THE HUMAN COST OF COMMUTING

Key takeaways from the Global HR Think Tank

In today’s demanding global market, organizations go to great lengths to ensure their compliance with a variety of laws, regulations, and ethical standards. But since all three of these vary from country to country, have you ever considered the value of intercultural dexterity on an employee’s ability to ‘be’ compliant in countries other than the ones they were raised in? Or an organization’s ability to truly understand the reasons behind negative outcomes when something has gone wrong? Miscommunication and misunderstandings during intercultural exchanges can be costly, resulting in lost sales and business opportunities, hefty fines, sanctions, or being banned from doing business in critical markets altogether. Conversely, being culturally compliant saves businesses time, money, valuable resources and, in extreme cases, even lives. Developing cultural agility — the ability to understand different cultural perspectives and adapt one’s behavior to various scenarios to navigate smoothly across diverse cultural landscapes — is often overlooked, but it’s as crucial to being compliant as knowing and understanding each country’s rules and regulations themselves. Incorporating cultural agility into compliance training and readiness — what we call “cultural compliance” — has therefore become mandatory when it comes to the success and sustainability of global organizations, worldwide. In this topic paper, we discuss why cultural compliance, which addresses training in cultural agility, should be a mandatory component of every organization’s compliance plan. Thanks to technology and a wealth of experience, NetExpat is able to provide this training easily, on a variety of platforms, with as little commitment as half a day for expats and an hour for global business travelers/employees who interface with individuals from cultures other than their own. Why should cultural compliance matter to organizations?

Shelley Crofts Head of Global and Domestic Mobility Services BAE Systems is interviewed by Des McKell SVP Advisory & Global Partnerships NetExpat

The Great Resignation was both a symptom - and evidence - of the world’s changing views on the way we live and work. And the evolution isn’t limited to Millennials; while employees of every age are seeking deeper meaning in their lives and a greater work-life balance, organizations are wondering how to position themselves for growth, while adapting to rapidly changing global trends and technological advancement. What does it all mean for companies that want to be successful now and scale for the future? They’ll need to change and clarify their definition of mobility, making it a strategic partner in their overall talent management programs and business goals. 4 Ways Mobility is Changing In a recent Global HR Think Tank webinar, NetExpat spoke with International Experiences Director, Louise Brailsford and Mark Nieuwendijk, Global Mobility Director of Danone, to discuss workforce management, ways mobility be a strategic partner to businesses, and why it’s important to consider mobility an investment, rather than a budget line item. Key takeaways included:

Roberto Vale, a seasoned executive from Fortaleza, Brazil, brings over two decades of management consulting experience, having worked extensively with Fortune 100 companies globally. Having worked in the US, Hong Kong, and Singapore, where he lives with his family since 2010, Roberto was recently appointed as NetExpat's VP of Global Advisory Services, APAC. He focuses on identifying unique mobility experiences in the region, showcasing solutions to enhance employee experiences, support families, and foster business growth. Roberto’s dedication to enhancing organizational effectiveness through innovative solutions is underscored by his diverse portfolio of successfully completed ventures.

The global mobility landscape will continue to present companies with challenges in 2024, from talent shortages to expectations that HR and mobility teams will need to do more with far less. How can organizations overcome these hurdles and navigate the new year successfully? By having candid discussions about this year’s top trends, making strategic choices about budget allocation, and leveraging the expertise of their mobility teams and mobility partners, companies can make strategic choices that lead to successful outcomes. The Top 4 Mobility Trends to be Prepared For in 2024 In a recent Global HR Think Tank webinar, NetExpat spoke with Principal Olivier Meier of Mercer and Head of Global Mobility, Zeliha Cigel Watson of Hitachi Energy to identify the top four challenges that companies should be prepared for this year:

Katja has been in her current role as Director of Global Client Services at NetExpat since 2015. This is her second journey with NetExpat as she previously worked for the company in 2004. Her initial connection with NetExpat dates back to her early career when she served as a consultant in Brussels. Katja currently oversees a diverse set of responsibilities such as managing global teams, case authorizations, conducting weekly calls, and leading projects related to Partner Support tools. Katja is fluent in Finnish, French, English, with her native language being Finnish.

