I stood on the Uetliberg (the house mountain of Zurich) when I noticed that sometimes we walk up a mountain without knowing where the top is. We want clarity on how far the top is and what the top will look like. We are still determining what we will find there. For example, if I expected a restaurant, but expected to be less full, then I would walk out again immediately without even considering a bio-break. Or I did not expect a water fountain up there where I could fill my water bottle, which was helpful. Hiking a mountain, and changing to a self-employed career as a writer or blogger are similar.
You start with regular writing practice and move on to more elaborate content afterward. One of the challenges of the writing process is that we are only sometimes in the mood. Well, I’d like to compare it to hiking. Maybe you are not always in the mood for hiking either, but when you have been outside, even for just half an hour, and you moved your body and breathed fresh air, you will enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after your hike; your muscles are warm, your brain works better, and you can handle more stress. I would even go as far as saying that hiking is my superpower as it gives me clarity and enables my creative process better than anything else I do (Gardening also works miracles for me, will talk about that some other time.)
Writing is similar. Once I complete my early morning writing, I feel much more accomplished and ready to tackle the day. This is what we call “journaling” or “writing for therapy”. We could consider this practice as a warm-up for the productive writing, we would like to do that day. Mostly those pages are random. They are not worth reading again. They sometimes just associate ideas and connect the associations in my head. Often I express a wish or two for the next day.
If you feel like you are walking on an uphill hike that takes your breath away and makes your heart pound faster than a “Geigerzaehler,” then you probably cannot wait to reach the top. You expect a view from the top, and your pace will be more leisurely afterward. You wish to walk along the top plain, or you could just hike down. During my last hike, I noted a few concepts that helped when I hiked up. I would like to share them with you for your support.
Your current challenge could be that you don’t have a job in the market, you don’t understand, have started a new role, or need to know what this year will bring to your current position. Maybe you are starting out on your own as well or you transition into a semi-retirement or you just become a working mum.
Take the same approach to your career as you would take when hiking a mountain.
1 – The Perspective Retreat
We tend to forget what we have managed, been through and survived when we only focus on the mountaintop. Once in a while, allow yourself a break and look back at how far you have come already. What helps here is the weekly reflection exercise in the #RockMeApp. However, I recommend an annual retreat as well to gain perspective and recharge your batteries. If you want to write that book now, you could allow yourself to retreat as well. A retreat does not always have to be expensive it can also happen in your home. Like me, you might need structure to be creative. I’m working with a “Week Planner” now, that would help me with the structure during the retreat. Think about what you need to have in your day to be productive and when your brain is at its best. Block out the writing or productive time.
2 – The Paradise Illusion
Even when you are at the mountain’s highest point and would like to walk along the plains, you still need to keep moving. As a leader, you will still need to deal with people’s issues, as you will still manage politics and distinguish fires daily. You must still care for your partner and children as an Expat Spouse. When I was a Global Mobility Manager, I always thought that one day I would not need to deal with the administration of this role anymore. Many years later, I still have dealt with many administrative chores, and you probably know that filling out forms is about as sexy as going to the dentist. You might be in a paradise illusion where you think that once you are a senior leader, you can influence the organization by changing the course of the strategy, mission, and purpose. Or can you work on small, incremental changes, such as using fewer flights or switching to a healthier way of working with humans? I call this a “paradise illusion.”
3 – The Reality Check
Disappointments are a normal part of human nature. If you want to avoid other people’s expectations and pressure, write down and express your wishes instead. You never know if it will be granted to you. And it’s okay to make a wish related to another person, but it’s not okay that you expect anything from another person. Expecting another person to change for you is intrusive and unethical. However, we often want our bosses to change or our CEOs to be different. The only person you can change is yourself. In the past, I realized that only deep disappointment made me want to change. If I had always been happy at the last company I worked with, I would never have changed anything or started my own business because it is “gemutlich” (cozy) if you belong somewhere where people know and dislike you. It gives you the stability to know that someone will bitch about what you are wearing today and, even better, that you will never get the resources you asked for. I encourage you to move forward with the change that you wish to achieve and give space to the inner artist.
