Some of these reasons for failed assignments were given by participants in a study by the National Foreign Trade Council and Selection Research International:
- Urgent need to fill position may lead to selection of the best available candidate as opposed to the best choice (81 percent).
- Companies often send someone who has been with the company for many years and is a known entity, but not necessarily a star performer (33 percent).
- Management overrides the advice of human resources (21 percent).
- Assignments are used as rewards for accomplishments having little to do with requirements of a new position (12 percent).
- Individuals are untrained for international assignments (10 percent).
Common practices in another 1995 survey by the two groups found:
- Only 25 percent of organizations responding have a global talent pool integrated with other human resources strategic planning.
- Approximately 50 percent identified technical, managerial and interpersonal competencies that contribute to success.
- Only 31 percent used a formal competency study to identify key international competencies.
- While 94 percent of companies’ line managers assess suitability of candidates, 76 percent also conducted interviews with HR staff; but less than 18 percent used structured interviews.
- Approximately 56 percent said line managers relied on their own judgment in final selection.
- Ninety-six percent stated technical requirements as the most important selection criteria, and 60 percent included the candidate’s personal attributes or ability to adjust.
SOURCE:“Expatriate Failures: Too Many, Too Much Cost, Too Little Planning,” by Reyer A. Swaak, Compensation & Benefits Review, Nov/Dec 1995, pages 50-52.
Personnel Journal, November 1996, Vol. 75, No. 11, p. 81.