Managing Expatriate and Returning Staff
Helping managers of expats or returning expats build strong and productive relationships
Why this Program?
Just as the greatest challenge for an expatriate or returning staff member is to assimilate and make sense of their new surrounds, the challenge for their manager can be equally daunting.
It can be challenging enough to onboard an employee from your own country, let alone someone who is culturally different, perhaps struggling with a language barrier as well as dealing with the stress of relocation – all whilst trying to get to work! Often the manager of the expat hasn’t worked abroad themselves and in many of those cases hasn’t travelled overseas either, making the job even more complex.
For the manager of a staff member returning from expatriation, understanding the challenges of reverse culture shock, and knowing how to enable knowledge transfer and integrate the new skillset of the expat can be difficult, and when not managed well is often a contributor to expat turnover within 12-18 months of returning.
Just knowing how to help an expat or returning employee ‘fit’ in the team and get on task quickly so they can do what they were sent to do is in many ways just not that simple.
The aim of this program is to equip the manager of the expat or returning staff member with a set of tools and perhaps a different way of thinking about how they engage their new employee, with topics including:
•Making sense of cultural differences, culture shock and reverse culture shock and how to work and support these factors as a leader
•How to integrate the new expat or returning employee into the team
•Leveraging the benefits of having an expat in the team
•Working through challenges unique to the situation
•Tools and approaches for building effective relationships despite the cultural differences
It can be challenging enough to onboard an employee from your own country, let alone someone who is culturally different, perhaps struggling with a language barrier as well as dealing with the stress of relocation – all whilst trying to get to work! Often the manager of the expat hasn’t worked abroad themselves and in many of those cases hasn’t travelled overseas either, making the job even more complex.
For the manager of a staff member returning from expatriation, understanding the challenges of reverse culture shock, and knowing how to enable knowledge transfer and integrate the new skillset of the expat can be difficult, and when not managed well is often a contributor to expat turnover within 12-18 months of returning.
Just knowing how to help an expat or returning employee ‘fit’ in the team and get on task quickly so they can do what they were sent to do is in many ways just not that simple.
The aim of this program is to equip the manager of the expat or returning staff member with a set of tools and perhaps a different way of thinking about how they engage their new employee, with topics including:
•Making sense of cultural differences, culture shock and reverse culture shock and how to work and support these factors as a leader
•How to integrate the new expat or returning employee into the team
•Leveraging the benefits of having an expat in the team
•Working through challenges unique to the situation
•Tools and approaches for building effective relationships despite the cultural differences
Delivery Options
This program can be delivered in the following formats (either individually or in combination):
Individual Coaching
•A perfect way to prepare the manger before the expat lands or the employee returns to the home team
•Ideal for working through specific challenges and providing higher level support for the manager over a longer period
Webinar
•Delivered over 3 x 2 hour sessions for a small group of managers of expats, returning staff or a combination of both. Covers the topics mentioned above, and allows for application of approaches in between sessions, as well as sharing and working through challenges within the group.
Face to Face
•A comprehensive workshop delivered over 8 hours, with an individual follow up session via phone or skype. Again explores the topics above, however in a workshop environment where the issues can be explored in more detail.
Individual Coaching
•A perfect way to prepare the manger before the expat lands or the employee returns to the home team
•Ideal for working through specific challenges and providing higher level support for the manager over a longer period
Webinar
•Delivered over 3 x 2 hour sessions for a small group of managers of expats, returning staff or a combination of both. Covers the topics mentioned above, and allows for application of approaches in between sessions, as well as sharing and working through challenges within the group.
Face to Face
•A comprehensive workshop delivered over 8 hours, with an individual follow up session via phone or skype. Again explores the topics above, however in a workshop environment where the issues can be explored in more detail.