Re-Entry and Career Issues

Prof. Preeti Bhaskar

Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, NOIDA

Re-entry/Expatriation

Reasons of Repatriation
Repatriation process
Challenges of effective Repatriation
Re-expatriation
Repatriation Strategy

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Repatriation
Repatriation generally refers to the
termination of the overseas assignment
and coming back to the home country or
to the country where the HQ is located or
to the home subsidiary from where
he/she was expatriated

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

 Expatriation process also includes repatriation:

the activity of bringing the expatriate back to the home
country
Re-entry presents new challenges
May experience re-entry shock
Some exit the company
The multinationals ability to retain current and attract future expatriates is affected by the
manner in which it handles repatriation.
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Returnee offers several

advantages-:
Coke , Cisco , Ford, Whirlpool, Britannia, Mc Kinsey , GM..

Increasingly hiring foreign returned Indian executives.

Reasons-:
Returnees have imbibed global culture & also have understood local culture.
Have extensive understanding of how the company is perceived in other countries.
Repatriate understand both the operation of the country headquarters and overseas
operation
Transfer of important technology or information from foreign subsidiary to home
country.
Social networks help in Coordination between Home Country & Host country.
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Honda, the trend setter in handling Expatriates. It defines clearly , the

objective of the assignment before it starts. The objectives can range
from development of a new product to improvement in Vendor
Relation. The selected Executive prepares themselves for the
assignment by an analysis of their strength & weakness. Well before the
assignment is completed , all the expat is ready to return. Honda
identifies a suitable job for him or her and makes arrangements for a
debriefing session to capture the important lesson from the assignment

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

The readjustment challenge

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

UK Repatriate Study
Surveyed 124 recently repatriated employees

Indicated five predictors for repatriate maladjustment

In ranked order:

Length of time abroad

Unrealistic expectations of job opportunities in the home country
Downward job mobility
Reduced work status
Negative perceptions of employers support during and after repatriation

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Global Relocation Trend Survey -:

shows that 60- 70% of Returnees did not know what their position would be before
they came home.
60% said that their firm were vague about repatriation , about their new roles & their
career Progression

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

40% of repatriate leave their

company within the Year
This is usually due to poor repatriation processes and policy.
Solution-:

Consult on the design of proactive repatriation processes to help you hold on

to the employee on return.
Run custom designed program to suit the expatriates specific needs.

Personal development profiles on return

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

What can heighten reentry shock?

Family
Expectations
Age and
Stage

Employment
Expectations
Partner
Expectations

Your
Expectations

Length of
Time Away

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Individual reactions:
Job-related
Work
adjustment

Career
anxiety

The employment
relationship and career
expectation
Re-entry position
Devaluing of international
experience

No post-assignment
guarantee of employment
Loss of visibility and
isolation
Changes in the home
workplace

Coping
with new
role
demands

Loss of
status
and pay

Role behavior
Role clarity
Role discretion
Role conflict

Autonomy
Responsibility
Lower pay in absolute terms
Drop in housing conditions

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Individual reactions:
social factors
International experience can distance the repatriate (and
family) socially and psychologically
Each family member undergoing readjustment
Re-establishing social networks can be difficult
Effect on partners career
Recent research indicates a decrease in spousal assistance upon re-entry
(e.g., job search, resume preparation and career counselling)

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Multinational responses
Staff availability
How repatriation is handled is critical

Return on investment (ROI)

Defining ROI in terms of expatriation
Gains accruing through repatriated staff

Knowledge transfer
A one-way activity?
Tacit and person-bound?

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

The use of mentors

Aims to alleviate the out-of-sight, out-of-mind feeling by
keeping expatriate informed
Mentor should ensure that the expatriate is not forgotten
when important decisions are made re positions and
promotions
Repatriate mentor duties
1.
2.
3.
4.

Maintaining contact with the expatriate throughout the assignment

Ensuring expatriates are kept up to date with developments in the home country
Ensuring expatriates are retained in existing management development programs
Mentors are responsible for assisting expatriates with the repatriation process,
including helping them with a repatriation position.
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Factors Affecting
Mentoring
Size of expatriate workforce
Firms with over 250 expatriates are more likely to assign
mentors.
Who is responsible for repatriates
Corporate HR or a separate international assignment unit is
more likely to provide mentors than the divisional level.
Company nationality
European firms are more likely to use mentors than U.S. firms.
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Repatriation activities and

practices

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Predictors for repatriation

maladjustment
Length of time abroad
Unrealistic expectations of job opportunities in the home
company
Downward job mobility
Reduced work status
Negative perceptions of the help and support provided by
employers during and after repatriation.

