Jan 28

According to a recent article published in The Telegraph, coming home after a long stay overseas can be just as stressful as moving to a foreign country. While expatriates expect to experience some level of culture shock when they go on an international assignment, most repatriates do not expect any reverse culture shock and therefore do not seek any support in the form of repatriation training or coaching for themselves or their family.

Airplane Maurits Vink i There’s No Place like Home…Or Is There? The Challenges of Repatriation

© istockphoto.com/ Maurits Vink

This reverse culture shock is all the more distressing because no one sees it coming. Expatriates fully expect to be confused and frustrated in a new cultural environment, but not in their home environment where they know the local customs so well. Returning to their own culture of origin can be more stressful and have more unexpected consequences than a transition into the unfamiliar.

When reality sets in and repatriates realise that things have changed, the initial excitement of returning home quickly disappears and is often replaced by feelings of anxiety, stress and a sense of loss. These negative feelings can stem from a number of different factors including :

Social Step Down
Many expatriates living in another country experience life at a higher level than they may at home. In other words, they may have a cleaner or a nanny or they may have opportunities for adventures, shopping or treatments that they would not have been able to afford at home. As such, readjusting to their normal standard of living upon repatriation may create negative emotions.

Lack of Interest from Family and Friends
Most expatriates have lots of opportunities for some really amazing adventures. They explore another part of the world and may have funny stories about what they ate or people they met. After some time the level of interest that people may have had in your adventures may decline, leaving many repatriates feeling inadequate and or irrelevant. This is especially true for those friends and family members who have no experience of cross-cultural interactions and therefore struggle to understand the true dimension of life in a foreign culture.

False Expectations
Expatriates often expect things at home to be the same as they left them so are often surprised or disappointed when they discover that things have changed. Their home culture may suddenly seem simple or unsophisticated after experiencing a wider multicultural world. Issues that previously seemed important may appear petty in comparison to the overseas experience. Repatriates need to remember that while they have changed significantly during their international experience, it is likely that their home country would have changed too.

Reverse culture shock is often exacerbated by the lack of information available to repatriates. There is a large discrepancy between the amount of information and assistance available to prospective expatriates and that available to repatriates. While there are countless books and websites devoted to giving advice to expatriates about adapting to the host culture and dealing with culture shock, there is not very much information available about reverse culture shock leaving many repatriates open to the challenges of adjusting to life back home.

Readjusting to their former way of life may take some time and returning expatriates may experience various stages of reverse culture shock as part of the readjustment process. Repatriates may go through a period of maladjustment characterised by high levels of irritability and nostalgia for their ‘new’ culture. Specialised repatriation training can provide the necessary skills repatriates need to cope with their return to their country of origin. Repatriation training will also highlight what returning expatriates can expect in terms of their own feelings as well as some of the possible scenarios they may encounter upon their return including:

  • Recognising a change in their own personal values and attitudes and how they now differ from what people are used to
  • A lack of appreciation by friends, family or colleagues for the knowledge and skills they have developed while abroad
  • The low level of interest from friends, family or colleagues in their international experiences and adventures
  • Change in status and lifestyle

It’s important that expatriates mentally prepare themselves for their international assignment, but it can be even more important for them to prepare themselves before returning home. Being aware of and expecting reverse culture shock and the time it will take to readjust to their home culture can help repatriates to develop more useful coping mechanisms. Participating in a repatriation training course will ensure that repatriates have a smoother reintegration into their local culture and a better chance of being able to apply their new knowledge and skills to their social and professional life. With the right preparation, repatriates can really feel like ‘there’s no place like home’.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

Dec 21

Relocating to another country can be a challenging experience for many international assignees. Cultural differences international assignees may encounter in the food, language, working practices or cultural values can lead to culture shock. The ability to effectively manage culture shock and cultural difference is crucial to the success of the international assignment. A cultural awareness training for relocation course can help expats to more effectively manage the challenges of living and working in a new country through developing strategies to stay active, meet people and find new hobbies in the target culture.

Football Adam Kazmierski i How Can Sports Help Expats More Effectively Manage an International Assignment?

© istockphoto.com/ Adam Kazmierski

Finding new hobbies is an excellent way to successfully adapt to a new culture but it can sometimes be a challenge as many international assignees search only for things they did in their home country. There are many new hobbies and activities expatriates can get involved in that can bring immense benefit to them. Expatriates living in South East Asia recently discovered this when they opened a Gaelic Football club.