4 – Expect Muscle Cramps
If you are not a fitness freak, you might have muscle cramps for a few days after you hike the mountain. It is the same when we have achieved an important goal. We often feel the aftereffects a few months later in our body. Sometimes it is necessary that you remind yourself what you have achieved and you could allow yourself a small celebration too. Celebrating wins and team success is only occasionally a priority in the corporate world. Hence, if you have nothing to be happy about at work now, you could plan a team party and thank your team for working hard. You could also invite your partner for dinner. Look back at what you have achieved and allow yourself to kick back and relax a bit. When you move into a new area of possibilities you might not always see the path clearly and you will also encounter roadblocks. Brace yourself for them and celebrate the small victories. I celebrate hiking with a Bratwurst and non-alcoholic wheat beer at the top or down in the valley. And looking at the writing over the last 10 years I feel is worth celebrating.
Digital Disruptors in Global Mobility
Rapid changes influence the traditional workforce in digital market trends, technology advancements, and connectivity. New attitudes toward work and careers evolve from the connected workforce generation. Disruptive technology already affects long-standing business models and established companies in all business areas.
“Disruptive technology,” coined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen in 1995, is defined as “ when a new business model attracts an under-serviced market or revenue stream and grows until it supplants incumbent competitors. Technologies are not in themselves disruptive, but their application in a new business model can be” (Christensen subsequently refers to the same concept as “disruptive innovation”).
Have you recently faced increased pressure to adapt the way you work to the new digital market trends and the advancements in technology and connectivity?
Organizations focus exponentially on digitization (moving to more digital formats) and digitalization (strategically shifting to digital processes and activities) of the mobility function.
This article will explore a new set of emergent challenges your Global Mobility team will have to overcome if you want your company to remain competitive in the face of the digital disruptors that influence the sector.
As changes in the business ecosystem happen faster than ever, the most successful organizations in the future will be those that can keep up with the evolving business environment. So if you’re wondering HOW your company can achieve this, embracing digital know-how and creativity is the answer.
One of the biggest challenges of Global Mobility will be to bring digital innovation to the core of company business models, evaluating how the technology available today can augment the human workforce.
You should be particularly aware of digital innovation’s impact on Global Mobility. I picked the four areas that, according to Deloitte, are likely to have the most consequences in the short-term future.
Digital Innovation and Disruptors
Global Mobility functions will undoubtedly face increased pressure to change how they work. As changes in the business ecosystem happen faster than ever, the most successful businesses in the future will be the ones that can adapt to the evolving business environment, embracing additional skills, including entrepreneurship, problem-solving, and especially digital know-how and creativity.
One of Global Mobility’s most significant challenges will be bringing digital innovation to the core of company business models and evaluating how today’s technology can augment their human workforce.
Analyzing the impact of digital innovation in the field, the six areas which will likely have more effect on Global Mobility in the short term are automation, the gig economy, workplace tools, and artificial intelligence.
#1 Automation
Often considered the most prevalent and accessible disruptive technology (Robb et al., 2017a), robotics will be a key asset for mobility functions in the future. Mobility functions are already experiencing success where this technology is implemented to perform tasks that humans would normally be assigned to. Examples include sending routine emails or copying and pasting information from public or private sources. In turn, workers can be repurposed to high-value tasks to benefit the mobility function.
By adopting and introducing those techniques into existing processes, Global Mobility teams will be able to focus on diminishing costs, increase productivity by improving operational efficiency, and retain talent. In fact, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology is already being used to speed up administrative/transactional processes in mobility functions. Equally important is that automation can also reveal itself crucial in reducing hierarchical thinking.
Teams will need to ensure that workers are given the opportunity to learn and upskill as the ubiquity of technology increases.
While embracing this new way of thinking, Global Mobility teams must remember the importance of maintaining the human touch. This will allow mobility functions to make a genuine asset out of robotics and automation software in the near future.
#2 Gig Economy
Several factors favor the growing popularity of the gig economy, among which an increased number of Millenials on the job market, a greater acceptance of technology, and advanced network infrastructures combined with the organizations’ growing demand for a more fluid talent pool. In an era in which technology continues to disrupt business models across sectors, the flexibility and agility typical of the gig workforce become very appealing features for businesses wanting to promote innovation and reduce costs.