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Repatriate knowledge
categories

Market specific knowledge

Personal skills
Job-related management skills
Network knowledge
General management capacity

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Preparation

Physical
Relocation
Repatriation
Process

Transition

Readjustment

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Repatriation Phases
Preparation
( Developing plans for the future, and gathering information about the new position)

Physical relocation
(Removing personal effects, breaking ties with colleagues and friends, and traveling to the next posting, usually
the home country)

Transition
Settling into temporary accommodation where necessary, making arrangements for housing and schooling, and
carrying out other administrative tasks
(e.g., renew drivers license, applying for new health insurance, banking, etc.)

Readjustment
Coping with changes
(e.g., company changes, reverse culture shock, career demands, etc.)
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Challenges of effective
Repatriation
Organizational Factors:

Individual Factors:
Social- cultural Factors:

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Organizational Factors:
Recent research indicates that the majority of organizations have no formal repatriation
programme to help expatriates readjust on return to the home country
Only a small proportion of the repatriation programmes have consideration for the spouse
Typical reasons given by organizations for not having a repatriation programme include:
Lack of the requisite expertise
Programme cost
Lack of a perceived need by top management

Some organizations provide a form of repatriation assistance in the form of a mentor

The mentor is usually a superior to the expatriate and provides assistance in the form of
information, by maintaining regular contact with the expatriate, and by taking the expatriates
interests regarding promotion and job placement on return etc. into account
Research indicates that the likelihood of an organization using mentors depends on the size
of the expatriate workforce, the organizational unit responsible for handling expatriates and
the nationality of the organization.
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Individual relations Job

Related factors
Career anxiety
No post-assignment guarantee of employment
Loss of visibility and isolation
Changes in the home workplace
Work adjustment
The employment relationship and career expectation
Re-entry position
Devaluing of the international experience
Coping with new role demands
Role behavior
Role clarity
Role discretion
Role conflict
Loss of status and pay
Autonomy
Responsibility
Lower pay in absolute terms

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Social cultural factors

If an expatriate served in a foreign assignment in a high-profile position
where he or she enjoyed considerable and sustained interaction with the social,
economic and political elites of the host country, a feeling of disappointment
may emerge after return to the home country.
In addition to the expatriates social readjustment problems, the social
readjustment problems of his or her accompanying family members must also
be taken into consideration as well.
Reestablishment of social networks in the home country may be difficult if,
for e.g., the expatriate and family are repatriated to another locality in the home
country. It may be that friends have moved away while the expatriate was on
assignment and that other friends may have joined the workforce and have no
time for social activities
Children may encounter social readjustment problems in school because they
are not update on latest trends, and may have problems adjusting to their home
country educational system
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Managing Repatriation
Successful repatriation requires proper
management or action on at least three
areas:
1. Re expatriation
2. Repatriation programme and
3. Repatriation strategies

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Re expatriation offers
several benefits to MNC:
1. Contributes to Skill of expatriates whose skill and abilities
can be used as and when the need arises.
2. Relocation of competent people in international
assignment
3. The normal difficulties and challenges of managing
expatriation and repatriation are few as the MNC has a pool
of international managers who are ready to fly to any part of
the globe at any time.
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Designing a Repatriate
Program
Topics covered by a Repatriation Program
Repatriation, physical relocation and transition information that the company will help with
Financial and tax assistance, e.g., benefit and tax changes, loss of overseas allowances, etc.
Re-entry position and career-path assistance
Reverse cultural shock, including family disorientation
School systems and childrens education and adaptation
Workplace changes, e.g., corporate culture, structure, decentralization, etc.
Stress management and communication-related training
Establishing networking opportunities
Help in forming new social contracts

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Repatriation Strategy:
Pre-expatriation

During the assignment

Preceding Repatriation

After repatriation

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Stage

Strategies

Preexpatriation

Agreement outlining the type of position expatriates will be placed in

upon repatriation
Agreement about the duration of stay overseas
Keeping the post back at home vacant till the assignee comes back

During the
assignment

Continuous communication with expatriate

Visit to headquarter when on vacation to maintain visibility

Preceding
Repatriation

Career guidance between 6-12 months before the end of

assignment.
Ensure that all elements of the repatriation process are transparent.
Such elements to include company policies with regard to travel
reimbursement leave period, shipping of household goods, and
contact information about the mentor.

After
repatriation

Training seminars to help returnees cope with reverse culture shock

Financial counselling and financial / tax assistance
Reorientation programme about the changes in the company
policies, practices, personnel and strategies.
Reassurance that the company values international experience
RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES

Inpatriation
In-patriation is a process of identifying a potential
candidate in host country , and moving him or her to
parent country .
In-patriation is also known as Reverse Diffusion

Indian & Chinese have acquired prominent position in the

Globalized world.

RE-ENTRY AND CAREER ISSUES