GODAVARI’S FOUNDATION

GODAVARI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH,

JALGAON

406 C- International Human Resource Management

SEMESTER IV

Dr. ANUBHUTI P. SHINDE

 Chapter 6
Expatriation and repatriation are not two separate processes, but rather the former is a beginning
and the latter is the closure of the same process.

Repatriation

Repatriation is a process of returning back from a international assignment to a home country

after completing the assignment or some other issues. The term may also refer to the process of
converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country.

The Importance of Repatriates

The employee of any organization who adjust well in a HCN in an international assignment and
performed effectively there would be highly imported.

The repatriate perspective, here are some of the reasons why repatriated employees are
important:

 There are a many successful international assignments which are very important to the
employee career as well as for the company’s growth. So many companies send expatriate to
other countries for doing business internationally.
 The employees who are send to abroad for international assignment are expatriates those
employees who learned many things that would be useful to those who will be sent to that same
country if some means could be identified as to how they might be mentors to future expatriate
employees.
 Expatriates can bring new and unusual approaches to cultural environment, information
gathering, analysis of data, and problem-solving as a result of having work cross-culturally in an
effective manner.
 Expatriates may have been more flexible, or less rigid, in changing circumstances. In that
different approaches have been tried in other contexts, they may be able to bring insights and
innovation to the planning process that may not have been considered previously.
 The repatriate who have performed at a high level in a HCN may bring a dimension of
confidence and competence that will enhance his or her value to the company as it competes in a
changing world market.
 Expatriates who are work outside the culture of the company and the country, the
repatriated employee may well have insights that can effect needed change. That perspective
ought to be valued and given a voice within the company.

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 2
 The repatriated employees would likely to bring motivated by some factors to encourage
them for the sharing of their experience.
 The effective international employees may well have gained insights in how to affect a
more coordinated group effort than encouraging individual achievement.

Repatriation Problems

 Adjusting to life back home:- This very difficult for employee adjust back in the parent
country after coming back for international assignment.
 No job waiting for returning expatriates:- There is job is wait for the employee so he has
to suffer from this dilemma.
 Lack opportunity to use skills learned abroad upon return
 Salary & benefits may decrease upon return
 Permanent position upon return constitutes a demotion
 Lost authority, autonomy in decision making
 Lost promotional opportunities (out of sight, out of mind)

Basic concepts and theoretical approach

Repatriation, also called cross-cultural re-entry, or reintegration, is defined as the “transition

from a foreign country back into the home country”. Repatriation is similar to expatriation
because every re-entry is a new start and requires adaptations. In particular, it is an active process
of readjusting the home country environment, the working conditions and the socio- cultural
patterns. It is considered being the final part of the process of a foreign assignment. Often re-
entry is related to several difficulties; concerning not only professional re- entry problems but
also socio- cultural problems. That means there have to be made a distinction between personal
and professional re- entry because both parts have their special difficulties. Personal re- entry
includes the readjustment to social environment, the contacts to friends and relatives. While
being abroad the expatriate himself has changed and has adopted the new culture. At home the
political and socio-cultural environment has changed too and the repatriate who has come back
has to familiarize with its home culture. For most of them “going home is a harder
move” because they did not expect any difficulties. Back at home they have to face the gap
between their idealised image of the home country and reality. Regarding the professional re-
integration it has to be mentioned that the global assignment often has just neutral effects on the
career instead of pushing the career. Sometimes even negative effects occur that expresses
oneself in the way that the repatriate does not get a working position according to his/ her
qualifications so that he/ she has to re-start at a lower level. Research have shown that “more
than two-thirds of returnees have suffered from the out of sight, out- of- mind syndrome. There is
no appropriate position available and the start just like a beginner because work habits,

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 3
procedures, norms have changed during their absence. Some repatriates stated that “I lost time”
which is a signal for a lack in the evaluation of foreign assignments and the unsatisfying
repatriation process. Reintegration can be summarised in four main parts: professional re-
orientation and adjustment to corporate changes, resumption of old relationships/ friendships,
redefining your own identity and social re- orientation.

Expatriation Includes Repatriation

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 4
Repatriation Process

1. Preparation: involves developing plans for the future and gathering in-formation about the
new position. The firm may provide a checklist of items to be considered before the returning
home (e.g., closure of bank accounts and settling bills) or a thorough preparation of employee
and family for the transfer home. However, there is little evidence in the literature that
preparation for repatriation is seen by the multinational to be as important as pre-departure
training; at best, there may be some inclusion of repatriation issues in the pre-departure training
provided to the expatriate.

2. Physical Relocation: refers to removing personal effects, breaking ties with colleagues and
friends, and traveling to the next posting, usually the home country. Most multinationals use
removal firms or relocation consultants to handle the physical relocation, both for the
movement out and the return home of the employee and family, and this may be formalized in
their HR policies. According to Forster, comprehensive and personalized relocation assistance
reduces the amount of un-certainty, stress, and disruption experienced by the repatriate and
family.

3. Transition: means settling into temporary accommodation where necessary, making

arrangements for housing and schooling, and carrying out other administrative tasks (e.g.
renewing driver’s license, applying for medical insurance, opening bank account). Some
companies hire relocation consultants to assist in this phase also.

