Chapter 7 repatriation

Re-Entry and Career Issues

Prof. Preeti Bhaskar

Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, NOIDA

Re-entry/Expatriation

• Reasons of Repatriation

• Repatriation process

• Challenges of effective Repatriation

• Re-expatriation

• Repatriation Strategy

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Repatriation

Repatriation generally refers to the

termination of the overseas assignment

and coming back to the home country or

to the country where the HQ is located or

to the home subsidiary from where he/she was expatriated


• Expatriation process also includes repatriation:

the activity of bringing the expatriate back to the home country

• Re-entry presents new challenges

– May experience re-entry shock

– Some exit the company


The multinational’s ability to retain current and attract future expatriates is affected by the manner in which it handles repatriation.

Returnee offers several

advantages-:

• Increasingly hiring foreign returned Indian executives.

Reasons-:

• Returnees have imbibed global culture & also have understood local culture.

• Have extensive understanding of how the company is perceived in other countries.

• Repatriate understand both the operation of the country headquarters and overseas operation

• Transfer of important technology or information from foreign subsidiary to home country.

• Social networks help in Coordination between Home Country & Host country.


Coke , Cisco , Ford, Whirlpool, Britannia, Mc Kinsey , GM…..

Honda, the trend setter in handling Expatriates. It defines clearly , theobjective of the assignment before it starts. The objectives can rangefrom development of a new product to improvement in VendorRelation. The selected Executive prepares themselves for theassignment by an analysis of their strength & weakness. Well before theassignment is completed , all the expat is ready to return. Hondaidentifies a suitable job for him or her and makes arrangements for adebriefing session to capture the important lesson from the assignment


The readjustment challenge


UK Repatriate Study


• Surveyed 124 recently repatriated employees

• Indicated five predictors for repatriate maladjustment

• In ranked order:

– Length of time abroad

– Unrealistic expectations of job opportunities in the home country

– Downward job mobility

– Reduced work status

– Negative perceptions of employer’s support during and after repatriation


Global Relocation Trend Survey -:

shows that 60- 70% of Returnees did not know what their position would be before

they came home.

60% said that their firm were vague about repatriation , about their new roles & their

career Progression


“40% of repatriate leave their company within the Year”

This is usually due to poor repatriation processes and policy.

Solution-:

• Consult on the design of proactive repatriation processes to help you hold on

to the employee on return.

• Run custom designed program to suit the expatriates specific needs.

• Personal development profiles on return

Employment

Expectations

Family

Expectations

Partner

Expectations

Your

Expectations Length of

Time Away

Age and

Stage

What can heighten re-

entry shock?


Individual reactions:

Job-related


• No post-assignment guarantee of employment

• Loss of visibility and isolation

• Changes in the home workplace

Career anxiety

• The employment relationship and career expectation

• Re-entry position

• Devaluing of international experience

Work adjustment

• Role behavior

• Role clarity

• Role discretion

• Role conflict

Coping with new

role demands

• Autonomy

• Responsibility

• Lower pay in absolute terms

• Drop in housing conditions

Loss of status

and pay

Individual reactions:

social factors

• International experience can distance the repatriate (and family) socially and psychologically

• Each family member undergoing readjustment

• Re-establishing social networks can be difficult

• Effect on partner’s career


Recent research indicates a decrease in spousal assistance upon re-entry (e.g., job search, resume preparation and career counselling)

Multinational responses


• Staff availability– How repatriation is handled is critical

• Return on investment (ROI)– Defining ROI in terms of expatriation

– Gains accruing through repatriated staff

• Knowledge transfer– A one-way activity?

– Tacit and person-bound?

The use of mentors


• Aims to alleviate the ‘out-of-sight, ‘out-of-mind’ feeling by keeping expatriate informed

• Mentor should ensure that the expatriate is not forgotten when important decisions are made re positions and promotions

1. Maintaining contact with the expatriate throughout the assignment2. Ensuring expatriates are kept up to date with developments in the home country3. Ensuring expatriates are retained in existing management development programs4. Mentors are responsible for assisting expatriates with the repatriation process,

including helping them with a repatriation position.

Repatriate mentor duties

Factors Affecting

Mentoring


• Size of expatriate workforce

Firms with over 250 expatriates are more likely to assign mentors.

• Who is responsible for repatriates

Corporate HR or a separate international assignment unit is more likely to provide mentors than the divisional level.

• Company nationality

European firms are more likely to use mentors than U.S. firms.

Repatriation activities and

practices


Predictors for repatriation

maladjustment


• Length of time abroad

• Unrealistic expectations of job opportunities in the home company

• Downward job mobility

• Reduced work status

• Negative perceptions of the help and support provided by employers during and after repatriation.

