the new passportrequirements for travel into the UnitedStates from the Western Hemisphere.As a conservative measure and in antic-ipation of any changes in otherWestern Hemisphere countries, individ-uals traveling to any WesternHemisphere country should travel witha valid passport.

Copyright ©2007 by Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen& Loewy, LLP ■

LEGAL

US Issues New PassportRequirements for Travelinto US from WesternHemisphereby AUSTIN T. FRAGOMEN, Partner and Chairman of the Executive Committeeand NADIA YAKOOB, AttorneyFRAGOMEN, DEL REY, BERNSEN & LOEWY, LLP

come to

LONDONNovember 27-28, ‘07

10th Anniversary

International Conferencewww.globalhrnews.com


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South American “integration” as a focusof Brazilian external policy has promot-

ed great debates and discussions.

On one side there are specialists who arevehemently against this strategy allegingthat Brazil must have broader and moredeveloped markets as targets like theNorth American and European markets.

And on the other side of the argument arethe ones who defend the concept ofregional integration and they actively seekto promote an ambitious political agenda.Unfortunately, this agenda is faced withdifficulty and does not progress due to theeconomical and political incapacity ofsome countries.

However, a recent research financed by theSwitzerland Agency for Development andCooperation indicated that both partsseem to be wrong about this issue.

Researchers interviewed 65 multinationalcompanies including North-American,Europeans, Japanese, and South Americancompanies that operate in the service andindustry sectors in three or more differentcountries in the South American region.

PURPOSE OF STUDYPurpose of the study was to analyze andunderstand better, from a private-sector per-spective, the main obstacles for SouthAmerica business integration to happenfaster and better, and suggest ways to make

this integration possible. Researchers lookedat the impact of logistics, financial and theenergy services with respect to the integra-tion of operations (from a service-user per-spective), and they looked at the barriers tointegrating services.

Their first conclusion contradicts the oppo-nents of the regional integration. From themultinational companies’ point of view,South America has increasingly been per-ceived as a single operational area. Ninetypercent (90%) of interviewed companiesclassified the importance to operate as veryhigh (36%), high (13%), or average (41%).

Among those companies the ones consideras “very high” the importance to operate asintegrated in the region are Latin Americancompanies whose integration process startsfrom South America region, and from theIberian companies (Portugal and Spain)where South America is the strategic targetto their international operation.

The study indicated 31% of the inter-viewed companies operate regionally when


WORLD TRADEIntegration of South America Service Companiesby RICARDO UBIRACI SENNES, Partner-Director,RICARDO CAMARGO MENDES, Executive Director, and PAULA PEDROTI, Project ManagerPROSPECTIVA CONSULTORIA • Tel: +55-11-3816-3636Brazilian Consulting Firm on International Affairs • www.prospectivaconsultoria.com.br/eng/


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Background Screening for the GlobalMarketplace: Security and HR Challenges

NEW YORK — BritishAmerican Business’s most recent HumanResources Roundtable focused on “Background Screening for theGlobal Marketplace: Security and HR Challenges.” We weredelighted to welcome Richard Reibstein, Partner, Wolf, BlockSchorr & Solis-Cohen LLP, (assisted by his colleague, Russ Adler),and Van Robins, Business Development Manager, BackgroundScreening, Kroll, as panelists. The panelists looked at a variety ofquestions, including:

• How does domestic and international background screeningaffect hiring strategies?

• How does a company keep any information that is gatheredsecure, and avoid a breach?

Valuing Your People

It is an accepted management maxim that we are all operating in aglobal environment.

However, relatively few companies attempt to make the changesthat have the longest and most lasting effect on their business;changes to their most valuable (and often expensive) resource ñtheir people. If employees are the most valuable asset, why isn’tmore spent on their move (and their family’s) into a different cul-ture? It is getting better, but still is nowhere near enough.

MAKING A SUCCESS OF RELOCATIONWe all accept that a manager who is trained in the ways of differentcultures is useful to building a new business, closing an old one, ormaking new partners. The question is how we create them.

Programs moving people from the US to the UK, in particular,


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• How does this affect international assignment planning?• Do issues of background checks and personnel information secu-

rity impact global organizations working with the EU and theirdata privacy restrictions?

Both panelists pointed out the need to do one’s due diligencewhile ensuring that the latest employment and privacy laws arebeing complied with, because not doing so will leave a companyvulnerable to a host of potential problems and liabilities. As bothReibstein and Robins asserted, there are a variety of differentscreenings that can be done, and a company will want to look atthe time, labor and cost involved before deciding on certain typesof screenings. For example, a consumer report (credit report) mightbe sufficient in terms of screening of a lower level employee, butnot a c-suite hire. However, Reibstein noted that potential employ-ers must be aware of the permissible purposes of consumerreports, because what may come up as a red flag on a report maynot be admissible as grounds for not hiring a potential employee.

Robins described only a few of the variety of techniques and optionsa company has when screening a potential candidate. These includescreenings for:

• Social security numbers• Criminal records• Education and employment histories• Credit reports, etc.

In an international context, some of these same screenings arepossible, of course provided that they are Data Protection Act andSafe Harbor compliant. Education and employment histories arescreened/verified, along with professional qualifications and mem-berships, and other public records (e.g. criminal records and credithistories) as permitted by local laws.

Many thanks to panelists, Richard Reibstein and Van Robins, forleading such an interesting discussion, to Wolf Block Schorr forhosting the roundtable, and to DBM and Korn/Ferry for theirgenerous sponsorship of the roundtable.

Lynda SpielmanChair, BritishAmerican Business HR RoundtableGlobal HR Consultant

BritishAmerican Business, the leading transatlantic business organi-zation dedicated to helping its member companies build their inter-national business, organizes three Human Resources Roundtablesper year. Senior human resource executives from BritishAmericanBusiness member companies gather to discuss relevant and timelyissues in HR. For more information on BritishAmerican Business orthe roundtable contact Katharine Vergel at [email protected] orlog on to www.babinc.org. ■

can be very challenging. Their success rate is not very high (up to40% are said to fail to deliver objectives successfully) becauseoften times their cultural differences are more subtle: peopleassume that because they speak the same language and dresssimilarly the US and UK must act the same. If only it is worth-while understanding what the business practices are in differentareas of the world. For example you should never use a handker-chief in a Korean meeting; you should not stand very far awayfrom the person you are talking to in Saudi Arabia. We can allunderstand these obvious examples, but the changes needed godeeper and as with the UK/US are not so obvious.

The new global manager needs to understand, amongst otherthings, how to negotiate, how to avoid or manage conflict and,perhaps most importantly, how to get the best out of a team thatis not of their own culture.

IMPACTING THE BOTTOM LINEIf you do plan to move employees overseas then make sure thatyou do your homework first.

• Get the assignee and family up to speed with the country towhich they are moving. Find out what the new view of time is,of organizations, the norms of negotiation, the view and under-standing of success?

Then the real work starts:

• Begin a training program with the assignee. You should look toanswer all the basic issues of daily life in that country and try tounderstand which ones will be big issues. This is just as applica-ble in the workplace.

• Apply what has been learnt. The expat should keep a set ofnotes with situations that happen and understand why they hap-pened. Could they have done anything differently? Create theconstant of trying to find new ways based on what they havelearned.

If a program is executed, the chances of a successful relocation aregreatly increased. Teams will be more efficient and it will be easy tosee the impact on the bottom line and the meeting of businessobjectives.

BritishAmerican Business, the leading transatlantic business organi-zation dedicated to helping its member companies build their inter-national business, offers Cross Atlantic Relocation Services (CARS)programs. These cross-cultural training programs are customized tomeet members’ business needs. Members meet with an expertexternal consultant at their convenience. To book a consultation orfind out more about the service contact Katharine Vergel [email protected] or log on to www.babinc.org. ■


GlobalHRNews

Europe has always been a cornucopia ofcountries filled with traditions, customs

and many different languages. It has beenerroneously said recently that within thiscontinent there is an “old” and “new”Europe, however, nothing could be furtherfrom the truth as the entire European con-tinent is made up of countries that are allindividually steeped in history and all withlanguages that go back hundreds if notthousands of years. Rightly so there hasbeen a resurgence in the protection ofsome of Europe’s minor languages as theserepresent the identity and soul of its speak-ers. For this reason, given the number oflanguages spoken within Europe, it wouldbe right to say that Europe faces a certainchallenge when it comes to its linguisticprowess – it has certain major languages,other languages that are ever becomingmore important and this diversity can cer-tainly be a daunting task when it comes toanyone who wishes to do business or livein Europe.

Let’s go inside the magnificent continent ofEurope and its myriad of languages

Europe is made up of fifty-six countries,even if, a few of these are actually fully orpartially geographically located in Asia.Twenty seven of these countries as ofJanuary 1, 2007 are full members of theEuropean Union. Within these fifty sixcountries there are several linguistic groupsthat account for the many different lan-guages spoken in Europe.

Let’s look at these linguistic groups in moredetail:

ROMANCE LANGUAGES: Romance lan-guages are spoken to a lesser or greaterextent in south-western Europe, althoughthey are also spoken in Romania and

Moldova that are located in EasternEurope. Romance languages are spoken inthe following geographical areas ofEurope: Italy, Spain, Portugal, France,Romania, Moldova, the French-speakingareas of Belgium and Switzerland, as wellas the Romansh and Italian-speaking areasof Switzerland. All of these languageshave their origins in Latin.

GERMANIC LANGUAGES: These lan-guages are spoken for the most part innorth-western Europe as well as someparts of central Europe. This area is madeup of: Norway, Denmark, Sweden,Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, theNetherlands, Austria, Liechtenstein,Iceland, most of Switzerland and the smallareas of Finland, Italy, Wallonia.

SLAVIC LANGUAGES: These languagesare spoken in Central, Eastern, and South-eastern Europe. This area is made up of:Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Croatia,the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Macedonia,Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia,Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.

URALIC LANGUAGES: These languagesare divided into three groups, two of whichare spoken in Europe. The Finno-Permic lan-guages are spoken in Finland, Estonia, apart of Sweden, Norway, Latvia and theEuropean part of Russia. The Ugric lan-guages are spoken in Hungary, and parts ofRomania, Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine, andSiberia. The two groups make up the Finno-Ugric part of the Uralic group of languages.

ALTAIC LANGUAGES: These are spokenin Turkey, Azerbaijan, the northern part ofCyprus (only recognized by Turkey), partsof Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, andRomania and among the large Turkishcommunities found mainly in Germany,France, and Belgium.

