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12.2 International assignment management

9 min read • august 20, 2024

International assignment management is a crucial aspect of global HR strategy. It involves sending employees to work in foreign countries, selecting the right candidates, and providing comprehensive support throughout the assignment.

Effective international assignment management requires careful planning, from selection and preparation to compensation and repatriation . It aims to maximize the benefits of global mobility while addressing challenges like cultural adaptation and family adjustment.

Types of international assignments

  • International assignments involve sending employees to work in foreign countries for specific periods of time, which can range from a few months to several years, and are critical for multinational organizations to expand their global presence, transfer knowledge, and develop global leadership capabilities
  • Common types of international assignments include short-term assignments (usually less than 12 months), long-term assignments (typically 1-5 years), and permanent transfers (indefinite relocation to a foreign country)
  • Other types of international assignments include commuter assignments (regular travel between home and host country), rotational assignments (alternating periods in home and host country), and virtual assignments (working remotely for a foreign subsidiary or team)

Selection for international assignments

  • Selecting the right candidates for international assignments is crucial for the success of the assignment and the organization's global strategy, and involves assessing a combination of technical skills, cross-cultural competencies, and personal characteristics

Candidate assessment criteria

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  • Technical skills and expertise required for the specific role and responsibilities of the assignment
  • Leadership potential and ability to navigate complex global business environments
  • Adaptability and resilience to cope with the challenges of living and working in a foreign country
  • Cultural intelligence and sensitivity to effectively interact with people from diverse backgrounds

Candidate personal characteristics

  • Open-mindedness and curiosity to learn about and embrace different cultures and ways of living
  • Emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to build relationships and collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders in the host country
  • Flexibility and tolerance for ambiguity to adapt to changing circumstances and overcome obstacles
  • Self-awareness and self-management to maintain personal well-being and work-life balance during the assignment

Family considerations in selection

  • Willingness and readiness of the candidate's spouse or partner to relocate and adapt to the host country
  • Educational and developmental needs of the candidate's children and availability of suitable schools in the host country
  • Health and special needs of family members and access to appropriate medical care in the host country
  • Career aspirations and employment opportunities for the spouse or partner in the host country

Preparation for international assignments

  • Comprehensive preparation programs are essential to help assignees and their families adjust to the cultural, linguistic, and practical aspects of living and working in a foreign country, and to minimize the risk of assignment failure or premature return

Cross-cultural training programs

  • Pre-departure cross-cultural training to develop cultural awareness, understanding of the host country's values, norms, and business practices, and skills for effective cross-cultural communication and collaboration
  • In-country cultural immersion experiences to gain first-hand exposure to the local culture, customs, and way of life
  • Ongoing cultural coaching and support throughout the assignment to help assignees navigate cultural challenges and adapt to the host country environment

Language training and support

  • Pre-departure language training to develop basic proficiency in the host country language for daily life and work interactions
  • In-country language immersion programs to accelerate language acquisition and fluency
  • Language support services (translation, interpretation) to facilitate communication and understanding in the workplace and community

Pre-departure practical assistance

  • Logistical support for visa and work permit applications, relocation, housing, and schooling arrangements
  • Orientation sessions on the host country's healthcare system, banking, transportation, and other essential services
  • Assistance with tax planning, insurance, and other financial and legal matters related to the international assignment

Compensation for international assignments

  • Designing an effective compensation package for international assignees is critical to attract and retain talent, ensure fair and competitive remuneration, and comply with legal and tax requirements in both the home and host countries

Base salary determination

  • Approaches to determine base salary include home-based (based on home country salary structure), host-based (based on host country salary structure), and global (based on a global salary structure)
  • Factors influencing base salary determination include the assignee's job level, skills, and experience, as well as the host country's labor market conditions and cost of living

Cost of living adjustments

  • Cost of living allowances (COLA) to compensate for differences in the cost of goods and services between the home and host countries
  • COLA calculations based on reliable cost of living data and indices, and regular reviews to ensure accuracy and fairness

Hardship and danger premiums

  • Hardship premiums to compensate for challenging living conditions (climate, pollution, infrastructure) in the host country
  • Danger premiums to compensate for safety and security risks (political instability, crime, terrorism) in the host country
  • Premiums determined based on objective assessment of hardship and danger levels, and benchmarking with industry practices

