Free Essay

Global Talent

In: Business and Management

Submitted By deeptituteja
Words 1045
Pages 5
Global Talent

Maintaining or establishing a global presence is fundamentally about attracting, retaining, and supporting the right people. First, it’s not automatic that your top performers, the ones best suited for an overseas assignment, are interested in the upheaval and uncertainty that such a transition entails. Second, an expatriate living abroad may soon weary of the unexpected cultural and even social obstacles and seek a return ticket home. Not least are the economic and cost-of-living issues – for instance, an expat compensated in the host country’s currency may feel increasingly disillusioned with an unfavorable exchange rate.
There are also issues and considerations on the management side. W hile a recent study indicates that an overwhelming 95% of multinational companies surveyed are optimistic about the economy and plan to send more employees on overseas assignments, more than 58% expect to reduce the size of expat packages to help defray the overall cost. However, according to the 2007 Worldwide ERC New Hire Report, more than 90% of the companies surveyed reported having difficulty in recruiting the right people. And while exact figures are not widely available, it’s estimated that there are from 3 to 10 million expats on short and long term assignments around the globe.
Relocation, from both the employer and employee perspective, automatically becomes more complex when it comes to global assignments. For employees, accepting an expatriate assignment means adapting to cultural, social, and business differences in the new host country. In many cases, it also means the relocation of family members and their adjustment. However, the underlying deciding factor for many employees facing relocation is, “Is it worth it?” Once that decision is made, the next question is, “What is it worth?” A critical challenge for the employer is the ability to design and offer a compensation and benefits package that will entice an employee to accept an expatriate assignment and, in short, make the relocation worthwhile for both employee and employer.
This leaves HR in a somewhat precarious situation. While tasked with recruiting and retaining top talent for expat assignments, they must also meet the expectations of management to hold down costs. Recent statistics indicate that the cost of posting a manager in another country is estimated to be about three times that individual’s stay-at-home pay and benefits. In terms of both recruitment and retention, compensation has always been a key factor, either as an impediment or an incentive, for expats to accept and retain assignments abroad.
For these reasons, HR is compelled to look toward areas outside of direct expatriate compensation to help reduce costs related to expat assignments. In fact, many of these costs are " hidden" or simply not tracked, until they add up and impact the bottom line. In fact, a ccording to a recent Global Assignment Policies and Practices survey from KPMG, only 14% of companies reported that their expat employee programs are designed to control costs and ensure an appropriate return on investment.
The good news is that the same solutions that help manage and administer global compensation are also ideally suited to automate a range of processes that can help HR get a handle on other expenses associated with expat assignments.
Recruiting and managing an expat workforce brings two conflicting needs into play: the employee’s compensation and HR’s mandate to keep expat expenses to an acceptable level. Recruiting and retaining talented employees to accept overseas assignments presents a challenge for HR on a variety of fronts, compensation being among the foremost. Indeed, compensation can easily override other the factors, such as cultural, social, and business differences, that may contribute to an employee’s dissatisfaction with an expat assignment. However, retention is key since a great deal of effort and resources – from training to relocation to compensation – are expended during the life of an assignment. The true global competitive advantage is having the right people in the right jobs in the right location.

Areas for Cost Control
A global compensation solution can provide HR with a means to collect data and compile reports to monitor a number of areas to ensure that the company is not incurring added expenses or overlooking costs that can be recouped.
● Tax equalization. When an employee goes on international assignment, employers often choose to assume liability for foreign taxes, which puts the assignee in a neutral position during the assignment. This ensures that he or she neither suffers financial hardship nor collects a windfall as a result of varying tax structures in different countries. Employers typically pay taxes in the home and host location and deduct a hypothetical tax from the employee’s pay. The hypothetical tax is an estimate of the taxes the employee would have paid if he or she had continued working in the home country. On an annual basis, HR should work closely with Payroll and other departments to monitor and reconcile these tax payments to identify instances where employees may have been overpaid or underpaid in terms of tax equalization.
● Deposits for expenses. Some international locations require significant upfront deposits on housing and rental cars. HR can use an automated solution to track and manage these deposits and initiate a collections process after an assignment ends rather than risk writing these funds off as a loss.
● Assignment budgets. Using a technology solution to manage budgeted versus actual expenses of an assignment can help identify areas where costs are too high or which assignment locations cost the company the most. In turn, this information can help HR determine how to reduce expat packages on an individual or geographic basis. In addition, ongoing monitoring and tracking can serve as an advanced "warning" system to indicate when the dollar amount that was initially set aside for the assignment is being approached.
● Fees paid to vendors. HR can track payments to vendors for “used and unused” services related to relocation, as well as for services provided throughout the term of an assignment. These services include everything from transportation and moving costs to programs to help the expat’s family adjust in the country of assignment (i.e., language services and employee assistance programs). In addition to helping better manage assignments, HR can create an aggregate report on fees paid and use this information to negotiate better pricing when renewing vendor contracts.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Global Talent Management at Novartis