BALTIC LANGUAGES: The Baltic languagesare spoken in Lithuania and Latvia. Estonia’sofficial language belongs to the Finno-Ugricgroup of languages, even though, it is con-sidered a Baltic state geographically.

CELTIC LANGUAGES: These languages arespoken in parts of Ireland, Scotland, Wales,Spain, and France and have seen a greatresurgence recently in interest and usage.

OTHER LANGUAGES: In addition to themain language groups described above,there are even other languages spoken inEurope and these include: Greek,Albanian, Maltese and the Basque lan-guage which is spoken in southern Franceand northern Spain.

DO YOU SPEAK EUROPEAN?This plethora of languages can sometimesbe overwhelming especially to people whocome from a monolingual country wheredoing business is done in one languageonly. Up until recently, doing business forexample in America was done primarily inEnglish and it was unheard of to print mar-keting materials in another language orhire bi-lingual staff. This is now all chang-ing and companies if they want to reachthe burgeoning Hispanic population espe-cially in the states of Florida, Arizona,California and Texas are now finding thatwithout bilingual staff and printed materialin Spanish they run the risk of losing a lotof business to competitors that have putthese sharp business tools in place.

The necessity to speak other languages tosell and buy products in Europe has been adaily part of doing business in Europe forcenturies. Even the British are realizing thatin the Europe of today, speaking English isnot enough to have an edge consideringthat their European cousins especially inScandinavia and the Benelux countries havea great command of English and can easilycommunicate in a business environmentwithout any difficulty.

The European Union will soon have twentyone official languages and each of theselanguages is vital if you are looking to dobusiness in the country where the languageis spoken. Smaller countries are no longercontent to have to make the effort to speakEnglish in a business context especiallywhen they are the buyers. More and more


EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

Europe:The Linguistic Challenge

by DAMIEN O’FARRELL, Marketing and Sales ManagerENTERPRISE GROUP


GlobalHRNews

marks that will demonstrate it the studentis making progress or not. Usually afterevery thirty hours of tuition the student(s)should receive detailed didactic feedbackform the school’s director of studies outlin-ing the challenges and proposed solutions.

If these teaching guidelines are followed,the student will learn the new language inthe shortest time possible and in the mostenjoyable manner. This ultimately meansfor the company and/or individual that theeconomic and human investment havebeen utilized to the maximum.

EUROPE: A CONTINENT OFOPPORTUNITYAs the European Union expands, Europe isbecoming more and more the world’slargest economy and presently has an esti-mated GDP of 13.4 trillion USD. And withalmost 500 million inhabitants it repre-sents great opportunities to entrepreneursand multinationals alike. However, oneshould never underestimate the challengesof Europe with regards to its linguisticdiversity. Take a flight of one hour inEurope and you will probably be a countrythat speaks a different language form thecountry that you left.

The companies that will be most successfulin Europe are those that provide theiremployees with quality language trainingservices. These courses should also be pro-vided immediately to the staff that theyrelocate from another country. There isnothing that bonds managers more withtheir local staff than showing that they aremaking an effort to learn the local lan-guage. It is a simple gesture, but paysenormous dividends.

It is not just companies that benefit frominvesting in language training. Individualsthat take the time to learn other languageswill find that in the job market in Europethey will be highly sought after and will beoffered very attractive salary and benefitpackages. Many companies in Europe areoften willing to overlook academic qualifi-cation in lieu of strong linguistic abilities.

While it is true that Europe is a challengewhen it comes to doing business due to itsdiverse cultures and languages, it is also ahaven of art, beauty, and history. For those


such professionals will increase considerablythe students’ desire to learn and will accel-erate the learning process dramatically.

Adults learn languages in exactly the sameway as a child. First they must understand,second they must begin to speak using thewords they have learnt and understand,and the final and third part is they mustbegin to write in the new language.

Successful language teaching focuses onhelping the student to speak the new lan-guage as soon as possible, therefore, trans-lating must be avoid for two reasons if thestudent is going to learn the new languageeffectively. First, the student must beencouraged to use the new language andnot the mother-tongue. This assists the stu-dent in getting used to the new languageright from the start. Second, just like a badlytuned radio that allows you to hear two sta-tions simultaneously, each language mustenter the brain on its own “frequency”.Otherwise, the syntax in the new languagewill resemble that of the mother-tongue.This can cause potentially embarrassing situ-ations for the student as word order canchange dramatically the meaning of a sen-tence from one language to another.

Another essential part of effective lan-guage teaching is for the teacher to avoidcorrecting the student while they speak.Students who are constantly corrected bythe teacher lose their confidence veryquickly and never really make progress dueto the never-ending interruptions. Instead,the teacher should make a note of the dif-ficulties that the student is experiencingand address these with suitable exercisesand/or tasks in the next lesson.

Teaching a new language should follow a“building blocks” approach in that it shouldnot introduce the more difficult aspects oflearning a language until the student hasgrasped the basics. Otherwise, the teacherruns the risk of discouraging the studentand once that happens it can very difficult,if not impossible, to motivate the studentagain. One would never try to build thesecond floor of a house without first layingthe foundation and building the otherfloors. Language learning must follow thesame process if it is to be successful.

A serious and competent language schoolwith have a series of established bench-

• LINGUISTIC CHALLENGE – CONTINUED

they are demanding that their languagesbe taken seriously and learnt by anyonewishing to do business with them. This pro-tectionism also comes from the fact thatthe smaller countries in Europe don’t wantto have their languages swallowed up bythe big players such as English, French, andGerman. In addition to this, the EuropeanUnion actively works to promote the widerknowledge and use of all its official lan-guages throughout the union.

Learning another language in Europe isessential for professional growth and opensup the possibility to being able to moveeven more freely within the single market.The ability to understand and communicatein more than one European language iswithout a doubt becoming more and moreimportant for anyone who desires to workor do business within the union. In additionto this, learning another language encour-ages people to be more open to others, itimproves cognitive ability, and enhances thelearners’ mother-tongue skills.

HOW DO YOULEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE?Language schools play a vital role in help-ing individuals to become multi-lingual.With the right combination of languageand pedagogical skills they can unleash anenthusiasm in people for languages thatcan last forever.

The role of the language school today isabout more than just teaching languages.Schools nowadays need to prepare chil-dren to be open to other cultures and peo-ple and must assist business professionalsto communicate congruently and effective-ly in another language thus allowing themto meet business targets and objectives.

There is an old adage that people wouldrather be entertained than educated andthis has never been more so than in today’slanguage teaching market. Most peopleare put off learning a new languagebecause the lessons that they have takenup to now have been dull, monotonousand totally without focus. Today’s newbreed of language teachers have taken onthe role of edutainer and must bring to thelessons energy, advanced language teach-ing skills, as well as the capacity to teach inan entertaining fashion. Lessons taught by


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Editor’s Note: Nino Nelissen is a tax lawyer by nature. In the past,Nino worked with two Big 4 firms. After resigning as a partner inone of these firms, he built Executive Mobility Group, a group inwhich professionals focus on an integrated service delivery of tax,relocation, immigration and assignment management solutions.An important element in his practice is to assist clients in optimis-ing their cooperation with service-providers. In this article, Ninogives you some important tips and insights, gained during hiscareer as a service-provider. He says that working with service-providers is crucial to many expat managers and the difficult partis, however, that this often proves to be quite challenging. Forexample, here are some issues: how to balance insourcing versusoutsourcing; how to balance cost and quality; recognzing theneed for working with global providers.

Managing foreign secondments often is a highly complicated mat-ter. To you as an assignment manager that means that you seekto outsource part of your work to third party vendors. Most com-mon examples are, tax immigration and relocation management.Often, these third parties are organisations where highly special-ized individuals are working in the field of employee mobility on afull time basis. Therefore, at first glance, there is no need toworry. However, often working with a third party shows come dis-appointments, and the chosen service model regularly turns out tobe not as good as was anticipated: it is too expensive, or there isinsufficient added value.

There are many reasons why the selected vendors do not performas good as expected. It is crucial to have a proper understandingof potential causes for such disappointments in order to create thebest outsourcing model to a particular company. In this article, Iwill address some of the most striking examples. I limit myself tothe following topics:

• The myth of global firms• Staffing engagements• Economic aspects• Inflexibility of networks• Communication• Hidden cost in outsourcing• Best practices

THE MYTH OF GLOBAL FIRMSAn easy way to select a service provider is choosing a ëglobal’ firm.This concept is, however, often a myth as in many businesses notruly global firms exist. Large firms operating under one name manytimes are a combination of local or regional firms, working togetheras a member of a particular network. Even in, for example, Big 4

firms. Therefore, each member firm has its own responsibilities.This shows in many fields. However, the most obvious are howeverwhen it comes to financial aspects as well as staff requirements.

When you negotiate or re-negotiate a contract with your lead clientservice partner, this is often a challenge to both parties. Also to theservice provider as the outcome of your discussion binds the globalteam. Local teams have their own responsibilities, and therefore areduction in fees that is often “dictated” by the lead client servicepartner may, for example, lead to less time spent on your engage-ment. Even without you experiencing it right from the onset.

Also, when it comes to the requirements that need to be met byteam members we see differences between member firms of aparticular network. When clients prefer to have a contact at man-ager level in each country, they will experience that each memberfirm has its own specific requirements for this particular rank.

STAFFING ENGAGEMENTSStaffing is a big concern to service providers. All firms track theirefficiency. This is normally done by allocating a certain hourlyrate to particular consultants, and then determine what the totalcost of the services have been. They make their money by havingstrong progressive hourly rates – the more experienced a consult-ant, the higher the hourly rates. When this system is implementedright, it helps creating an optimal allocation of resources to anengagement from the service provider’s point of view. This struc-ture is often referred to as a “pyramid structure”: a small top anda broad base.

A pyramid structure has certain strong disadvantages to a buyer.First of all, the buyer often needs to deal with a junior staff mem-ber. This makes it difficult to get a quick answer to a small ques-tion. Second, the larger the team, the higher the chance that yourcontact is not aware of all relevant information. When communi-cation is not 100%, staff members with the service provider maymiss out on the big picture. Third disadvantage of the pyramidstructure is the fact that clients pay for the internal education ofyoung staff members; when they know all information on clientand gather sufficient professional know how, they grow in theircareers and in their job level. As their careers progress, the clientsneed to start working with successors, and will eventually be facedwith the bill for getting these successors up to speed.