Repatriate knowledge

categories


• Market specific knowledge

• Personal skills

• Job-related management skills

• Network knowledge

• General management capacity


Readjustment

Physical

Relocation

Preparation

Transition

Repatriation

Process

Repatriation Phases


Readjustment

Coping with changes

(e.g., company changes, reverse culture shock, career demands, etc.)

Transition

Settling into temporary accommodation where necessary, making arrangements for housing and schooling, and carrying out other administrative tasks

(e.g., renew driver’s license, applying for new health insurance, banking, etc.)

Physical relocation

(Removing personal effects, breaking ties with colleagues and friends, and traveling to the next posting, usually the home country)

Preparation

( Developing plans for the future, and gathering information about the new position)

Challenges of effective

Repatriation


• Organizational Factors:

• Individual Factors:

• Social- cultural Factors:

Organizational Factors:


• Recent research indicates that the majority of organizations have no formal repatriation programme to help expatriates readjust on return to the home country

• Only a small proportion of the repatriation programmes have consideration for the spouse

• Typical reasons given by organizations for not having a repatriation programme include:

Lack of the requisite expertise

Programme cost

Lack of a perceived need by top management

• Some organizations provide a form of repatriation assistance in the form of a “mentor”

• The mentor is usually a superior to the expatriate and provides assistance in the form of information, by maintaining regular contact with the expatriate, and by taking the expatriates interests regarding promotion and job placement on return etc. into account

• Research indicates that the likelihood of an organization using mentors depends on the size of the expatriate workforce, the organizational unit responsible for handling expatriates and the nationality of the organization.

Individual relations – Job

Related factors


• Career anxiety

– No post-assignment guarantee of employment

– Loss of visibility and isolation

– Changes in the home workplace

• Work adjustment

– The employment relationship and career expectation

– Re-entry position

– Devaluing of the international experience

• Coping with new role demands

– Role behavior

– Role clarity

– Role discretion

– Role conflict

• Loss of status and pay

– Autonomy

– Responsibility

– Lower pay in absolute terms

Social – cultural factors


• If an expatriate served in a foreign assignment in a high-profile position where he or she enjoyed considerable and sustained interaction with the social, economic and political elites of the host country, a feeling of disappointment may emerge after return to the home country.• In addition to the expatriate’s social readjustment problems, the social readjustment problems of his or her accompanying family members must also be taken into consideration as well.• Reestablishment of social networks in the home country may be difficult if, for e.g., the expatriate and family are repatriated to another locality in the home country. It may be that friends have moved away while the expatriate was on assignment and that other friends may have joined the workforce and have no time for social activities• Children may encounter social readjustment problems in school because they are not update on latest trends, and may have problems adjusting to their home country educational system

Managing Repatriation


Successful repatriation requires proper

management or action on at least three

areas:

1. Re – expatriation

2. Repatriation programme and

3. Repatriation strategies

Re expatriation offers

several benefits to MNC:


1. Contributes to Skill of expatriates whose skill and abilities can be used as and when the need arises.

2. Relocation of competent people in international assignment

3. The normal difficulties and challenges of managing expatriation and repatriation are few as the MNC has a pool of international managers who are ready to fly to any part of the globe at any time.

Designing a Repatriate

Program


Repatriation, physical relocation and transition information that the company will help with

Financial and tax assistance, e.g., benefit and tax changes, loss of overseas allowances, etc.

Re-entry position and career-path assistance

Reverse cultural shock, including family disorientation

School systems and children’s education and adaptation

Workplace changes, e.g., corporate culture, structure, decentralization, etc.

Stress management and communication-related training

Establishing networking opportunities

Help in forming new social contracts

Topics covered by a Repatriation Program

Repatriation Strategy:


Pre-expatriation

During the assignment

Preceding Repatriation

After repatriation


Stage Strategies

Pre-

expatriation

• Agreement outlining the type of position expatriates will be placed in

upon repatriation

• Agreement about the duration of stay overseas

• Keeping the post back at home vacant till the assignee comes back

During the

assignment

• Continuous communication with expatriate

• Visit to headquarter when on vacation to maintain visibility

Preceding

Repatriation

• Career guidance between 6-12 months before the end of

assignment.

Ensure that all elements of the repatriation process are transparent.

Such elements to include company policies with regard to travel

reimbursement leave period, shipping of household goods, and

contact information about the mentor.

After

repatriation

• Training seminars to help returnees cope with reverse culture shock

• Financial counselling and financial / tax assistance

• Reorientation programme about the changes in the company

policies, practices, personnel and strategies.

• Reassurance that the company values international experience

Inpatriation

• In-patriation is a process of identifying a potential candidate in host country , and moving him or her to parent country .

• Indian & Chinese have acquired prominent position in the Globalized world.


In-patriation is also known as Reverse Diffusion

Chapter 7 repatriation

Education

Transcript of Chapter 7 repatriation