CIPD - International recruitment, selection and assessment: an introduction

Subjects

November 2006

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:

looks at the factors which influence decisions on where to resource employees
highlights key considerations in recruiting people to work overseas and bringing staff to the UK.

The guidance in this factsheet is based on recent research conducted by Professor Paul Sparrow of Lancaster University Management School for CIPD¹.

Context

The changing nature of mobility worldwide means that the HR function in international organisations has to meet a series of challenges.

It has to work within globally co-ordinated systems whilst recognising and being sensitive to local needs.
Practitioners are looking to source talent from increasingly varied places around the world, so integrating a diverse workforce for maximum organisational and individual performance is crucial.
Increasingly the lines between traditional HR functions are blurred, so resourcing specialists have to focus on management development and reward issues as well as resourcing ones.
The continuing increase in merger and acquisition activity means that HR practitioners are engaged in selection of employees in a changing environment and looking to harmonise HR practices.
HR is looking to maximise the learning opportunities given by global networks to share best practice.
Rapidly changing business situations in volatile global markets means that HR must often recruit, deploy and develop people at great speed.

Types of international employees and their required competencies

HR practitioners responsible for international assignments are no longer simply involved in the management of expatriates. As business requirements have changed, longer term expatriation has reduced and, in the global community, people are thinking about various types of international employees. These can include:

international commuters
contract expatriates
employees used on long-term business trips
assignees on short term or medium term business trips
cadres of global managers
international transferees (from one subsidiary to another)
‘self-initiated movers’ (SIMS) who live and work away from their home country
virtual international employees active in cross-border project teams
domestically based employees dealing with international suppliers and/or clients
immigrants attracted to a domestic labour market.

Looking at this diverse list, the competencies necessary to fulfil these roles will vary significantly. In particular, the enlargement of the European Union has brought an influx of employees to the domestic market who have been educated and trained in different systems so there is a very real and immediate challenge facing organisations to understand the vocational education and qualification structures of other countries.

Research has identified sets of competencies which many organisations use in the recruitment and selection of international employees. Typcially, these include aspects such as adaptability, flexibility, conflict resolution skills, questioning and listening skills, cross cultural awareness, communicative ability, influencing skills, emotional maturity, self motivation and resilience.

Overall, there are two competing resourcing philosophies:

The traditional psychometric approach whereby individuals’ predicted suitability for assignment is determined by assessment against competencies identified by the organisation as important to effective international management.
A clinical risk-assessment approach which investigates the individual psychological transitions and adaptations managers will have to undergo and assesses if that person has a suitable psychological profile to cope with these changes.

There is a growing focus on the idea of global leadership and international mindset which is a broader concept relating to the type of person who will be successful in an international environment. This places high value on sharing information, knowledge and experience across national, functional and business boundaries and on balancing the country, business, and functional priorities that emerge as organisations globalise.

See our related factsheets on Recruitment and Managing international assignments.

International migration and the impact on recruitment

Recently, there has been a rapid expansion of international mobility and migration, often to fill skills shortages in the domestic market. In terms of demand, employers often feel that migrant workers can provide the necessary skills as well as high levels of dependability and commitment. In addition to filling gaps in low skilled roles, numbers of applicants to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme introduced in 2002 have risen. Our factsheet on employing overseas workers has more information on various aspects of recruiting of foreign nationals. CIPD members can see more information on immigration in our factsheet on immigration law changes.

The government sees migration as necessary in supporting sustainable economic growth and addressing skill shortages and has embarked on a process of ‘managed migration’ which has involved legislative changes.

If HR practitioners are thinking of using workers from overseas as part of their organisation’s resourcing strategy, there are a number of factors to consider:

Is this a longer-term strategy or a short term solution requiring different approaches?
What are the ethical and brand issues associated with an overseas recruitment campaign?
How do you identify a source of expertise to establish a process to assess the technical competence of migrant workers?
How do you assess and improve the readiness of the receiving unit to cope with the diversity issues associated with a multicultural workforce?

International talent management

Identifying, recruiting, deploying and developing talent globally is a key role of the HR practitioner working in a global environment. Organisations identify talent management as a key element in a successful people strategy. It improves employee engagement and commitment, encourages high performance and improves retention rates. Global talent management strategies include advanced development for key roles and high potentials, whilst putting in place learning interventions for employees at all levels to develop an international mindset.

The HR function can expect to consider the following issues when looking at international talent management:

Managing the talent pipeline – employers are trying to recruit ‘ahead of the curve’ to engage individuals with particular skills and aptitudes, bearing future business needs in mind.
Developing relationships with universities and business schools to secure future talent from a known resource.
Using global IT systems to create databases of internal talent pools.
Creating skilled and competent teams of recruiters in different geographies.
Managing recruitment suppliers on a global basis, introducing speed, cost and quality controls, the use of preferred partners, branding messages and ensuring audit trails to protect against legal issues associated with global diversity.
Using e-enabled job boards and websites to convey messages about the employer brand worldwide.

Local selection and assessment issues

Local recruitment is often used because the local market is better known by local managers, it conveys more acceptable messages to the local community and workforce and it reduces the costs of running campaigns from the HQ. When business requirements indicate that local recruitment is appropriate, HR business partners need a thorough knowledge of business, legal, fiscal and cultural practices regarding employment in that particular country. As far as possible, it is vital to achieve both global business consistency and sensitivity to national custom and practice. To ensure consistency in recruiting for corporate values internationally, work needs to be done in adapting psychological and educational tests to different linguistic and cultural contexts. Some of the roles which a business partner can be expected to be involved in are:

Investigating local job centres and agencies, how they can be used and building local networks.
Working with search agencies, from large global agencies to specialised local firms.
Setting up the necessary legal entities and frameworks for employing people.
Understanding general frameworks of local employment law, although taking specialist legal advice is always recommended.
Investigating the local skill level for specialist skills and deciding whether local recruitment can be valid for all levels of jobs.
Building the local capability to match business needs.
Developing cross-national advertising strategies, taking into account local media. knowledge, sensitivity to cultural values, translation needs, different legislative structures, differing skills and competencies.
Assessing language competence where this is a requirement of the role.

Useful contacts

References

SPARROW, P.R (2006) International recruitment, selection and assessment. London: CIPD. Available at http://www.cipd.co.uk/bookstore

International recruitment, selection and assessment: an introduction