Fostering sustainable employability : Lessons from the experiences of self-initiated expatriates Kamila MOULAI & Laurent TASKIN 22/09/2016 1
Geographic job mobility, all about a focus Self-Initiated expatriates : Recent recognition of the importance of SIEs in the economy and by organizations (Dickmann&Baruch, 2011). Assigned expatriates ( =Organizational expatriates) are posted abroad by the company and benefit from organizational support (Andresen et al., 2014) 22/09/2016 2
Self-Initiated Expatriates Identification of self-initatied expatriates as a specific category of expatriates was initiated by Inkson & al. (1997). This phenomenon remains largely understudied (Thorn,2009). SIEs plan individually and autonomously their career without any support of the company (Richardson & Mallon, 2005). They choose to emigrate by themselves 22/09/2016 3
Securex, its model and Self-Initiated Expatriates Securex was interested in the factors promoting the ability and willingness of workers to work longer. Two critical components at the heart of this model: Ability and Agility Ability refers to the mental and physical condition of the worker, Agility includes three fundamental points: the commitment, the talent development and the resilience. 22/09/2016 4
HEALTH INDIVIDUAL ABILITY SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYABILITY AGILITY ORGANISATION RESILIENCE
Securex, its model and Self-Initiated Expatriates Ability and Agility are related and the combination of both allows the company to have capable workers to stay active longer and wishing to remain so, the self- Initiated expatriation as it can meet essential conditions of agility, is a vital asset that the company's future must know how to manage (Securex, 2015). 22/09/2016 6
Motivations for SIEs and AEs General Criteria Motivations Authors of the studies cited Desire to escape Adventure Travel Culture of the destination Learning new cultures Escape from precarious working conditions Professional development New career challenges Wider range of career options Career progression opportunities Ongoing education Inkson & al. (1997), Richardson & Mallon (2005), Thorn (2009), Suutari & Brewster (2000), Cerdrin & Le Pargneux (2009). Inkson & al. (1997), Richardson & Mallon (2005), Thorn (2009), Suutari & Brewster (2000), Cerdrin & Le Pargneux (2009) 22/09/2016 7
General Criteria Motivations Authors of the studies cited Professional development New career challenges Wider range of career options Career progression opportunities Ongoing education Inkson & al. (1997), Richardson & Mallon (2005), Thorn (2009), Suutari & Brewster (2000), Cerdrin & Le Pargneux (2009) Financial reasons Improve financial situation Better wages Better taxation Richardson & Mallon (2005), Thorn (2009), Suutari & Brewster (2000) 22/09/2016 8
General Criteria Motivations Authors of the studies cited Relationship Improve family living conditions Spouse living in the host country Career of the spouse. Inkson & al. (1997), Richardson & Mallon (2005), Thorn (2009), Suutari & Brewster (2000), Cerdrin & Le Pargneux (2009) Quality of life Climate Living in big cities Better work-life balance Richardson & Mallon (2005), Thorn (2009); Suutari & Brewster (2000) 22/09/2016 9
Specific Obstacles Criteria Having children limits the choice regarding destination Authors of the studies cited Richardson & Mallon (2005) Job insecurity Richardson & Mallon (2005) Temporary nature of the job Richardson & Mallon (2005) Travel visa Thorn (2009) Safety of the destination Thorn (2009) 22/09/2016 10
Is a European focus relevant? Figure 2: Distribution of economically active intra-eu movers in 2008 by level of education. Based on Eurostat EULFS, 2013 22/09/2016 11
Figure 3: Distribution of economically active intra-eu movers in 2013. Based on Eurostat EULFS, 2013 22/09/2016 12
Field Investigation Objective : Developing a better knowledge of expectations of both businesses and mobile workers for the development of relevant golden rules that will suit perfectly to both companies and workers in a sustainable employability perspective. Method: Semi-structured interviews with companies and talents 22/09/2016 13
Field Investigation Field of activity Contact person Duration of the interview Name of the company Biotechnology company HR manager responsible for international mobility 58min Company C Producer of chemicals HR manager responsible for international mobility 62min Company D Pharmaceutical company Personnel manager for mobility 65min Company A European supermarket chain Personnel manager for mobility 71min Company B 22/09/2016 14
Field Investigation Job Age Sex Name Duration of the interview Communication manager Marketing manager Last country of destination 39 Female Louisa 95min Germany 42 Male Francois 88min Germany Business analyst 41 Male Jules 97min Luxembourg Project engineer 37 Female Lena 70min France Finances consultant Computer engineer Expert in biotechnology 44 Female Jennifer 98min France 38 Male Bruno 82min Luxembourg 36 Male Stephan 104min Luxembourg 22/09/2016 15
Field Investigation A Crucial comparison between AExpatriation and SIExpatriation. Areas explored: Success or a failure in the achievement of an AEon as well as of a SIEon Motivations of mobile workers Difficulties encountered The awareness of the opportunities that could represent SIEs, for businesses. Brakes that would lead companies to avoid using SIEs or Aes Their perception of these mobile workers The sensitive issue of the understanding of corporate culture as a key issue in SIE s reliability. 22/09/2016 16
Key lessons for companies Regarding the management of AEs, one of the biggest weaknesses of companies is the lack of strategy in their decision to post highly qualified workers rather than others with fewer skills, but equally qualified. If the cultural fit is used by the company to justify a posting early return, there is an important controllable element: the difficulty in integrating due to the fact that local colleagues in the host country know about the preferential treatment of the welcomed posted worker. Cultural organization is: (1) innate to any worker, everyone must make an effort for learning it, (2) it is not universal: it is different from one country to another, nourished by the local culture. 22/09/2016 17
Key lessons for companies Stagnation is expected, as AEs are not substitutable with SIEs. The use of both is not inversely proportional to the use of others. Finally, SIEs seem to be potential talents welcomed in companies, according to HRD. The weakness of the companies remains the significant absence of the process of attracting these talents. It is a combination of technological circumstances that seems to explain the arrival of SIEs (facilitated by the offers on the web that reach all over the world) more than genuine policies of attracting SIEs. SIEs are solutions more advantageous for firms than expected. 22/09/2016 18
A focus group with workers 4 dimensions to focus on were identified thanks to the previous interviews with companies and workers that were made : Remuneration policy Recruiting and selection process Impatriation Managing compentencies 22/09/2016 19
Golden rules validated 1) Paying attention to the willing of the worker to take part to an AE 2) Boast the use of high skills in the jobs available to attract SIEs 3) Ensure greater confidentiality of the remuneration received by the worker in the country of posting. 4) Provide a range of activities in order to show hospitality to the worker to enable it to develop a pleasant feeling with the host country. 22/09/2016 20
Golden rules validated 5) Providing the talent with better information on the function proposed 6) Proposing an integration assistance to the worker as well as to its family 7) Investing in the recruitment of SIEs rather than in their direct compensation 22/09/2016 21
Thank you for your attention For further information, please feel free to contact me Kamila MOULAI: Kamila.moulai@uclouvain.be 22/09/2016 22