Talent Management And International Human Resource Management

Key Actions of Talent Management

Talent management forms an important branch of any organization as it deals with the science of using strategic human resource planning to ensure that the value of business is improved and helps the organizations reach their goals (Al, 2014). More formally, talent management deals with the recruitment, retention and development of the employees of an organization. It is a crucial part of the organization administration as it deals with the core resources. The human resources are the most valuable resources to any organization, as they carry out the goals and objectives (Farndale, 2014). Also, the organizations cultures and values are all molded by the employees within and hence it is crucial to ensure that only the right kind of employees are recruited and retained. No employee would want to remain in a organization that has no growth. Employee-organization relations are two way. The growth of the employee directly effects the growth of the organization and it is only through employee development the company can truly progress (Collings, 2014). If there is no growth in the career graph of the employee, it would be highly difficult to retain them in the organization.

Talent Management is a strategy to retain the most talented employees as well. Just recruiting the right person at the right time does not ensure the growth of an organization. Rather retaining a talented individual is necessary (Furusawa, 2015). Hence, the process is continuous even after the best talent in the market is recruited. The key actions of talent management are as follows

a. Right person in the right job: The right skill set is required for any job to be performed smoothly. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the recruitment for a position is one correctly (Vance, 2014). And even before an organization looks for people in the market, the talent management would have a list of all the employees and their skill set mapped. This would help the organization to look within first and only then reach out. The recruitment of the right person in the right job is an advantage to the organization as it doesn’t just add value to it but also provides job satisfaction to the employee thereby increasing productivity (Minbaeva, 2013)

b. Retaining Top Talent: With the changing economy and the surplus opportunity available, it can get difficult to retain an employee even with additional perks. Hence, it is the job of the talent management team to understand what the employee seeks and align the same with the organizations goals (Vaiman, 2015).

Talent Management in International Assignments

c. Understanding Employees Better: An assessment of the workforce, provides the talent management team an understanding of what is expected (Brewster, 2017). This would empower them to find ways of what kind of employee would prefer working in the set culture, how employee work towards objectives, what motivates them, their career aspirations, skills, strengths and weakness (Khilji, 2015).

The talent management team of XYZ Ltd. is currently handling two top talented Americans. XYZ is a high tech American based company that is the process of internationalization. In an endeavor for the same, the company is sending two employees to China. It is now the responsibility of the talent management team to ensure that the pre-departure, on-assignment and relocation of the employees to done. It is also necessary to keep in mind the cultural differences between America and China to ensure a smooth transition.

In the field of International Human Resource Management the process of expatriation is often seen. It has a substantial status as a major contributor to doing business internationally (Sparrow, 2013). Yet most of the organizations around the world have this area of their management as a weakness. In most of the cases, the process of selecting the expatriates is not under the HRM. It is the line managers who select the expatriates depending on the business need (Al, 2014). However, the actual process of expatriation depends on the talent management team.

The talent management that handles expatriation is often considered as global talent management since they have to handle several cultures. This would involve developing co-ordination through global mindsets in the organization, which may involve changing minds at headquarters as well as in the subsidiaries, and would be include career considerations (Collings, 2015). Controlling of roles is rare in this case. Coordinating roles is much more important.

This approach to talent management combines a strategic use of expatriates with a strong focus on talent management, the aim being to develop individuals for further responsibilities within the organization (Vaiman, 2013). In that sense, talent management is synonymous with the traditional ‘high-potential’ approach. Organizations identify individuals who they expect, in the long term, to be able to occupy top-management positions

During the process of expatriation the below are the key issues for talent management to look forward to

a. Effective selection of the candidates: In case of XYZ Ltd. the candidates have already been selected. Hence the talent management team need not worry the about the selection since the two American expatriates are already selected for the purpose of internationalization.

Cultural Differences

b. Helping employees use their time abroad to develop their competencies: When an individual is sent overseas for a job it is often because they have the potential to add value to the business. At the same time, the person being sent should also find the travel useful. It is the job of the talent management team to provide the employees with chances to develop their skill set (Vance, 2013). These skills can be technical or people management skills. It is also necessary that expatriates have a learning attitude and an adaptable nature to survive in the new environment.

c. Making sure they return successfully to their organization: Retention of talent is one of the most crucial task for talent management. Especially when sent onsite there is a high chance that the employee may get opportunities from business in that country and often be hired by the client or competition (Bücker, 2014). This is one of the biggest challenges faced by talent management teams (Festing, 2013). It is crucial hence to ensure that the employee onshore is given fair opportunities to help them progress in their career and ensuring that the organizational bond remains strong and intact.

