As business becomes increasingly global, many companies turn toward relocating their own employees to new foreign offices rather than try to hire local workers. This could be for a variety of reasons, but the practice comes with both benefits and trade-offs.
In an article from Human Resources IQ, Martin Laird relied on his own experience to discuss both the pros and cons of utilizing expatriates to facilitate international growth. Some of the highlights:
Local workers simply are not familiar with your existing corporate culture and ways of work. The growing pains of a local worker learning the ropes can be mitigated with an expat employee from home.
A limited local talent pool, particularly in your industry, can make local hiring as expensive as relocating an employee. If the pool is shallow, good workers are naturally more expensive.
Tags: business growth • Enterprise & Education • expats • global business • international business • language for business