Expatriate Perspective

by Robert E. "", President
ExpatRepat Services


Perspective has a great impact upon what one can perceive. Seated at my computer, I looked out at the city from a multistory office building. My field of vision was much greater than if I was down on the street, walking on the sidewalk, or driving my car in the middle lane of three columns of vehicles stopped at a long traffic light.

The expatriate employee assigned to an important post half a world away from the home office also has a unique view of the world. It was more challenging to adjust to the host culture than he thought it would be. The language study he and his wife did six months before departure has been very helpful. But to his surprise, only recently did he begin to grasp how he needs to convey his messages to those under his supervision in order for them to have the intended impact upon appropriate operational procedures. Why did it take so long for him to learn in a culture where "high context" communication is used it is vital he take time away from work to get to know better his trusted host national supervisor? The time spent with him would have cultivated mutual trust much sooner so that he might have been coached by that remarkable employee in how to perceive that invisible mental map by which host culture behavior is guided. When he saw things from the host culture perspective, it leveraged his usefulness in his assignment to new heights.

Interestingly, his wife also had a unique view. Yes, they did live in a nice house in the suburbs. Indeed, she did have a cook, a housekeeper, and a gardener. But she also had rather frequent power failures to cope with for their electric appliances. By now she knew that a service call to repair the refrigerator or the plumbing set for Thursday morning might be accomplished on Thursday, but she didn't know which week it would be. She found no pleasure when driving the family car into the city when doing needed shopping. The traffic was a nightmare wrapped in smog with higher humidity than any place they had ever lived. Even though there was medical care available, in order to obtain the kind of care that her particular physical condition required, she needed to fly to Singapore quarterly. And she never thought that concern about the health of her own widowed mother and her husband's widower father could bear so heavily upon ones heart. Somehow, the distance seemed to intensify the anxiety.

At the home office there are those charged with the on-going administration of the many functions needed to send and to support expatriate families. There are various levels of responsibility. Some are designated as: Director of International HR, while others are called Expatriate Administrators, International HR Coordinator, Staff Assistant for International HR, or other titles of note. Typically, the view from their perspective involves pressures from two directions. From above, there is the news that "expenses need to be reduced in managing the expatriates we have." Yet, the view of those caught in the middle often reflects the disappointments expressed by expatriates when they think that the company has responded inappropriately to their needs. And then there are some in this number who go the second mile and take action on behalf of a troubled expatriate employee. It might have been when the vacant house of an expatriate family was flooded in recent torrential rains in this area while he and his family were on another continent. Or, it might have been when a family member still in the U.S. had special needs that where not really the responsibility of the company. But that staff member at her own expense, after hours, relieved the anxiety of those expatriate families by bridging a gap that to them was of great and timely importance.

There is also a unique view from the top. There are those who themselves have been expatriates, and now provide corporate leadership. There are those who remember their resolve that "if I ever get to the top levels of management I'll do all I can to insure that expatriate families are cared for appropriately." No one outside the boardroom knows how many times those resolves have been pursued with vigor. And the advances that have been made to improve the lot of company expatriate families are due in part to the persistence of those with this unique view. But there are the harsh realities with which those in management must deal. The market does impact all we do. Mergers have been made that impacted everything we do. And the changes in products and services now provided to our clients are significantly different from that which was provided when some of the returning expatriate employees left here three years ago. How shall we proceed to provide those valuable repatriating employees with appropriate employment?

There are multiple perspectives worthy of careful consideration regarding those who have vital roles in different aspects of the expatriate experience.

ExpatRepat Services understands the complex challenges essential to profitability in utilizing capable employees and employee families on international assignments. Contact us, for consultation or additional information.

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