The document discusses international staffing and recruitment strategies for multinational corporations. It covers key topics such as: 1) Different orientations to international human resource planning including ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, and geocentric approaches. 2) Trends in international recruitment including increasing workforce diversity, outsourcing, background checks, and challenges with dual career couples. 3) Guidelines for selecting and managing different types of international assignees including parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs), and third country nationals (TCNs).

1. INTERNATIONAL STAFFING
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
By
Amaresh C Nayak

2. HRP - Concept
• Stainer – Human Resource
Planning is the strategy for the
acquisition, utilization,
improvement and preservation of
organizations human resources. It
aimed at coordinating the
requirements for and the
availability of different types of
employees.

3. HRP - PROCESS

4. International HRP
• The HRP is closely linked to the
business plans
– HRP – The process of forecasting an
international organization's future
demand for and supply of the right
type of people in the right number.
– Corporate planning – managerial
activities that set the company's
objectives for the future and
determine the appropriate means for
achieving these objectives

5. International HRP – Key Issues
• Identifying top management potential
early.
• Identifying critical success factors for
future international managers.
• Providing developmental opportunities
• Tracking and maintaining commitment
to individuals in their international career
paths.
• Tying strategic business planning to
HRP and vice-versa.
• Dealing with multiple business units
while attempting to achieve globally and
regionally focused
strategies.

6. International Recruitment - Recent Trends
• Some distinct trends observed in
international staffing
– Work Force Diversity
– Off shoring
– Increasing use of background checks
– Identifying recruiting sources
– Challenges of dual career couples.

7. International Recruitment - Recent Trends
• Diversity Policy - a global guideline
– Need for diversity - why should a company
seek diversity? What will be the benefits to
die company and its customers?
– Vision of diversity - what should diversity
look like? What is the ideal form of diversity
for this company?
– Commitment to diversity - who all need to
be supportive and involved in making the
initiative real?
– Systems and structures for diversity - How
to institutionalize diversity throughout the
management practices?
– Sustain it - how to devise action plans for
creating and sustaining diversity?

8. International Recruitment - Recent Trends
• Out sourcing
– HR activities divested from operational to
strategic role
– Helps in reducing bureaucracy
– Encourage a more responsive culture by
introducing external market forces
• Disadvantage
– The relevance of HR department is at stake

9. International Recruitment - Recent Trends
• Background Checks
– Educational qualification
– Employment record
– Address
– Professional qualification
– Credit and bankruptcy
– Database
– Probable criminal record

10. International Recruitment - Recent Trends
• Sources of Recruiting
– Job Posting Websites 92 %
– Your Company's Website 85 %
– Employee Referral Programme 81 %
– Recruiters (External) 59 %
– Recruiters (internal) 50 %
– Ads in Local Media 48 %
– Your Company’s Intranet 47 %
– College / University Recruiting 45 %
– Temporary to Permanent Hiring 42 %
– Ads in Professional Association Media 28 %
– E-mail lists / Discussion Groups 21 %
– Ads in National Media 15 %
– Blogs 3 %

11. International Recruitment - Recent Trends
• Dual Career Groups
– Turn down the international assignment
– Find a job for the traveling spouse
– Commuter assignment
– Sabbatical
– Intra company employment
– On assignment career support

12. International Selection
• The following four issues are relevant in
the context of staffing global businesses
– Linking staffing plans with the evolution of
the MNC
– Staffing orientation
– Managing expatriates
– Female expatriates

13. Staffing Orientations
• Company’s response to global market
opportunities depend greatly on management’s
assumptions or beliefs
– both conscious and unconscious
• The world view of a company’s personnel can
be described as
– Ethnocentric
– Polycentric
– Regiocentric
– Geocentric

14. Ethnocentric Orientation
• Firms at the early stages of internationalization
• Assumptions
– Home country is superior
– Similarities in markets
– Assume the products and practices that succeed in
the home country will be successful every where
• domestic companies - the ethnocentric
orientation means that opportunities outside
the home country are ignored
• International company - they adhere to the
notion that the products that succeed in the
home country are superior and therefore, can
be sold everywhere without adaptation

15. Ethnocentric Orientation
• Managing international operations - people
from the home country i.e. Parent Country
Nationals (PCNs) fill top management and
other key positions
• Perceived lack of qualified Host Country
Nationals (HCNs)
• need to maintain good communication,
coordination, and control links with corporate
headquarters
• The firm uses a large group of expatriate
mangers
• Foreign operations are viewed as being
secondary or subordinate to domestic ones
• Operates under the assumption that “tried and
true” headquarters’ knowledge and
organisational capabilities can be applied in
other parts of the world.