Besides from the pyramid structure, specialization can have strongdisadvantages too. Service providers often choose for an approachwith highly specialised consultants. Although there are strong bene-fits to dealing with experts, this implies that many consultants loose


Managing Global Vendorsby NINO NELISSEN, PresidentEXECUTIVE MOBILITY GROUP (Amsterdam and New York)[email protected]


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sight of the overall picture. They become only involved in solvingtheir one particular need, without looking into others. An immigra-tion lawyer may, for example, create the best solution from his pointof view. However, this may create difficulties from another perspec-tive, like individual or corporate tax.

A third aspect that requires attention from a staffing point of vieware the international skills of consultants. Many consultants rely onforeign colleagues to come up with the right planning in those loca-tions. This is a good thing, as they are experts in their field.However, to come up with state of the art planning, a consultantmust not only have in dept knowledge of legislation in his or herown country, but also have (access to) basis know how in the otherjurisdiction. When you are, for example, a US company and youare hiring a service provider, therefore do not just ask questions tocheck the know how of your provider on US matters, but also onforeign matters. When they cannot give an indicative answer with-in, say, 15 minutes, you may have encountered a typical case of aconsultant that cannot help implementing a global solution in anefficient way. Therefore, always ask your service provider whattraining is offered to its staff, how much time is spent on trainingand what the curriculum of these trainings are.

A fourth concern in staffing engagements is turnover of staff.Always ask for figures in this respect. Staff turnover implies ineffi-ciencies on an account. Below it is explained that any inefficiencywill, sooner or later, be invoiced to a client. As a result, turnoverof staff (either as a result of people leaving the firm or as a resultof changes within client service teams) costs you money, one wayor the other. And, the higher the turnover of staff, the more costlya provider will be.

ECONOMIC ASPECTSIn almost all cases, firms sell “billable hours”, either directly to aclient, or indirectly as a way to administer how efficient they haveworked. Engagement managers need to meet realisation targets:the overall turnover on a particular engagement needs to reflect acertain percentage of the cost allocated to time spent. When calcu-lating the overall realisation of an account, most firms consider infor-mation over several years.

In the long run, therefore, you always buy time spent – regardlesswhether you have made arrangements to be billed at hourly rates,or be billed at fixed fees. The engagement manager will alwaysstrive to reach the realization target he or she needs to make.

Discounts, credits, etc. are always reflected in realization, and willoften have to be paid back in the end, one way or another. Evenproposal time is sometimes charged to a code, and some consultantsoffset these cost against future revenues, resulting in the client pay-ing for time invested by the service provider to win an engagement.

How good you negotiated your fees, discounts and losses are, gen-erally speaking, never taken indefinitely. You always have toremain on the look out for moments where a service provider maywant to recover past presents to you.

Final comment I want to make on the economic aspects of runningengagements relates to deep discounts that are often offered toclients. The market situation, pressure from procurement and/or

the idea of adding a particular company at the list of clients isoften a trigger to agree on highly reduced fees. Such reduction isalways given for a reason. As mentioned before, the principal goalis to recover such discounts. This can be done in various ways,two most important of these are discussions on the scope of serv-ices and fees for one-off consultancy projects.

First of all, the scope of services. In a tax practice, for example, itis not uncommon to charge a flat fee for a “help line”. It isalways very debatable what is covered by such fees. When youspeak to an inexperienced consultant, he may try to get a billableproject out of this question. An experienced consultant cananswer the question often right away.

Second is, what the fees are for out of scope work. Consultantsare willing to agree with low fee work when they feel they get anentrance for more work. This work is to make up for the dis-counts they give for preparation of the services that establishedthe relationship with the client.

INFLEXIBILITY OF NETWORKSMany service providers work together in networks, either as a globalfirm or as a global or regional alliance. Networks are based on estab-lished working relationships. No guarantee exists, however, thatteams consists of the best service providers globally.

It goes without saying that a firm that has good consultantsworldwide may not have the best consultant for your case in eachparticular location where you require services. A better alternative,either quality wise or fee wise may be available. Once you chooseto work with a particular network, you are stuck with that net-work globally, and you can benefit from the strong areas andcountries, but also have to deal with the weaker elements in thenetwork. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link – this alsoapplies to networks of service providers.

When you choose for a particular network, you work with that net-work globally. You need to bear in mind that your company may beof vital importance for the local member firm where your headquar-ters are established, when you only have a small population inanother country, consultants in that country may not be willing towalk the extra mile for you as they have other companies thatrequire most of their time. To such country firms, your work is moreor less a given, and they have to fight for their own client.

Finally, networks often have developed tools. These are providedto clients free of charge. Main reason for doing so is, to secure thework. When client data is in the systems of the service provider, itis more difficult for clients to switch firms. Therefore, always keepan open mind when it comes to selecting technology. Often, sys-tems that suit you better are available in the market. Have a closelook at these tools too before you select the tool you want toadminister your population with.

COMMUNICATIONCommunication is one of the most challenging things betweenhuman beings, especially communication between serviceproviders working together in a team. There are three hurdles



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• SOUTH AMERICAN – CONTINUED

purchasing raw materials and inputs aswell as when contracting for marketing,consulting, logistics, financial and informa-tion technology (IT) services. This meansthat a significant part of these multination-als structure operations in the SouthAmerica region as integrated. This propor-tion significantly increases in companiesthat purchase and contract services region-ally, in parallel to global contracts (23% ofcompanies). As for regional integration ofproduction and sales, 41% of the compa-nies said that they manufacture and selltheir products in a regionalized way.Thirty-five percent (35%) said productionand/or sales operations are globally inte-grated. Twenty-four percent (24%) saidthey do not integrate these types of opera-tions, although they do operate in coun-tries within South America.

Interestingly, fifty-five percent (55%) ofcompanies that provide logistics, financial,and energy services, though operating inthree or more countries within SouthAmerica do not offer regionally integrated

services. This result clearly indicates one ofthe main points to be developed in the“Mercosur” agenda (Editor’s note: aregional trade organization).

LOGISTICS PROBLEMSNote that fifty-seven percent (57%) of theanswers in the survey indicated that manycompanies say current logistic difficultiesimpacts quite negatively on the successfulintegration of South America operations.

As it was expected, half of these answersattributed the logistics problems to thephysical infrastructure and to the complica-tions in the custom clearance procedures.The other half mentioned the shortage oflogistics services offered in the region (suchas shortage of regional flights, forinstance). The negative impact of finan-cial services for the integration of SouthAmerica operations was mentioned bytwenty-three percent (23%) of theanswers. The main issues concerning itsregional financial operations are wellknown problems such as regulation issues,lack of government support and shortageof financial products in the region. It is

important to note the impact of financialservices in regional business is reducedwhen companies skirt the problem offinancial services shortages by hiring servic-es at bank’s headquarters or through glob-al banks with regional presence.Seventeen percent (17%) of companiesinterviewed pointed out that energy inte-gration is a difficulty. The fact that compa-nies indicated a lack of logistics and a lackof regionalized financial services influencesnegatively in its South America operations,combined with the identification that fifty-five percent (55%) of companies providingthese types of services do not offer themin an integrated form and this indicates anincreasing demand that is not managedproperly, to date.

Having said all of this, it is important tonote that a significant number of multina-tional companies do operate in an inte-grated form within the region. For thisreason, promoting these services canresult, even in the short term, in theimprovement of regional business.



GlobalHRNews

HIDDEN COST IN OUTSOURCING

Outsourcing can offer significant benefits tocompanies – economies of scale, access toknow how, etc. When not managed properlyhowever, it can also expose you to higher cost.Especially when you work with a global serviceprovider, you need to get a better insight inhow the vendor has structured the service deliv-ery model. In particular, you need to be awareof the following items.

First, the outsourcing party charges a manage-ment fee. This is a fair fee, intended to com-pensate for time spent on managing yourengagement. However, service providers mayalso impose mark-ups on services, rendered bythird parties. In addition, it is not uncommonthat service providers require a commissionfrom parties that they hire to render services onbehalf of clients of the outsourcing partner.These discounts are not always passed on toclients. It makes sense to check with your out-sourcing provider how the fee is actually struc-tured – what amount is their “cost”, and whatis their coordination fee.

Second, in order to obtain high quality advise, itis important to know the exact arrangementsyour outsourcing vendor has with other parties.An good example in this respect is global immi-gration. When global immigration managementis outsourced, often local consultancy firms arehired to assist. Some vendors have arrange-ments, where their local co-counsels only getpaid for permits, not for advice. Therefore, itbecomes quite attractive to service providers tonot look for the easiest way to get someone towork legally in a particular country, but to lookfor the way that ensures them receiving revenues.

Finally, when thinking of outsourcing, it is impor-tant to ask the outsourcing vendor for its selec-tion criterium for services providers. Is thismoney driven, know how driven, and what isdone to manage that vendors continue to meetthese requirements?

BEST PRACTICES

A lot has been said above about what can gowrong when outsourcing part of the mobilitymanagement process to a third party. Be itrelocation management, immigration manage-ment, tax services, there are several best prac-tices in managing expatriate populations in aprofessional way.

EDUCATION

In my view, the most important element is theeducation of team members. Even, or maybeeven especially, when you outsource part ofyour mobility management process you need tomake sure that team members get excellent

• GLOBAL VENDORS – CONTINUED

that a global team needs to overcome. First is,to make sure that everybody has a certain stan-dard in English, and connects the same mean-ing to expressions used. In an assignmentprocess, there will at least be five partiesinvolved: HR in home and host location, a con-sultant in home and host location, and theexpat him (or her) self. This increases the oddsfor miscommunication.

Most of us will have seen the video that Berlitzput on the internet where the German coastguard gets a call for help, indicating “we aresinking”, and the coast guard answers “what areyou thinking about”. Although this is a funnyexample, there are many more in real life, withmore serious consequences. Looking at in par-ticular English language skills in various coun-tries, you see striking differences between vari-ous service providers. Some really insist on theirstaff getting proper language education, where-as others have a very strong focus on technicalskills. When you are doing business in, say, Asia,but your consultants have difficulties understand-ing each other, you never get an optimal result.

