Tag Archives: Talent Management

Expatriate Assignment Checklist Part 1 – Assessment, Selection and Approval

Posted on April 16, 2012 by | 4 comments

Author:
Warren Heaps – Birches Group LLC

If you are an international HR practitioner, then you have probably had to deal with long-term international assignments.  They can be complex, with many different people involved, both internal resources and external suppliers and vendors.

One of the best ways to ensure all the necessary steps are followed is to use checklists.  These are simple yet extremely useful devices that will help you stay on track with your international assignees.  A recommended approach is to develop a checklist for each of the common assignment stages or events that occur, including:

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Posted in Expatriate Recruitment, Expatriate Selection, Expatriates, Global HR Expertise, Global Mobility Services, International Assignee Recruitment, International Assignee Selection, Talent Management

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International HR Forum Best of 2011

Posted on January 1, 2012 by | 3 comments

Author:
Warren Heaps – Birches Group LLC

As we reflect back on the 2011 year just completed, we have compiled a list of the most popular posts on the site during the past year.  Each of the posts listed below had more than 1,000 views during 2011.  If you did not have a chance to view these posts when they were first published, here’s a great opportunity to see what you missed.

Why Culture is Important in International Business
Ten Steps For Building A Salary Structure
International Employment Law “Quick Facts”: Brazil
How Top Companies Manage Talent Development
The Way To Identify Your Future Leaders (Part 1)
International Employment Law “Quick Facts”: India
Global Salary Grades or Global Salary Structure?
Global HR Issues That Keep Executives Up at Night – Part 1
International Annual Leave Rules — Or I Want to Live in Brazil!
The Way to Identify your Future Leaders – Part 2
Square Peg in a Round Hole: Balancing the Global Salary Budget
Base Salary – Not So Basic!
Reverse Culture Shock (or Why Do I Hate Being Back Home?)
Creating High Performance Teams
From Training Departments to a Company Academy Part 1

We have much to look forward to as we enter 2012. We will be adding some new regular contributors to the site, and will be revamping the entire site over the next few months. We appreciate your support and encourage you to add your comments on how we can make the site even more valuable for you. Also, let us have your suggestions for future posts and other ideas you think would be helpful in advancing the site as a resource for international human resources professionals.  Finally, if you are interested in submitting a post, we welcome your participation.  Please contact me to discuss your interest.

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Posted in Compensation, Cross Cultural Insights, General, International Employment Law, Talent Management

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Hey HR! Here’s What Employees and Families Really Need When Relocating Internationally

Posted on December 13, 2011 by | 4 comments

Guest Author:
Rachel Yates – Definingmoves.com

[Editor’s Note:  We are very excited to share with you the assignee’s spouse perspective on international relocation, from someone who has lived through five such moves.  Rachel Yates edits a website, Defining Moves, devoted to assisting relocating families around the world. ]

I read the post from May, 2011 by Warren Heaps about global mobility policies for the 21st century on this site, and found it to be fascinating, mainly because I am part of the changing demographics Warren described. On paper, we are the traditional relocating family; husband as assignee, spouse as the accompanying partner, and two dependent children. We have relocated through three continents over the last 10 years, and we have struggled. And we are most definitely not alone.

So what do relocating individuals and families really need from HR?

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Posted in Expatriates, Global HR Expertise, Global Mobility Services, Policy Development, Relocation, Repatriation, Talent Management

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Ten Ways to Simplify Administration of Your International Assignment Program

Posted on December 8, 2011 by | 2 comments


Jennifer Stein – Global Tax Network

[Editor’s Note:  We are happy to welcome Jen Stein as a Guest Author.  Jen is the Managing Director of the Global Tax Network Chicago office.  She has more than 15 years of experience in expat and foreign national tax preparation and consulting, starting her career with Arthur Andersen, and then Ernst & Young, where she served for over 14 years.]

International assignment administration is complex. Sometimes it’s useful to take a step back and review basic components.  The list below, while not exhaustive, is a good starting point to help review your international assignment process and procedures.  Adopting one or all of these components may make your life easier when administering international assignments.

