Helping an expatriate come back to the home office and home country is usually an afterthought. Take a pro-active approach to repatriation with these steps. Natasha Gunn reports.

Repatriation — returning an expatriate to their home country and usually the headquarters' office — is more often done badly than well, mainly because companies don't plan for the expatriate's next career move until the person comes back.

Taking adequate pre-departure measures will significantly improve the chance of assignment success as well as successful repatriation.

Involve the spouse from the start

"If the spouse is not brought on board from the beginning, the assignment is at risk," states Robin Pascoe, expatriate expert, who has written books and created a website that focuses entirely on the expatriate's family and spouse. The 2001 Global Relocation Trends survey reveals that 92 percent of failed assignments are due to partner dissatisfaction.

 Pascoe's advice to HR managers is to first ask the question: "Have you discussed the assignment with your spouse and family?" Following this, ask the spouse if they would like to come in and discuss the posting. Then ask if you can communicate directly with them about any concerns.

Here is a list of pre-departure measures that will make the expatriate's eventual return to the home country more successful.

Use a formal assessment process

Before you think about repatriating an employee, you should first be sure you are sending the right person.

Dee Ryan, Cendant Mobility's director of intercultural services for Europe Middle East and Africa, advises using an assessment programme. Assessment is an ongoing tool that can bridge any gaps in knowledge or skills — it's not just a way of informing the employee and family that they can or cannot go on assignment. Not every employee can go on an assignment and, at the time of consideration, a candidate's personal circumstances may prohibit a successful outcome.

According to Ryan, the best method is to use multiple instruments for both the employee and his or her spouse/partner and involve a qualified training consultant to debrief properly and effectively."

Netherlands-based consultant Dr Ursula Brinkmann, Director of Intercultural Business Improvement, does a risk profile analysis of the expatriate and his/her partner, by carrying out an assessment of personality characteristics, attitudes toward cultural difference and intercultural skills.

Brinkmann looks at the different stages of the process (pre-assignment, assignment, return, and up to 5 years after return) and then coaches the expatriates as to how — given their risk profile — they can maintain a sense of self-efficacy (psychologist's term for belief in one's capabilities to manage prospective situations) in each period.

Determine ownership for the full expatriation/repatriation cycle

Will the expatriate refer to their home- or host-country HR manager during their assignment? This is where collaboration between home and host HR and line management is essential. Confusion will only make communication between the expatriate and HR more difficult, and will make the expat feel less supported.

Clearly define the assignment's purpose, responsibilities and objectives

Again, this requires the collaboration of home- and host-country HR and line management to avoid any misunderstandings pre-assignment, on-assignment and upon repatriation.

Make sure someone is addressing the expatriate's career/succession plan

Either HR or the line manager needs to talk to the expatriate about a possible job or jobs that would be suitable upon his or her return to the home country.

Even if a specific job at the end of the assignment cannot be guaranteed, the assignee should at least know what opportunities are available in the company and how they can be considered for them.

Brinkmann advises candidates to think of the significance of an assignment even if they don't get promoted on return.

Assign a career manager or mentor

Ensure that the expatriate has someone in the home office who can keep him or her up-to-date on company news, changes and also job opportunities. The contact should be via regular emails and phone calls while the expatriate is in the host location, and the expatriate should meet with the mentor in the home office when possible.

A mentor can also keep the expatriate 'visible' by communicating an expatriate's accomplishments across the organisation via articles in company newsletters or reports on the Intranet.

December 2002

Natasha Gunn is the editor of Expatica HR.