Predicting who will succeed on expatriate assignments 

A topic that has kept some of the sharpest minds busy for decades…

Being a good expatriate means not only having a good JOB FIT but also having a good EXPAT FIT, as well a COUNTRY FIT.

It is recognized that some attempt has to be made to satisfy all three of these to help minimize failures.

Review

Several authors have argued that organizational and technical knowledge alone do not guarantee success in the assignment (e.g., Tung, 1981; Varma, Stroh, & Schmitt, 2001), and they have emphasized that other nontechnical criteria should be included in the selection process. Specifically, Tung (1981,1998a) has argued that human relation skills or “the ability to get along with host country nationals” are especially crucial in assignments to culturally distant countries, such as when the target country’s culture is very different from the expatriates home culture and where the expatriate has substantial interaction with HCN’s (Host Country Nationals). Tung (2004) listed several key skills that form the crux of human relations: 

1. sensitivity to others’ needs, 
2. cooperativeness rather than competitiveness, 
3. listening, rather than lecturing, 
4. an inclusive leadership style, 
5. being compromising rather than domineering, 
6. engaging in rapport rather than “report talk”, 
7. being compassionate and understanding, 
8. emphasizing harmony and avoiding conflict, 
9. being nurturing, 
10.  being flexible, 
11.  being resourceful and 
12.  being creative 

In the same vein, Jun and Gentry (2005) have argued that the “personal fit” of the expatriate is critical to the success of the assignment. In other words, expatriates whose personal values mirror (or are compatible with) the cultural values of the host country are more likely to succeed than those expatriates whose values are in conflict with the norm of the host country. These authors further suggested that individuals who are open to change or new experiences and display tendencies such as self-efficacy and self-monitoring should be sought for relocation to foreign countries, as they are more likely to succeed in such assignments.

Robert Kohls, 1996 has also defined 13 key Expatriate Skills that make a difference and has reported that some people seem to take to another culture and country more naturally than others.  There are certain skills or traits which one needs to be a Master Expatriate.  Some of these you may have, or with a little effort may develop, in order to help facilitate your rapid adjustment.

1. Tolerance for ambiguity – expatriate has the ability to function in a situation with no rules and parameters, and where things do not necessarily “make sense”
2. Task orientation – not obsessed with setting highly demanding goals and quick results – if there is a high propensity to drive for results and this could be very frustrating to the expat and he/she could become very quickly demoralised and or explosive towards host nationals
3. Open-mindedness – receptive to other ideas and may listen to other’s points of view – seeks out more information before making a decision
4. Tolerance for differences – ability to accept change and accept differences in others. The ability to live closely to people who may have fundamentally different habits
5. Communicativeness – ability to communicate and express oneself well
6. Non-judgmentalness – does not quickly judge others – expatriates who are nonjudgmental often show interest in the beliefs of other cultures and are more likely to establish meaningful intercultural relationships. Not cynical of others
7. Empathy – to appreciate how others feel – intellectual or emotional identification with others
8. Flexibility – ability to consider alternative ways of doing things – flexibility is vital in expatriates who work in joint ventures, interact with multi-cultural staff and who may work as negotiators
9. Curiosity – sense of adventure and willingness to do things differently
10. Warmth in relationships – social adaptability and interpersonal relationships. Ability to socialise with new people in unfamiliar situations is important. Someone who is not at home in small intimate groups may have trouble in adapting. Research has shown that strong people skills are very important to expatriate success and effectiveness. Expats who are aloof and prefer to be alone have a great disadvantage compared to those who are sincerely interested in others
11. Motivation – self-motivation is essential for expats as without it they may feel helpless when confronted by new and changing life situations
12.  Self-reliance/Strong sense of self – a strong sense of self in expats manifests itself in a way that they can control the events and outcomes in their lives. They are more likely to exert an effort into making things happen
13. Ability to handle stress – expatriate contracts, both prior to leaving and after arriving, can be pretty stressful. An ability to handle this stress may most certainly be a huge advantage.

Further …. willingness to take risks is also an indicator – Expats who don’t mind risk generally do well, as they are more prone to be prepared to live with change and turbulence.

Other complicated family and spousal issues need to be investigated as well as family and spousal fit is a subcategory of expat fit. Important issues to consider here are dual career syndromes, family size, ages of children, dependents left behind, sports and hobbies, strength of marriage, children learning problems etc… All expatriate interviews should, without exception include the spouse.

Remembering………..A good expatriate is a UNIT and not an individual

Our EBI™ process is an interviewing intervention which has been designed by ourselves by drawing on knowledge from over 25 years of experience in working with and supporting expatriates in over 58 countries and 132 cities around the world.

Whilst the method is not fool proof it is designed to attempt to minimize the failure rates of international assignments.

It is be assumed in our process that “Job fit” has been assessed and our process will only take a look the expat and country fit issues.

Our structured behavioural interview, EBI™, involves face to face interviews with the employee and spouse. 

The process takes approximately 3 hours and it is essential that both the employee and partner are present.