16. Polycentric Orientation
• Opposite of ethnocentric orientation
– Assumption that each country in which a
company does business is unique
– Each subsidiary to develop its own unique
business and strategies in order to succeed
– the term multinational company is often
used to describe such a structure
• This eliminates the language barriers,
avoids adjustment problems for
expatriates and allows an MNC to take a
lower profile in sensitive political
situations

17. Polycentric Orientation
• Subsidiaries are managed and staffed by
personnel from the host country
– The HCNs are recruited to manage subsidiaries
– PCNs occupy the corporate headquarters
• Employment of HCNs is less expensive
• It has its limitations in terms of
– Bridging the gap between the HCN subsidiary
managers and PCN managers at corporate head
quarter
– language barriers
– conflicting national loyalties
– a range of cultural differences may isolate the
corporate HQ staff

18. Regiocentric Orientations
• Management views regions as unique and
seeks to develop an integrated regional
strategy
• It is a regional approach in which the MNC
divides its operations into geographical regions
and transfers staff within these regions
• This approach reflects some sensitivity to local
conditions, since local subsidiaries are staffed
by HCNs
• This approach to staffing policy will reflect
organisational needs, but there are difficulties
in maintaining a uniform approach to
international staffing

19. Regiocentric Orientations
• Strategies in different countries may
require different staffing approaches
• Have a worldview on a regional scale
• Selection for staffing is on the basis of a
set of characteristics
– SMILE
• Specialty (required skill, knowledge)
• Management ability (particularly motivational
ability)
• International flexibility (adaptability)
• Language facility
• Endeavor (perseverance in the face of difficulty).

20. Geocentric Orientations
• Views the entire world as a potential market
• Strives to develop integrated world business
strategies
• Represents a synthesis of ethnocentrism and
polycentrism
• a ‘world view’ that sees similarities and
differences in markets and countries and seeks
to create a global strategy that is fully
responsive to local needs and wants.
• Nationality is deliberately downplayed
• Firm actively searches on a worldwide or
regional basis for the best people to fill key
positions
• Transactional firms tend to follow this
approach.

21. Geocentric Orientations
• Regiocentric or Geocentric orientations are
practiced in global or transnational company
• However, some research suggests that many
companies are seeking to strengthen their
regional competitiveness rather than moving
directly to develop global responses to
changes in the competitive environment.
• This approach is feasible when highly
competent and mobile managers have an open
disposition and high adaptability to different
conditions in their various assignments and
such employees are available at HQ as also in
subsidiaries.

22. PCNs
Advantages Disadvantages
•Familiarity with the home office
goals. Objectives, policies and
practices
•Promising managers are given
international exposure.
•PCNs are the best people for
international assignments because
of special skills and experiences
•Difficulty in adapting to the foreign
language and the socio-economic,
political, cultural and legal
environment
•Excessive cost of selecting,
training, and maintaining expatriate
managers and their families abroad
•Promotional opportunities for
HCNs arc limited
•PCNs may impose an inappropriate
HQ style Compensation for PCNs
and HCNs may differ
•Family adjustment problems,
especially concerning unemployed
spouses

23. HCNs
•Familiarity with the
socioeconomic. political and legal
environment and with business
practices in the host country
•Lower cost incurred in hiring
them compared to PCNs and TCNs
•Promotional opportunities for
locals and consequently, their
motivation and commitment
•Languages and other barriers are
eliminated
•Continuity of management
improves since HCNs stay longer
in positions
•Salary and benefit requirements
may be lower than of PCNs
•Difficulty in exercising effective
control over the subsidiary's
operations
•Communication difficulties in
dealing with home-office
personnel
•Lack of opportunities for the
home country's nationals to gain
international and cross* cultural
experience
•HCNs have limited career
opportunity outside the subsidiary
•Hiring HCNs may encourage a
federation of nationals rather than
global units

24. TCNs
•TCNs may be better informed
than PCNs about the countries
of assignment
•TCNs arc truly international
managers
•Host country government may
resent hiring TCNs
•TCNs may not want to return to
their own countries after
assignment Host country's
sensitivity' with respect to
nationals of specific countries
is missing
•HCNs arc impeded in their
efforts to upgrade their own
ranks and assume responsible
positions in the multinational
subsidiaries HCNs or PCNs

25. Managing Expatriates
• A few guidelines would help identify
potential expatriates.
– The willingness and enthusiasm of a person
to work on overseas assignments
– Looking at their background - are they
multiculturists themselves?
– He should possess appropriate skills for the
positions overseas
– The family background of the individual also
needs to be considered
– Local laws of host countries often come in
the way of expat postings

26. Managing Expatriates
• The element of 'cost' that drives the decision to
staff with HCN's rather than PCNs.
• If expatriation is inevitable, the need lo
calculate
– Cost-effectiveness differentials
– Negotiating competitive compensation packages
– Relocation costs
– Providing support with relocation with reference to
packing and shipping of belongings
– Locating suitable residence are required to be done

27. Managing Expatriates
• Selection Criteria for International
Staffing
– Technical Competence
– Relational Skill
– Ability to Cope with Environmental Variables
– Family Situation

28. Managing Expatriates
• Mark Mendenhall and Gary Oddou in 1985
identified four major dimensions that could
influence an expat's selection and adjustment.
– Self orientation - self-confidence, self-esteem and
mental hygiene*
– Others orientation - develop lasting friendships and
close relationships with them and acculturate more
easily in overseas assignments-
– Perceptual dimension - ability to make correct
attributions about the reasons or causes of host-
nationals' behaviour
– Cultural toughness dimension - the situation rather
than to people.

