I started Global People Transitions in 2010 as a blog, and after I left my well-paid job in 2012, I had a rollercoaster of experiences as a founder, author, wife, daughter and friend. The Seven Principles of Intercultural Effectiveness helped me get through many of these personal stories, and I thought it was time to revisit the original “classics” of my earlier writing. Now, edited and supported by technology, and in the current polarized world we have moved into, I feel these principles are as relevant as ever. Let me know what you think and how you can work with them. Principle 1: I try harder and show more patience. In Switzerland, we are obsessed with the concept of time. […]

Dr. Jens Schmidt, A German Executive in Shanghai Dr. Jens Schmidt is an expat. The company’s corporate headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, assigned him  to improve efficiency at the company’s manufacturing plant in Shangai, China. During his first 90 days he came up with a list of quality issues and he shared this list with three of his direct reports (Mr. Zhu, Mr. Cao and Mrs. Ping).  He asked them for input on how to mitigate the issues within the next 90 days and what the “low hanging fruit” were. He emailed them on Friday evening and asked them to respond by Monday morning, enough time to review over the weekend. While Dr. Jens Schmidt was sorting out his moving goods […]

Global Recruiting is a challenge. Hiring your employees from other countries will give your company a chance to find a motivated and skilled workforce, particularly if your country is suffering from a shortage of skilled labor on a national scale in specific job sectors. However, sourcing your workforce from another country is difficult if you have never done it before. Here are eight tips that you should think about before you consider hiring from abroad: 1 – Use Traditional and Online Marketing Every country has its own set of laws that dictate how marketing and advertising are to be conducted. These sets of laws are also applicable to online advertising and traditional recruitment marketing, so make sure that you, as […]

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 […]

Helping global talents succeed in Zurich has been part of my job for years. I am holding a workshop on the topic with HR professionals, and I revisited the five steps. They have not changed over the last decade despite advances in technology and an even higher talent shortage globally. On the one hand, we have many open positions in Zurich; we hear that employers cannot find the right candidates, there is a war for talent, a shortage of talent, and all that. On the other hand, I speak to many global talents and expat spouses who cannot seem to get a foot in the door and not even land one interview while applying to positions. We are talking about […]