Then, assuming that everybody is on the samewavelength, we get another human factor incommunication, being that there is a correctflow of information; in other words makingsure that:

• the right questions are asked to the foreignservice provider” the correct answers areprovided

• the correct answers are interpreted correctlyand provided to the client and the expat

A very simple example to illustrate the above isthe following. An individual is assigned fromcountry A to country B. The secondment is fora three year period. However, country B has aparticular tax regime in case of secondments forless than two years. In case HR is not fullyaware of this rule, and the consultant does notask, no one will check whether a reduced sec-ondment may actually benefit the client.

A third question involves risk taking. Often,especially when it comes to legal matters, thereis room for interpretation. And when there isroom for interpretation, it is important thateveryone is aware of the level of risk a client iswilling to take. When the client is conservative,and one of the consultants in a team (maybeeven a consultant that never dealt with the clientdirectly), the client can unwillingly be exposed torisks. This, of course, also goes the other wayround, albeit that in such cases the client loosesout on certain benefits.

education as this helps them manage the ven-dor better. An educated team member is morelikely to ask for a “yes or no” answer, ananswer that is typically invoiced at lower costthan a full-blown answer.

TRANSPARENCY IN BILLING

With many vendors, the billing structure causesunexpected surprises. Therefore, it is importantto have a transparent billing structure. Thisensures that you pay a proper amount forengagement management and pay competitivefees for assistance at assignment locations. Itavoids, as much as possible, that discounts areoffered that are regained later on, and passesdiscounts on to you as a service provider.Another advantage of such transparent billingsystem is in certain jurisdictions where sales taxcannot be reclaimed when the invoice is sent toa third party rather than the end user of theservices. In such jurisdictions, this can lead to asignificant saving in sales tax.

NEVER RESTRICT

YOURSELF TO ONE FIRM

After selecting a vendor, it is important to makesure you still get information from as manysources as possible, and keep pressure on fees.Obvious benefits can be found in not restrictingyourself to working with one vendor, or onevendor per service, but to use several vendors.By establishing several good working relation-ships, you are assured that you get more atten-tion from service providers as they feel competi-tion of another provider.

GET HELP ON-SITE

It pays of when you hire a consultant to cometo your site occasionally. This can be attractiveto your service provider, as they get a chance tosell a ëblock’ of hours, but also to yourself asyou have someone on site who you can askquestions you may be dealing with, but avoidthe extra charges. Also, you and your stafflearn more from an in-house professional thanyou can learn from receiving phone calls, emailsand letters.

INVEST IN NETWORKING

Key to many frustrations in working with ven-dors is lack of information. Building a strongnetwork ensures that you get information fromas many sources as possible. When talking withglobal vendors, local service providers, peers andformer employees of vendors, you get manyfragments of information that can help build apicture of all firms in the marketplace. Eventhough agendas do not always allow a lot oftime for networking, having a strong network isthe only way to get a strong impression ofwhat’s really going on in the marketplace. ■


GlobalHRNews

Today, every global company is lookingto develop in China. The majority

experience difficulty in identifying man-agers who possess the capacities to devel-op business in China in a way that is prof-itable and durable. Chinese companieswith international aspirations are alsobeginning to have to deal with this issue.For companies like TCL or LENOVO, pur-chasing well-known foreign companiessuch as Thomson or IBM PC is not suffi-cient. A company also needs an adequatenumber of Chinese resources who candevelop business in a cultural environmentthat is very different from theirs. FewChinese companies have been successfulwith international acquisitions and evenfewer possess a talent pool that can headup operations abroad.

And yet, expatriate assignments are costlyand frequently fail. Chinese employeesworking in western companies in Chinaoften question their western bosses’ per-formance and effectiveness. The same istrue for many western employees whohave recently begun working under aChinese manager. Consequently, adequatepreparation is crucial, and the selection ofcandidates for an expatriate assignmentmust be done in a professional and objec-tive manner.

Most Chinese Managers are sent on expa-triate assignments without adequate cul-tural training. An employee’s loyalty toupper management, which is the primarycriteria used in the selection of candidates,is by no means a guarantee of success onan international assignment. As a result,the Chinese Managers’ relationship withforeign colleagues, even those with Asian

origins, can often prove to be challenging,as both thinking styles and managementpractices differ. Expatriates can often feelisolated and sometimes even question theirrole when taken outside of an environ-ment in which they are quite competent.

ARCELOR, AN IMPRESSIVE EXAMPLEArcelor, who has recently become Arcelor-Mittal, as most global companies, wishes toestablish a presence in the “BRIC” coun-tries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Theprocess developed by the group’s CorporateHR Management, in conjunction with ICM,focuses on three guiding principles: a thor-ough selection of candidates, in-depth cul-tural training, and considerable supportupon arrival in the destination country.

When selecting candidates, the followingis fundamental: a talent pool of candi-dates who are available and motivated soas to ensure a wide selection, and evi-dence of the candidates’ technical skills aswell as their linguistic and cultural compe-tencies. Preparing Arcelor’s candidates forinternational assignments includes threemajor elements: an understanding of whattaking on a position abroad involves,developing the competencies required tobe successful in a cultural context that isdifferent from theirs, and receiving trainingthat is specific to the destination culture.

The support provided upon arrival in thecountry combines two approaches: multi-cultural team-building with local employ-ees and intercultural coaching in the firstweeks after the expatriate has taken on hisnew role.

ICM, who has 25 years’ experience on thesubject and has worked with over a thou-

sand expatriates, believes following thethree steps in this process reduces the timeneeded for cultural adaptation by fifty per-cent.

THE ARCELOR PROCESS,DEVELOPED AND LED BY ICMThe implementation of this type of processcan understandably be met with significantinternal resistance as well as some pre-con-ceived ideas. Nevertheless, it is importantthat these be overcome.

SIX COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS TOOVERCOME• “You can always ultimately find a candi-

date if you look hard enough.” This istrue, though the person is not usuallythe best possible candidate.

• “A general information session on thecountry is sufficient.” This is false: it isimportant to have a good understandingof the culture shared by those withwhom the expatriate will be working, ofthe nuances of the local culture andmore importantly, of the organisationalculture in which the expatriate will takeon his new role.

• Believing that a manager who displays ahigh performance level in his native cul-ture will be successful in another. This isfalse: freshwater fish are rarely comfort-able in salt water!

• Preparing the person who is going on theassignment suffices. This is false, as cul-tural adjustment must come from bothsides: from the newly arrived expatriateand from the local team who will need toadapt to a new way of working, a reflec-tion of the parent company or group.

• Leaving the expatriate to manage on hisown upon his arrival. This can present asignificant risk because the expatriate’svery first behaviours can quickly ruin hiscredibility without him realising it.Major errors can be committed as theexpatriate is settling into his new role,and his superiors either detect theseonce it is too late or not all.

• Believing that the expatriate’s returnhome will be easier than his adaptationabroad. Statistics show that, alas, thereturn home can be quite a challengeand is often not managed adequately.This results in fifty percent of formerexpatriates leaving their group withintwo years after they return.


Identifying, Evaluatingand Preparing Talent forInternational Assignment

by MARC RAYNAUD, Partner • [email protected] CULTURAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (ICM),Consultancy specialised in global integration forinternational corporations since 1983


GlobalHRNews

THE KEYS TO SUCCESSGlobal companies who overcome theabove-mentioned obstacles adhere to tenprinciples considered to be effective overthe last 25 years:

• Seek out employees interested in work-ing abroad and avoid “designated” can-didates.

• Assess not only their technical skills butalso their linguistic and cultural compe-tencies.

• Create awareness regarding expatriateassignments in order to enable candi-dates to make an educated choice with-out circumventing the associated profes-sional and personal risks.

• Offer the family a preliminary visit sincethe decision to move abroad must beshared by the family if there is one.

• Offer cultural training that is specific tothe destination city or region and to theorganisational culture.

• Involve the local team in welcoming andsupporting the new expatriate

• Provide the expatriate with coachingdesigned to guide him through his firststeps abroad in order to enable him todecode anything he does not under-stand and to adjust his behaviour.

• Prepare for their return home well inadvance.

”Thanks to your comprehensive HRprocess, we have been able toidentify talent for China which wehad not previously considered.“

Gilles Biau – Senior VP CorporateHuman Resources, Arcelor

A successful expatriate assignment can bemeasured by three criteria: the speed withwhich the expert or manager adapts to thelocal culture, his or her capacity to developthe local team’s skills in compliance withthe group’s standards, and finally, theimpact that the expatriate will have on thedevelopment of the group’s culture oncehe returns home.

In conclusion, it is evident that the mannerin which an international assignment is

managed has major strategic implicationsfor corporations with international aspira-tions. This enables to develop businessabroad, to strengthen the intercultural skillsof tomorrow’s leaders and to develop thegroup’s culture by adopting new practices.

International assignments represent a newnecessity for Chinese companies that wantto become international leaders. Thesecompanies can learn from the possiblechallenges experienced by western compa-nies, thus avoiding the above-mentionedpitfalls. Without the identification, assess-

ment and adequate preparation of poten-tial expatriates, it will be difficult forChinese companies to experience long-term success abroad.

© ICM 2006 ■

PARISNOVEMBER 2008


GlobalHRNews

There is little doubt that technology isaffecting organizational missions, goals

and objectives. Technology initiatives inmultinational corporations are now highlyvisible and attract a lot of attention.Strategic deployment of InformationTechnology (IT), in particular, is deemed anecessity in the realm of global competition.

Yet, there are signs that the promises oftechnology are often over-rated.According to an analysis by Gartner, Inc.,estimated spending on hardware, soft-ware, IT services and telecommunicationsapproached several trillion dollars in 2006.But managers at most companies makingthese investments complain that informa-tion overload slows decision-making.

Several large-scale research initiatives that Ico-authored with my colleague Dr. BarbaraTrautlein point to similar tensions. Forinstance, in our study “The Whole Worldat Work: Managers Around the GlobeDescribe Their IT Experiences - Suggestinga New Framework for Global ITLeadership,” managers in multinationalcorporations characterized technology asboth empowering and encumbering. Theyequated IT with:

• freedom to work anywhere and pressureto work all of the time;

• higher customer satisfaction matched byrelentless consumer demand;

• more data that can lead to “analysisparalysis” and diminished creativity;

• faster information flow that erodes per-sonal relationships and communications.

While the managers we interviewed credit-ed technology with many improvements,

only 14% suggested that “technology”will be a key component of the idealorganizations of the future. In contrast,more than 90% said that the best organi-zations will focus above all on valuing andsupporting people.

