Hr

1. Don’t compromise Don’t feel compelled to recruit someone if they don’t have the right skill set for your organisation 2. Look for genuine enthusiasm Spot the difference between enthusiasm and someone whose long-held aspirations fit with your organisation 3. Be proactive Position your organisation as a more interesting prospect than others by keeping yourself visible and accessible. 4. Get your positioning right Get in front of the right people and make sure they know what your organisation has to offer 5. Don't exaggerate Don’t be tempted to oversell your organisation and what it offers to new recruits 6. Look beyond the tried and tested Don’t just recruit from the tried and tested routes 7. Think about cultural fit Get the cultural fit right and make the most of the skills and experiences available from other industries 8. Build external relationships Build relationships now, and when opportunities do arise, you will get the best talent quickly 9. Make your agencies work harder Take advantage of your recruitment partners and get full use of their services 10. Look to the future Consider your company’s vision, where you want to be and whether you already have the skills and talent to get you there

CIPD assessment of employment impact of recession With official labour market figures due to be published later this week likely to show that UK unemployment has risen above 2.5 million, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) publishes an assessment of the overall impact of the recession on the UK labour market and considers what might happen to jobs once the economy starts to recover. The CIPD report: Jobs: The Impact of Recession and Prospects for Recovery concludes that: • The percentage fall in employment during the recession has been less than a third as large as the percentage contraction in the economy. This represents a much lower ‘job distress ratio’ than suffered in the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s. Had previous UK experience been repeated it is likely that around half a million more jobs would have been lost.

• Compared with previous recessions the burden of labour market adjustment has been shared more evenly across the workforce in the form of reductions in incomes rather than falling mainly on jobs. A ‘shared pain recession’ of this kind demonstrates that, contrary to common perception, Britain’s flexible labour market is good for jobs and social well being. • The biggest losers from the recession in employment terms have been men, full-time employees, people at both ends of the age spectrum, blue collar and unskilled workers, UK born workers, and private sector workers. The West Midlands, which is heavily dependent on the health of the manufacturing sector, has emerged as the UK’s main regional unemployment black-spot. • From the autumn of 2009 onward the rise of unemployment toward a likely peak at above 3 million in 2010 will be more of a crawl than a rush. It is possible that policy initiatives such as the Youth Job Guarantee might even succeed in limiting the peak in measured unemployment to below 3 million.

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland).

In its broadest sense, an expatriate is any person living in a different country from where he is a citizen. In common usage, the term is often used in the context of professionals sent abroad by their companies, as opposed to locally hired staff (who can also be foreigners). The differentiation found in common usage usually comes down to socioeconomic factors, so skilled professionals working in another country are described as expatriates, whereas a manual labourer who has moved to another country to earn more money might be labelled an 'immigrant'. There is no set definition and usage does vary depending on context and individual preferences and prejudices. In the 19th century, Americans, numbering perhaps in the thousands, were drawn to Europe—especially to Munich and Paris—to study the art of painting. Henry James, for instance, was a famous expatriate American writer from the 1870s, who adopted England as his home.

Throughout the world organisations send employees on foreign assignments. These expatriate assignments involve high costs and failures are not uncommon i.e. one out of four assignments fail. For many companies a reason to try defining the perfect expatriate profile for their organisation and subsequently invest heavily in selecting and training this ‘Mr or Mrs Right’. But what ensures success? Which Expatriate Support Programmes (ESPs) provide true added value? When is the investment justified? Expertise in Labour Mobility (ELM) decided to conduct a survey and test a hypothesis: Investing differently in expatriates - not simply more budget - delivers better results for all parties involved. Expatriate Support Programmes (ESPs) are designed to assist expatriates in adapting and adjusting to the host country to minimise the ‘culture shock’ and ensure the immediate productivity of the expatriate. According to Cees de Soet, International Expatriate Manager of Heineken it is obvious. “If no support programmes are received the expatriate does not understand the essentials and cannot communicate according to his/her responsibilities”. But the Expertise in