The Great Resignation has also contributed to filling the gig workers’ pool, which doesn’t mean the talent shortage in certain industries is about to resorb. Indeed, the flexibility offered by independent work has become a critical advantage for many workers; for some, it is a determining factor when looking for a job. Since this liberty is not always possible in traditional work settings, employers who won’t or can’t offer this will have more difficulty filling their openings.
In the Global Mobility arena, crowdsourcing is gaining momentum. Also known as silent offshoring or workforce-on-demand, crowdsourcing is an evolution of outsourcing models and shared services. It is bound to play a fundamental role in the future of Global Mobility. There are always more employers who turn to that less conventional resource; Ernst & Young now has its own GIG NOW platform for freelancers to apply to a myriad of projects.
In these times, for Global Mobility to perform successfully, it is essential to develop and implement a varied policy suite that meets the needs of a diverse workforce (e.g., gig workers, freelancers, business travelers) and their alternative working practices (Robb et al., 2017b).
#3 Workplace tools
Core office technologies such as telephone, word processing, and email have already evolved to expand the possibilities of connected and collaborative working. Employees can now access the latest information, join video conferences, share and work on the same documents or workspace at their convenience from a device and location of their choice.
The next generation of workplace tools will allow more collaboration, training, and learning opportunities. It will also enable business leaders to deliver a better experience to their teams and assignees. Even more importantly, new ‘digital learning’ means that organizations will be able to transform what is tricky stuff in life into something fun. For instance, organizations could use augmented and Virtual Reality (AR and VR, respectively) to transform the employee’s onboarding experience or allow them to meet and collaborate with colleagues in other countries. Additionally, it can be used to virtually recreate cities to immerse oneself in the new environment before deciding to move there.
#4 IT Security vs. Collaboration
Companies have always needed to worry about security, privacy, and compliance, but digital disruption has significantly increased risk in all those areas; thus, risk management becomes constantly complex. To keep on top, one must be reactive and agile since everything evolves quickly in that domain. Resorting to outside help (i.e., gig workers) means more open access to your network. Collaboration means your network is more vulnerable. Businesses can’t wait for governments and other regulating bodies to legislate on ever-evolving risk and security conditions and keep a compliance-based security strategy: they must be proactive. Otherwise, they would always lag, which could potentially be a great danger for their employees, clients, and the company itself. User privacy and data protection must be upheld against cyber threats to protect your company, its reputation, and everyone involved. It is crucial that the human remains at the forefront of security preoccupations.
#5 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
By using smart devices to predict, detect and prevent risks in moving people around the globe, AI is already helping organizations go beyond traditional ways of managing the global workforce. With the massive increase in the data volume available to organizations, the emergence of advanced AI-based algorithms, and the growing availability of data scientists, systems are becoming increasingly self-managing and potentially self-defending against risks.
#6 Cognitive technologies
Algorithms, robotic process automation, machine learning and natural language processing are already being tested to improve and train existing tax research and GM deployment tools. These tools are complex, and the real-life cases of expats even more so; we cannot rely solely on algorithms and machine learning to administer and manage processes that have a major impact on real human lives Only by using them to execute tasks for efficiency’s sake and ensuring that they are well balanced with human checks and balances, the combination of AI and Humans may provide an appealing scenario for the future.
Many organizations have focused more than ever on both digitization (moving to more digital formats) and digitalization (strategically shifting to digital processes and activities) of the mobility function. As a result, companies’ engagement levels depend on how “digitally mature” their global mobility programs already are. Some might be just ‘exploring digital,’ while others might be already ‘becoming digital.’
But keep the HUMAN TOUCH in mind and ensure that the combination of AI and Human Global Mobility Managers are well balanced.
Be under no illusion; the digital mobility age is upon us. That doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of it, but we must be careful and rein it to ensure we all stay on the path to Human Touch.
Our team is creating the RockMeApp to facilitate private communication with coaching clients and streamline certain aspects of the coaching process. To get in touch with us, please schedule an introductory call here.