Housing and education allowances

  • Housing allowances to cover the cost of suitable accommodation in the host country, based on family size and local housing market conditions
  • Education allowances to cover the cost of international or private schools for the assignee's children in the host country
  • Allowances reviewed regularly to ensure adequacy and competitiveness, and to accommodate changes in the assignee's family circumstances

Tax equalization policies

  • Tax equalization to ensure that the assignee's tax liability is not higher than it would be in the home country
  • Tax equalization calculations based on hypothetical tax (tax on home country income) and actual tax (tax on host country income), with the company covering any excess tax liability
  • Tax assistance and compliance services to help assignees navigate the complex tax implications of international assignments

Support during international assignments

  • Ongoing support and engagement are essential to help international assignees and their families adjust to the challenges of living and working in a foreign country, maintain their well-being and performance, and achieve the objectives of the assignment

Ongoing communication and engagement

  • Regular communication between the assignee and home country HR, line manager, and colleagues to maintain connection and alignment with the home organization
  • Virtual and in-person meetings, newsletters, and other communication channels to keep the assignee informed and engaged with company developments and events
  • Opportunities for the assignee to provide feedback, share experiences, and contribute to organizational learning and improvement

Mentoring and coaching programs

  • Assigning a mentor or coach from the home country to provide guidance, support, and career development advice to the assignee throughout the assignment
  • Providing access to local mentors or coaches in the host country to help the assignee navigate cultural and professional challenges and build local networks
  • Offering virtual and in-person coaching sessions to address specific challenges, develop skills, and support the assignee's personal and professional growth

Emergency assistance and evacuation

  • 24/7 emergency assistance services to provide medical, security, and logistical support to the assignee and family in case of illness, accident, or crisis situations
  • Evacuation plans and procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of the assignee and family in case of political instability, natural disasters, or other emergencies in the host country
  • Insurance coverage for medical treatment, evacuation, and repatriation expenses, as well as liability and property damage

Repatriation after international assignments

  • Effective repatriation planning and support are critical to ensure a smooth transition back to the home country, retain the skills and knowledge gained during the assignment, and leverage the assignee's international experience for the benefit of the organization

Repatriation planning and support

  • Early planning and communication of the repatriation process, timeline, and available support services to the assignee and family
  • Assistance with logistics (housing, schooling, transportation) and administrative matters (work permits, visas, tax) related to the return to the home country
  • Repatriation training and coaching to help the assignee and family readjust to the home country culture and work environment, and cope with reverse culture shock

Career management for repatriates

  • Proactive career planning and management to ensure that the assignee's international experience is valued and leveraged in the next role and career progression
  • Providing opportunities for the repatriate to share knowledge, insights, and networks gained during the assignment with colleagues and teams in the home country
  • Offering mentoring, coaching, and leadership development programs to support the repatriate's career advancement and retention in the organization

Retention of repatriated employees

  • Recognizing and rewarding the repatriate's international experience and contribution to the organization through compensation, promotion, and other incentives
  • Providing ongoing support and resources to help the repatriate and family readjust to the home country and maintain their well-being and work-life balance
  • Monitoring and addressing any issues or challenges that may arise during the repatriation process and beyond, to ensure the repatriate's successful reintegration and long-term retention in the organization

Challenges of international assignments

  • International assignments can present significant challenges for both the assignee and the organization, which can impact the success of the assignment and the well-being of the assignee and family

Cultural adaptation and shock

  • Difficulty adapting to the host country's cultural norms, values, and behaviors, leading to misunderstandings, conflicts, and stress
  • Experience of culture shock, a sense of disorientation and anxiety resulting from the immersion in an unfamiliar culture
  • Challenges in building relationships and trust with local colleagues, customers, and stakeholders due to cultural differences and communication barriers

Family adjustment difficulties

  • Spouse or partner's difficulty finding employment or meaningful activities in the host country, leading to frustration, isolation, and resentment
  • Children's difficulty adjusting to a new school system, language, and social environment, leading to academic and behavioral problems
  • Family members' experience of homesickness, loneliness, and loss of support networks, impacting their mental health and well-being

Dual-career couple challenges

  • Difficulty maintaining both partners' careers during the international assignment, especially if the spouse or partner is unable to work in the host country
  • Strain on the relationship due to the sacrifices and compromises required to prioritize one partner's career over the other
  • Challenges in reintegrating both partners' careers upon repatriation, especially if the trailing spouse has experienced a career gap or downgrade during the assignment

