Predicting who will be a successful expatriate

Transcription

1 Predicting who will be a successful expatriate This report summarises previous research, a recent study and presents a best practice model to predicting success as an expatriate. cut-e Group info@cut-e.com Version 1.0 November

2 The challenge of identifying who will adapt best to a new situation Sending employees to live and work abroad involves a significant expense, so organisations have to look beyond the technical skills of candidates and ensure that they re choosing the right people for the right reasons. Moving from one country to another to work requires an individual to operate and perform well in a new environment. To determine the success factors for expatriates - and to understand which individuals will be able to adapt best in a new country in the future - cut-e s research team has conducted a study to identify if the personal characteristics of returning expatriates can predict success. This report summarises the study and highlights a best practice model. The background science An online survey conducted by the website expatchild.com highlighted the personality characteristics that expatriates themselves consider most important for their success. The three most highly rated traits were: flexibility, sense of humour and resilience. Other scientific studies have identified different traits. In one study, emotional stability was by far the most important personality trait for predicting how well missionaries adapt to their new locations and situations (Evans, 2012; Huff, Song & Gresh, 2014). Those who score high on this trait tend to be calm and relaxed when faced with stressful situations. Other traits, such as agreeableness and openness to change have been found to be associated with how well expatriates adapt, but only in some specific situations (Evans, 2012). There have also been studies looking at how cultural intelligence can predict expatriates success (Huff, Song & Gresh, 2014). Here the ability to understand other cultures and to adapt quickly to them seems to be, together with emotional stability, the most predictive measure of expatriate performance. Previous literature considered cultural awareness as a highly important predictor of expatriate performance. Therefore an item asking the participant to rate how well they felt they knew the culture of their expatriation country was included in the questionnaire for this study. The study: gathering input from expatriates and their managers In this study, 35 expatriates who had returned from their placement abroad completed cut-e s views questionnaire. This is an adaptive questionnaire that looks at individual and job-related values, motives and interests and assesses the 'cultural fit' of a person with a company, department or team. In addition, they and their managers completed a survey indicating how much the foreign assignment had been positive both in terms of performance and personal satisfaction. The items for this study focused on those relating to their liking of, and integration with, the new culture. The base, home manager, as well as the local, temporary manager, the local peers and subordinates, as well as the expat him or herself were asked for feedback about how the expatriate had integrated with the new, local culture. To identify the success factors for expats, we grouped the questionnaire items into clusters. We also checked to see to what extent there was agreement between the different stakeholders. Page 2

3 The results: the impact of stress, the work environment and empowerment When analysing the performance and satisfaction items of the survey, we found three success factors:, Personal success and Communication ability. The ratings of these three factors were consistent among the different stakeholders (self, managers, peers and subordinates). Figure 1 depicts the three factors together with the items feeding into them. Home manager satisfaction Branch manager satisfaction Colleague s satisfaction Subordinate s satisfaction Self-rated performance Personal success Consider the experience as a personal success Would repeat this experience again if I had the choice Was fulfilled by this experience Communication ability Able to understand (according to manger) Able to understand (self-rated) Able to be understood (manager) Able to be understood (self) Fig. 1 Expatriate success factors Among the three clusters identified, the most important one to explore further is the cluster given its direct impact on the business. For this reason, we explored this construct further to determine which dimensions within this are the best predictors. Following a careful analysis of the correlation matrix and based on previous research, we built and tested a model to predict overall performance. The overall performance measure consisted of the aggregated performance ratings given by the home manager, the local manager in the expatriation country, the colleagues and subordinates in the new location, and the employee him or herself, see Figure Home manager rating.58 Local manager rating.53 Local employee s rating.62 Local peers rating.55 Self-rating Fig.2 correlation analysis This model takes into account three main aspects for predicting expats performance: Cultural awareness, measured through the answer to the item: You now know very well the culture of the country of expatriation Stress and environmental change acceptance, measured through the views dimensions: Work-life balance and Working environment Self-initiative, measured through the views dimension: Personal initiative. We tested the model through a regression analysis. Page 3