4. Readjustment

 Coping with aspects as company changes , reverse culture shock and career demands

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 5
 Eg. Repatriate returning from country where power distance is large as Thailand may
experience stress on returning to small power distance countries like Denmark.

Challenges of Re-entry

Re-entry is the process of preparing and planning for youth who have been in out-of-home
placements to transition back to their home communities. Aftercare refers to the post-release
services, supervision, and supports that help youth reintegrate safely and successfully.

Many people face both work-related and personal repatriation challenges:

Work-related

 loss of visibility and isolation

 changes in the home workplace
 adjusting to the re-entry position
 others devaluing the international experience

Personal

 making assumptions of how quickly you will fit back in

 unrealistic expectations of life at home and how it has changed
 social readjustment as friend and family relationships have changed
 difficulty supporting family members experiencing reverse culture shock

Even more distressing is the fact that most companies do not sponsor repatriation programs to
help assignees and their families adjust to their move back home.

Returnees frequently experience reverse homesickness.

Practices for a Successful Repatriation Program.

Design a Repatriation Policy

A repatriation policy should detail the types of support provided and align with the benefits
offered in the existing international assignment policies. Additionally, it is important to ensure it
outlines high level processes and roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders involved. Well-
documented guidelines embedded in the existing assignment policies allows global mobility
leaders to engage with potential assignees about the level of support they can expect to receive as
their assignment draws to a close.

Set Assignments Up for Success

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 6
A successful repatriation starts with a successful assignment. Careful selection of potential
candidates, along with an assessment of the assignee and any accompanying family members’
adaptability will ensure the best chance for success. In order for a company and its employees to
gain the most value, integrating assignments and repatriation planning into employees’ overall
career planning is also key. To track progress and clearly measure success along the way, it is
advisable to set clear assignment objectives.

Establishing a home country and a host country mentor for each employee is also a good
practice. With host country mentors, employees will have a formal partner to help them adapt to
the new location and navigate local cultural and organizational nuances. Home country mentors
can help employees maintain a connection to the home country. This will keep assignees abreast
of important organizational changes, pave the way for post assignment networking and help
smooth reintegration.

Don’t Wait Till the End

On Assignment

Setting up opportunities for assignees to network during home country visits is another integral
part of preparing for successful repatriations. Preserving relationships with colleagues, former
managers and senior leadership allows assignees to stay visible and top of mind for hiring
managers and job opportunities as their assignments come to an end.

At the Time of Repatriation

Offer Support

Adequate support during repatriation is an important step in the overall assignment lifecycle.
Companies should consider offering repatriation support beyond miscellaneous allowances and
moving household goods back to the home country. Offering services such as outplacement
assistance to help spouse/partners locate work and educational consultancy for families changing
school systems will help families make the transition home smoother. Furthermore, home finding
support and temporary accommodations will assure the logistical aspects of the move home are
easier.

Reintegration training is also an element of effective repatriation programs. This training can
mitigate the challenges of repatriation by proactively planning a successful reintegration both
personally and professionally, as the assignee and their family transition home. They will learn
how to leverage their newly acquired skills, international experience, networks and insights.

Create Integration Opportunities

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 7
Companies should also consider creating specific opportunities for assignees to integrate the
skills and experiences garnered on assignment with their colleagues. Some examples of
programs that will achieve these goals include:

Leading informational sessions for colleagues

Joining global cross functional initiatives that will leverage their global leadership experience

Speaking to high potential employees about the advantages of gaining global leadership skills
and leveraging developmental assignments

Engaging returning assignees to participate in a formal mentor program for future assignees

Repatriation Program

Black, et al, (1999) stress the importance of having a well-defined repatriation

program in order to accomplish successful repatriation and to conquer the
problems companies and employees face. However, Dowling, et al (1999)
present a study by Harvey that state that only 31 percent of U.S companies
have a program for repatriation. The three most frequent mentioned reasons for
not having a program was a lack of knowledge about how to develop a
program, the costs of training repatriates, and no perceived need by top
management of having a program. Jassawalla, et al (2004), have developed a
theoretical model of how an effective repatriation program can look like. This
model identifies the key action steps taken prior to departure, during the

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 8
assignment, and after the repatriate’s return that appear to determine the
organizational and individual outcomes. However, the outcomes of these
actions will not be discussed as mentioned in the delimitations in chapter one.
As previously mentioned, companies and expatriates face different problems in
the repatriation process. These problems affect the stages in the repatriation
program developed by Jassawalla et al, (2004) differently. Therefore some
problems are mentioned in several stages in order to justify different actions
that can be taken in order to conquer the problems that either the company or
the expatriate/repatriate face.

Prior to departure During their stay After they return Outcomes

For the firms:
Perception of Quality of Improved
Task clarity support while on interaction with retention, return on
assignment sponsors investment in human
capital
For the employee:
Lower uncertainty and
Nature and Perceptions of
anxiety, greater
Career counseling frequency of support upon
satisfaction,
communication return
greater feeling of
belonging

406C International Human Resource Management

Dr. Anubhuti Shinde
Godavari Institute of Management & Research, Jalgaon Page 9