Benefits of international assignments

  • Despite the challenges, international assignments can offer significant benefits for both the assignee and the organization, contributing to personal and professional growth, global competitiveness, and long-term success

Employee skills and knowledge development

  • Opportunity to develop new technical skills and expertise through exposure to different work practices, technologies, and industries in the host country
  • Enhancement of soft skills such as adaptability, resilience, communication, and collaboration through the experience of working in a diverse and challenging environment
  • Acquisition of language skills and cultural knowledge that can be valuable for future international roles and responsibilities

Global mindset and cultural intelligence

  • Development of a global mindset, the ability to understand and navigate the complexities of the global business environment, and to think and act across borders
  • Enhancement of cultural intelligence, the capability to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations, and to bridge differences and find common ground
  • Increased awareness and appreciation of diversity, inclusion, and cross-cultural collaboration, which are essential for leadership in a global context

Organizational knowledge transfer

  • Opportunity to share best practices, innovations, and lessons learned from the home country with the host country team, and vice versa
  • Facilitation of knowledge transfer and cross-pollination of ideas across different units, functions, and geographies of the organization
  • Contribution to the development of a global knowledge network and the organization's overall learning and innovation capacity

Evaluation of international assignments

  • Regularly evaluating the effectiveness and impact of international assignments is essential for ensuring their alignment with organizational goals, optimizing their value and ROI, and continuously improving the assignment management process

Assignment success criteria

  • Defining clear and measurable success criteria for each international assignment, based on the specific objectives, deliverables, and performance expectations
  • Considering both quantitative criteria (business results, project outcomes) and qualitative criteria (relationships, cultural adaptation, learning) in the evaluation
  • Involving multiple stakeholders (assignee, host country manager, home country manager, HR) in the definition and assessment of success criteria

Return on investment (ROI) analysis

  • Conducting a comprehensive ROI analysis to assess the financial and non-financial costs and benefits of each international assignment
  • Considering direct costs (compensation, relocation, training) and indirect costs (opportunity costs, productivity losses) in the ROI calculation
  • Measuring the tangible benefits (business growth, market entry, knowledge transfer) and intangible benefits (employee development, global mindset, reputation) of the assignment

Continuous improvement of programs

  • Regularly collecting feedback and data on the effectiveness and impact of international assignment programs from various sources (assignees, managers, HR, external partners)
  • Conducting a thorough review and analysis of the feedback and data to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in the assignment management process
  • Implementing changes and enhancements to the policies, practices, and support services based on the insights and lessons learned from the evaluation, to continuously optimize the value and success of international assignments

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Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline

The global human resources functional area deals with all aspects of HR within the worldwide context, including U.S.-based entities doing business internationally or non-U.S.-based entities operating in their own locale or worldwide. Leaders in organizations ranging from Fortune 100 multinational corporations to smaller firms that import raw materials from abroad need information on how to practice human resources in a global economy.

Overview Global Facets of HR Functional Areas

Business leadership

Benefits and compensation

Ethics and social responsibility

Employee relations

Labor relations

Safety and security

Staffing management

Additional Resources

A multitude of international trade agreements allows for the ease and cost-efficiency of products moving across borders, and according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, nearly 96 percent of the world's customers lie outside the United States. This represents a phenomenal market opportunity for companies worldwide.

Even organizations with a primarily local or domestic focus recognize that global issues have an increasing influence on markets, supply chains and business practices. Employers must develop new competencies, mainly through developing cross-cultural understanding and substantial knowledge in international employment legislation, labor law and economic trends. See  Goodbye NAFTA, Hello USMCA .

Companies are lured into developing countries not only by cheap labor but also by increasingly skilled or trainable labor and proximity to growth markets. No longer are other countries entirely dependent on the health of the U.S. economy. Emerging markets are rising sources of talent for tech jobs necessary for the future of work. See  Canada Replaces U.S. as Top Work Destination .

Global Facets of HR Functional Areas

The practice of global human resources is a functional area in itself, as well as a facet of all other HR functional areas.

The subject of global business leadership is the focus of much research, and increasingly, organizations are looking at what it takes to be an effective global leader. While there is no quick answer, research points to common themes to help HR professionals build a global leadership development program.

Part of the challenge of global leadership is adjusting leadership styles to the particular culture(s) where the organization does business.

