Finding the right person to fill a position is tough. Convincing them to up and move abroad because the position is in another country is not much easier. Are you doing everything in your power to make sure you will only have to do this once?
I’m guessing you are still reading because you care about your company’s efficiency as much as you care about your employees’ well-being. You’re probably in the HR department, and in my opinion your job is one of the hardest ones in your business, because you have to please both sides – boardroom’s bottom line and the people. But you already know that, so what do I have to offer to lighten your load?
Let us look at what makes an Expat assignment successful. The Expat and their family remaining in the host country until the job is done satisfactorily is a good start. It means there is no added cost in bringing them back, having to find someone else to finish the job, duplicate relocation costs etc; simply put, this means money saved = happy boardroom.
What needs to happen for the Expat to stay the course? They have to be content. What makes them content? Besides an interesting assignment, it’s knowing that they are being taken care of, that their contribution is valuable and valued appropriately, and that their families are happy and adjusting nicely to the new circumstances. Not having to worry about anything at home means the Expat can concentrate completely on the task at hand. Now, there are a lot of opportunities in how you and the organization can show appreciation, the easiest of which is monetary compensation. But what can you do about the family?
Executive coaching is said to provide a 140+% return on investment and over 90 % of HR professionals and coaching clients see the value as “somewhat high” or “very high” (Sherpa). More and more employees go for intrinsic motivators, work-life balance, passion, a purpose. Coaching is an excellent tool to support any person at any stage, for example when there are perceived gaps in (leadership) competencies or specific goals to be reached, teamwork to be improved, or when you want to supplement existing perks with something tangible employees can benefit from outside the office, too.
Applied to the expatriation process, Coaching is the only tool that will prepare the Expat and their family for the challenges they are going to experience emotionally and psychologically. Moving is a nuisance at the best of times; packing and unpacking, sorting out, saying good-bye and changing is not something anyone does on a whim, usually. Uprooting your children, putting your own career on hold to follow your spouse, finding yourself in a strange country where you are the odd one out can be extra upsetting. Talking to a Coach who has been through something similar beforehand to prepare, and during to discuss current issues provides immeasurable peace of mind. This peace of mind keeps spouses happy, which makes the Expat happy and able to concentrate, which gets the job done, which makes the boardroom happy. Hence, happy spouses = happy boardroom.
You, the employer, can prepare their relocation and answer every business-related question they may have, but discussing personal issues and supporting them through possible culture shock is probably less appropriate. Investing in preemptive coaching is recommended if you want to prevent small issues growing out of control and interrupting the assignment. Drop me a line at doris@buildingthelifeyouwant.com to talk about how the coaching I described could support your efforts. Thank you!
Previous: Expat employees————————–First: Private Individuals