Note that in the scenario of XYZ Ltd, the expatriates are travelling to a major eastern country that is drastically different from the American culture. Hence, before we understand what needs to be done from a talent management perspective, it is crucial to understand the key cultural differences to help the expatriates ease into a new location.

Below mentioned are some of the cultural differences

a. Importance of Relationships: Building strong relations is a core business values to the Chinese. Though the American companies believe in bonding with the vendors and customers the value of transaction is given a bit more importance than the relationship itself. However, for Chinese, the relationships matter more than monetary value (Tseng, 2013). Due to the same reason, the Chinese businessmen tend to make investments in knowing their business relations better and prefer face-to-face interactions. Though this may significantly slow down the business process, the trust it build is at a great significance to the Chinese Businessmen.

b. Styles of Communication: Aggressive style of communication which is highly appreciated in America is a negative in Chinese business culture. Being tough and aggressive is valued in the United States while a slower and smoother approach is preferred in the eastern country. Chines prefer talking things out, understanding the risks and benefits in great detail and often search for all alternative options before making a decision (Kohn, 2016). Hence a hard ball game may not be favorable in the Chinese community. An aggressive American style would hence be unfavorable with a Chinese counterpart

Talent Management Practices

c. Contracts: Given that the Chinese highly value social relations than the business ties, Contracts are rarely solid. Most of the business is built on the basis of trust and a simple handshake is a sign of contract. However, these contracts are not solid if the businesses in scope don’t maintain a respectable social relationship and value the bond of business (Zhou, 2013). The success of deals are hence heavily dependent on the social relations.

d. Entertaining and Gifts: Taking a potential client for a dinner is one of the most common practices in America where the parties often take business transactions. But since the Chinese prefer building relationships, business talk in a diner party is a strict no. Entertainment and Gifts of the clients is always a constant endeavor despite the business ties. Gifts are highly valued in the Chinese culture and hence small tokens to business partners is highly appreciated. They are a sign of respect in the Chinese Workforce (Cui, 2014)

e. Social Structure: The social structure of China is very formal and hierarchal. It is a rare sight to see various hierarchal levels interacting with each other at a social setup. One the other hand in the United States socializing and various levels is very common. In most companies the lower level of employees can easily communicate with the CEO of the company. However, in China these level are not be crossed at any cost. This can cause significant issues in business relations (Feldman, 2014).

f. Confrontation/Conflict – In case of an extended stay in China it is crucial to know that the direct approach of handling confrontations of the Americans is considered highly shameful in the Chinese Culture. Direct conflict and confrontation if frowned upon even in case of business issues.

With all the cultural differences as above the first act of the talent management team would be to appraise the employees on the Do’s and Don’ts of the Chinese Culture. It is crucial that the expatriates understand the major cultures difference so that the business ties in the new nation sustain. Given that they are travelling particularly to globalize the company this point stays even more important.

The talent management practices the team would have to adopt are as follows:

a. English proficiency: The American English is tricky for the Chinese. Hence the employees travelling have to be helped in adapting a slower and a easier accent for the Chinese to understand. Usage of slang words is not appreciated as the Chinese may be offended by the same. Mandarin being the prominent language in china, English speaking is not a favorite act. Learning even a tiny bit of the new language can be helpful to the employees

Expatriation Levels

b. Approval process: Since the Chinese are extremely cautious about hierarchy, complete details of who to contact for various issues have to be provided to the employees

c. Frontline leaders in many organizations are not competent in applying talent management tools and processes (e.g., identifying future high-potential leaders,

Selecting new employees). Hence talent in highly appreciated in the market. The talent management team should be able to help the employees to showcase their skills effectively to the Chinese counter part

d. Effective Pay: The Chinese are very generous with the payout when they are in need. Money is usually not an issue as long as the talent is skillful and maintain amicable ties. Hence, it is crucial for the talent management team to compensate a good pay to the employees

Moving to China can be both easy and difficult. The chance of living in a culture that is vivid and strong in experience can be enriched when given an opportunity to learn from a different perspective of the world. At the same time, there are considerable challenges that needs one to push through the language barriers and the varied cultural behavior. Given the thriving economy of China, the country has become a hub for globalization. Almost every organization today is either finding ways to use the Chinese market or make ties with the Chinese companies and hence expatriation has become a common practice. Expatriation has three levels and they are as follows.