WORLDWIDE OPPORTUNITYThese patterns lead to a few burning ques-tions of 21st century global management:How can IT be simultaneously over-valuedand under-valued? Are there “must dos”for improving the effectiveness of IT? Hasthe time come for a change in the roles andcontributions of technology professionals?

The answers to these questions are predi-cated on an emerging truth – that there isa looming organizational shift away fromIT as infrastructure and computers towardIT as an integrator of information madeavailable in people-friendly ways. In thisforward-looking view, IT will be forced tochange focus from the “techie side” to the“user side.” This trend will fuel what theIBM Institute for Business Value calls atechnology emphasis on “improvingresponsiveness, resilience and enterprise-wide collaboration.” Or, as Rayport andJaworski propose in their 2005 book BestFace Forward, the only lasting competitiveadvantage will involve tapping the capabili-ties of both machines and people.

Indeed, when we gave managers free reignto imagine value-added technology theytalked about IT being used to strengthenrelationships inside and outside organiza-tions. And they envisioned technology pro-fessionals exhibiting advanced skills in listen-ing, connecting, and intelligently influencingorganizational decision-making.

DEVELOPING IT LEADERS To date, this new frontier of IT is only aglimmer on the horizon. As an IT managerin North America said, “One of the consis-tent problems is mistaking technology as aleading component of the change process.In fact, it’s usually the people side andleadership that is the big challenge.”

It’s a given that IT is at the center of com-plex networks of supply chains, timezones, production sites and divisions. Theopportunity is to imbue the function withNew World competencies. Influential CIOs,CTOs and managers will be those whowork in holistic ways. They will be facilewith the “soft stuff” that distinguishessuccessful leaders from technical gurus andacademic stars.

So, an exciting challenge awaits executivesand managers responsible for global strat-egy, global HR, and global IT. These are thepeople who can pursue a comprehensiveapproach to the human side of technologyand call for “Connected TechnologyLeaders(SM)” to be trained and developedin four content areas:

• Core and Context – understanding per-sonal styles, strength and weaknesses.

• Customers and Colleagues – immersionin customer and colleague viewpoints.

• Company and Community – rich expo-sure to the visions, strategies and goals oforganization leaders and stakeholders.

• Components of Continuity – develop-ment of individual and team ActionPlans linked to real situations.

Leading the charge for this leadershipdevelopment means seeing beyond the

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

The Human Side of Global ITCould multinational competitiveness depend on the intersection of technology and people? New analysis suggests an emerging frontier for leadership development.

by PATRICIA SHAFER, President • [email protected] COMPEL ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE ALLIANCE, LTD.


GlobalHRNews

incessant march of technology rollouts,reconfigurations and revamps. As onemanager in a European multinationallamented, “I have seen many examples ofIT that are not as successful as they couldbe . . . This is because they weren’t run asa business transformation vs. a technologyproject.”

The challenge will be to deal with the insti-tutional schizophrenia around technology –specifically IT. Most organizations and MBAprograms don’t actually treat technologyas integral to strategy. As a NorthAmerican CIO put it during research thatwe conducted in collaboration withWomen in Technology International (WITI),“When I talk to other business leaders inmy company, they want someone to ‘justhandle the IT stuff’ . . .”

In the optimal scenario, organizations willbe prompted to view IT leadership devel-opment as an investment. The payoff willbe a worldwide cadre of professionals gen-erating thoughtful conversations thatbegin, “Why aren’t we doing this?” and“We should really stop doing that.” ■

MANAGERS DESCRIBE IDEAL ORGANIZATIONOF THE FUTURE – KEY FACTORS

IDEAL ORGANIZATION CATEGORY ALL NA EUR ASIA AFRICA% % % % %

People Valued 92.5 91.3 96.2 85.0 100.0

Leadership 52.3 45.7 38.5 65.0 80.0

Broad/Integrative Perspective 50.5 52.2 34.6 65.0 53.3

Consistent/Aligned Focus 43.9 50.0 38.5 20.0 66.7

World Citizenship 25.2 8.7 26.9 35.0 60.0

Technology 14.0 8.7 7.7 20.0 33.3

TOTAL N Per Region 107 46 26 20 15

NOTE: ALL=all respondents; NA=North Americans; Eur=Europeans; Asia=Asians; Africa= sub-Saharan Africans.

Source: Compel Organizational Excellence Alliance, Ltd., 2006


GlobalHRNews

• TRAVEL SECURITY – CONTINUED

finds themselves abroad, in a serious secu-rity related incident, can the employermuster up any and all resources necessaryto respond?

An experienced network of globalresources will ease the trauma the employ-ee faces, minimize related expenses andenable the company to return their focusto the business at hand. A 24-hour securi-ty response center enabling employees togain access to security advice is essential.

When travelers and expatriates were evac-uated out of Lebanon this summer, manyutilized these 24-hour security responsecenters provided by their corporations toreceive instructions. For those on theground, information was scarce. These 24-hour response centers provided them withinformation on their company’s evacuationplans and, in turn, alerted the corporationsof the whereabouts of their employees.

As companies continue to globalize andmove into emerging markets, threats tobusiness travelers increase. If your organiza-

tion does not have a travel security programyou should make the necessary recommen-dations to senior management, or if you area member of senior management, considerthe three basic components of a compre-hensive program: information, tracking and24-hour support. These elements combinedwith an incident or crisis management planform an extremely robust program – onethat will protect your travelers as well as thecompany’s reputation. ■

Are you ready for the challenge?

ABOUT THE AUTHORDamien O’Farrell has been qualified to teach Englishas a foreign language since 1989. Since then he hascoordinated and created language courses for someof Italy’s major companies including ENEL andTelecom Italia. In addition to this, as a accomplishedprofessional in the fields of marketing and sales,Damien also understands the importance of supplyingthe market with language courses that are inline withthe needs of today’s leading multinationals in termsof content, results, and cost efficiency. Damienpresently works within Enterprises Group as theMarketing and Sales Manager. ■

• LINGUISTIC CHALLENGE – CONTINUED

that have vision, Europe offers a wonderfullife experience if one is open to immersingoneself in its plethora of countries - eachwith its own unique identity. There is noth-ing like reading the great European literarymasters in their native tongues or watchinga European film in the original version orattending a meeting in Europe and beingable to communicate with the locals in theirlanguage. For this reason language learningis a vital part of one’s personal and profes-sional growth if one is considering to liveand/or work in Europe.

send your

NEWS2

[email protected]


GlobalHRNews

• SOUTH AMERICAN – CONTINUED

A SECOND MAJOR CONCLUSIONThe second major conclusion of this studyindicated the necessity to combine SouthAmerica integration with broader politicalinitiatives aiming to improve infrastructureand inclusive agreements, with specificpolicies to promote logistics and financialservices offerings. Different types ofincentives ñ credit, fiscal, regulatory,among others ñ should be offered tocompanies interested in provide andincrease logistics and financial servicessolutions in the region. Increasing thesupply and reducing the costs of theseservices would promote incentives to theincrement of business among the compa-nies in the region. Doing so will generatenew demand and scale for business, thusenlarging offers and reducing prices ofthese services

Reforming customs proceedings is desir-able. Among the issues that providers oflogistics services mentioned include: stan-dardization and integration of customs

proceedings, simplification and automa-tion of proceedings, rules stabilization,increase schedule hours of custom hous-es, standardization of sanitation controland limit of height, weight and size prod-ucts standardization sent by express load.

Despite the difficulties, the number ofcompanies that perceive South America asan integrated area is growing. However, itis important to note that the regional inte-gration issue has been viewed differentlyfrom the most immediate needs of thesecompanies. By “unlocking” some logisticsand financial issues, as seen, can generatea new “leap forward” in the regional busi-ness movement.

An organized agenda broughtforth by a combination of thepublic and private sectors insome way would make it morefeasible to implement publicpolicies and encourage pro-inte-gration regional investments. ■

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NEW YORK — Korman Communities hasadded a new brand to their portfolio.AKA (http://www.stayaka.com) is a luxurycollection of suites, which seeks to offer anew level of extended-stay accommoda-tions in prime metropolitan locations.Locations now include: NYC (UnitedNations, Times Square, Central ParkSouth, Sutton Place); White Plains, NewYork; DC (White house District andArlington); and Philadelphia (RittenhouseSquare). AKA has a unique spin on bou-tique long-stay hotels. It is an innovativenew collection of architecturally uniqueproperties combining the spaciousnessand serenity of a finely furnished apart-ment with the conveniences and graciouspersonal service of a luxury hotel. Forsure, AKA is the unparalleled leader inexquisite long-stay hotel residences. ■


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NEWSJoyce Sharkey joins TMCPRINCETON, NEW JERSEY — TrainingManagement Corporation (TMC) is pleasedthat Joyce Sharkey has joined us as Directorof Business Development. Joyce’s appoint-ment is part of the expansion strategy ofTMC, as it continues to build on a morethan 20 year history of client service in theareas of Global Effectiveness, GlobalDiversity and Inclusion, and TeamEffectiveness. Joyce will work with the TMCteam to develop sales opportunities tobroaden the reach of TMC’s products andservices within our existing accounts as wellas to develop new corporate accounts andmarket segments in the United States.

Joyce comes to TMC with twelve years ofexperience and background in the culturalconsulting and training industry for BerlitzLanguage Services, Inc, most recently asNational Director of Development. Shewas responsible for the sale and manage-ment of key global accounts and forgedchannel sales partnerships in both the relo-cation and training industry. She served onthe Program Committee of ERC and is amember of ERC, SHRM, ASTD, NJASTDand the National Foreign Trade Council.

Prior to joining Berlitz, Joyce was theAssistant Director of the Museum StudiesProgram at New York University and thedirector of a small arts and science muse-um. She continues her dedication to thearts as a Trustee of The Newark Museum.Joyce received her B.A. degree fromManhattanville College,her MA inPhilosophy from University of Virginia anda post-graduate certificate in MuseumStudies from New York University.

Established in 1984, TMC was created toaddress the development of cultural com-petence as a core skill set essential torespond to the requirements of workingsuccessfully in international business. TMChas distinguished itself with a broad rangeof clients who can attest to TMC’s businessresults defined by an:

• Exclusive and pragmatic approach tocross-cultural effectiveness and culturalcompetence embedded in its manage-ment and leadership solutions

• Innovative, blended learning solutions,

combining online assessments, web-andclassroom learning and consistent fol-low-up support and sustainment

• Consultative expertise in performanceenhancement emphasizing the cus-tomization of learning solutions andmeasurement of learning effectiveness.