...Global Talent Management at Novartis Individual Case Assignment There are two philosophies of leadership behind Novarits. First was to develop talent for leadership positions from within, which was one of the goals of any talent management system. It was easier to build a company culture when its employees come up through the ranks with shared values and experiences. Also, it was often less expensive to promote from within than to outbid an outside competitor for someone already holding a comparable position. Another element of Vasella’s philosophy was that the company needed to move talented individuals to their desired positions before they were solicited from the outside. Vasella recognized that in order to manage talent successfully, the company needed to pay people well, but he also knew that pay was not enough to motivate people. People work because they believe in the purpose of the company and they feel engaged in its success. From 2002 onward, the entire company adopted the two-dimension scale, with one dimension focusing on business objectives and the other focusing on values and behaviors consistent with Novartis norms. Each of these two performance dimensions had a three-point scale, with 1 indication poor performance dimensions, 2 indicating satisfactory performance, and 3 indicating superior performance. Employees saw their compensation closely connected to company performance and to their individual rating. In order to minimize the criticism of various aspects of...

Words: 1562 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Boundaryless Global Talent

...boundary less world to people mobility? Is there such reality of global talent? The world has become a smaller place to live in. The population has increased to 7 billion and advancements in technology have made information and business easier for the people of the world. The internet has revolutionized how the world has become. Knowledge can be found at the tip of your finger and the world has become more accessible. Mobility of the population has increased dramatically in the past several years. The migration of people has become a more common activity. Travel between countries and territories have become the common norm of today’s society. Because the world has become boundary less, people are becoming more aware of various possibilities and opportunities which may be provided to them from around the world. Until several years ago, many global companies were facing a major threat in conducting their business. There was a very high demand for talented employees and a very low supply of such employees. These companies also faced the challenge of needing to reduce the costs of operations by moving operations abroad, paying lower wages and finding competent employees to staff the facilities. Companies were required to aggressively retain their current employees and also develop the talents of these workers. We must be able to recognize that the search for the best talents is a race that takes place at the global level. Companies across the world are competing with one another...

Words: 1121 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Global Talent Management

...Global Talent Management Recent developments in management- and academic literature and application of the ING. Talent, from Greek talanton; Latin talenta; a unit of weight or money. Amsterdam Business School Course: Author: Date: Business Studies Seminar, Final Assignment (Paper) Bekir Gündelik #10481745 23-10-2013 1 Introduction The term “talent” dates back to the ancient world (from Greek talanton; Latin talenta) where it was used to denote a unit of weight or money (Talent, n.d.-a; Tansley, 2011). Subsequently, the meaning of talent underwent a considerable change, standing for an inclination, disposition, will, or desire by the 13th century (Talent, n.d.-a). In the 14th century, talent then adopted the meaning of a special natural ability or aptitude, which was probably based on figurative interpretations of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30) (Talent, n.d.-a). The subtext of this parable conveys that talents—whether they are interpreted as monetary units or natural abilities—are valuable and should not be wasted, and this moral still applies today. This paper set out to identify current developments in global talent management and leadership and the current position of ING Bank (ING) as an employer and facilitator of global talent management programs and leadership programs. The next generation of global talent management practices and solutions will largely be driven by economic evolution, demographic changes, and technology advancements. These factors...

Words: 3046 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Summary Global War for Talent