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Posted in Expatriate Selection, Expatriates, Global HR Expertise, International Assignee Selection, Policy Development, Repatriation, Talent Management

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Is There a Crystal Ball for Talent Planning and Global Mobility?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by | 3 comments

Guest Author:
Nikki Goodstein – Cisco Systems

[Editor’s Note:  We are happy to welcome Nikki Goodstein as a Guest Author.  Nikki is a leader in Compensation & Benefits at Cisco Systems, Inc. and has a depth of experience designing and implementing global mobility programs. Before establishing the strategy and redesigning the program at Cisco, she led Global Mobility at The Coca-Cola Company. Nikki began her international HR career at Johnson & Johnson as part of their international compensation organization and has held HR roles in both the business as a generalist and in centers of excellence.]

Sorry, there is no talent planning “crystal ball,” but that does not mean you don’t need a plan!

Many companies with mature global mobility programs have evolved to measuring assignment success by leveraging available data across several key employment metrics:  performance over time, promotions/career opportunities, years with the company post repatriation, engagement scores reflecting manager performance, etc.  When consolidated into a dashboard, these metrics can help tell the story of success or challenges in your global mobility program.

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Posted in Expatriate Selection, Expatriates, Global HR Expertise, International Assignee Recruitment, International Assignee Selection, Policy Development, Repatriation, Talent Management

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2011 Global Talent Index

Posted on May 11, 2011 by | 2 comments

Author:
Warren Heaps – Birches Group LLC

The famous “war for talent” lives on.  Or does it? Heidrick and Struggles, the international recruitment firm, together with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), have just published their 2011 “Global Talent Index” report.  This year, in addition to a report which can be downloaded here, they have provided the resources for blogs and other sites to help spread the word about the report, including videos and interactive tools.

Here is a video introduction to the Global Talent Index from Kevin Kelly, CEO of Heidrick and Struggles:

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Posted in Global HR Expertise, Talent Management

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The Way to Identify your Future Leaders – Part 2

Posted on April 7, 2011 by | 5 comments

Authors:
 Han van der Pool – Van der Pool Consultancy
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters

Leadership has an effect on the bottom line – not directly, but by shaping the culture within which an organization operates, its climate and through its influence on employee engagement.  Identifying and developing leadership is a business critical process. Leadership depends on the type of personality, personal preferences, skills and relevant experiences.

Burning questions for Talent Development are:

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5 Comments

Posted in Africa, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Professional Development, Talent Management, Training

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The Way To Identify Your Future Leaders (Part 1)

Posted on March 9, 2011 by | 7 comments


Authors:
Han van der Pool – Van der Pool Consultancy
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters

It is not that easy to identify and groom future leaders.  Companies make use of various techniques to spot talent, and often manage their inventory of high potentials – those with the best chance of being a future leader.  In this post, we describe some of the best techniques which are used by companies to manage their talent pool of future leaders.

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7 Comments

Posted in Global HR Expertise, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Professional Development, Talent Management, Training

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Best Practices for Selecting International Assignees (Part 2)

Posted on January 11, 2011 by | 1 comment

Author:
Alan Freeman – LOF International HR Solutions

This is the second of two installments on the topic of assignee selection.

In our last posting, we began to list a number of proven best practices for selecting candidates for international assignments.  Here are several more:

Provide an overview of the your company’s applicable policies and processes. You and the candidate need to know early on if there are any “show-stopper” issues or you run the risk of wasting everyone’s time. Be sure, by the way, that your policy and administrative processes are well thought through and developed. You don’t want to be caught building an ad hoc “package” through negotiations. One-off deals frequently lead to lots of ongoing problems. Continue reading →

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Posted in Expatriate Recruitment, Expatriate Selection, Expatriates, Global Mobility Services, International Assignee Selection, Relocation, Talent Management

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Best Practices for Selecting International Assignees (Part 1)

Posted on December 9, 2010 by | 6 comments


Author:
Alan Freeman – LOF International HR Solutions

This is the first of two installments on the subject of assignee selection.

A recent question, “Please share ideas on best practices for hiring candidates for an immediate international assignment” triggers a few thoughts.

First and foremost, the organization must definitively establish that it is not possible to recruit local nationals in the location where the job is based. Hence sending a foreigner as an International Assignee is both necessary and can be sufficiently justified to obtain assignment country work and residency permits. If so, then…

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Posted in Expatriate Recruitment, Expatriate Selection, Expatriates, Global Mobility Services, International Assignee Selection, Relocation, Talent Management

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