What characteristics are present in the most promising candidate for international assignment?

This past year has seen controversy and concern over immigration laws. From H 1-B visa updates and a US president-elect promising to deport millions of undocumented immigrants to the Brexit movement, there has been turmoil. The world has become smaller and recruiters everywhere are wondering what's to come.

The state of expatriates around the world

Much of the talk as of late has been about bringing jobs back to the U.S. But there are still a large number of companies that are planning on expanding operations into other fast-growing regions in the Middle East, South America, and Asia.

Based on most recent figures from AARO, there are some 8 million Americans living and working abroad at this very moment. This figure doesn't include military personnel. It isn't an easy lifestyle as it requires a greater world view and the ability to adapt to new cultures, but it's the right opportunity for those who have what it takes.

What are the skills that indicate candidate success with expatriate jobs?

Recruiters are tasked with selecting the very best candidates for expatriate roles.  For the most part, a willingness to pick up and move to a new environment takes courage. A new study conducted by cut-e, a psychometric assessment firm, highlights the traits that predict the success or failure of candidates chosen for expatriate roles.

Aptly named Predicting who will be a successful expatriate, the cut-e survey results stem from research on 35 companies that participate in expatriate recruitment and employment activities. Over the course of the study, information was gathered directly from employees, managers, and peers in their home and alternate regions. Headed up by cut-e's research director, Dr. Katharina Lochner, the focus of the study was to understand the impact of being an expat on job performance, personal success, and how well each employee was able to integrate into new surroundings, including overcoming language barriers.

What the study effectively does is provide a laundry list of traits and skills that all recruitment professionals should consider before placing candidates into the challenging role of an expat employee. Lochner told a source that this is critical because, “sending employees overseas to live and work is a significant expense, therefore companies must look past technical skills to make sure they are sending the best people for the job.”

The cut-e study identified the desired skills and traits for expatriate employees to be the following:

• Mental and emotional stability
• Willingness to change
• Sensitivity to other cultures
• Deep perspectives of business practices
• Above average interpersonal skills
• Ability to embrace new customs
• Respect for diverse viewpoints
• Demonstrable flexibility and resilience
• High level of professional autonomy
• Good sense of humor

Obstacles to using expatriate employees

In addition to identifying the best skills that can predict the success of an expatriate hire, there are some other challenges that recruiters face in the international scene. Several recruitment experts contributed to Recruiter.com about what they see as potential obstacles.

Kathleen Kischer, a Senior International Recruiter, advised that longer than average timelines can put a damper on things, sharing that in Canada getting a work visa can take months and this can prevent an employer from earning revenues during this time.

Andrew Stetsenko, founder of Relocate Me, said that finding people who are willing to relocate to a foreign country can pose a huge challenge for recruiters. Consider also that families sometimes don’t have the immediate means to relocate together and there are additional costs and complications from this factor.

It takes a unique candidate to qualify for an expatriate assignment, and this must be someone who is dedicated to fulfilling the contract terms. Some experts think that eventually it will become less necessary to send people overseas to work, due to technology that connects every country and time zone. People can work together from wherever they happen to be, and this reduces the need for expats, on some levels.

But, for the time being, recruiters must stay on top of legal updates and requirements surrounding the use of expatriates for international assignments, while hiring the best candidates to do the job. 

Sending employees to live and work abroad enhances their cross-cultural experience and helps multinational organisations to improve their global coordination. Richard Justenhoven is Product Director at international talent measurement and assessment specialist cut-e.

Colleagues in the receiving office can benefit from new perspectives and expertise which can help them to enhance their productivity and expand into new markets. However, significant costs and challenges are involved in arranging international assignments. The most important factor for success is choosing the right people for the roles. Get this wrong and you risk spectacular failure. Unsettled individuals won’t perform to their full potential, so you’ll achieve few of the benefits but you’ll pay all of the costs. You might even lose the employee as they may feel so disillusioned, demotivated and traumatised by the experience, they’ll leave your company.

To minimise this risk, HR Directors have to look beyond the technical skills of potential expatriate candidates and ensure that they choose the right people for the right reasons. There’s more to this than identifying a capable high flyer who is keen on an international assignment. The good news is that it’s now possible to predict which individuals will adapt well to a new culture, cope with the personal and professional challenges and be satisfied and successful working abroad.

