The Global Phoenix - Issue 2 April - June 2017 | Page 20

REPATRIATION:
MANAGING THE
CRITICAL FACTOR
FOR ROI ON
INTERNATIONAL
ASSIGNMENTS
Dean Foster; Dwellworks Intercultural
A SWING IN EMPHASIS
Most global organizations understand that in order
to succeed in the 21st century, they need to develop
culturally competent teams and individuals who know
how to manage cultural differences. It is now a given that
individuals living and working in or with other cultures
need to be trained to the cultural challenges inherent in
working across borders, time zones and oceans.
It is now common knowledge that an international
assignment is an expensive investment with an ROI that
needs to be insured. Cultural training provides that kind
of insurance on the outbound leg of the assignment;
however, surprisingly, the ROI is at most risk when
international assignees come home, as almost 50%
of most repatriates leave their company after 2 years
of returning home. This represents a significant loss
to the ROI, as an organization’s most valuable talent -
their culturally competent individuals - are leaving after
the organization has made a significant investment
in developing them. Repatriation at the end of the
assignment, therefore, is a newly recognized area of
concern for international human resource managers, and
needs to be considered as part of the larger strategic
plan for “growing global”.
It’s understandable that organizations have always
placed greater emphasis on the successful preparation
of the assignee and family for outbound assignment, and
less, historically, on the return. After all, it seems counter-
intuitive that returning “home” should present any
challenges at all that require training and preparation;
after all, the family is coming back to a culture and
environment they are intimately familiar with, right?
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