...SUMMARY GLOBAL WAR FOR TALENT Disusun Oleh: Yesa Ardiansyah Perdana (1306357762) MAGISTER MANAJEMEN FAKULTAS EKONOMI UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA 2014 Introduction Seiring perkembangan ekonomi global yang pesat dari tahun 2002-2007, pemimpin bisnis dan manajer sumber daya manusia mengkhawatirkan mengenai kompetisi internasional untuk talent yang semakin intens. Survei Global Tahunan PricewaterhouseCooper menunjukkan bahwa 89% CEO yang mengikuti survei menaruh ‘people agenda’ sebagai salah satu prioritas mereka. Saat ini, dengan krisis finansial global, perlambatan ekonomi, dan restrukturisasi massal, “talent” tetap menjadi agenda penting yang difokuskan pada achiever tertinggi. Survei yang baru-baru ini dilakukan oleh Hewitt (2008) menunjukkan bahwa meskipun perekonomian menurun; kebanyakan perusahaan masih berniat untuk fokus pada top talent, dengan hampir setengahnya berencana untuk menjaga atau meningkatkan biaya learning and development. The talent concept “War for talent” secara resmi diluncurkan pada tahun 1998 ketika McKinsey & Company mempublikasikan laporan yang menyatakan bahwa “talent yang lebih baik patut dipertarungkan”. Menurut McKinsey, talent adalah ... “keseluruhan kemampuan seseorang... kemampuan intrinsik, skill, pengetahuan, pengalaman, intelegensi, penilaian, sikap, karakter dan dorongan. Talent juga termasuk kemampuan untuk belajar dan berkembang”. Selain itu, bagi McKinsey talent juga mengacu pada “yang terbaik dan tercerdas”. Saat publikasinya...

Words: 958 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Global Talent Management at Novartis

...Global Talent Management at Novartis Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world that spans across 140 countries. Daniel Vasella, CEO, has transformed Novartis into a 100% healthcare company by ridding the company of its specialty chemicals business. By doing so, Novartis became the second largest producer of generic drugs. Vasella reconstructed the company’s approach towards global talent management since the previous approach lacked regular performance review, global objectives, and incentive based pays as a deterrent of motivation. Vasella implemented a universal performance management system and new culture, which is based on candor, performance, and accountability. The key issue involves contradictions with Novartis’s past culture and Vasella’s new culture. The new list of values and behaviors lacks cultural sensitivity and does not reflect the culture that has developed at Novartis. Vasella must implement a plan that includes values and behaviors that are adaptable and based on local cultures to minimize ethnocentrism. Through contingency management, this goal may be achieved because this concept uses management tools and techniques in a situational appropriate behavior, which will avoid the one-best-way mentality. Vasella’s new list of values and behaviors may include: be productive, be innovative, be proactive, be accountable, and be respectful. Top performing companies are more likely to have performance-based rewards, so Vasella should...

Words: 303 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Mcdonald's Case Study

...Assignment # 1: McDonald’s Case Study June N. Lewis Dr. Waldo, Instructor Talent Management - HRM 532 Strayer University July 21, 2013 Assignment #1: McDonald’s Case Study Outline the talent management program that led to success for the company. In the fourth quarter in 2002, McDonald’s had their first profit lost and the company began to ask themselves what went wrong because they had a history of outstanding performances until then. Upon reviewing some of their key components, the organization realized that they had to revamp their Talent Management process so that it would become aligned with the company’s business objectives and policies. Talent management is defined as “a subset of human resource (HR) processes, programs, and tools designed to identify, assess, develop, and retain talent (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p.75). The company’s first two steps in achieving success was to restructure their performance development system (PDS) throughout the organization for all of the staff positions along with coming up with a talent review process for all of the officer-level positions in the company. Next on the list was creating and implementing a sequence of enhanced development programs, such as, Leaders at McDonald’s Program (LAMP), the McDonald’s Leadership Institute, finally, the launching of the Global Leadership Development Program. When McDonald’s had originally rolled out their strategy for the performance development system (PDS) in 2001 for all of the staff...

Words: 1522 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Southern Company Case Study

...Course: Talent Management – HRM 532 Date: Sunday, February 26, 2012 Evaluate the effectiveness of the roles that the strategic leaders played in the formation of the performance management strategy. Silzer and Dowell (2010) define Talent Management as “ an integrated set of processes, programs, and cultural norms in an organization designed and implemented to attract, develop, deploy, and retain talent to achieve strategic objectives and meet future business needs” (p. 18). And lists the following as components necessary for a talent management program strategy: recruitment; selection; promotion; placement/assignment; on-boarding/assimilation; retention initiatives; rewards/recognition programs (other than compensation); training and professional development; coaching/mentoring; leadership development; performance management; career p Develop a five (5) point criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the talent management strategy and how the data could be collected. Silzer and Dowell (2010) go on to state that after determining the talent requirements that are strategically important to the organization, the next step is to consider whether there is a sufficient internal talent to meet that short and long term business needs of the company, this could involve either making or building the needed talent from within the company or buying from outside company (p. 97). Bersin, J. (2011) provides a table to identify competencies for leadership talent (p....