An effective global leader is one who has the ability to master international business issues, set direction, effectively lead people from different cultures and nations, and align global resources. A global leader should have a global mindset (i.e., the ability to take an international perspective and be inclusive of other cultures and views), sensitivity toward global diversity (i.e., the various ethnic, cultural, religious and class groups that exist within a global enterprise), and respect for human dignity and the welfare of all employees—wherever they may live and work.

The global leader must be concerned with global integration, that is, a strategy that emphasizes a consistency of approach, standardization of processes and a common corporate culture across global operations despite differences among cultures and laws. See  Leadership Traits that India-Born CEOs Bring to Global Companies .

The cost of talent is a key factor in employment considerations and particularly so for companies operating in multiple global markets or thinking about expanding across borders. As companies aim to streamline their benefits and compensation plans, many attempt to globalize their offerings. What often emerges from this effort is a global philosophy about how employees are remunerated that is flexible enough to be adapted locally.

More countries that were slow to adapt individual incentive plans are warming up to the practice. While a global incentive plan helps create a more cohesive culture, implementing it can be challenging.

Knowledge of local payroll laws and wage and hour requirements is needed to ensure compliance in other countries. As in the U.S., these requirements may include issues such as minimum wage and overtime pay, income tax withholding and reporting, unemployment contributions, retirement and social services withholding and filing, and record retention requirements.

Different types of incentive pay often come into play in a world market. Decades ago, for example, oil companies lured employees into taking dangerous jobs overseas by offering extra compensation, coined "danger pay." Today, incentive allowances (sometimes referred to as location allowances), such as mobility, foreign service, hardship and danger pay, are premiums offered by companies to encourage employees to accept different types of expatriate assignments. To determine the right amount, organizations need to take into consideration several factors, such as housing, crime and remoteness.

While international HR consultants are probably the best option for setting up global pay structures, employers also may search the Internet for international salary surveys and fringe benefits data. However, keep in mind that some data found on the Internet may be misleading or unreliable.

Multinationals Strive to Meet Stringent Pay Equity Requirements

How do we handle income taxes for expatriates?

Companies in India Tailor Benefits to a New World of Working

Business ethics and sustainability are important elements of operating in another country. An organization's practices in this area can be effective in communicating the employment brand to all potential and existing employees as well as to governments in other countries. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a burgeoning global trend that HR can influence.

CSR is defined as the commitment by organizations to balance financial performance with contributions to the quality of life of their employees, the local community and society at large. HR has an opportunity to use CSR to brand its employment message globally. Workers actively seek out employers that promote social and environmental responsibility. CSR initiatives help bring together disparate multinational company cultures.

Cultural differences, language barriers, religious practices and sexual orientation all factor into the modern workplace. Take this concept global, and even more complicated issues emerge. Transplanting an organization's diversity programs in another country requires researching the issues, which may be vastly different from the ones encountered in the home country.

The CIA World Fact Book has country-specific information related to cultural differences. Expatriates will need to be familiar with the country's culture to successfully transition into the new environment.

Gender Discrimination in the Chinese Workplace

Helping Expatriate Employees Deal with Culture Shock .

Cultural Awareness Is Needed in the U.S. as Well as Overseas

The Next Level of Diversity for Companies in India

Living and working internationally bring forth challenging issues in employee relations, performance, absenteeism and motivation. Understanding cultural differences is imperative to an inclusive workplace and can ease many employee relations issues. See  10 Ways to Learn More about Other Cultures .

Many multinational employers offer a global employee assistance program (EAP)—often referred to as an international EAP, or IEAP. EAPs provide solutions in diverse cultural situations to support or maintain maximum on-the-job performance. Consequently, multinational organizations have begun to offer their international employees—including their non-U.S.-based workforce—the benefits of an EAP. See  How EAPs Are Helping Employees Handle Grief, Loss in India

Global labor relations, in particular the flexibility of the labor market, is one of the first factors to take into consideration when deciding where to operate abroad. Union representation, called works councils in many European countries, can play a large part when employing individuals in other countries. How pervasive are the unions? How powerful are they? What industries do they cover? What are the restrictions? For example, works councils in Germany have broad information, consultation and especially determination rights. The council must be consulted on many workplace details such as how employee time is recorded. Failure to consult the works council before an employee in Germany is terminated will void the dismissal. See  Germany: Works Council Must Consent to Time-Keeping via Spreadsheet .

