The Stubborn Chameleon Approach: Ensuring a Growth- Oriented International Assignment
Posted: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
by Matthew Arrigale
Both companies and employees take huge risks when embarking on longer term expatriate assignments. Companies gamble by investing in significantly higher expatriate wages and benefits with the hopes of a greater financial return. Employees gamble by uprooting themselves and their families into unfamiliar territories, often not knowing what the next step professionally might be beyond the overseas assignment.
* The spouse's inability to adjust.
* The employee's inability to adjust.
* The employee's personal or emotional immaturity.
* Other family problems
Ms. Tung overlooks a very basic issue in failure rates the individual approach to language and culture. If my hypothesis is correct then training, coaching and mentoring is helpful but might be too late.If we truly want to lower the failure rate, selection and motivation are clearly where the emphasis needs to be. Of course, t here is no one-size-fits-all approach to a successful expatriate assignment, but the approach of the individual can make the difference between success or a complete flop. I spent almost three years living and working in Germany , and it was by far the most rewarding period of growth for me and my family. Had we not been stubborn, disciplined, willing to make fools of ourselves and adaptable, I do not think the assignment would have been successful. Below are two simple approaches that seemed to work for us.
Make learning the language the top priority. - Learning a foreign language is not easy, especially when the foreign country has a high level of English fluency. Fighting through the frustration and continually rejecting the urge to switch to English is the only way that I could learn German. I just decided to be completely stubborn and refuse to communicate in English, period. My American wife was the exception to this rule of course, but, to this day, our dog still takes commands only in German. By showing determination to learn the language, you become credible with the local people. By being stubborn and disciplined, one can open the door to the potential of accelerated learning of the language.
Don't live in the "expat ghettos." - Our approach was that we would have the rest of our lives with Americans. Here was an opportunity to learn about a new culture and get to know the people. Many assignees only seek out other expatriates and spend the majority of their social time with these groups. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but for us, this would have been detrimental to successful adjustment to the new culture and language. Instead, we tried to take part in local traditions, joined social clubs, and learned as much as we could about the values and beliefs of the local people.
If you are thinking of taking on an international assignment, my advice is to carefully consider what motivates you. If challenge, growth, and cultural and language learning experiences are at the top of your list, you have a higher chance of success. If you are an HR professional selecting candidates to send overseas, spend the extra time upfront and probe into employee motivation. I think we owe that to our company, the employee and his/her family. A selection mistake is just too costly for everyone involved.
Matt Arrigale is vice president, human resources-Americas at SCHOTT. The multinational company develops and manufactures special glass, specialty materials, components and systems and has its North American corporate offices in Elmsford , New York . Arrigale lives in Stormville, New York and serves on the board of directors for Putnam Family & Community Services, Inc.
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