4 The model is seen to be highly predictive (R=.75, p<.01). 51% of the total variance in the aggregate measure of performance can be explained by using only these variables. The scheme below shows how strongly each variable relates to the aggregate performance. Work-life balance -.30 Working enviroment Influence possibilities Cultural awareness.42 Fig. 3 Regression model to predict expatriate s performance It is clear that those expatriates who will perform the best have a specific profile: The low score on the Work-life balance scale indicates that top performers understand that stress can be a strong motivator to get things done and are prepared to put effort and time into challenging tasks and go beyond what is typically done. Those who score low on the Working environment dimension tend not to place too much importance on their working environment in terms of design, comfort, location and other aesthetic concerns. This probably helps them to adapt more easily to the new environment and situation. The high scores on Influence possibilities indicate that top performers tend to appreciate when initiative is required, are comfortable making their own decisions and are likely to perform best when managers are sensitive to their need for empowerment. They prefer to organise and approach their work as they see best. Conclusion: the characteristics of success This study identifies what it takes to succeed as an expatriate. It also introduces a model which can predict whether someone will adapt well to a new culture, perform as expected, cope with the personal and professional challenges, manage their own stress level and be satisfied working abroad. The key characteristics for success as an expatriate are: emotional stability; openness to change; cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity; an ability to adjust to different customs, perspectives and business practices; strong interpersonal skills; flexibility; resilience; respect for diverse viewpoints; a high level of autonomy and a sense of humour. Top performing expatriates have a specific profile. They understand that pressure can be a strong motivator, so they re prepared to put time and effort into challenging tasks, and they re not overly concerned with the aesthetic aspects of their workplace, which probably helps them to adapt more easily to a new environment. They also feel empowered to organise their own work and take initiative when appropriate. Our study, which builds on previous research, highlights that psychometric testing can successfully assess the personal characteristics required for success. A personality questionnaire that covers individual, job-related values, motives and interests - such as views - will help you to select those who are most likely to perform well in an international posting. Page 4

5 By carefully selecting the right candidates for expatriate assignments, you can ensure that the expectations of both the individual and the organisation are met, and that both parties benefit from the opportunity. For more information about how cut-e has helped companies with predictive talent analytics please refer to About the author Dr Katharina Lochner Dr Katharina Lochner is Research Director for the cut-e Group. She has a degree in work and organisational psychology from RWTH Aachen University, a doctorate in psychology from the Free University of Berlin and over 10 years experience working with clients in Europe and Asia Pacific. Her areas of expertise are the construction and evaluation of online psychometric tests and questionnaires, designing and implementing assessment centres. As the author of the cut-e ScienceBlog, Katharina writes weekly updates on research findings that can improve people s work and life and, within cut-e, she connects research with the practice of work and organisational psychology. About the author Davide Cannata Davide Cannata is a research consultant for the cut-e group. He has a double M.Sc. in Work, Organisational and Personnel Psychology from the University of Bologna and the University of Barcelona. In 2014, he co-founded Scienceforwork.com, an online platform to promote Evidence Based Practices in HR. His area of expertise is the construction and evaluation of psychometric questionnaires. cut-e is a world leader in the design and implementation of innovative online tests and questionnaires for recruitment, selection and development. cut-e helps companies identify people with the right capabilities and cultural fit to deliver optimal business results. cut-e carries out over 12 million assessments per year in over 70 countries and 40 languages. References Evans, E. H. (2012). Expatriate success: cultural intelligence and personality as predictors for cross-cultural adjustment [online]. URL: [ ] Huff, K. C., Song, P., & Gresch, E. B. (2014). Cultural intelligence, personality, and cross-cultural adjustment: A study of expatriates in Japan. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 38, Page 5