Labour Mobility (ELM) survey revealed that there is some considerable room for improvement in ESPs. Some striking observations were made regarding the difference between what expatriates have experienced as useful and what the companies believe is useful. What did expatriates and their spouses say: 1. The expatriates rank language training and cross-cultural training for their children as most important factor to make the assignment abroad succeed. 2. The individuals expressed a clear need for more focussed and more practical information on the local situation and local culture. Respondents greatly value the ability to speak the local language and understand the local cultural habits, regardless of how different the culture is from their own culture. 3. Dual career support and mentor programmes are trailing the list. What did the companies say: 1. Mentor programmes are important. 2. Dual career support is essential to make the assignment succeed. 3. Language training and cross-cultural training for the children is something

very few organisations provide. The above findings support ELM’s hypothesis that investing more specifically in the needs of the individual expatriate (and his/her family) could improve outcome. Knowledge of the language and the culture of the host country are considered important abilities. The need for practical culture training, even for interregional transfers where assignees move within fairly similar cultural environments, is evident. This significance of speaking the local language and having knowledge of the local culture is supported by other studies. The finding that expatriates rank both language training and cross-cultural training for their children as most important support programmes is a novel and valuable insight. During an international assignment interpersonal skills are very important, however, there is a popular belief that technical skills serve as the main success factor to assignments abroad. This proved to be a misleading assumption as the main reasons for failure of expatriate assignments are the inability of the expatriate and/or the inability of the expatriate’s partner to adapt to a different

physical or cultural environment. Moreover, both expatriates and organisations alike, often underestimate repatriation. Readjusting to one’s native culture can sometimes prove to be even more difficult than adjusting to a foreign culture. “Repatriation is even more important, than the expatriate programme itself.We want the expatriate to remain with the company, after the assignment has ended”, states Caroline Heesbeen, Group HR director for MSI Cellular Investments. The present ELM survey indicated clearly that the benefits of investing in expatriate support programmes outweigh the costs of these programmes.“If an expatriate does not feel at home, the investment can turn out to be very costly, both for the individual and the company”, says Marijke Have, Manager Compensation and Benefits for Randstad Holding in this respect. Organisations using expatriates should examine carefully the cost of appropriate preparation against the total cost of the assignment. Especially the cost associated with an unduly long ‘running-in’ period at the beginning of the posting or the cost of failure. The main aim of this pilot study was to find common themes that would enhance our ability to quantify the effects of

support programmes. Further research is foreseen for the benefit of organisations committed to the success of international assignments. Contact ELM for more details: [email protected] About the writer: Nannette Ripmeester is an internationally acclaimed expert when it comes to making a success of working abroad. She is managing director and founder of Expertise in Labour Mobility (www.labourmobility.com). g Process

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Among the leading Gulf countries, Qatar holds an important position when it comes to human resources in the region. Given the increase in economic activities in recent years, HR policies in Qatar have become very important in sourcing the right candidates. Along with Oil and Gas Industry, Qatar has recently diversified in other sectors like Information Technology, Hospitality etc. As a result, the need for human resources has increased over the years. Salaries, living standards and cost of living have also registered a steep rise in the country. Qatar is now economically one of the leading countries in the gulf region. In order to maintain this level of growth and progress further, having a flexible HR policy at place is very important. Qatar also has the largest number of expatriate employees in the region. About 90% of the total labor force is made up of expatriates here. The international companies located in Qatar employ people from abroad. HR policies in Qatar are specially designed, keeping in mind this trend. Working

Conditions

Salaries paid by various companies in Qatar usually cover all expenses including, medical, home, and car allowance. The salaries being tax free is considered to be more profitable and are a major attraction particularly for foreign employees. The working hours on a weekly basis are 40 to 48 hours per week. It usually depends on the HR policies of a particular company. Friday is the weekly off day with Thursday or Saturday making up the other for a five-day job. Employment