29. Managing Expatriates
• Specific Individual Criteria
– Willingness and motivation
– Performance (previous)
– Technical abilities
– Relational skills
– Cross-cultural adaptability
– Open-mindedness
– Stress adaptation skills
– Administrative skill
– Communication skill
– Leadership traits
– Marital status

30. Managing Expatriates
• Specific Family Support
– Willingness and motivation lo become a
trailing spouse
– Spouse’s adjustability
– Give up jobs and career prospects
– Marriage stability
– Children s education

31. Managing Expatriates
• Job Factors
– Technical skills
– Familiarity with working in HQ
– Basic managerial skills
– General administrative capability
• Relational Dimensions
– Tolerance for ambiguity
– Behavioral flexibility
– Non-judgementalism
– Cultural empathy

32. Managing Expatriates
• Motivational State
– Believe in the mission
– Congruence with career path
– Interest in overseas, specific host country culture
– Acquire new patterns of behaviour and attitudes
• Family Situation
– The spouse's willingness to relocate
– Openness, supportiveness
– Ability to adapt to a culture different
– Stability of the marriage
• Language Skills
– Host country language
– Non-verbal communication

33. Managing Expatriates
• Common Hardship Factors
– Housing—availability and quality of expatriate
housing, limitations due to crime or security
considerations, reliability of utilities;
– Climate and physical conditions—conditions of
excessive temperature or weather risk of major
climatic problems or natural disasters;
– Pollution—severity of atmospheric, water, radiation
and noise pollution:
– Diseases and sanitation—health risks, public
sanitation, need for food or water treatment:
– Medical facilities—availability and quality of health
care facilities and medical staff; Educational facilities
—availability of quality schools for expatriate children

34. Managing Expatriates
• Common Hardship Factors
– Infrastructure—quality and reliability of
telecommunication, mail, utilities, road conditions;
– Physical remoteness—geographic isolation, travel
systems;
– Political violence and repression—risk of violence,
terrorist activities, government repression;
– Political and social environment—freedom of
expression, human rights, intolerance, corruption and
poverty levels;
– Crime—risk to person and property, police force;
– Communication—use of major world languages,
media availability and censorship;
– Availability of goods and services—availability and
quality of food supplies, clothing and grocery.

35. Managing Expatriates
• Course of Action for MNCs —
– Provide culture and language orientation to
make the unfamiliar become a little less
strange.
– Authorize pre-assignment visits for the
expatriate and spouse so that they can find
appropriate accommodation
– Encourage the family to involve the children
in the discussion on educational options.
– Provide local contact information so that the
family will be welcomed on arrival.

36. Managing Expatriates
• Course of Action for MNCs —
– Assign home-country mentors who are
familiar with the challenges of expatriation.
– Provide EAP(Employee Assistance
Programme)
– Provide an explicit job description so that
the employee knows precisely what is
expected, thus minimizing insecurity
– Inform the family, prior to their acceptance
of the move, of expected hardship
conditions so that they can prepare
themselves beforehand.

37. Managing Expatriates
• Expat Failure
– US Organisations
• Inability of spouse to adjust
• Manager's inability to adjust
• Other family reasons
• Manager's personal or emotional maturity
• Inability to cope with larger international
responsibilities
– Japanese Organisations
• Inability to cope with larger international
responsibilities
• Difficulties with new environment
• Personal or emotional problems
• Lack of technical competence
• Inability of spouse to adjust

38. Female Expats
• Issues
– Motivation
– Stereotyping
– Capabilities – Relational skills, coping with
stress
– Organisational Process
– Host country attitude
• Problems
– Role expectations
– Patron Male boss
– Sexual harassment
– Threatened male colleagues
– Blocked promotion

39. Managing Expatriates
• Minimize expat failures:
– Design a job that maximizes role clarity,
minimizes role conflict and compensates for
role novelty
– Use discerning measures for selection of
international employees and their
companions.
– Educate native and foreign employees in
intercultural communication competence.
– Provide opportunity for language lessons.
– Provide a technical assistant to help with the
details of starting life in a different culture.
– Provide all information and equipment
pertinent to the role/work of the employee.

40. Managing Expatriates
• Minimize expat failures:
– Create open, frequent communication with the home
organisation to dispel feelings of abandonment.
– Create opportunities for positive social interactions in
order to communicate and become better acquainted
with host country members.
– Mostly, listen to them.
– Provide proper organisational support systems, both
through logistical support and support from
supervisors and co-workers in the host counu).
– Include spouse in any training and support
programmes.

41. THANK YOU