Words: 1021 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Talent Management

...with maximum efficiency. In the nonprofit sector, creating a competitive compensation and benefits strategy is important to attract talent, but developing a total rewards package may be more important. “Employees nowadays are looking at the whole package: ‘What’s my base salary, do I have incentives, what are my benefits, can I telecommute, can I have flex time, can I have a relaxed dress code and is it family-friendly?’” Glantz said. “[If] a not-for-profit can offer what’s considered an attractive total rewards package, [it’s] going to help that company.” The argument now is that these intangibles need to be measured and monitored, and subsequently tied to the bottom line. Re-defining the bottom to include intangibles such as leadership practices, organizational capabilities, and the ability to attract talented people is necessary. In addition, as organizations continue to automate business processes using technology, in order to remain competitive against others that are doing the same, they must now focus on their talent. Additionally, though talent can be cultivated and developed, it can also leave the organization, become sick, de-motivated, and perhaps influence others to behave in ways unfavorable for the organization. Worst of all, talent can deliver the “double-whammy” by moving to a direct competitor. The strategic management of talent as such a critical driver of corporate performance has become more and more important in the last few decades. Several key events have...

Words: 1725 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Whirlpool - Finance Talent Management

...professionals in 26 countries on every inhabited continent. The majority work in accounting, finance, and shared-service areas, but there’s also a significant finance talent presence in tax, treasury, audit, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and investor relations. There are also specialists in a variety of areas, including economic, enterprise risk management, real estate, information systems, and product innovation. The company’s general organizational design for finance is to locate talent as close as possible to business activities. Finance talent is found in Whirlpool factories, sales offices, R&D functions, and regional headquarters around the world. Finance directors and VPs often have dual reporting relationships—to their business units as well as the office of the CFO. Because Whirlpool has a significant global presence, a great number of its talent base must have higher-than-average skills in U.S. GAAP, currency management, and IFRS. Aside from a strong emphasis on leadership development and finance technical competence, skills in Six Sigma, innovation, and employee engagement are highly valued Vision: Transform the finance organization’s capabilities at Whirlpool to world class status Value drivers of this function: Interdependency of people, processes & systems Trigger: Lack of attractiveness of Finance Talent towards Whirlpool due to lack of development opportunities, training & succession planning, Group CFO Roy Templin had to take up the transformation project ...

Words: 1544 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Management

...The tipping point for talent management Human Capital Institute | www.humancapitalinstitute.orgNo Comments In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, an innovation or change can suddenly appear through small, almost incremental steps, none of which by itself is especially noteworthy. But the combination of these seemingly minor events can cause organizations to be shaken, countries to be impacted and people to break out of established behavioral patterns. What could not be accomplished in one grand wave of the baton is, in fact, being accomplished by different pieces of the puzzle coming together at just the right time. We are in the midst of such a sea change in the field of talent management. This new approach to managing companies and people has not yet become a clearly articulated science. There is still too much to understand and learn about the shifts occurring before us. But there is an emerging set of practices – especially as evidenced by industry-leading companies – that are moving talent management to its tipping point The changing business context The current economic environment sets the foundation for the reason that talent management practices have arisen in the first place. Bossidy and Charan (2004) have identified five different economic stages that have existed during the past century. Others have talked more generally about the movement from agrarian to industrial to the knowledge economy. Pink (2005) describes the next step as moving from the knowledge age to the conceptual...

Words: 1738 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Definition of Talent Management

...the growing popularity of talent management and over a decade of debate and hype, the concept of talent management remains unclear’ (Collings and Mellahi, 2009) This assignment will explore this statement by conducting a literature review of the current commentary on the definition of ‘talent management’. Furthermore the impact any lack of clarity around the concept of talent management may have on the national and international markets which organisations source ‘talent’ from and any impact of Human Resource Management practices in terms of employee retention and exit strategies being managed fairly and ethically will also be looked at. After careful analysis of the academic literature on talent management and what it actually is, it becomes apparent that there is a ‘fundamental lack of consensus’ about the definition of talent management. Despite various attempts of countless academics to define and describe the concept of talent management, there doesn’t seem to be any consensus on what exactly TM entails. Before looking at the concept of ‘talent management’ as a whole, one must look at the definition of ‘talent’ first to gain a better insight into this confusion and lack of clarity. Here are some examples of some definitions that have been put forward in recent years: * ‘Talent’ is essentially a euphemism for ‘people’ (Lewis and Heckman, 2006:141) * The best and the brightest (McKinsey in Beechler and Woodward, 2009:274) * ‘Talent consists of those individuals...