The first and foremost task is to get all the legal paper work ready for passport verification and Visa Processing. All legal documents required are to be submitted by the employee immediately. It is the talent management that co-ordinates with the global immigration team to ensure that the visa processing begins. The next part is the salary fitment that would be done after discussion with the manager deploying the employee. A thorough understanding of the current compensation, city deployed to, stay, duration of stay etc., are all taken into consideration and a salary is proposed to the employee (Cerdin, 2014). Further negotiations may be done with the employee on the compensation scenario.

Employee Engagement Drivers	Global Mobility and Talent Management Partnership
Promising future for oneself.	Clarify potential developmental opportunities.
Opportunity for growth and development.	Coach and help shape the assignee’s career from pre-departure through post-repatriation.
Leadership has communicated a motivating vision.	Take ownership throughout the assignment for identifying a meaningful post-repatriation role.
Contribution is valued.	Create clear career planning and developmental goals related to the international experience.
Organization supports work-life balance.	Lead the employee and their family through a fact-finding process before they accept the assignment.
Offer self-assessment tools, pre-decision guides, and in-depth interviews with the assignee and family.
Assess and address unique concerns and needs of the family.
Excited about one’s work.	Eliminate ambiguity and uncertainty.
Demonstrate that the investment the employee is making will bring a return.

A bank account for the employee would be set up as well. Pre-departure the employees would have a travelling brief of the basic dos and don’ts of China. They would have to attend sessions on learning basic mandarin, basic etiquettes to follow when in China, an understanding of major cultural difference (Morley, 2015). Since the employees are selected on the basis of their talent itself, the current job of the team is to make sure that the employees are aware of the situations they might face in China.

Employee Engagement Drivers

Once the employee is past the transition period, ongoing support is still needed to meet the continuing challenges and uncertainty of living and working in the host country. They also need to know where to turn when something is needed. Employees on assignment often feel like they are straddling both the host and home country support systems, not fully tied to either, as they attempt to integrate what they have known into the host country support system. This can lead to a lack of focus and further impact the assignment (Farndale, 2013). This is where assignment-based coaching can prove invaluable, as it offers what many consider a lifeline during a period of much stress and uncertainty.

Coaching types vary and can include models that are focused on the employee’s specific assignment, cultural assimilation coaching, and/or development and long-term career coaching. There is also peer-based coaching and mentoring provided from support personnel in the home country or by tenured expats. Each method has its value, but all have the ability to significantly improve employee morale and engagement. In each instance, the coach enables the employee to share his or her concerns within a safe and supportive environment (Meyers, 2014). Within a talent management framework, the coach also helps the employee to optimize the assignment from a personal and professional development perspective and recognize areas that need additional focus. Beyond this, he or she serves as both a resource and a point of accountability.

No matter how much training expats receive before moving, they will not know what their lives will be like until they’re actually in the new location. As such, they need focused and continued support as they acclimate and work in new cultures with new partners, and in new roles that may be more dynamic and challenging than those they’ve had in the past. It is crucial that the talent management team supports during relocation (Kleinman, 2013). The tasks and goals are to be clearly defined and aligned and expectations of the employee are to be set to help the expatriates understand the assignments clearly and perform their jobs without any hindrances. Further issues with compensations and pay etc would also be handled by the team if the need arises. A clear point of contact for each of the possible issue is to be provided to the employees to ensure that they know whom to contact when an issue arises. Post relocation and settlement if the talent management of the Chinese counterpart is taking up the responsibility of the employee all the relevant details that would be required are to be provided to the accepting team. The employee should also be informed in regard to this change

Conclusion

Global talent management is the need of the hour as organizations grow beyond boundaries to establish business. The talent management takes care of the recruitment, retention and development of the employees of an organization and also the pre-departure, on-assignment and relocation aspects of expatriates of the company. It is hence crucial to lay out tasks to help the employees adapt to the new travelling country and also provide a growth path for retention.

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