Further Reading:
https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-ai-will-never-rival-human-creativity
References
Deloitte. (2018). “Global Workforce Insight 2019: Assessing the predicted 2018 global mobility trends and their continued impact in 2019”. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ch/Documents/tax/deloitte-ch-Back-to-the-future-global-workforce.pdf
Deloitte. (2017). “Global Human Capital Trends: Rewriting the rules for the digital age.” Deloitte, University Press. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-Deloitte/central-europe/ce-global-human-capital-trends.pdf
Deloitte. Robb, A., Frewin, K. and Jagger, P. (2017a). (2017) “The Impact of the Digital Age on Global Mobility 2017 Global Workforce Trends.” https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/tax/deloitte-uk-global-mobility-trends-latest.PDF
Robb, A., Frewin, K. and Jagger, P. (2017b). “Global Workforce: Digital Innovation in Mobility.” Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/tax/deloitte-uk-digital-innovation-in-mobility.pdf
TechTarget (Gavin Wright for), disruptive technology (disruptive innovation) entry, https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/disruptive-technology, accessed on 5 April 2023.
I’m an accidental “expat.” I didn’t think of myself as an expat since I’ve lived the closest to home for the last 11 years. Coronavirus “expatriated” me. I’ve worked in Global Mobility most of my professional life, lived abroad, and been on international assignments. I’m an expert in Global Mobility, but a virus made it hard to return to my passport country.
I feel your pain and your stress. We are all experiencing varying levels of emotional and mental turmoil. There is no solution to the root causes of that anxiety, but we need to maintain our mental health like we do our physical. The World Health Organization, correctly anticipating that the longer the pandemic lasts, the more it would impact mental health, has spent the last couple of years publishing support and guides for people to follow. I have been following them, and they have proven helpful in centering me and giving me better control of my mental health.
1 – Take a Security Stop
Take some slow breaths, inhaling through your nose, then slowly exhaling through your mouth. Slow breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress because it signals your brain to relax your body. You can plan a whole weekend offline or go to a retreat where you can be offline for 48 hours. See what comes up without constant input.
2 – Build a Support Group
Please keep in regular contact with people close to you and talk to them. Talking to people you think can help. Please let them know how you feel and share concerns or discuss everyday things. Especially if you live alone, create a schedule where you connect with people outside your work at least once a week. If you are new in the city, a starting point can be expat groups. Another option is to join an online group around a topic of interest.
3 – Develop a Health Routine
The emphasis here is on both health and routine. That means not using alcohol and drugs to deal with fear, anxiety, boredom, and social isolation. Instead, focus on establishing consistent sleeping patterns, maintaining personal hygiene, eating regularly, having healthy food, and improving time management, including exercise, work, and personal time. We need to get dressed in nice clothes, commute to work, and have a distance between “work” and “leisure.” Otherwise, we lose our fire and inspiration and lose touch with our inner creator. Try to get out of the home more often.
4 – Practice Self-Care
We are human and, thus, not immune to doubt and anxiety. Don’t expect too much of yourself on more challenging days. Instead, accept that you may be more productive some days than others. One way to practice self-kindness is to reduce how much you watch, read, or listen to news that makes you feel anxious or distressed, especially information from your home country. You can limit intake to fixed times in the day and listen only to trusted sources. One good way to practice self-care is to start a hobby or creative activity that you can fully immerse yourself in.
5 – Grow your Kindness Empathy
If you can help yourself and have the capacity for it, helping others can do you good. If you have that capacity, offer support to people who may need it in the expat community. We have learned to be resilient, survived previous crises, and turned our lives around in the oddest situations.
Back to School – Seven Virtues for Purpose, Performance, and Productivity
Video Interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1ju5gxMLs
“Why did I not learn more about Finance?” I repeatedly asked myself, since I started my own business, will I ever get my head around the financial side? Will I ever get better at managing cash flow?