Words: 2863 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Whirlpool Corporation

...Whirlpool Corporation (Goldsmith) Strayer University HRM532/Talent Management Dr. Moore 12/5/2011 Discuss what factors emerged at Whirlpool that impacted its talent needs. As the company expanded its operations in the US and globally, the company’s leadership needs changed. Operating in a dynamic and diverse market added additional considerations for the company’s leadership talent pool because “the growth, size and scale of the business added a level of complexity that required different skill sets and capabilities to compete in the global marketplace” (Goldsmith and Carter, 2010). The business grew in the US and globally, technology and new product development required a talent pool that was not only technology proficient but capable of helping the companies meet the dynamic and diverse needs of the consumers they served. Also, Whirlpool was now competing for talent acquisition and product business in a global marketplace requiring the company to adjust talent and product marketing strategies that allowed them to continue to sustain product growth as well as attract talent. As a result the changing dynamics of the workforce made it necessary for Whirlpool to develop a talent strategy that accounted for the fact that the workforce was no longer the loyal workforce that was typical in years past. (Goldsmith and Carter, 2010). Discuss how expanding globally changed the talent requirements at Whirlpool. Whirlpool began developing the Whirlpool Leadership...

Words: 813 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Attracting and Retaining Talent in Corporate America

...Attracting and Retaining Talent in Corporate America GB 540: Macroeconomics Randy Worthy Graduate Student February 8, 2011 “….companies were increasingly dependent on the knowledge worker..the new worker who worked not primarily physically with his body doing physical labor, but with his mind…all workers were of significant actual and potential value to the firm…labor was not an expense; labor was added value, a resource, potentially the greatest resource that an organization possessed” William A. Cohen, Ph.D. One of the most difficult challenges that employers are currently facing is finding excellent and talented employees to work for their companies. For one, resume falsifications has become notoriously rampant in the employment world. Moreover, it is now hard to find people with integrity, people whom you can have absolute trust in. An equally difficult task is to keep the bad kinds of employees out of your company. You may be very cautious with your hiring process but you will still sometimes end up with employees that give you nothing but bouts of headaches which creates employee discontent and morale issues. To help you attract and retain good employees and repel bad ones, the organization should have in place the following characteristics: a. solid reputation; b. provide clear job objectives; c. present challenges and learning opportunities; d...

Words: 1163 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Macdonlds

...HEAD: McDonald’s CASE STUDY Mondrea Mathews Professor Germain HRM 532 Talent Management January 22, 2012 McDonald’s has been around for fifty-four years. By McDonald’s growth to more than thirty thousand restaurants in 118 countries serving fifty-five million customers per day. A number of factors led the organization to the conclusion that enhancements in its talent management and development system were need. (Goldsmith, 2010. p.156). McDonald’s framework for “Plan to Win” consists of the people, place, product, promotion, and price. McDonald first has to have the right people in place to make the business successful by obtaining a global/local approach in the management and developing of their global workforce. There are two levels that were embedded with the expectations of the employers which consist of good customer service and experience levels. This made McDonald’s to concentrate on the quality, service, cleanliness, and the value being strong. The talent management system program that led to the success of McDonald’s consist of the redesign of the performance development system for all staff positions throughout the company. This consists of the company starting annual performance plan to measure the performance of the objectives that the company has put in place. Second, the introduction of the talent review process for all officer-level positions the results of the one year follow up survey with...

Words: 1309 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Oil 15-06

...Leveraging Current Technology for Human Capital Talent Management WOILE 15-06, CW4 James Arnold Army senior leaders all agree that talent management is an integral piece to human capital distribution; however, the means and current business practices do not meet the current demands. The current manning conferences held at the Army Human Resources Command (AHRC) are highly technicial and provide a modicum of the true talent pool available for the officers identified to move based upon time, information resources, and the Mission Essential Requirements (MER) list provided by the field. The future of talent management distribution hinges upon the Army leveraging current technology for data mining which will enhance talent management distribution in a regionally aligned global force. Observation: Legacy Human Resources systems lack data elements specifically designed to highlight talent management coupled with the fact that the Officer Record Brief (ORB) does not always reflect an accurate picture. Discussion: The Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis (OEMA) conducted a pilot program call the “Green Pages” on talent management that included input from organizations on positions and officer input identifying skill sets. The pilot provided evidence that officers felt more in control of the assignment process and identified officers with more specialized skills that are not captured using current HR systems. Units had more input in whom they selected based upon certain...

Words: 773 - Pages: 4