Identifying assessment tools and integrating them into an expatriate’s development process can aid organizations seeking to improve their candidate selection, as well as successfully link mobility practices to talent management. Bellon and Rowe identify ways in which cultural assessment tools can be incorporated into an organization’s talent management initiatives.
Selecting the right candidates for international moves is more critical than ever as companies continue to face increasing costs, the need for selected expatriates to succeed, and improving ROI. Many companies are struggling with two key aspects of selecting their assignees—implementing best practices for selecting the best candidates and tying the selection process into talent management strategies.
A critical barrier is that few companies are using well-rounded assessment processes. Implementing more effective assessment tools and programs would provide companies with a better capacity to select people who are more likely to be successful in their overseas assignments. Historically, selection was based on factors such as an employee’s technical competency and job experience. Companies are now recognizing the need for broader candidate assessment and incorporating factors such as cultural adaptability into assessment. Tools that assess cultural adaptability can be used by organizations to determine not only suitability for an international assignment but also can be linked to an employee’s development before, during, and after the assignment. Only 30 percent of companies are using such tools, according to the 2010 “Global Mobility Policy and Practices Survey” published by Cartus and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC). Incorporating these assessment tools would be a big step toward improving selection.
Perhaps more important, incorporating effective assessment tools also can act as a bridge between selection and talent management. Companies are starting to realize that selection is not just a relocation issue—it is becoming an important part of a larger talent management strategy.
Companies are beginning to focus on integrating selection and assessment into the employee’s overall development and recognizing that the personal development aspect also should be tied to overall talent management practices. Says Peter Rienzi, vice president of expatriate services, Prudential Financial, Newark, NJ, in the article, “Happy Returns,” featured in the March 2010 issue of HR Magazine, expatriate assignments must be “included as part of the organization’s overarching talent management strategy.”
Assessing Cultural Adaptability
There are various tools available to assess cultural adaptability. When looking for an assessment tool, a number of questions should be considered:
• Does the tool have a strong foundation in research, and has it been statistically validated?
• As part of cultural adaptability, does the tool look at distinct attributes crucial for successful adaptation to another culture, as well as factors surrounding assignments that can either support or distract expatriates from having a successful assignment?
• Is it easy to use, easily accessible, and does it provide feedback—such as reports and results—in a timely manner?
• Does the tool meet the organization’s needs and can it be easily integrated into existing candidate assessment and talent management programs?
• Does the company providing the tool offer consultation and support in how to use and integrate the instrument into talent management strategies?
Linking Mobility and Talent Management
Although companies are focusing increasingly on improving the link between mobility and talent management, in many cases they are just getting started. According to Cartus’ 2009 “Talent Management Survey,” centralizing the management of global mobility and better linking to the talent management process are current challenges faced by responding organizations. The greater need for integration is echoed in the realignment of where the relocation function is housed within some organizations. Mobility is no longer sitting exclusively under the compensation and benefits umbrella, but rather can be found sitting with talent management, people, or human capital teams.
However, some leading-edge companies are driving the integration from the opposite direction, using talent management strategies to drive selection. Traditionally, employees were assessed and selected for a particular assignment opening. Now, some companies are beginning to use leadership development strategies to drive relocation practices for high potentials. According to PwC’s “12th Annual Global CEO Survey,” 97 percent of CEOs state that access to and retention of key talent is critical. During the next three years, organizations will increase their talent management emphasis on leadership, succession planning, and career pathing. The Towers Watson “Global Talent Management and Rewards” survey found that 60 percent of responding companies stated that increasing the investment in building their talent pipeline is a priority. As a result, some companies are aligning talent management and assignment pre-selection into their annual review processes and overall career management paths.
Cultural Assessment and Talent Management
As companies struggle with how to effectively link mobility with talent management, it can be difficult to know where to begin. One area where companies can begin to focus more easily is improving their assessment processes and more clearly linking them with employee development.
Following are some ways cultural assessment tools can be incorporated into an organization’s talent management process:
• Creating a candidate pool. Cultural assessment tools can be used in the creation of candidate pools when assessing high-potential new hires. For example, an international power systems company wanted a tool that would give them a snapshot of an employee’s cultural adaptability, as their goal was to develop a pool of culturally-competent international managers. Using a cultural adaptability tool allowed this company to create a pool of potential candidates for future overseas assignments and identify specific skills to be developed for each of their high-potential new hires.
• Self-selection. Some organizations use cultural assessment tools so their employees can self-select for an international assignment. If potentially interested in relocating, employees taking a self-assessment tool would raise awareness of their strengths and areas of potential challenges when adapting to life and work in a new country. This can help employees decide if an international assignment might be a good fit for them and use the information to help create their personal development plans and to opt-in to potential candidate pools.
• Integration with training and development. Companies also can use cultural assessment tools to identify and develop employees who have tactical knowledge for a particular assignment, but who need additional training to help them gain the awareness, knowledge, and skills to address potential culturally-based challenges. Tools can be integrated into the training employees receive prior to their assignment and into coaching they receive while on assignment.
• Supporting short-term assignments. Short-term assignments are increasingly developmental in nature, and the use of assessment tools can give further depth to the employee’s development. An aerospace company integrated the use of a cultural assessment tool when sending employees on six-month international assignments to share technology and provide cross-training on aviation equipment. For these employees, the cultural assessment instrument was used as an extra tool in their cross-cultural training program. They received guidance on their strengths and challenges within the context of the host country culture, and they identified specific cultural skills that they could use and develop while on their short-term assignment.
• Leadership development. For organizations with strong succession planning programs and expectations for their senior leaders to have international experience, using a cultural assessment tool will help identify high potentials. The instrument will provide employees with feedback on strengths and weaknesses that they can begin to integrate into their development plan to be ready for the next available international assignment.
• Implementing a formal selection process. For companies who do not have a mature talent management practice in place, developing a more formal assignment selection process will help with assignee development and improve the likelihood of success. Using a cultural assessment tool can complement other selection tools such as personality assessment, identification of job competencies, and other company-specific criteria, to create a comprehensive selection process that also can tie to future career planning and development.
By identifying an appropriate assessment tool and integrating it into an organization’s expatriate selection and development processes, companies not only can improve their candidate selection, but also take some key steps along the path to successfully linking their mobility practices with talent management.
Brenda V. Bellon is vice president, intercultural for Prudential Relocation, Atlanta, GA. She can be reached at +1 678 867 6962 or e-mail brenda.bellon@prudential.com.
Jennifer Rowe is intercultural business development specialist for Prudential Relocation, Shelton, CT. She can be reached at +1 440 778 7820 or e-mail jennifer.rowe@prudential.com.