Gaelic football was played widely in Ireland during the 19th century and came to South East Asia through international assignees coming from the UK. Surprisingly, this sport was well received and the locals joined expatriates in creating several teams which are now competing against each other across China, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. Joe Trolan recently described Gaelic Football in the Korean Times as a real bridge between British international assignees and Koreans.

Some find it strange to see a traditional Gaelic sport spreading throughout South East Asia but this is a perfect illustration of sport’s uncanny ability to bridge cultural differences and ease intercultural communication. Indeed, sport is a great way to overcome cultural differences.

One of the best examples of this is football, commonly called the “world game”. Football’s unrivalled popularity and ability to bring different cultures together is proven through the many tournaments across countries and cups like the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Football is not the only sport that creates bridges between cultures. Cricket, for instance is equally popular in the UK, Australia and India, thanks to the common past shared by both countries. Japan, Korea and the US share the same passion for baseball while ice hockey enjoys an enormous popularity both in Eastern Europe and North America.

These sports and many others are instrumental in bringing cultures together around the world and helping expatriates effectively manage their international assignment. Whether playing together with locals and other expats in a league or watching a sports event together, sports can break down barriers of cultural difference and help expats build relationships that will improve their international assignment.

Playing or watching sports on an international assignment is just one thing expats can do to ensure their success abroad. Understanding the key cultural values of their own culture and their host culture and being able to effectively manage these differences is essential. A cultural awareness training for relocation course can give international assignees the cultural insights and strategies they need to overcome the main challenges of an international assignment.

Knowing how a culture operates and how to build relationships with people in the target country will help expats throughout their international assignment. The cultural awareness, knowledge and skills expats can gain from a cultural awareness training for relocation course can also help them to perform more effectively in any sport they decide to play as an expat, making international assignment more enjoyable.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Nov 11

A recent article in the Financial Times sums up some of the many challenges that can arise for expatriates going to a foreign country for a long or short term expatriation. From culture shock to homesickness and psychological distress, being an expatriate can become an ordeal and according to forensic psychologist Dr Hamden, expatriation is just not for everyone. But for those who can cope with the cross cultural challenges, an expatriation can become an enriching experience, bringing an invaluable global mindset.

Team cercle Rafal Zdeb i2 Ensuring your Expats’ Success in a Cross Cultural Context

© istockphoto.com/ Rafal Zdeb

The article takes the example of Michelle Brown, a PR executive sent by her organisation to Hong Kong in 2000. While she was looking forward to her expatriation, she certainly did not expect the great number of challenges she was going to face such as weather, food and culture shock. But the greatest difficulty she faced was probably how the locals behaved regarding the colour of her skin.

A young black woman, Michelle attracted a lot of curiosity from locals, especially as it was a place overwhelmingly inhabited by Chinese and white expatriates. Despite their behaviour, she coped admirably and even decided to live in a ‘normal’ part of Hong Kong instead of settling in an expat neighbourhood. She managed to adapt to her new environment, made friends and now has wonderful memories of her expatriation there.

Unlike Michelle Brown, many expatriates just can’t cope with the challenges of their new cultural environment. There are many reasons for a failed expatriation but some of the most popular ones include:

  • Difficulty adapting to a new culture
  • Impact of culture shock
  • Lack of social or professional activity (especially for trailing partners)
  • Homesickness

Expatriates need to consider all of these and others before going on an expatriation. According to the Financial Times, 6% of expatriation processes failed in 2010. Half of these failures are due to the inability of expatriates to adapt to their host culture. The result is a huge loss of money and time for international organisations which could have been avoided with the right cultural support and measures in place for expatriates.

There have been several solutions over the last century that continue to help expatriates and improve their international experience. Some of these include:

  • Increased use of virtual communication and improved technology that helps them maintain a social link with their family and friends while on expatriation
  • Increased ability to travel by plane allowing them to spend more face-to-face time at home with family and friends as well as colleagues
  • Psychological support and the wider use of cross cultural training courses to help them to cope with the challenges of expatriation

According to the Financial Times, 83% of international organisations declared that cross cultural training coursesare a great way to ensure the success of an expatriation.

International companies increasingly recognise the importance of culture in the expatriation process. They now have available new tools such as The International Profiler which helps them review competencies expatriates may need to develop to be successful in the target country. They also have access to a plethora of intercultural training courses such as Living and Working in Hong Kong or Living and Working in India which provide future expatriates with a comprehensive understanding of their own and host cultures. Providing cross cultural awareness trainingand follow-up support to expatriates will help them to settle more easily and thrive in a new cultural context.