For more information on TMC, we urgeyou to visit our Website or contact Joyce [email protected] or 609-951-0525ext. 120. ■

Kathy Paddock, CRPVice President - Relocation Services

E-MAIL: [email protected]

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Have you ever heard about CVRD,Embraer, Natura, Odebrecht,

Votorantim or Petrobras? If the answer isno, you are bound to have a surprise.

CVRD is the second largest mining compa-ny in the world; there are several interna-tional (even US) airlines operating routesflying Brazilian manufactured Embraerplanes; Votorantim is the largest cementcompany in Brazil with expanded activityoperations in the US and Canada, Naturais a cosmetic factory opening up all overthe world with the Amazon Natural fra-grances, Odebrecht is in the constructionbusiness and had in 2005 over 800Brazilians abroad, and, last but not least,Petrobras, the #1 Oil and Gas operator notjust in Brazil but also in other countries!

It just so happens that Brazilian corpora-tions are generating relocation businessworldwide as intensively as General Motorsor DuPont! And the numbers are growing!

To most Brazilian MultinationalCorporations the beginning was verypainful. They needed to learn from thescratch what is involved in an expatriation.The Brazilian companies had no expatria-tion culture or experience. There was nocorporate expertise to support expatriation.The HR teams were requested to sendBrazilians to North and Latin America,Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Notjust to the USA or Canada but to challeng-ing ones such as Gabon and China.

There were several challenges to be faced.The cultural shock, for example: Brazil, anemerging country, sending technology andknow-how to first world countries andBrazilian employees having to learn how todeal with different cultures, only that thistime it was not as the host but as the

home country.

The language barrier was, and still is, anoth-er difficulty to be faced. Some employeesthat were key persons to the new projects,as well as many of their family members,were only fluent in Portuguese. If the chil-dren were not fluent in English the “newschool” subject was also an issue. For thespouses, the language barrier would makethe adaptation more difficult and, not hav-ing to go to work or to school, they wouldsuffer the effects of loneliness. Even theweather was a major problem for most ofthem! Long winters, short days, cold tem-peratures and even snow are somethingBrazilians are not used to deal with.

As a result of all this, many times the fami-lies decided to stay behind and the employ-ee had to go alone to the assignment. This,of course, was far from ideal. It generatedextra stress and had directly reflected on thefinal result of many assignments.

It was not uncommon to see legal prob-lems related to Brazilian employment legis-lation and tax issues at the end of anassignment. That would not occur if anappropriate policy was in use at the begin-ning of the expatriation.

The problem faced by Brazilian companieswas how to deal with all the aspects of anexpatriation. The lack of a consistent expa-triation policy was creating all sorts ofproblems in these companies. There wasno consistency on the treatment given toeach expatriation sometimes even withinthe same department. Each employeewould negotiate their own expatriationpackages with the business with differentresults to different employees. The betternegotiator would get the better deal.

Finding professionals able to create interna-tional transference policies in complianceto Brazilian legislation was mandatory atthat time. Not only to establish rules forpackages to be received by the employeeat the host location and the repatriationbut also to prevent problems to legally rein-tegrate the employee into the Brazilianpayroll at the end of the assignment. Aconsistent treatment supported by clearrules was mandatory to create an adequateexpatriation process.

An efficient support during the relocationprocess for the Brazilian families, both inBrazil and at the host country, was alsoneeded. It should include assessment, if notto identify the right employee and family forthe specific assignment, to identify theneeds of the selected employee and familythat will guide the adequate support pro-gram in order to minimize the cultural andadaptation problems and, by reducing thestress not related to work, allow the employ-ee to better focus on the assignment.

Repatriation, always a difficult issue tomost companies, should be outlined at themoment the expatriation is taken into con-sideration. Setting the expectations for thereturn is another detail that needed atten-tion from the Brazilian employers. A men-toring program to keep the employeeaware of the changes and opportunities atthe home country was also a new subjectto be learned.

Having to face all these challenges, theBrazilian Corporations HR departmentsobviously looked at other MultinationalCorporations models and then having themadjusted to Brazilian legislation and cultureusing national specialized relocation sup-port. Nowadays both Brazilian multination-als and relocation companies have devel-oped know-how and together havedesigned policies, mentoring and relocationprograms that are adequate to Brazil andBrazilians expatriates’ needs. Today it iscommon practice to expatriate Braziliansand as a general rule they do very welldespite all the challenges they have to face.

And we, at Focal Point, are proud of hav-ing been pioneers on this well succeedproject! ■

WORD TRADE

BrazilianCorporationsby ANA MARIA GIESBRECHT, GMS, Managing [email protected] POINT GLOBAL MOBILITY SERVICES, Sao Paulo, Brazil


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NEWSMSI offers HR Services NEWBURYPORT, MASS. — Mobility ServicesInternational (MSI) (www.msimobility.com)has begun to implement its HumanResources Strategic Services practice, a sig-nificant expansion of MSI’s GlobeSource™international relocation program, whichwas launched in 2006.

MSI President and CEO Timm Runnionsaid, “Relocation and assignment manage-ment are inextricably linked to our clients’broader human resources programs. Whilewe have always provided global policy con-sulting and benchmarking services, werealized that our clients would benefitfrom a more robust and holistic humanresources program that helped themachieve their broader business objectives.”

MSI Human Resources Strategic Servicesincludes subject matter experts in compen-sation and benefits, training and employeedevelopment, human resource planningand operations, staffing and other disci-plines related to global organizationaldevelopment and managing a global work-force. The program builds on traditional,relocation-related services, such as policydevelopment, immigration, candidateassessment and benchmarking services, toinclude more strategic offerings, such asRisk Management, Succession Planningand Procedures, Mergers and AcquisitionsHR Planning and Global Staffing,Recruiting and Training.

These services are fully integrated withMSI’s other GlobeSource offerings:International Assignment Managementand International Financial services.

Founded in 1981, MSI is the leading inde-pendent provider of global employeemobility and HR strategy services for cor-porations in 147 countries worldwide. ■

Gary Tice VP Sales,On Call InternationalSALEM, NEW HAMPSHIRE — Global medicalassistance and insurance company, On CallInternational has named Gary Tice, VicePresident Sales. Gary Tice has over 15

years senior management and sales experi-ence in international travel assistance andtravel insurance. He previously served asnational sales director, vice president salesand marketing and finally as president andCEO of International SOS Assistance, Inc.,in Philadelphia. Later, Gary was vice presi-dent of business development for AIGInternational Services in New York andthen served with MedAire for five years incorporate business developmentDuring histenure at International SOS, Tice developed

the first comprehensive security program inthe travel assistance industry. The programprovided clients with online country pro-files and security alerts and indemnifiedpolitical evacuations. In 1998, Tice over-saw the political evacuation of over 2,300employees of corporate clients fromIndonesia during a time of political unrest.Tice was instrumental in the design andlaunch of the Global Premier Card, aninnovative travel assistance and travelinsurance card for executives and upscale

Luxury Accommodation in Paris • Apart-hotel, Business and Conference Facilities

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international travelers. Michael Kelly, presi-dent and CEO, and a former president ofInternational SOS, said “the addition ofGary to the On Call team positions us forcontinued growth in the burgeoning cor-porate business travel segment. Hisknowledge of the assistance and insuranceindustries is unparalleled.”

Headquartered in Salem, NH, On Call providescustomized medical, travel, security, conciergeand insurance products to the travel, financialservices, insurance, and direct marketing indus-tries, 24 hours-a -day, seven days-a-week, 365days-a-year. It serves more than seven millionconsumers through clients such as HollandAmerica, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises,and Carnival Corporation, which includesCarnival, Costa, Princess, Cunard, and SeabournCruise Lines. On Call International is a memberof the International Assistance Group (IAG) andspecializes in delivering high touch service to itsconsumer and corporate clients including aero-medical evacuations anywhere in the world. Forfurther information about On Call International,visit www.oncallinternational.com. ■

Cornerstone Wins NewAccounts in 2006

BASKING RIDGE, NEW JERSEY — CornerstoneRelocation Group (CRG), a leader in qualityrelocation management services,announced an impressive list of 22 newclients for 2006 with multi-year contracts.The list cuts across the spectrum fromFortune 500 Companies to multi-nationalmanufacturing conglomerates. “It’s beenan incredible year,” said President and CEOJanelle Piatkowski. “What’s most reward-ing is the number of accounts we’ve wonthrough RFPs against some of our biggestcompetitors in the industry. Our strategicquality assurance initiatives are really pay-ing off in tangible results because we con-tinually hone and improve our serviceofferings to meet the ever changing mar-ketplace.” Increasing in the overall mix arenew global clients. Piatkowski adds, “Thedevelopment of Globe Central -Cornerstone’s independent network ofpremier global service partners – has reallystruck a positive chore among prospects.With allegiance only to our core values andoperating standards, the alliance offers

(CRG), a leader in quality relocation man-agement services, announced that JenniferO’Brien has joined the company asManager, Client Integrations. In this role,O’Brien will manage all aspects of clientimplementations as well as develop anddocument departmental process and pro-cedures. In addition, she will provide train-ing for unique processes and requirementspertaining to Assignment Managementengagements. O’Brien will be based inBasking Ridge, New Jersey. ■

best-in-class service partners without com-promise.” Superior technology has alsobeen cited as a clear motivating fact.Cornerstone’s multi-million dollar invest-ment in their proprietary relocation soft-ware system – TrackStar – has sealed quitea few deals. “TrackStar works on so manylevels – especially behind the scenes whereit quietly adds great efficiencies.” TheCornerstone financial services staff hasalmost doubled to handle the volume aswell as significant increases in service deliv-ery staff. Cornerstone Relocation Group


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P. Douglas JohnsonManager, Specialist in Expat Services

Private Client Services250 Montgomery Street Suite 910 San Francisco California 94104 USATel: +1 (415) 678 2770 Fax: +1 (415) 773 [email protected] www.hifx.com

WorldwideNetworking

David GilmartinGeneral Manager

Intermark Group Inc.119034, Moscow, Kropotkinskiy per 7 blg 1, 3rd floor

Tel: {+7 495} 502 95 53, 956 68 38 Fax: {+7 495} 502 95 54Mob.: {+7 903} 799 85 92

e-mail: [email protected] www.intermark.ru

NEWSEmployee OpinionSurveys san diego — The 2006 winners of thePeter Barron Stark & Associates Award forWorkplace Excellence™ have beenannounced. Many awards that claim tomeasure workplace excellence are basedon responses provided by an administratorin a written questionnaire. The Award forWorkplace Excellence is considered espe-cially prestigious as it is solely based onactual employee feedback. Clay Phillips,City Manager for the City of Escondido,who was a first time award winner,believes that winning the award “is a trib-ute to our employees who are the heart-beat of this organization.”

