unit 3 recruitment & selection

Unit-3 Recruitment & selection by Anju Chawla

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Chapter 3

Recruiting and Selecting Staff for

International Assignments


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• IHRM: RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND TRANSFERS ( • Issues in staff selection- pdf• Staffing and international allocation of human resources-pdf• Approaches to staffing: Ethnocentrism, polycentrism,

geocentrism, regiocentrism• Transfer to staff for international business activities:

International assignments • Expatriates and their roles• Role of non – expatriates• Corporate HR• Recruitment, selection, and staffing in international context:

International managers (parent country nationals, host country nationals, third country nationals); recruitment methods and selection criteria and techniques for international workforce.

• Selection criteria• Issue of female expatriates• Performance of expatriates: Influencing factors


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Objectives

• In Part I, we demonstrated how people play a central role in sustaining international operations. As international assignments are an important vehicle for staffing, it is critical that they are managed effectively, and the expatriates are supported so that performance outcomes are achieved.


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Objectives (cont.)• The focus of this session is on recruitment

and selection activities in an international context. We will address the following issues:– The myth of the global manager– The debate surrounding expatriate failure– Factors moderating intent to stay or leave the

international assignment – Selection criteria for international assignments– Dual-career couples– Gender issues


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The global managerMyth 1: There is a universal approach to

management.Myth 2: People can acquire multicultural

adaptability and behaviors.Myth 3: There are common characteristics

shared by successful international managers.

Myth 4: There are no impediments to mobility.


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Current Expatriate Profile

Category PCN (42%) HCN (16%) TCN (42%)

GenderAge (Yrs)Marital status

Male (82%)30-49 (60%)Married (65%)

Female (18%)20-29 (17%)Single (26%)Partner (9%)

Accompanied byDurationLocationPrimary reasonPrior international experience

Spouse (86%)1-3 years (52%)Europe (35%)Fill a position30%

Children (59%)Short-term (9%)Asia-Pacific (24%)

Source: based on data from global Relocation Trends: 2002 Survey Report, GMAC Global Relocation Services, National Foreign Trade Council and SHRM Global Forum, GMAC-GRS 2003.


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Expatriate Failure• Definition: Premature return of an

expatriate• Under-performance during an international

assignment• Retention upon completion


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Recall Rate Percent Percent of CompaniesUS Multinationals

20 - 40% 7%10 - 20% 69

< 10 24European Multinationals

11 - 15% 3%6 - 10 38 < 5 59

Japanese Multinationals11 - 19% 14%6 - 10 10

< 5 76

Expatriate Failure Rates


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Reason for Expatriate Failure

• US FirmsInability of spouse to adjustManager’s inability to adjustOther family problemsManager’s personal or emotional immaturityInability to cope with larger overseas responsibilities

• Japanese Firms Inability to cope with

larger overseas responsibilities

Difficulties with the new environment

Personal or emotional problems

Lack of technical competence

Inability of spouse to adjust

European Multinationals: Inability of spouse to adjust.


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Costs of Expatriate Failure

• Direct costs:– Airfares– Associated

relocation expenses– Salary and benefits– Training and

development• Averaged $250,000

per early return

• Costs vary according to:– Level of position – Country of

destination– Exchange rates– Whether ‘failed’

manager is replaced by another expatriate


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Indirect Cost of Expatriate Failure

• Damaged relationships with key stakeholders in the foreign location

• Negative effects on local staff • Poor labor relations • Negative effects on expatriate concerned• Family relationships may be affected• Loss of market share


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Factors Moderating Expatriate Performance

• Inability to adjust to the foreign culture• Length of assignment• Willingness to move• Work-related factors• Psychological contract/employment

relationship


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The Employment Relationship

• The nature of the employment relationship– Relational: broad, open-ended and long-term

obligations– Transactional: specific short-term monetized

obligations• The condition of the relationship

– Intact: when employee considers there has been fair treatment, reciprocal trust

– Violated: provoked by belief organization has not fulfilled its obligations


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The Dynamics of the Employment Relationship


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Likelihood of Exit


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International Assignments: Factors Moderating Performance


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The Phases of Cultural Adjustment


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The Phases of Adjustment

• The U-Curve is not normative• The time period involved varies between

individuals• The U-Curve does not explain how and

why people move through the various phases

• It may be more cyclical than a U-Curve• Needs to consider repatriation


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Organizational Commitment• Affective component

– Employee’s attachment to, identification with and involvement in, the organization

• Continuance component– Based on assessed costs associated with

exiting the organization• Normative component

– Employee’s feelings of obligation to remain


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Why consider the psychological contract?

