International HRM Recruitment & selection

1. Unit-3 Recruitment & selection by Anju Chawla1
Chapter 3
Recruiting and
Selecting Staff for
International
Assignments

2. Unit-3 Recruitment & selection by Anju Chawla2
• 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.
• 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.

4. Unit-3 Recruitment & selection by Anju Chawla4
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
• 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
–

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The global manager
Myth 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%)
Gender
Age (Yrs)
Marital status
Male (82%)
30-49 (60%)
Married (65%)
Female (18%)
20-29 (17%)
Single (26%)
Partner (9%)
Accompanied by
Duration
Location
Primary reason
Prior international
experience
Spouse (86%)
1-3 years (52%)
Europe (35%)
Fill a position
30%
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.

7. Unit-3 Recruitment & selection by Anju Chawla7
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 Companies
US Multinationals
20 - 40% 7%
10 - 20% 69
< 10 24
European Multinationals
11 - 15% 3%
6 - 10 38
< 5 59
Japanese Multinationals
11 - 19% 14%
6 - 10 10
< 5 76
Expatriate Failure Rates

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Reason for Expatriate Failure
• US Firms
Inability of spouse to adjust
Manager’s inability to adjust
Other family problems
Manager’s personal or
emotional immaturity
Inability to cope with larger
overseas responsibilities
• US Firms
Inability of spouse to adjust
Manager’s inability to adjust
Other family problems
Manager’s personal or
emotional immaturity
Inability 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
• 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.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
• 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
• 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
• 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 Informal
Open
• 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
• 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:
This session has addressed key issues affecting
recruitment and selection for international
assignments. We have covered:

30. Unit-3 Recruitment & selection by Anju Chawla30
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.
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.
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
• 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.)
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.
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!