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How to staff your overseas operation
By Florence van Schependom, Recruitment Consultant, BK Cornerstone
Deciding how to staff an international operation is a critical matter that affects an increasing number of organisations striving to meet the challenges of globalisation.
In the past, the usual resourcing solution was to relocate an employee from the home country into an overseas post for a limited period of time.
Now, however, the trend is towards hiring local staff instead of high-cost expatriates, a change that has arisen principally because, as the markets of emerging countries have become more sophisticated, so too has the pool of local talent.
Interestingly, another driver for this change has been the fact that foreign-owned organisations have become increasingly focused on business opportunities within the domestic market, rather than the export market, and have looked locally for the skills to resource this.
Needless to say, there will always be circumstances when an expatriate is a more suitable resourcing solution to a local manager, and vice versa.
Here are some pointers:
Hire locally if you need . . .
- Stability for succession planning
- Higher staff retention
- Managers with an empathy towards the local culture
- Local language skills
- Managers with local business experience and market knowledge
Consider an expatriate if you need . . .
- Skills that are in short supply locally
- A local business with a global mindset
- To launch the business quickly
- To recruit, orient and train local staff
- Critical industry competency
- To transfer corporate values
- Compatibility and high-level communication between headquarters and the local subsidiary
That said, the costs of hiring expatriates can amount to double that of hiring local talent — you will need to factor in expenses such as housing allowance, cost of living allowances, moving costs, educational costs for dependants, and annual travel to the home country.
Your decision may well simply come down to who is best suited to the position, in which case you will need advice and guidance from headhunters who understand both the needs of your organisation and the talent available locally.
Florence´s expertise lies in headhunting and sourcing candidates on an international level. She acquired these skills through her role as a researcher with an international consultancy in Budapest and, more recently, in London. Florence´s earlier career was spent in a recruitment role based in Antwerp. Florence speaks fluent Flemish, French and English, and conversational Italian and German.
To discuss any aspect of this article you can email Florence here or call her on 0113 397 6221 (+44 113 397 6221 if calling from abroad).
29.7.2010 Global business leaders survey results