• Nature, location and duration of an international assignment may provoke intense, individual reactions to perceived violations

• Expatriates tend to have broad, elaborate, employment relationships with greater emphasis on relational nature

• Expectations and promises underpin this relationship


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Selection Criteria• Technical ability• Cross-cultural suitability• Family requirements• Country-cultural requirements• MNE requirements• Language


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Using Traits and Personality Tests to Predict Expatriate Success

• Although some tests may be useful in suggesting potential problems, there may be little correlation between test scores and performance

• Most of the tests have been devised in the United States, thus culture-bound

• In some countries, there is controversy about the use of psychological tests ( different pattern of usage across countries)

• Use of personality traits to predict intercultural competence is complicated by the fact that personality traits are not defined and evaluated in similar way in different cultures


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Factors in Expatriate Selection


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Mendenhall and Oddou’s Model

• Self-oriented dimension• Perceptual dimension• Others-oriented dimension• Cultural-toughness dimension


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Harris and Brewster’s Selection Typology

Formal InformalOpen• Clearly defined criteria• Clearly defined measures• Training for selectors• Open advertising of vacancy (internal/external)• Panel discussions

• Less defined criteria• Less defined measures• Limited training for selectors• Open advertising of vacancy • Recommendations• No panel discussions

Closed• Clearly defined criteria• Clearly defined measures• Training for selectors• Panel discussions• Nominations only (networking/reputation)

• Selector’s individual preferences determine selection criteria and measures• No panel discussions• Nominations only (networking/reputation)


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Solutions to the Dual-career Challenge

• Alternative assignment arrangements– Short-term– Commuter– Other (e.g. unaccompanied, business travel,

virtual assignments)• Family-friendly policies

– Inter-company networking– Job-hunting assistance– Intra-company employment– On-assignment career support


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Barriers to Females Taking International Assignments

External Barrier Self-established Barriers

• HR managers reluctant to select female candidates• Culturally tough locations or regions preclude female expatriates• Those selecting expatriates have stereotypes in their minds that influence decisions

• Some women have limited willingness to relocate• The dual-career couple• Women are often a barrier to their own careers by behaving according to gender based role models.


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Equal Employment Opportunity Issues

• Cultural Variations– Law and enforcement– Social values– Corporate practices

• The United States– EEOA within the country– International approach


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Session(s) Summary

• Four myths related to the concept of a global manager

• The debate surrounding the definition and magnitude of expatriate failure.(cont.)

This session has addressed key issues affecting recruitment and selection for international assignments. We have covered:


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session Summary (cont.)

• Cultural adjustment and other moderating factors affecting expatriate intent to stay and performance.

• Individual and situational factors to be considered in the selection decision.

• Evaluation of the common criteria used revealed the difficulty of selecting the right candidate for an international assignment and the importance of including family considerations in the selection process.(cont.)


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session Summary (cont.)• Dual-career couples as a barrier to staff mobility,

and the techniques that multinationals are utilizing to overcome this constraint.

• Female expatriates and whether they face different issues to their male counterparts.

It is clear that, while our appreciation of the issues surrounding expatriate recruitment and selection has deepened in the past 20 years, much remains to be explored.

The field is dominated by US research into predominantly US samples of expatriates, although there has been an upsurge in interest from European academics and practitioners.


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SESSION Summary

It is also apparent that staff selection remains critical. Finding the right people to fill positions, particularly key managers – whether PCN, TCN or HCN – can determine international expansion. However, effective recruitment and selection are only the first step. We will explore in the next chapter that maintaining and retaining productive staff are equally important.


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Session Summary• Corporate philosophy on recruiting and selection• Selection criteria and issues of concern• Local and home countries’ policies on foreign labor• Variations in national labor law and labor markets• Inter-company networking• Intra-company arrangement• Career assistance programs• Training and continuous adaptation


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session Summary (cont.)Will the factors affecting the selection decision be similar for multinationals emerging from countries such as China and India? If more multinationals are to encourage subsidiary staff to consider international assignments as part of an intra-organizational network approach to management, we will need further understanding of how valid the issues discussed in this chapter are for all categories of staff from different country locations.Another area that remains ignored is the selection of non-expatriates, that is, the international business travelers we discussed . In our survey of current literature, there is a paucity of recognition of this group. (cont.)


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session Summary (cont.)

The various consulting firm surveys conducted into relocation trends in 2002 that we draw on in this chapter indicate that more multinationals are resorting to replacing traditional assignments with business travel as a way of overcoming staff immobility. Likewise, there is a need for further work into the performance–selection link surrounding non-standard assignments, including commuter and virtual assignments.


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You have a reason to smile..Session over!

unit 3 recruitment & selection

Recruiting & HR