Contracts

The employment contract is a mutual agreement between an employer and an employee, which has to be attested by the Labor department present at the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Housing, Qatar. Contracts for expatriates have also started to become open ended. However, one has to get hold of a

work permit first. A mandatory health check up is also done while issuing work permit in Qatar. A number of jobs in the service industry are reserved for Qatar nationals only. After completion of a contract, expatriates usually have to visit the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Housing to cancel the permit. Social

Security

System

The social security system is run by the state with a very small portion of it in private control. Given a very high GDP rate and a comparatively smaller population, the Qatar government pays social security without obliging the employees to make extra payment. Qatar nationals are broadly covered under the scheme which includes pensions, disability benefits, medical insurances etc. Expatriates are, however, not covered by the government. There are a few corporate pension schemes under which the expatriate employee is covered. www.jobzing.com provides complete information regarding various types of jobs and job related queries in Qatar.

Staffing Policies Ethnocentric: parent country nationals + when: lack of qualified host nationals why:

• • •

maintain corporate culture need to transfer core competencies examples: Proctor and Gamble Polycentric approach: host managers manage host subsidiaries

• • •

less expensive fewer cultural clashes example: Unilever, but hard moving to transnational form Geocentric: merit system regardless of nationality: problems--national laws; cost Quite often, the firm's strategic and cultural orientation will determine whether HCN, PCN or TCN is used. Ethnocentric firms tend to use HCNs, whereas Polycentric firms (who use local talent) are happy to deal with the cultural differences involved. Geocentric firms may use a mixture of HCNs, PCNs, etc., depending on individual merit. The Role of HR Management Selection issues + who + career progression Preparation +familiarization and orientation + training + inclusion of family members Adaptation + help with local regulations + mentoring Repatriation + information on return position + making use of expats. experience

EXPATRIATE POLICY COMPARISON POLICY ISSUE

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS-1

MOTOROLA (2)

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

DEFINITION OF

Spouse, unmarried

Spouse and

not available

DEPENDENTS

children under 21 or working full time on an undergraduate degree.

unmarried children through age 22 leaving with employer at home

SELECTION

Manager’s request Typically to fill a critical need A few are for development goals

Unavailable

Purpose: develop upper level managers who have international expertise

COMPENSATION

Compensation based

Home country

Headquarters

BASE LOCATION

on home country approach - base pay calculated at their home country rate (plus associated assignment allowances).

approach

approach - all U.S. expats paid based on N.Y Headquarters salaries with allowances calculated based on N.Y. as the home location

HOUSING

Expat is paid a housing/utilities differential work country rate less home country amount of current rent or mortgage/utilities time of assignment

RELOCATION

One month base pay

Flat amounts

Lump sum equal

ALLOWANCE

when departing and repatriating

paid for departure and return $2600single $3500married

to 10% of base salary up to $10,000

TEMPORARY

2 weeks in home

Eligibility

Eligibility

Hypothetical housing deduction based on salary level and Housing differential paid family status All using NY housing norm housing + utilities paid in work country

POLICY ISSUE

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS-1

MOTOROLA (2)

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

LIVING

location prior to departure 2 weeks in work location upon arrival; expenses paid

begins 1 year after start of assignment. May request lump sum payment.

after 7 months on assignment and in 12 months intervals thereafter.

HOME LEAVE

Accrues at 12 month intervals, beginning with the first anniversary from assignment start date. Can establish destinations and use for multiple trips. Expat budget to go to alternate destinations and use for multiple trips. Expat can take home leave 12 months prior to actual accrual and for 12 months following the accrual

Eligibility begins 1 year after start of assignment. May request lump sum payments

Eligibility after 7 months on assignment and in 12 months intervals thereafter.