Peter Stark, President of Peter Barron Stark& Associates shares the purpose ofemployee opinion surveys, “Through thesesurveys, employees believe their voice canbe heard by management. And, oncethat voice is heard it can be acted upon tomake positive workplace improvements.”

Award winners unanimously agree that asatisfied and engaged workforce leads to amore successful organization.

Marla Shepard, CEO of First Future CreditUnion, a two-time award winner shared,“We know that our employees can onlyexceed our members’ expectations if theybelieve that we try to exceed theirs.” Jim


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McPheters, CEO of California Coast CreditUnion, which received the award for thethird time, sees a vital link betweenemployee satisfaction and member service,“Employees who feel respected for a jobwell done provide better service to ourmembers, who in turn feel respected.That’s what makes us all winners.”

Winners were selected based on criteriathat included exceeding an 80% overallfavorable response. The surveys measuredemployees’ responses in categories such asCommunication, Leadership,Values, WorkEnvironment, Motivation, Honesty, Integrity,Ethics, Commitment to Quality and Service,Benefits and Compensation.

The winners for 2006 are:• Anthony Robbins Company

(San Diego, CA)• Arizona State Credit Union

(Glendale, AZ)• California Coast Credit Union

(San Diego, CA)• City of Escondido

(Escondido, CA)• Columbia Credit Union

(Vancouver, WA)• DCI Group

(Washington, DC)• First Future Credit Union

(San Diego, CA)• Helix Water District

(La Mesa, CA)• North Island Credit Union

(San Diego, CA)• Pacific Marine Credit Union

(Camp Pendleton, CA)• The San Diego Foundation

(San Diego, CA)• Vantage West Credit Union

(Tucson, AZ)• WD-40 Company

(San Diego, CA)

Organizations who win this award clearlyunderstand the importance of a long termview. Columbia Credit Union was one ofthe highest ranked organizations in the2006 survey. Columbia’s president/CEOParker Cann, talks about the journey to thetop stating, “Because we re-survey, staffcan see the success of their efforts quanti-fied over time. We’re in this for the long


JOSHUA B. WEINMANDirector of Relocation

(800) 997-7356 Toll Free(212) 326-0351 Business(212) 326-0262 Fax(917) 721-8483 [email protected]

555 Madison Ave., 12th FloorNew York, NY 10022

www.cbhk.com

Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated

HUNT KENNEDY

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Eileen MoneyGeneral Manager

CERP Level 2


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• NEWS – CONTINUED

haul and hold ourselves to high expecta-tions. Becoming the best of the bestdoesn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of aseries of improvements and celebrations.”

Award for Workplace Excellence winnersare keenly aware that the greatest compet-itive weapon they have is their employees.Dave Doss, CEO of Arizona State CreditUnion, summed it up this way, “What setsour organization apart from our competi-tors is the ‘heart’ and the care we have forour member’s welfare.” Mark Weston,GM of Helix Water District added, “Thisaward affirms to the employees that ourunending focus on customer service doescreate an outstanding organization.”

Award winners were quick to share someof their best practices that contributed towinning the award. Nancy Ely, VP of HRfor WD-40, stated, “At WD-40, we do notmake mistakes. We have learningmoments and we celebrate success.” AndDoug Goodyear, CEO of DCI Groupemphasized the importance of recognition,“Managers are expected to take time toindividually recognize, thank and encour-age employees who are going the extramile for our clients.”

Peter Stark firmly believes that anEmployee Opinion Survey “is the best giftan organization can give to its employeesand customers.” Ruby Randall,CEO/President of The Anthony RobbinsCompanies couldn’t agree more,“Conducting annual Employee OpinionSurveys has literally transformed our cul-ture and thereby our business. We aregrateful to Peter Barron Stark and his teamfor helping us transform our business.” ■

New Guide Helps HRRead Proxy StatementsPHOENIX — Human resource professionals areconstantly being challenged with everchanging SEC regulations so to minimizerisks to the organization, they must stay up-to-date and know how to administer newregulations in order to comply with legal andregulatory requirements.To simplify proxydisclosure for HR professionals, WorldatWork

RELOCATIONS ESPAÑADIANE KIDDELL

MANAGING DIRECTOR

ARTURO SORIA, 263B – 28033 MADRID, SPAINTEL +34 913 843 900 – FAX +34 913 843 901

EMAIL [email protected] – WEB www.relocationspain.com

. . . PORTUGAL? Call US!

TRIPLICADO PORTUGAL RELOCATIONAv 25 Abril 83 VilaFria2740-176 Porto Salvo

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[email protected] TEL: 351 - [email protected] TEL2: 351 - [email protected] FAX: 351 - 214210933http://www.triplicado.com MOBILE: 351 - 966013689

Isabel Reis, Senior Partner


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is releasing its latest publication, “ReadingProxy Statements: A Guide to the New SECDisclosure Rules.” This how-to guide is nowavailable free of charge to 23,000WorldatWork members representing the HRand Total Rewards fields.

“Executive Compensation is one of themost scrutinized areas of Total Rewards,constantly making news,” said Don Lindner,CCP, the book’s executive editor and execu-tive compensation expert. “The valuableinformation in this guide will assist ourmembers in careful consideration of policiesfor rewarding executives and directors.”

The easy-to-read guide authored byThomas M. Haines, CPA, managing direc-tor of Frederic W. Cook & Co., gives read-ers the critical information to do their joband work more effectively with other pro-fessionals — including attorneys, account-ants and executive management — toimplement the new SEC regulations.

To access this book, visit www.worldat-work.org/bookstore.

ABOUT WORLDATWORK THE TOTALREWARDS ASSOCIATIONWorldatWork (www.worldatwork.org) is an inter-national association of human resources profes-sionals focused on attracting, motivating andretaining employees. Founded in 1955,WorldatWork provides practitioners with knowl-edge leadership to effectively implement totalrewards — compensation, benefits, work-life,performance and recognition, development andcareer opportunities — by connecting employeeengagement to business performance.WorldatWork supports its 30,000 members andcustomers in 30 countries with thought leader-ship, education, publications, research and certi-fication. The WorldatWork group of registeredmarks includes: WorldatWork™, workspan™,Certified Compensation Professional or CCP™,Certified Benefits Professional™ or CBP, GlobalRemuneration Professional or GRP™, Work-LifeCertified Professional or WLCPTM, WorldatWorkSociety of Certified Professionals™, and Alliancefor Work-Life Progress™ or AWLP™. ■

Executive Development: Patent Issued GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA — In a highlyunusual development in the HumanResources field, leadership-consulting firm

Linda SarveyRelocation DirectorRealtor®

(800) 726-7356 TOLL FREE(949) 580-2600 OFFICE(949) 580-2601 FAX(949) 378-7980 CELL

4010 Barranca Pkwy • Suite 253 • Irvine, CA 92604e-mail: [email protected]

web: www.socalrelocation.com

Beatriz Carro de PradaDirectora

BRS Relocation Services, S.L.Ganduxer 14, Entl. 4a & 5a

08021 Barcelona - Spaintel.: +34 93 203 4935fax: +34 93 240 1577

móv.: +34 659 680 [email protected]

Michi Olson, GMSVice PresidentBusiness Development and Relocation

Relocation & Corporate Services4145 Blackhawk Plaza CircleSuite 101Danville CA 94506

Office 925.935.1271 Ext. 690Toll Free 800.445.1111Fax 925.935.5529Cell [email protected]

P.O. Box 3115 Cold Hill Road South, Suite 28Mendham, New Jersey 07945-0311www.pmipmi.com

Peter A. FehnelPresident

(973) 543-6001Fax (973) 543-7911

[email protected]

Personal Mail International, Inc.PMI Expatriate Mail Services

Full Service Realtors for Northern Solano County

Sandy Jenkins, CRP

Relocation Director

Corporate Services • REO DivisionProperty Management • Rental Assistance

1-800-459-7356DIRECT 707-451-6744 • FAX (707) 451-6746

[email protected] • www.kappels.com412 Main Street, Vacaville, CA 95688

LEADINGREAL ESTATECOMPANIESOF THE WORLD

511 Forman Avenue • Point Pleasant Beach NJ 08742

Dawn Fetherston, CRP, GMSBroker /Sales Associate • Director of Global Relocation Services

Bus: 877.887.8660 Fax: 732-920-5107 Cell: 732-616-7153E-mail: [email protected]

www.dianeturton.com

Stuart McAlister GMS Mobile: +36 70 334-3434

Chief Executive Officer Email: [email protected]

INTER RELOCATION GROUP 1068 Budapest, Benczúr utca 42. Hungary

Tel: + 36 1 278-5680 • Fax: +36 1 278-5688 www.interrelo.com

Welcome to our world


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Kaplan DeVries Inc., has been awarded apatent for their 360 feedback tool, theLeadership Versatility Index (LVI). Thepatent was awarded because no otherleadership development tool uses pairs ofopposite leadership behaviors (such as“Takes Charge” versus “Empowers”) andalso assesses versatility and “lopsidedness”among the pairs. Through decade-longstatistical research and first-hand use ofthe tool in executive development, theinventor-designers, Robert E. Kaplan, Ph.D.and Rob Kaiser, M.S., of Kaplan DevriesInc., determined that the instrumentuniquely detects “lopsided” leadership.

Kaplan Devries, Inc. provides intensive con-sulting to CEOs, “C-level” executives, gener-al managers, and functional heads at thenext level. Their consulting is designed tobootstrap these leaders to better perform-ance and to assist their organizations withtalent management. The firm also conductsoriginal research. The firm’s principals publishextensively in academic and business jour-nals and are available for speaking engage-ments. The firm was founded in 1992.

“Extreme lopsidedness” ... is a major causeof career derailment and undermines talentmanagement for many organizations. Infact, Kaiser and Kaplan’s statistical researchindicates that versatilityóhaving a well-rounded repertoireóaccounts for half ofwhat separates the most highly regardedleaders from the least well-regarded leaders.(Sample report illustrations are available).