An organization's safety and security policies, procedures and practices may need to be developed, revised and implemented as a consequence of its presence in a foreign country. Understanding and following a host country's relevant laws and regulations and establishing the organization's own safety and security measures are essential.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of how employers in different countries all were forced to adapt to a global health and safety crisis. Ever changing guidance that varied around the world made managing the health risk even more cumbersome. See  COVID-19 Measures Adopted in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and New Rules Aim to Stop Spread of COVID-19 in South African Workplaces .

Compliance with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act will not be adequate or even appropriate when operating in other countries, which have their own labor and safety regulations. In some aspects there is a need for global consistency; for example, the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals has addressed chemical labeling and classification. See  European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) .

Understanding various global risks is necessary to formulate appropriate safety and security policies. For example, threats of terrorism against certain country nationals doing business in particular countries are a fact of life. In some areas, expatriates, particularly executives, may need security protection.

Geographic, cultural and technological factors pose challenges in developing safety and security plans that integrate a variety of jurisdictional imperatives and cultural norms.

Globalization poses challenges in global staffing management for multinational corporations. What works well in one country might not work nearly as well in another country—and might even be illegal.

Some particular staffing management challenges associated with global HR include global recruiting, global relocation, international assignment management and global outsourcing.

The U.S. Department of State website has visa and work permit information as well as additional country-specific information. If you are planning to use expatriates, obtaining and communicating country-specific visa requirements will be an important step in preparing these individuals for their new assignments.

See  SHRM U.S. Employment Immigration Specialty Credential .

Global recruiting. Thanks to the accelerating globalization trend, companies have more options to find the best people for the right jobs. Global HR professionals are being asked to source candidates for numerous positions—not just IT and support, but management, research and development (R&D), sales and marketing—from around the world. HR will need to identify, screen, test, interview and move talent into jobs more quickly and seamlessly than ever before, challenging HR professionals to figure out which recruitment strategies work best in which cultures. When recruiting in Asia, for example, HR should focus on attracting candidates with diversity, work/life balance, recognition and project responsibility. When recruiting in Europe, the focus may be on empowerment, job fit, work challenge and opportunities for movement. See  Recruiters Hire Locally for Global Work .

Global relocation. Concerns about family and trailing-spouse issues continue to dominate the reasons why employees turn down expatriate assignments. Careful selection, preparation and communication can help ease the transition. As for logistics and support, each destination, be it China or the U.K., comes with its own special challenges. See  What to Consider Before Letting UK Employees Telework from Another Country and How Technology Is Helping Global Mobility Professionals .

International assignment management. International assignment management is a complex function but one that offers the HR professional many opportunities for growth as well as the chance to contribute positively to the expatriate employee's experience and the organization's bottom line. See  Managing International Assignments and Structuring Expatriate Assignments and the Value of Secondment .

A failed assignment can be quite expensive: The cost of a three-year international assignment can easily exceed $3 million. The increasing importance of global business to a company's bottom line means that international assignment management will only grow in value as a critical skill for HR practitioners.

Due to family concerns and the lack of robust repatriation programs, many employees are reluctant to take international assignments. HR professionals are responding by getting creative with shorter-term assignments or commuter options for employees, depending on the scope of the project.

Repatriation

HR professionals can take a number of steps to ensure that expatriates enjoy a smooth return home and that the company can maximize the expatriates' valuable international experiences. To improve retention and satisfaction of returning expatriates, HR professionals should consider the following suggestions:

  • Conduct post-assignment career planning before the individual leaves the foreign post.
  • Facilitate mentor relationships among senior executives and expatriates.
  • Assign a home-country mentor and an overseas mentor to expatriates.
  • Maintain strong, regular communication during global assignments.
  • Require home visits, and encourage expatriates to use them to network professionally.
  • Keep expatriates in the forefront of succession planning.
  • Provide repatriation assistance to address assimilation and reverse culture shock when returning home.
  • Tap repatriates to serve as trainers for future expatriates.
  • Provide forums for repatriates to share their experiences.
  • Develop a tracking system to determine if repatriation turnover is a problem.

Offshoring. Offshoring is the relocation of business processes and services from one country to another. As technology allowed for more white-collar jobs to be offshored to India, China and Eastern Europe, many U.S. companies rushed into the practice, lured by promises of major savings in payroll.