Ensuring the happiness of your expatriates is essential as it will help them to maintain a high level of performance in their new position abroad and reduce the chances of an early return which can be costly and time consuming. Providing expatriates with the cross cultural training courses and support they need will help guarantee an excellent return on investment for the organisation and a happy life changing experience for the expatriate and their family.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Sep 17

An international assignment is always a challenge from both a professional and personal perspective as coping with the differences within the workplace and the personal environment can be difficult.

Statistics show that failed international assignments are mainly related to a lack of adaptation either from the expatriate or his/her family. A failed expatriation can have severe consequences for an organisation and result in a significant loss of money as expatriates can be expensive.

Globe Kasia i Cultural Awareness Training: Ensuring a Successful Cultural Adaptation

© istockphoto.com/ Kasia

Studies suggest that a failed international assignment can cost between$100,000 and $300,000. Failed business or project objectives also indirectly harm the brand image and limit the future business perspectives of the company. Finally, the damage on the expatriates’ morale and performance can also be disastrous, depression and a long lasting loss of confidence can affect them even after they return.

Working habits are one of the main problems encountered by expatriates as they can be fairly different from one country to another. The way people deal with risk, hierarchy, time and decision making processes are different and these differences can hinder an expatriate’s performance. Expatriate cultural programs can increase the understanding of the impact of these differences which will help them to adapt more easily to his/her new environment. Cultural awareness training will also provide expatriates with key insights and practical information about business and social practices in the country.

It is also crucial to assess and understand the expatriates’ main concerns in order to help them to succeed. According to the HSBC Expats Survey results, expatriates are mainly preoccupied with their ability to make friends abroad, socialise and adapt to the local community. They are also concerned about ensuring their partner and family have an enjoyable experience.

All of these challenges can be difficult to overcome without the appropriate and relevant cultural awareness training. Deciphering Chinese or Indian social and business practices and customs is almost impossible without the proper guidance. During an expatriate cultural program, delegates can also benefit from the experience of their trainer who will share anecdotes and first hand testimonies that can help expatriates to foresee what await them in their host culture. Cultural awareness training also helps to break down myths and stereotypes which sometimes lead to false assumptions and cultural insensitivity.

Providing expatriate cultural programs such as Living and Working in India or Living and Working in China can help future expatriates to adapt quickly to their new environment and reduce the risks of failure. The relevant and appropriate strategies and tools they will receive on expatriate cultural program will give them the confidence they need to work effectively in another culture and cope with the specific challenges of their expatriation.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Sep 10

According to the 2010 Global Relocation Trends Survey, only 47% of international assignees had families with children when they went abroad last year. This all time low percentage shows a new trend in international human resources: organisations increasingly prefer to send expatriates with no children for short and long term assignments. This is primarily because the inability of the family to adapt is one of the primary causes of failed international assignments and is one of the main concerns for HR professionals.

Family H Gall i Helping the Whole Family to Adapt to a Foreign Country

© istockphoto.com/ H Gall

Indeed, sending a whole family to a foreign country can represent a huge challenge without the proper preparation. Offering an expatriate cross cultural program to the partner and children can be an excellent way to prepare them for their international experience. By undergoing an expatriate cross cultural program, families can get the insights and understanding they need about the environment, way of life, currency, customs or food in the target country. Increasing their understanding of the visible part of the culture they are going to live in is just one aspect. Training can also make expatriates aware of the core cultural values of the target country that they will need to understand and adapt to.

Deciphering the core cultural values of the target culture can help all family members to cope with culture shock which is one of the greatest challenges they will face and can jeopardise the whole expatriation process. An expatriate cross cultural program can also help them to understand the different communication styles and social etiquette to ensure they can communicate what they need and behave without making any cultural faux pas during their expatriation.

Expatriate cross cultural programs can also provide the partners of international assignees practical tips about finding a job or building their social network. This ensures partners avoid getting bored and feeling disconnected from society which can negatively impact their adaptation to the new country. Getting the children ready is equally important. Expatriate cross cultural programs can help kids to understand the differences they will encounter in their new school while it will also improve their ability to adapt to their new environment and make new friends.

Regardless of where you are going on an international assignment, going through a cross cultural training course is the best way to make sure you enjoy your new life as an expatriate. Cultural training programs can also provide peace of mind to human resource professionals responsible for ensuring the expatriation is a success.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Sep 02

Organisations increasingly send employees abroad on international assignments all over the world. While this has several advantages such as an increased global reach for the organisation and access to a broader talent pool, it also creates a large array of new challenges for international assignees who have to adapt to new working practices and communication styles. Helping international assignees to develop their intercultural skills through cross cultural training is crucial for global organisations that require successful communication and collaboration across cultures.

