Intercultural competences, forgotten in the preparation?

Are you going in expatriation soon? Congratulations!

Your expertise, your experience are recognized, no doubt about it, your professional skills are strong. You have negotiated your « package », logistic and relocation are provided. It is generally the well mastered part of the management of international mobility…
Other aspects show mixed results… The performance management of the expatriates is often forgotten in the transition. And once the legal, logistical and financial aspects are settled, you are alone to adjust, to understand the cultural differences in your new position, to develop your networks, your leadership and your autonomy, to make strategic decisions and to prepare the the follow up…of the mission, the job, and your career …

Failures in expatriation (around 40% in the world) are measured according to precise indicators:

  • Early return from mission (with a cost of more than 1.5 years of salary for the company)
  • Under performance of the employee during the expatriation (with a strong impact on the confidence of the collaborator, the team, and the results of the mission)
  • Resignation of the employee after his return (25% from the first year)

 

And the factors of failure can be individual (stress management, few intercultural competences or bad motivations to leave), organizational (no clarification of the company’s expectations about the mission, too fast or frequent assignments, no link with the headquarters …) or external (political, economical or environmental situation of the country, for example)

First step: Ask yourself these questions!

  • Did I really clarify my expectations for this next job? The expectations of my company?
  • Did I define with my hierarchy the skills to be developed internationally, that can be valued on return?
  • Will I get coaching to support me, after linguistic or cultural training (often simple « zone briefing ») and allow me to « adjust » to the situations faced on the field?

Talent management in international mobility requires the development of intercultural competences, that is, the ability to adapt to people from other cultures while helping them to adapt to oneself. This cultural intelligence is not innate, but can be developed throughout your international mobility, for the benefit of individuals as well as for the benefit of companies.

Second step: Evaluate and improve!

To be able to develop intercultural competences, of course, you have to be able to assess them and build a clear, measurable and monitored development plan for these skills.

This is what I offer to you with Intercultural Readiness Check Assessment (IRC): Assess and develop 4 key competences of cultural intelligence!

  • Intercultural sensitivity: Ability to be interested in others, on different levels: cultural background, needs, point of view and way of expressing oneself. Ability to question one’s own culture and to consider other cultures as equally valid. Sensitivity to verbal and non-verbal signals sent by interlocutors during exchanges.
  • Intercultural communication: Ability to manage communication. The quality of the active listening of the participants in relation to the reactions of their interlocutors to a discourse. Ability to adapt their behavior to the needs of their interlocutors.
  • Ability to create commitment: Ability to influence one’s social environment, motivated by the desire to forge ties and integrate different people and their concerns. Ability to motivate a person and his or her ability to unite around a common goal, build relationships and build strong and diverse networks.
  • Uncertainty Management: Ability to perceive the uncertainty and complexity of culturally diverse environments as an opportunity for personal development. Ability to manage the additional complexity associated with cultural diversity, presence of unknown groups or unexpected constraints. Motivation to explore new approaches and perceive diversity as a stimulating learning source.

With the complete feedback of the assessment, you know what your strengths are, you understand your difficulties and you identify the skills to develop. And we elaborate a tailor-made action plan, adjusted to your personality, your particular context and your goals, both yours and those of your organization.

The test online will take about 20 ‘. Then we have a debriefing session of 2 hours by skype, + 2 sessions to adjust your action plan within 3 months.

 

Register now to pass the IRC assessment this summer, this is ideal time!