But reality quickly set in as cultural challenges emerged, quality of service and products declined, and a consumer backlash set in. Offshoring of HR, IT and R&D will continue, but companies will need to consider the pros and cons, the training and knowledge transfer, and the cultural understanding needed to make the practice successful. See  White House Orders Review of Foreign Hiring by Federal Contractors and Italy: New Measures May Impact Most Employers Planning Layoffs .

Between a growing global economy and the shift from production orientation to a knowledge and service orientation, organizations increasingly seek avenues that offer greater flexibility to remain competitive. Recruiting and retaining the best talent—wherever that talent may be—is one of the best ways to compete. Accordingly, HR needs to leverage technology solutions to enable employees in dispersed locations to work together in global virtual teams. By using virtual teams, companies can take advantage of competitive synergies that teamwork offers along with the advancements in information and communication technologies. 

How to Manage Remote Teams Effectively  

Using Technology to Prepare the Workforce for Post-Pandemic Times

Technology to Manage Workplace Immigration Is Booming

International Assignment Management: Expatriate Policy and Procedure

What are the differences among a local national, an expatriate, a third-country national, and an inpatriate?

Can a U.S. employer engage someone living in another country as an independent contractor?

Do U.S. employment laws apply to U.S. citizens working abroad?

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Internationalization became an essential strategic dimension for companies to ensure profitable growth. International assignments play an important role to implement this strategy. As a consequence the number of international assignees is growing year by year; they work as interface manager between headquarters and branch office, as cultural ambassador, or as technical specialist to transfer knowledge. For ambitious and open candidates, a position in a foreign country and in a different culture can be an interesting step to further develop their professional career. International assignment management first of all needs a policy framework, defining the compensation and benefit package, especially the typical assignment allowances depending on distance to the home country and hardship of the host country. The administration of international assignments secondly requires standardized processes for all phases of an assignment, from selection to reintegration and with clear allocation of roles and responsibilities between all human resources partners involved. Organizations exchanging bigger numbers of specialists and executives between several countries work with centralized assignment management teams, who cooperate with local HR in the host countries and often use external partners for relocation, social security, payroll, and taxation to manage this complex task.

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Czajor, J. (2016). Compensation and Benefits: Essentials of International Assignment Management. In: Zeuch, M. (eds) Handbook of Human Resources Management. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44152-7_73

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  1. Managing International Assignments - SHRM

    International assignment management is one of the hardest areas for HR professionals to master—and one of the most costly. The expense of a three-year international assignment can cost...

  2. International Assignment Management: Expatriate Policy ... - SHRM

    Engagement in an Ex-pat employment assignment is contingent on successful attainment of work authorization in the host country. The process for being granted a work visa differs with the country...

  3. HR Best Practices Can Lead to a Better Expat Experience - SHRM

    Employees who have accepted international assignments adjust and perform better in the host country when effective HR management practices are implemented, according to a report included in a...

  4. International assignment management | Human Resource ...

    International assignments involve sending employees to work in foreign countries for specific periods of time, which can range from a few months to several years, and are critical for multinational organizations to expand their global presence, transfer knowledge, and develop global leadership capabilities.

  5. Full article: The benefits of global teams for international ...

    In this special issue, we aim to bridge two areas of research – that of global teams and their important role in organizations, and that of IHRM and the role of HR in international organizations with respect to leveraging the benefits of global teams.

  6. International human resource management in multinational ...

    We position our framework with relation to existing research in international human resource management, and show how the field can benefit from achieving an approach to global norm-making that is contextualised, personalised and contested.

  7. Strategic Human Resource Management of International Assignments

    The different steps of the strategic management of international assignments: strategic planning and job analysis, recruitment, selection, preparation to transfer, cross-cultural adjustment and organizational support, performance appraisal, compensation, repatriation, and retention.

  8. The organizational value of international assignments – the ...

    The organizational value of international assignments (IAs), is unclear and rarely measured by organizations. We argue that taking a relational perspective may enable a greater understanding of the value of IAs to organizations.

  9. Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline - SHRM

    International assignment management. International assignment management is a complex function but one that offers the HR professional many opportunities for growth as well as the chance to...

  10. Compensation and Benefits: Essentials of International ...

    Recruiting of a suitable candidate can be a challenge for the human resources management and lays the cornerstone for a successful international assignment. Internal candidates are normally the first choice as they have a good network and fundamental knowledge of the product and internal process.