It didn’t make sense to me. I was good with computing cost projections and balance sheets in Global Mobility. I was an excellent math student in high school. I like numbers. My issue was that I lacked the practical understanding of a “good housewife.” I was curious to know how much a liter of milk would cost in the supermarket. I learned those little secrets of saving money in Switzerland, such as Migros and Denner are essentially under the same corporate umbrella, but you can buy twice as much food at Denner. Working as a Global Mobility Leader, I had a good paycheck. In Germany, I would even go grocery shopping in the “bio” shop Alnatura. My mother would say I could go shopping in a pharmacy. For me, this meant “quality of life.” I would not be stressed at the cashier on Saturday because five other people were in line behind me.
There was another reason why I stopped learning more about Finance, investments, and retirement savings when I was employed. I had a bad relationship with money. Money stinks. It doesn’t make you happy. When you have it, you don’t talk about it. I had all sorts of relationship issues with fortune.
If you start as a business owner or feel you need to heal your relationship with money, this article is for you. And if you are not a female founder, but feel you need to get better with money, you may also read this article. Let’s try to understand a few basics of Finance.
1 – Maintain one spreadsheet called Cash Flow Plan
If you want to run a sustainable business, work with a cash flow plan. It can be simple, but you need to have your finances in order. In the early days of my business, I asked my BFF (a Finance guru) to review my business plan. She explained that I would need to ensure that there is a cash flow in and that it is bigger than the cash flow out. Easier said than done, but I still use that same plan over ten years into the business.
2 – Move to a Fluctuating Income
When you are used to a particular lifestyle with a fixed monthly income, you rely on that paycheck often because you tend to tailor your lifestyle around your consistent monthly payment. If you are unemployed or start out as a freelancer, you must get used to a fluctuating income. You probably had 100’000 CHF in your bank account as a starting capital and reserve, and in my experience, you will need that in Switzerland in your first two years in business (unless your business is a hobby).
3 – Find your Finance Guru
Finding the Finance Guru is a challenge I have addressed with bankers several times. Most financial writing is so that no one wants to read it. Some of it does not even make much sense. I received a weird letter the other day and sent it back with edits and side comments. The main message was: We could not deduct money from your account, but there was much fluff around it. It took me a while to understand why this company wrote to me. I have started to read the Cashguru blog now, so at least I know what is happening at the SMI in Switzerland.
The most important figure I remember from uni is the relation between borrowed capital and your capital. Now, if you start, you should use your cash. That’s a lot smarter than lending. It would help to find a healthy ratio between investing and earning for the years ahead. That’s all. Remember that if you have a sole proprietorship in Switzerland, many of your reporting obligations change at the magic 100k CHF turnover mark.
4 – Learn Vocabulary
Suppose you want to appear financially competent when talking to your bank manager, financial advisors, insurance brokers, mortgage providers, or lawyers. In that case, you must know a few basics and speak their language. For example, you need to understand the interest and how it works. Also, adverse interest, debt, and how you get into debt. What is an advantage of a mortgage versus paying rent? How do open and closed investment funds work? I agreed with my bank lady that we would meet in person once a year to review the main issues, look at my risk profile, and discuss my financial planning for the year. I enjoy having a personal contact and someone who helps out in case I need urgent support with online banking.
5 – Budget the Fun Stuff
In the early years and even before I launched my company, I used to spend more than I earned. I applied “Reaganomics .” That did not work. At the time, I needed to understand that this early investment could hinder my potential to get out of the red figures in the long term. In my Female Founder past, I made bad financial decisions. For example, I started to pay myself a salary too early. I listened to an advisor and should have listened to my gut feeling. Remember that other people’s experiences in the business world could be biased. They have opened their business many years before. Switzerland has also suffered from the global economic crisis. The Swiss often have access to networks that foreigners will not get into. Also, men might have faster results than women because of the unconscious biases of their buyers.
Depending on your type of business, you should have a current account, which balances your company and your investments and costs. Please separate your private and company accounts.
My business is cyclical, and once I understood the cost and earning cycle, I could prepare myself better for the downtimes. For example, I have a lot of annual invoices in January, but January is often a slow month. It’s generally better to split invoices into smaller parts. When you ask the insurance provider, they are often willing to support you on a payment plan. If you want to be ahead of your costs, ask for larger invoices and pay them as soon as possible.
