How can companies help their employees successfully manage the repatriation process

Multinational organizations invest in their high potentials by sending them on international assignments. Expatriates are expected to acquire global leadership skills, to bring home new market knowledge, and to become ready for the next career step in the organization.

But what if the next step for these motivated, high-value employees is leaving?

It’s a retention nightmare for receiving managers and HR’s talent development strategy. A costly one, too, with 17% of companies reporting an increase in attrition rate, while the overall average is reported to be 12% in 2014 (Brookfield Global Mobility Report, 2015). Repatriate attrition is particularly challenging, as most do not leave straight after the assignment, but within a few years after returning. (20% leave their organizations while on assignment, 25% within first year, 26% within two years). Is this a problem of growing frustrations and lacking challenges in a less international environment? Underused new skills and knowledge make these high -potentials a gold mine for headhunting companies.

In order to address the retention challenge, the receiving manager and the repat have to work hand in hand to find a successful re-integration process while following a global career management guideline. It is therefore surprising to find that 86% of companies do not have a formal repatriation strategy linked to career management and retention (BBC, 2014). Even if there is no formal strategy in place, receiving managers of repatriates can contribute to a successful, global talent development structure in three ways. After all, what is the ROI of an international assignment without the re-integration of the new skills and expertise into the organization?

Uncover Lessons Learned

More than 50% of organizations report not having a specific process for utilizing the skills and experience of their repatriates (Brookfield, 2015). Would an employee that just returned from a 2-3 year assignment abroad, with many learning moments and new insights into the region, not have an urge to share his or her experience if he/she was loyal and engaged? Providing an outlet to present key learnings, expertise, and suggestions – not only for the region but also the mobility process – should not just be seen as ticking a box, but as a key opportunity to improve the organization.

Align the repatriates’ competencies

Following from the first step of acknowledging the acquired skills and expertise, it is then important to find a position where those competencies can be utilized. Nothing is more frustrating for repatriates than spending a considerable amount of their careers stretching their comfort zones, learning by immersing themselves in a new culture and context, only to then go back to the same old. If the organizational needs do not allow matching those new skills to a job, it is a good idea for the receiving manager and the department to suggest alternative outlets such as lunch & learns, involvement in mentoring or leadership programs, supporting future assignees, etc.

Balance the workload

Receiving managers should not forget that re-integration and alignment after an international assignment do not stop outside the company’s door. Repats are faced with personal challenges of the international relocation, re-adjusting to their home culture, and many small, additive administrative burdens that can make the initial start period a stressful one. Communicating clearly about the new position’s travel and availability expectations in the beginning of the repatriation is essential to finding a solution that helps the repat overcome the re-adjustment phase, while providing value and support to the organization. Think of it like moving away from the term “hitting the ground running,” but rather properly (re-)onboarding the repatriating employee.

We can help you better prepare your managers of repatriating employees to ensure the individual and organizational benefits of an experience abroad continue post-assignment.

Here are ten ways to successfully weave expats back into your community.

• Make sure you’re sending the right people abroad.Carefully assess who will be successful. Don’t just look at their technical skills; consider the employee and his family’s ability to adapt to a new culture.

• Clearly define the expat’s career goals before the overseas assignment begins and make sure the goals reflect your company’s overall objectives. If the purpose of overseas assignments, for example, is to give your company global reach, then view the trip as a stepping-stone toward that goal. Have a strong sense of where the assignment will lead next for the employee.

• Discuss the challenges of repatriation before the employee leaves. Let the expatriate know that coming home can be difficult, and stress the importance of staying connected to the home office.

• Create a mentor program. Assign mentors before employees go abroad so they’re involved from the start. The mentor should continue to help throughout the stay and for six months after employees return home. If possible, mentors should be previous expats who worked in the same region as the employees they are mentoring.

• Encourage expats to make regular visits to the home office through a home-leave policy. They can reconnect with colleagues and new employees, and help prevent feeling “out of sight, out of mind.” Help expats stay in the loop by including them in companywide e-mails and newsletters. Managers at home can serve as advocates by looking for job openings and mentioning their names in discussions.

• Understand and educate management on the challenges of repatriation. Recognize that when returning home, repats can experience reverse culture shock. Look for symptoms, which include boredom, withdrawal, feelings of frustration, and distancing from coworkers. Help repats by letting them know they’re not alone and their feelings are normal.

• Find positions and activities that use repats’ new skills. Allow them to act as mentors, put them on assignments in which they can interact with overseas colleagues, and encourage them to continue to learn a foreign language or join a community organization related to the country where they lived.

• Provide support to the entire family. Help the repat’s spouse find a new job, and offer counseling to the parents and children on readjusting to life after living abroad.

• Encourage repats to approach repatriation similarly to relocating overseas. Many people are well prepared for their move abroad and expect that life will be different. Repats should have a similar mind-set when they return home. They should approach it as another new adventure. Make sure that repats set realistic goals, are aware of changes in their home offices, and reflect on personal changes and new priorities.

• Once repats have returned home, offer a counseling program. Review their international experience and discuss the challenges of repatriation both personally and professionally. Discuss with the repats how their business has changed and how to capitalize on their global experience.

Sources: GMAC Global Relocation Services and Prudential Financial’s Relocation Services

Workforce, July 2002, pp. 40-44 — Subscribe Now!

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