Globes Mike Bentley i1 Cross Cultural Training: How to Compete Successfully on the Global Market

© istockphoto.com/ Mike Bentley

Understanding the impact of culture on business and working practices is vital. Our behaviours and values are widely influenced by our cultural background but this can sometimes be difficult for foreigners to decipher without the right cultural tools and understanding. A comprehensive analysis of cultural values in specific countries can significantly help employees to decipher key cross cultural attitudes towards aspects such as time, hierarchy or risk. Culture also influences how we communicate verbally, non-verbally and virtually. All these cultural elements can hinder effective communication within international teams and cause cross cultural misunderstandings and frustrations if not understood or managed.

Being aware of cross cultural business practices is sometimes not enough. When organisations decide to send employees to work on short or long international assignments, it’s important that they consider the support options to ensure that expatriates understand the impact of culture on their daily life. How to socialise, hints of the country’s environment and useful information for the other members of the family are just a few examples of what a cross cultural training course can provide international assignees. These elements must be taken into consideration as they can greatly reduce the culture shock upon arrival.

A lack of cultural awareness can harm business opportunities and cause organisations to lose large amounts of money and time spent on human resources. Communicaid’s cross cultural training courses are specifically designed to provide key information and insight needed by the international assignees and their family, enabling an easier adaptation process which is essential for a successful personal and professional experience on the global market.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Jul 07

A recent report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers gives us a glimpse of the state of international assignments in the year 2020. This comprehensive report shows new trends, challenges and opportunities of international assignments in the years to come, from the use of new technology to remuneration policies and from the new type of assignees to connections between states and companies.

 

Business People walking urbancow i1 The Future of International Assignees – What trends can we expect in 2020?

© istockphoto.com/ Urban Cow

 

Here we have summarised some of the highlights of the report:

International Assignees

PricewaterhouseCoopers foresee a 50% rise in the number of international assignees, but as the baby boomers slowly begin to retire, new generations of international workers will appear to replace them. New generations of international assignees will be motivated by different factors and have diverse career goals.

According to the report, The Generation Xers will arrive at their full career potential in 2020. They will be selective about their assignments and try to maximise their income. They will be joined by the Millennials who tend to perceive international assignments as a rite of passage and are more likely to work abroad longer and come back to their homeland later in their career. In 2020 we will also still see some of the baby boomers working and seeking the best assignments in order to keep high incomes and maintain their living standards.

Competition between Companies

According to this report, the competition between firms will continue to increase in the near future so companies will have to fight even harder to hire and retain the most talented and high level employees. To find this new talent, international companies will have to recruit worldwide while they will also have to find ways of encouraging their employees to stay in the organisation.

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ study, while remuneration policies will remain the main incentives, they will no longer be sufficient to retain talented employees. Companies will have to adapt to their employees’ core values and provide them with challenging and stimulating roles around the world.

New Destinations

Emergent countries will have reached their full potential in 2020 resulting in new global mobility patterns. Instead of having personnel going from Northern to Southern countries, firms will increasingly send their employees to any country in the world.

The constant search for new talent will drive international companies to scout the foreign market for employees who bring a high level of competence, knowledge and experience. For example, the report shows the case where a Chinese organisation may hire a European worker and send him or her to work in Africa.

Changes to demography around the world will also impact the mobility flow. Indian cities for instance will become more important as their educated population overtakes key urban centres in western countries making India an attractive place for doing business. Bangalore, for example, has been reported to have a huge population of experienced global mobility professionals which is attracting many western organisations looking to outsource some of the business processes.

In addition to the above, the report also highlights several challenges and obstacles for the international assignees of the future that can jeopardise their success. Among these challenges are the impact of culture, increased interaction with different ethnic groups, loss of social networks and difficulties finding an occupation or employment for partners and children.

Cross cultural awareness training courses like Living and Working in India or Partner and Family Training can help by providing key insights and knowledge about the target culture and strategies for dealing with cultural adaptation. The skills developed on an intercultural training course can ensure that international assignees today and in 2020 will have the support they need to be successful anywhere in the world.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Jul 05

According to a recent study conducted by accounting firm Deloitte, the European football championships have approximately three quarters of the football players who are playing in World Cup.

What attracts so many players to the European football leagues over other world teams? Many argue that the main reason behind this trend is money. European football generated €15.7 billion during the 2008 season alone. This revenue comes mainly from tickets and merchandise sales as well as TV slots and adverts. English, German, Spanish, Italian and French championships have particularly high revenues which account for half of the continent total revenue.

