Intercultural Training and the Expatriate Assignment

by Neil Payne

International business assignments are becoming increasingly important in the modern business world. As companies expand they need to trade with, manufacture in and have a presence in foreign countries. Much of the time these moves initially involve sending out employees from the home country to oversee the burgeoning developments. This expatriate community is often critical to a business’s success yet more often than not the proper time, investment and skills are not given to the expatriate assignee to ensure they can do the job properly. One key area that many businesses ignore is that of intercultural training. At its most general level intercultural training is about providing people going to work in foreign countries with the know-how to ensure they settle in and work well in their new surroundings. As well as preparing an individual or family for the ups and downs of culture shock such intercultural courses also prepare people for some of the weird and wonderful sights, smells and sounds they will be coming across. For the actual expatriate employee they would also be given an insight into the working styles, communication preferences, etiquette, expectations, etc of the new culture. This helps them understand some of the issues they will face when working in the new environment. In essence, intercultural training is about helping people realise a smooth transition when moving abroad for work.Despite the evidence suggesting that expatriate assignments often fail due to factors such poor work performance and the inability to adapt, many businesses still do not invest in offering their expatriate staff intercultural training. Many wrongly assume that people will be able to gel and settle in well; many see intercultural training as a luxury not worth investing in. It could be suggested that such companies have not properly analysed the financial impact failed expatriate assignments actually have on a business.One key area is that of team cohesion and effective management. If a new manager or staff member enters a foreign environment without understanding how things are done locally, the result is often poor communication, a lack of group energy and poor results. The impact on the business is a team not functioning at its best and therefore not producing, selling, manufacturing or growing as it should.Financial losses will also be felt from a failed expatriate assignment through the initial hiring and placement process. The time, effort and money spent on finding the right person, advertising, training, relocation costs, flights, insurance, housing, schooling, etc are all lost.These are only two very brief examples of how lack of preparation for expatriates abroad can have a detrimental impact on a business. For less than 1 of all these losses a company can provide its employees and their families with an intercultural training course to help improve the chances of a successful foreign placement.

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