One cardinal rule is that I pay all my vendors in advance so that they would always get their money. It means that I have to budget their quarterly invoices, too, and it happened once or twice that I had to put a service on hold because of a lack of funding.
Another principle I have developed is to check my account twice or thrice a week, sometimes even daily. I will issue an invoice once the service has been delivered or the booking has been confirmed.
Many large relocation companies and training agencies have very long payment periods. I suffered greatly from these in the early years of my business. I had delivered a service but sometimes was only paid 60 to 90 days later. Occasionally, invoices got lost in cost center discussions and destructive processes. Once, an invoice was not paid by the company I worked with for over two years.
Now, I am more careful about the agreements in the contracts, and I follow up on outstanding invoices faster. Although I still see room for improvement, my financial stress eased a lot when I started using a tool for small businesses called BEXIO.
Even though Finance is not my favorite subject, I discovered that if I research more about a topic, I can reduce hassle and costs for my business. For example, I clarified how the VAT system works when working across borders. On invoices I received from service providers outside of Switzerland, I asked them to change their invoices so that my company would show as responsible for VAT. I also found a good rule for issuing invoices for service providers located out of Switzerland.
I allow most of my investments to be investments in myself. I enjoy having a beautiful working space I can go to and hang out in all day. I love to go to seminars and invest in my skills and knowledge. I know that I have to be better than average in order to stay competitive and that requires that I keep up to date with technology, and knowledge in my field and update my skills constantly. Keren-Jo Thomas helped me organize my pension and understand what I needed to improve in case I plan to stay in Switzerland during my old age. While this was a down-turner, to say the least, it helped me gain clarity. I also set up my last will and testament as I do not have children and in case of an emergency would like to ensure that my elderly relatives have financial support. Money and food have a lot in common too. If you tend to overeat, you might also tend to overspend.
Before we dive into this further in our next blog post I would like to remind you that you can always talk to me. Book your slot here via Calendly.
We thought we should pull together the main reasons, according to our experience that hinder Expat Spouse employment in the host country. This is a non-scientific analysis based on opinions and experience. There are a number of studies (Permits Foundation, 2012; Silberbauer, 2015) dedicated to the topic though.
Global Mobility providers and academics often research how family impacts “expatriate failure”. In my view, this is not enough. We should investigate how we can bring down the barriers to Expat Spouse employment. Why is it so difficult for Expat Spouses to find work in the host country? Here is a short analysis of the issues.
1- Work Permit Restrictions
Finding a job is not as straightforward for many of my clients as it is in their home countries. Even if most top host locations allow Expat Spouses to work on the partner’s dependent work permit, other countries present significant restrictions to Expat Spouse employment. In fact, while some of them do not issue work permits to any Expat Spouses at all, others may present subtleties linked to marital status or they might not recognize same sex-marriages.
2- Host Language Skills
Even though the expat might work for a global company, most jobs in the host country will require host language skills. Unless you move from the UK to the USA, you often will not have the language skills required to work in the host country. It’s important that you don’t underestimate this aspect and that you start learning the local language as soon as possible, ideally before relocating. The good news is that almost two-thirds of employers already provide this as the main form of assistance (Permits Foundation, 2012). If there is a business need, companies generally pay for a 60-hour course also for the Expat spouse. However, 60 hours is not a lot and for working in another language a basic course will not be sufficient. There are specific job search engines that filter for English-speaking roles. If you are looking to find employment in the Swiss job market, you can look up www.englishforum.ch.
3- Recognition of University Degrees in Regulated Fields and Non-Regulated Fields
While within the EU we can assume that university degrees will be recognized due to the common job market, a Brazilian doctor cannot work in a hospital in Switzerland. We call this a “regulated profession”. In the best-case scenario, you will need to go through a considerable amount of bureaucracy to get your degree converted, and this may cost you a good amount of money. In the worst-case scenario, however, if you want to keep practicing your profession, you will have to get complementary certificates in the host country. Even in non-regulated fields and jobs it seems very hard to translate degrees and determine equivalency. Very often you need to explain what your degree and experience mean in “lay terms.”