DUAL CAREER/

Compensate for the

Unavailable

Career search

SPOUSAL INCOME

lost goods/services that the spouses income contributes to the families goods and services spending. Offset home country housing and utilities costs by spouses percentage of contribution to the total family income.

reimbursement of $7,500 or tuition reimbursement overseas

1. Texas Instruments Policy #02-06-04 “International Cross-Regional Assignments” (1996) 2. Motorola International Personal Policy Manual (1992) 3. Colgate-Palmolive Case. SURVEY/RESEARCH ON EXPATRIATE PROGRAMS 1997 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices by: Organization Resources Counselors, Inc. (ORC) Global Relocation Trends 1995 Survey Report Sponsored by: Windham International and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC)

1996 Survey of Expatriate Tax and Compensation Policies by: Price Waterhouse LLP “Best Practices” 1996-1997 International Assignee Research Study by: Berlitz International Inc., and PHH Relocation in cooperation with SHRM’s Institute for International Human Resources Books: The Management of Expatriates Chris Brewster Global Assignments: Successfully Expatriating and Repatriating International Managers 10. Stewart Black, Hal B. Gregersen, and Mark E. Mendenhall Developing the Global Organization: Strategies for Human Resource Professionals Moran, Harris, and Stripp

Pre-departure training for expatriates who are sent to China December 10th, 2007 by China Business Success Stories Tags: Chinese culture, Expats, Language, Multinational How to be prepared for the experience called China? Pamela Lau did an interesting scientific research about pre-departure training for expats planning to go to China.Though there is some literature questioning the effect of pre-departure training (Kealy and Protheroe, 1996; Selmer et al, 1998), it is clear that according to expatriates, pre-departure training is relevant. With the data obtained, statistical tests were conducted to create a deeper understanding of the needs of expatriates that are sent to China by their companies. Pre-departure cross-cultural training It was quite surprising to find that only little less than half of the respondents received pre-departure training, although they were all working for MNEs. This goes against most studies done on the effectiveness of pre-departure crosscultural training (Forster, 2000; Romero, 2002; Waxin and Panaccio, 2005), even though they have mentioned that many companies still do not provide predeparture training. There are several reasons that come to mind when trying to uncover the reasons for this low training provision rate. The first reason could be that the expatriate has already been to China before, and already is familiar with the Chinese culture or at least already has formed some expectations. However, from the respondents that did not receive pre-departure training, only half (9 managers) had been to China before.

Another possible reason is that the expatriate has been on previous other foreign assignments. The company then could have decided that it is not necessary for them to have pre-departure training. Waxin and Panaccio (2005) mention that international experience is a moderator on the effect of cross-cultural training. This fact also is mentioned by some expatriates who noted that the extent to which some companies provide training or expatriates want or need predeparture training depends on the previous foreign experiences of the expatriate manager. However, from the results it can also be seen that even though the expatriate is familiar or somewhat familiar with the Chinese culture, they still think pre-departure training is useful. As one respondent stated: “Even I would have benefited from a language refresher course and my degree is in Chinese”. Also, it should not be forgotten to mention that it might as well be that the company does not provide standardised pre-departure training, but provides the support after arrival in the host country. This is the case for Shell, which would explain why none of the respondents from Shell received pre-departure training. It should be noted however, that some of these respondents did indicate that they would have liked to receive pre-departure training. The training elements that were found most important by the expatriates based on their own personal experience in China were 1. Culture, 2. Guanxi and 3. Language. This importance was not completely reflected in the actual training they received, where Language had been neglected. Companies should not ignore language training (Weiss and Bloom, 1990; Hutchings, 2005). According to Brislin (1993), using the host country’s language has a positive influence on expatriate adjustment and facilitates cooperation of the employees. From the results we can see that some companies do not provide any kind of language training at all, although it is considered an important element of pre-departure training by the expatriates who have been on assignment in China. KIT does provide information on language background in their trainings, but actually learning the language has to be done in a separate optional module. It is up to the HR-department to take this result very seriously and include it in the predeparture preparation.