How To Choose The Right Employee For International Assignment
The modern world of business is only becoming more and more globalized as time goes on. As companies find themselves with more and more work to be done in foreign locales they inevitably turn to their experienced, reliable employees, sending them to work on international assignments in greater numbers than ever before.
There is an inherent trap in these sorts of employee relocations though. If a situation is important enough to reassign a local employee internationally, then it’s assumed that you should send your best worker to get the job done. But the best worker for a situation such as this is rarely the one you would first think, and often not the one who displays the best performance in their current position.
With the average cost of a three-year international assignment coming in at over 1 million USD, statistics from the moving industry still show some 50% of such assignments fail, especially in burgeoning key markets such as China and India. It is therefore vitally important that employers appreciate the key attributes which allow an employee to succeed when they find themselves a stranger in a strange land.
Patience And Resilience
Moving to a new country entails paperwork, customs interviews, dealing with movers, as well as all the rigmarole of introducing yourself to a new office and staff – potentially all in an unfamiliar language. There are tough times early on in every assignment and if your employee is vulnerable to such emotional pressure you should seriously reconsider sending them overseas.
Adaptability And Open-Mindedness
Some employees view a reassignment as a momentary task; a mission to be completed with singular purpose and then left behind. They might not see the point in sampling the local lifestyle or adapting to the business culture of their destination, since they were sent over as the “expert” to take charge. But the assignment is far more likely to be successful if the employee is willing to “buy in” to their new position and keep an open mind.
Resourcefulness
This is a more obvious quality of successful employees, but it’s especially important to those who are reassigned to an environment far from their previous team, office and resources and tasked with handling broad and complex problems. Some workers are just well-suited to their positions, and uprooting them for an assignment can only end in disaster.
Companies can make the reassignment process much easier on themselves, and their employees, by employing professional movers to handle the fine points of the transition. As the specialists in international corporate assignments, Allied have helped hundreds of employees settle in all over the world, providing specific advice and direct assistance tailored to their position and destination. An international assignment is a serious investment for your company – make sure you protect it by bringing Allied on board.
So when you’re ready to make the move to Malaysia, come to Allied and we’ll get your belongings there safely, on time and at an affordable price. www.alliedpickfords.com.my
Back to News