4 – Professional Networks
Another issue is the lack of a professional network, which gives access to the untapped and informal labor market in the host country. Often you can only join professional associations when you are in a corporate role or when you have graduated in the country. Building your professional network in your host country will require time and trust. You will have to start from scratch and dedicate a considerable amount of time to this activity if you want to see good results. You will also need to understand that matters of trust and relationships are culturally different, so it’s important that you act in a culturally appropriate manner when attempting to expand your professional network.
5 – Global Mobility Policy
Only very forward-thinking global mobility and global recruiting policies address the need for support for “trailing” dual career partners. While ten years ago dual-career issues on international assignments were solved by sticking to classical Western nuclear “family” models, we now want to adhere to the needs of dual careers, patchwork families, Eastern “family” models, same-sex partners, and unmarried de-facto relationships. Visionary Global Mobility policies address various support models ranging from providing a lump sum to spousal career coaching. As an intercultural career advisor, I also work with clients who decide to start a global, transferable business so that they can follow their life partner to other locations and become location-independent. Thanks to technology I can support clients in NYC as well as in Mumbai. We also support candidates to improve their personal branding in the host market, learn to network effectively and improve their interview skills and online presentations. But it’s crucial that Global Mobility Leaders update their policies and promote spouse support services rather than pay lump sums.
6 – Intercultural Bias of Our Recruiters
Our recruiters often do not understand intercultural differences. Recruiters often don’t understand resumes from other countries and outsourcing talent specialists to HR-shared service centers has not improved the chances of “foreign” candidates in the recruitment process. Most selection methods and assessments are culturally biased. For example, in Switzerland, psychometric testing and other assessments of candidates are used to assess candidates next to interviews. Riedel (2015) shows examples where highly skilled candidates from China fell through the assessment roster in a German company because of their indirect communication style. Companies should provide training on Inclusion and Diversity in an attempt to eliminate unconscious biases and ensure all worthy candidates are being considered for global mobility. This practice is not yet spread. According to KPMG, 39% of employees surveyed aren’t aware of inclusive leadership training within their organizations.
7 – Unconscious Bias of Sending Home Sponsors
PwC issued a study in 2016 on female expatriation where it appears very obvious that a lot more women would be interested in an international assignment than the ones that are actually sent. As a matter of fact, some types of assignments (like short-term, very short-term, and fly-in and out commuter assignments) are notably more popular among women than among men. If women make up 20% only (PwC, 2016) of the internationally mobile population across all sectors, it’s probably due to the unconscious bias of the sending-home sponsors who assume a female manager is not mobile even though she might have mentioned it several times. I speak from experience. If you want to guarantee that the selection of women and other underrepresented groups is fair and objective, you need to measure the relative inclusiveness of mobility assignments and ensure policies on equal access are working. If you find out they are not working, intervene as soon as possible.
8 – Research to Measure the Impact of Dual-Career Programs
In 2012, ETH Zurich conducted extensive research with several European universities on barriers to dual careers within the EU and EFTA countries. For most companies (NetExpat & EY, 2018; Atlas World Group, 2019) the presence of dual-career couples negatively affects the decision to relocate. There’s more: the spouse’s unwillingness to move because of his or her career is the first reason for turning down relocation. After all, it’s 2020, and the increasing number of households relying on two salaries should not surprise us. While in the past, small firms were relatively less affected by spouse/partner’s employment than medium and big firms, in more recent times, the impact has been similar across company sizes. There is evidently still a lot to do in order to integrate the needs of dual-career couples in the expatriation process. If you want to keep pace with reality and stand out with a far-reaching Global Mobility policy, please keep this issue a top priority.
On the receiving end, I can report that more and more expat spouses are male. There is hope. If you want to see how all these work in practice and would like to receive a proposal from us, please drop a line to Angie Weinberger (angela@globalpeopletransitions.com). I am happy to support you!
Further Readings:
The Modern Professional’s Guide to Avoiding Career Stagnation
My favourite Productivity Hacks – Seven Tips to claim back your Diary
Global Recruiting – Helping Global Talents succeed in Switzerland
Offline and Online Presence is the Way Forward for Modern Professionals
References:
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