With these colossal amounts of money, it is not surprising to see many young players from South America or Africa so eager to come and play in Europe in the hope of being recruited by prestigious clubs like Manchester, Chelsea or Barcelona. However even extremely fit and skilled professional football players are no different from expatriates when it comes to being relocated and living and working abroad.

Rows of seats Celso Pupo i International Football Players   Impact of Relocation on Game Performance

© istockphoto.com/ Celsopupo

 

Employees of corporate or public sector organisations and football players alike deal with the challenges of culture shock and adaptation when moving to a new environment which can be quite different from the one they have just left. The language, food and infrastructures can be dramatically different as well as cultural values and attitudes on a social and professional level. Adapting to these new elements can sometimes be difficult for young players who are far from home, especially with atmospheres of rivalry which can make things even tougher.

Like any other international assignees, foreign football players have to cope with the differences in the way they work. Depending on where you are, players may be faced with different management and training styles as well as differences in how the game is played. For example in Italy the Calcio tolerates rough defence and a harsher physical involvement while the English Premiere League emphasises the attack, leading to spectacular and open games. While some players adapt naturally to these differences, other can struggle and witness a decrease in their overall performance.

Players own cultural values can also become obstacles, particularly in how they adapt to different management or training styles. Their relationship to authority, for example, and how they perceive their manager or their attitude to time and arriving late for training sessions can also have an impact on how they are perceived by the rest of the team and perform as a player.

International players can also experience a kind of reverse culture shock when they come back from their club to play in their national squad. The French sports newspaper l’Equipe recently took the example of the Argentinean player Lionel Messi who they say has played for so long in Spain that he now struggles to adapt the way the Albiceleste play the game!

Hiring young players from foreign and distant countries can be really expensive so ensuring that young champions adapt quickly and efficiently to their new environment is key for football clubs both from a competition and financial perspective. Football clubs should follow in the footsteps of many international firms and provide cross cultural awareness training courses to their players to ensure a smooth adaptation process to their prodigies.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Jun 22

The increase in numbers of long-term international business assignments has led employers to look at family relocation as an important element of a successful international assignment.

Successful family relocation is increasingly recognised as a key factor in international assignments for two reasons. Firstly, one of the most common causes of failed international assignments is the employee’s partner’s unhappiness in the new location. Secondly, employees who relocate with their families usually feel more secure in their new environment and are less inclined to travel back to their native country as frequently as those whose families stay behind which saves the organisation time and money.

 

Family H Gall i2 International Assignments: Overcoming the Cultural Challenges Together as a Family

© istockphoto.com/ H Gall

 

Sending employees and their families abroad can present a huge risk to international organisations. If the family members fail to adjust and fit in to their new cultural environment, the company risks huge financial costs. Some estimates put the cost to an organisation of a failed international assignment at $250,000 or more.

Providing cross-cultural training for relocation programmes to the international assignee’s family can help prevent this direct cost to the organisation and lessen the emotional strain of the relocation on the partner and children. Participating in a Living and Working in Saudi Arabia cultural awareness training course, for example, helps families moving to Saudi Arabia anticipate any potential problems they might have in adjusting to the cultural differences while it also equips them with strategies to ensure they maximise their relocation.

Training the family of international assignees provides a unique opportunity for them to experience the target culture as a family and find ways to help each other through any problems during their adjustment to their new life and surroundings. Ensuring the whole family is happy and well adjusted will drastically improve the chances of a successful international assignment and save the organisation time and money.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Mar 03

Cross cultural training is extremely important for employees being relocated to another country. Intercultural training programmes for relocation provide the cultural preparation and strategies without which international assignees and their family members could struggle when adapting to life and work in the target country.

The intense cultural transition that follows being relocated to a foreign country can, without adequate preparation, result in significant culture shock. Instead of hitting the ground running, employees may struggle to integrate into their new environment and be unable to effectively cope with their new international assignment. This leads to potentially huge costs for the organisation and a negative impact both on the employee’s emotional resilience and ability to perform well in the future.

iStock 000007068543Medium 300x199 Cross Cultural Training for Relocation

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

In the 2008 Global Relocation Trends Survey Report conducted by GMAC respondents rated cross cultural training for relocation as the third most important initiative to increase ROI of international assignments, claiming that “cross-cultural preparation has a direct impact on the financial success of a relocation/assignment”.

Cross-cultural training for relocation programme such as Living and Working in Japan can significantly reduce the risk of international assignments by providing international assignees with the intercultural knowledge and skills required to be successful when working across cultures.

Despite this, many companies still fail to make cross-cultural training for relocation programmes mandatory and therefore risk huge financial loss from early returns or damage to relationships with international counterparts through cultural faux-pas and misunderstandings.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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