Key qualities and values
I left Hamburg for a 15-month assignment in London, so I have first-hand experience of everything being different in an international role: the job is new, the pressures are new, the culture is new and the city is new. Of course, you’re prepared for much of this but often it’s the little things that surprise you. Not only with the working culture – including dealing with bureaucracy and issues of punctuality and timeliness – but what to do at the weekends and finding that everyone eats out nearly every night, when you’re used to cooking at home. Culturally, Hamburg and London are not too dissimilar – and London is highly multi-cultural – so adjusting to the new cultural norms was easier for me than moving from the Western world to the Far East, for example. The point is that the individual needs to preserve some mental energy to cope with the ‘newness’ and the different behaviours they’ll encounter. It doesn’t help if you have fixed or distorted expectations of what the experience will be like.

This need for an open mindset was one of the key findings in a research study* undertaken by cut-e, which identified the personal characteristics of successful expatriates. It found that top performing expatriates have a specific profile. For example, they have self confidence and emotional stability; they are challenge-oriented and they have strong interpersonal skills, self-sufficiency and a sense of humour. To help them perform at work, they have the flexibility to adjust to different business practices, as well as cross-cultural sensitivity, resilience and an openness to change.

Language proficiency is also important. It’s frustrating if you’re not able to express yourself or support your argument effectively because you can’t find the right words. An individual’s language skills will certainly improve through an international posting but there are some countries where the language issue will be a primary concern. For example, if you speak English but no other languages, you’d find it easier to live and work in a European capital – where the locals can often help you out – than you would in Chengdu, China, where few of the population would speak English.

Four perspectives
HR Directors need to consider four perspectives when planning an international work assignment:

1. The parent company. Sending an employee abroad can help you to cascade knowledge, introduce consistent processes and share expertise. This can enhance your company’s operational performance in the chosen country. The costs to consider include healthcare, housing, school fees for children and the expense of relocation. However, offering international postings can enhance your employer brand and help you to attract and retain global talent, as it provides a development path and an incentive to join and stay with your organisation.

2. The receiving office. A crucial success factor is how the colleagues in the receiving office will welcome the new worker. They’ll need to adjust to work effectively with the new person and to appreciate their skills and insights. Managing their expectations and explaining the new person’s role and remit will be important.

3. The employee. A cross-cultural assignment can be a significant and beneficial development experience for an individual. It can broaden their horizons and instil a global perspective. However, considerable stress is involved in relocating to a new country and coping with the personal and professional challenges involved. Make sure they’re aware of what they’re letting themselves in for.

4. The employee’s family. Some companies underestimate the importance of the individual’s spouse or partner. They may provide practical help to help family members settle, however they fail to appreciate that the family’s experience can make or break the success of the entire assignment. Regardless of whether the employee is happy in their new environment, if their spouse, partner or children are unhappy – for example if they feel isolated and unable to speak the language – it will impact on the employee’s ability to perform in the workplace. The spouse/partner is therefore a critical decision maker.

Assessing candidates
To choose the right individuals, the starting point is to ask employees – and their spouses – whether they’d accept an international assignment. You can identify the strengths and ‘risk areas’ for each candidate using a personality questionnaire that covers individual, job-related values, motives and interests. This will help you to select those who are most likely to perform well in an international posting.

Some questionnaires will provide a ‘cultural adaptation report’, outlining the individuals’ strengths and weaknesses in adapting to a new culture, with advice and guidelines on how they can improve. If an individual is strong on all of the competencies listed above, they’d be suited to any international assignment; those who are less strong may be suited to a role in a culture that’s similar to their home country.

Importantly, the spouse or partner of each candidate should also take the personality questionnaire, so you can understand how likely they are to thrive in the new country. Knowing of any ‘family risks’ in advance may influence your choice of candidate. It can also help you to provide the right support. Cultural orientation programmes will benefit the chosen candidates and their families. Allow them to visit their target city, to decide on practical aspects such as living locations, schools and medical care. This helps to avoid the onset of culture-shock.

By carefully selecting the right candidates for international assignments, you can ensure that the expectations of the individuals, their family members and the organisation are met, and that all parties benefit fully from the opportunity.

www.cut-e.com

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