Kaplan and Kaiser’s 2006 book, TheVersatile Leader: Make The Most Of YourStrengthsóWithout Overdoing It(Wiley/Pfeiffer) describes their concept andresearch in detail. They found that execu-tives who avoid overusing their strengths,and who strengthen their weaker “mus-cles” so they can lead in a wide variety ofsituations, have higher employee moraleand overall better business outcomes thanthose who rely on a single strength.“There is a central human tendency to relytoo heavily on our strengths,” says Dr.Kaplan. “In leaders, this often createsblind spots that lead to complete careerderailment. The problem is expensive inboth business and human terms.”

Kaplan says this problem has become morepronounced in the current leadership envi-ronment, in which “sensing” skills are criti-


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Donald Stephenson 699 Hampshire Rd, Suite 207President and CEO WestlakeVillage CA 91361

866.9.INTEL.9 Toll Freewww.C3Intel.com [email protected] 805.494.0702 Fax

cal to making fast adjustments. He pointsto the business world described in ThomasL. Friedman’s popular book, The World isFlat. “It’s a world that demands constantadjustment and does not tolerate leaderswho are unable or unwilling to build uptheir weak musclesóor who overuse theirstrong muscles.”

On its website, Kaplan’s firm offers a freetrial of the Leadership Versatility Index,hosted online by assessment specialistsPerformance Programs, Inc. For moreinformation, contact author Bob Kaplan.Kaplan and Kaiser both previously workedat the Center for Creative Leadership.Among their many co-authored publica-tions, their article, “Developing VersatileLeaders,” in MIT’s Sloan ManagementReview, was judged by a panel of CEOs asone of the best articles published by thejournal in 2003 ñ calling it “both innova-tive and practical.”

Performance Programs is a firm of industri-al psychologists and research professionalsspecializing in online surveys, tests andassessments for human resources.Performance Programs was founded in1987. Contact: Kathleen G. Connolly,[email protected]. ■

COMMUNICATOROF THE YEAR

AWARDS™

Your nominationsare welcome

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Gestión del cambioLos desaf’os de laGestión de Cambios

Por Olga Stankevicius ColpoL’der regional de la práctica Human ResourcesServices (HRS) de PricewaterhouseCoopers

COMPETITIVIDAD YGESTIÓN DE CAMBIOSEn un mundo de contradicciones, adversi-dades y oportunidades, y en una escala decomplejidad nunca vista, generar y sostenerel valor del negocio es la expectativa cen-tral de todos los accionistas, inversores yejecutivos. Para ello parece que existe unaconcordancia casi tácita en cuanto a loscomponentes que deben estar presentespara que la “generación y sustentabilidadde valor” efectivamente ocurra. Del ladohard o pragmático podemos colocar elmercado, el cliente y la concepción delnegocio que involucra toda la estrategia, laestructura y la gestión. Del lado sofá secolocan las competencias del equipo y lacapacidad del liderazgo para alinearlas enla dirección correcta para la obtención deresultados diferenciados.

Podemos decir que la agenda central de losl’deres es principalmente, además de entre-gar resultados en el corto plazo, la de mod-elar y gerenciar los cambios requeridospara asegurar la sustentabilidad y la obten-ción de resultados diferenciados; ese es elcamino más genuino a recorrer. La admin-istración de la migración pasa a ser el temamás importante de la vida profesional detodos los ejecutivos y un pilar central decompetitividad. Es dentro de este contex-to de negocios en el que la gestión decambios es definida como el proceso dealineación de las personas y de la culturaorganizacional con los cambios que ocur-ren en el nivel de estrategia de negocios,de la estructura, de los sistemas y de losprocesos de una organización. Cuando sehabla de change management lo que hacela diferencia no es sólo “lo que” precisa odebe ser efectuado sino el “cómo” sehace. Mientras que “lo que debe ser efec-tuado”es fácilmente entendible y general-mente tiene lógica y buen sentido, lo quedeja marcas positivas o negativas es cómoimplementamos una decisión.

Philippe ROLLANDResponsable RelocationRelocation Manager

YOUR RELOCATION SOLUTIONS

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c i r nCanadian InternationalRelocation Network

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Patricia Harrington, President“A Canada wide network of relocation professionals”

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E-mail: [email protected]

326 South Fulton Ave. - Mount Vernon, NY 10553

Mark Reda, CMCDirector of Sales

Phone: (800) 431-1527(914) 699-1100

Fax: (914) 699-1166Cell: (914) 772-0397

GREGORY E. KIRKWOOD, SCRP, GMSVice-president of Corporate Relocation

OFFICE: (609) 737-1551 Ext. 219(800) 228-SOLD (7653)

FAX: (609) 737-3807E-MAIL: [email protected]

WEIDEL REALTORS RELOCATION DIVISION190 NASSAU STREET, PRINCETON, NJ 08542

Offices Serving NJ & PA • Worldwide at Weidel.com


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La administración de cambios es funda-mental para asegurar:

1 el sentido de responsabilidad y el com-promiso de las personas con el cambioen curso o a ser efectuado,

2 que la mejora implementada seasostenible y mensurable y

3 la mejora de la capacidad para obtenercambios futuros. Resumiendo, prepara ala organización y a las personas pararesponder en forma rápida y efectiva alos desaf’os cotidianos.

ADMINISTRANDO CAMBIOSEl cambio es siempre un proceso de transi-ción entre una situación actual y unasituación deseada futura. Para recorrer esteproceso es necesario considerar las dosdimensiones que lo componen, la dimen-sión organizacional y la dimensión person-al. El cambio organizacional es general-mente cuantificable y está sujeto a verifi-cación y hasta aún de previsión pudiendo,por lo tanto, ser planeado y controlado.No obstante, los cambios a nivel individualson imprescindibles y sin ellos los cambiosorganizacionales no ocurren. Pero éstosson más complejos y no pueden ser con-trolados ni cuantificados con precisión, fac-tor que imprime a los gestores de cambiouna complejidad adicional.

La figura 1 ejemplifica estas dos dimen-siones y demuestra algunos componentesvitales para la obtención de éxito. Unagestión exitosa requiere la combinación dealgunos factores que constituyen una

especie de fórmula de éxito: (CambioExitoso = V + N + H + C + R).

Visión - es necesario tener una claravisión de donde estamos y por qué, y paradonde queremos ir y por qué, en quédimensión de tiempo, con qué recursos yqué riesgos queremos correr.

Necesidad - es necesario que el cambiosea imperativo y que la situación actual nosea una opción. Una de las principales fun-ciones de un l’der es crear “incomodidad”con el status quo.

Herramientas y Recursos

• Metodolog’a, conocimiento, experienciae independencia son algunos de los fac-tores cr’ticos de éxito para planear eimplementar cambios.

COMUNICACIÓN Y FEEDBACK• Es necesario monitorear constantemente

el ambiente interno y externo, los gru-pos de poder, trabajar con situacionesambiguas, comunicando con claridad yhaciendo, si es necesario, algunosajustes de dirección.

Recompensa - Un cambio exitoso requiereque se dé el debido reconocimiento a lasconquistas y progresos, y que se estruc-turen sistemas diferenciados de recompen-sas y educación.

Adicionalmente, un cambio no ocurre sinun efectivo patrocinio y muchas vecesrequiere la designación de un equipo espe-

cializado (agentes de cambio) para apoyary facilitar el proceso, debido a que laresistencia y el compromiso de las personasoscilan a lo largo del tiempo, a causa desus expectativas, de la rapidez y efectividaddel proceso de comunicación y educación.

LECCIONES APRENDIDASLos procesos de cambio ocurren y ocur-rirán todos los d’as, pero todas las empre-sas pasan por ciclos de cinco años prome-dio, que requieren cambios más impor-tantes que los cotidianos para el reposi-cionamiento de los negocios, la inno-vación, la mejora del desempeño, para ase-gurar competencias y conocimiento, etc. Esen esta circunstancia donde generalmenteun buen programa de gestión de cambioses la diferencia entre el éxito y el fracaso.Algunas de las lecciones aprendidas a lolargo de los años en procesos de gestiónson extremamente simples, por esoaunque no siempre son respetadas,pueden sintetizarse a continuación conuna advertencia adicional: Ningunametodolog’a, Presidente, Director oConsultor hace milagros cuando no setiene un producto razonable.

Si el cambio no tiene un Patrocinador (quela mayor’a de las veces es el Presidente),nada ocurre. Si la empresa poseeconocimiento, experiencia, metodolog’a ytiempo asignado, ésta puede cambiar solasin el apoyo de un Consultor (“make orbuy”). Muchos grupos internos tienen



GlobalHRNews

• CHANGE MANAGEMENT – CONTINUED

competencia para hacer efectivos loscambios pero no siempre son legitimadospor la empresa por falta de independen-cia. La rutina diaria es uno de los may-ores obstáculos para que grupos internosconduzcan proyectos de transformación.

Aspectos pol’ticos y barreras culturales sonlas mayores dificultades a superar.

Cuando el cambio requerido es diametral-mente opuesto a la cultura de la empresa,o se cambia la cultura o se altera el cam-bio. En un choque entre la cultura y elcambio, generalmente vence la primera.

Es falso decir que proyectos de modern-ización pueden generar desempleo.Nadie tiene garant’a de empleo. Lamayor parte de las personas sabe cuandoson o no son competentes y cuando sonprescindibles. Resumiendo, prepara a laorganización y a las personas pararesponder en forma rápida y efectiva alos desaf’os cotidianos. Es correcto afir-mar que los proyectos de transformaciónobligan a los ejecutivos a tomar deci-siones dolorosas, que generalmente eranconocidas, pero ocultadas o postergadas.Cuanto más temprano se empiece, mástenue será el dolor del cambio. Pero nose debe ir atrás de modismos, se debetener una razón, un sueño, un ideal o serun “business imperative”. El dolor demantener el status-quo debe ser mayorque el dolor por miedo al cambio y a lodesconocido.

CONCLUSIÓNPodemos decir que el papel principal de laalta administración es el de gerenciar elpresente, olvidar selectivamente el pasadoy reabastecerse para el futuro. Es en esaconstrucción del futuro que el cambioocurre y de su éxito depende la sus-tentabilidad y perennidad de los negocios.Todos pueden introducir e iniciar cambioscon relativa facilidad... pero esa no es laverdadera prueba... El veredicto dado porlos funcionarios y clientes sobre su habili-dad de llevarlos con usted, es lo que lotorna un vencedor o un perdedor en eljuego del cambio. ■

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