In the last few years, many global teams were faced with technological and psychological challenges. The associated stress, among other things, partially led to the new phenomenon of ‘quiet quitting’. Quiet quitting is about staying on a payroll but not being emotionally or intellectually engaged, feeling demotivated and doing the bare minimum. According to Gallup (2022) 1 , ‘quiet quitters’ make up at least 50% of the US workforce. Quiet quitting can lead to a gradually decreasing self-confidence and a sense of purpose amongst employees, it has a negative impact on customer service, and has been estimated to cost an organization up to 34% of the employee’s salary (PM Insight, 2022) 2 . Among these challenges one thing remains constant – the need for cultural agility. Developing cultural agility will require a particular focus on cultural well-being, empathy and curiosity. Cultural well-being is the ability to work effectively across boundaries while feeling grounded in your awareness and approach. It includes our sense of connection, belonging, and engagement. This is the exact opposite of quiet quitting. Cultural empathy is the ability to identify with the feelings, thoughts and behavior of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Attitudes towards workplace engagement and motivation differ across cultures. Leaders who understand this, will be able to adequately support their employees. Cultural curiosity is the ability to stay open-minded and non-judgmental when dealing with ‘quite quitting’. It enables you to ask the right questions and assume the role of a coach who motivates and leads an international team towards growth. As your move forward with bold plans for the year, let’s keep cultural agility at the forefront of your mind. It may just be the key to your greater success.

Why is Intercultural Training important? Intercultural skills have been identified by researchers 1 as a key competency for global organizations. Investing in intercultural training not only reduces the risk of a disastrous or brown out international assignment, but it also helps you to transform your managers into global leaders. Increasingly, more organizations choose to think strategically and recognize the business value of intercultural skills and cultural agility. These skills are the key enabling factor for working in global, diverse, and inclusive organizations. In addition, the experience of Covid-19 has revealed that organizations can quickly adapt to working virtually, but developing deeper relationships and trust, in the virtual environment, and across cultures are more challenging and not intuitive. What’s the Return on Investment? The return on investment (ROI) of your intercultural skills training couldn't be clearer. Developing the cultural agility of your employees drives greater productivity, improves team performance and leadership success, and provides a competitive advantage. These benefits have been backed up by numerous research and are related not only to your financial returns. You invest in your people and gain culturally intelligent global leaders with enhanced personal judgement, adaptability, better decision-making and problem-solving skills, cross-cultural trust-building and negotiation abilities, and leadership effectiveness. Moreover, intercultural training can prevent ‘cultural quiet quitting’ – a phenomenon where employees experience cross-cultural clashes, lose a sense of belonging and emotionally or intellectually engaged from their work, while still staying on a payroll. This has been estimated to cost an organization up to 34% of the employee’s salary 2 . The risk of not investing in intercultural training is greater than the cost of it · Loss of valued talent costs up to 200% of annual salary to replace 3 · Lack of skills and poor communication – top reasons for project failure 4 · Culturally unaware teams underperform others by up to 40% 5 Almost every expat and person working across cultures has a story about an everyday interaction or experience that unexpectedly “went wrong”. And yet, there are those who believe that intercultural skills and knowledge are common sense, that you should be able to walk into a situation, observe the behaviors of those around you, and adapt accordingly. It isn’t that simple and here are the reasons why: 1. Language is an imperfect tool for communication In the words of a writer, George Bernard Show, “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”. When communicating across cultures, our messages go through a number of cultural filters, we cannot guarantee that a listener interprets our message in the way we intended them to. That's why miscommunication happens, and it can have dangerous consequences. 2. Deep culture is invisible Culture is not obvious, so it's easy to dismiss it as an important player in international collaborations. A cultural anthropologist, Edward T. Hall, famously said that “culture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough, what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.” Intercultural skills training enables the participants to learn about themselves, the values, norms, and triggers behind their own behaviors. It also enables them to understand and empathize with the people they work with. 3. Experience isn’t an insight People associate having intercultural experiences with understanding them. It is not the same thing. To put it another way, mere interaction with people from another culture does not necessarily lead to realizing the “why” behind their actions and reaction. Training helps employees adapt their communication style or adjust a strategy for a better outcome. That's a high-level skillset, and that skillset is the goal of intercultural training. According to interculturalist Craig Storti, “Intercultural experiences are opportunities to gain insight, but they should not be confused with insight”. Think about it – your business trip to another country may give you a better awareness of that country and culture on the surface but it will not help you build deep trust. This takes time and it takes cultural intelligence and agility to do it well. 4. People are not all the same Many believe that on the surface people may be different but that underneath human beings are all the same. This belief loses value when people realize that surface behaviors reflect deep values and beliefs. It is true, of course, that people from different cultures are different and similar —because of cultural behaviors. Intercultural training offers people the chance to be professionally curious so that they don’t underestimate the impact of culture on working together and effective collaborations. 5. Intercultural skills training is not about do’s and don’ts Some employees just want lists of cultural do’s and don’ts. It’s understandable, as people are nervous and don’t want to make mistakes. They think, mistakenly, that if they know what to do and what not to do in most common settings, they will get along. While there are some do’s and don’ts related to safety, there is a huge limitation of this approach to culture. Do’s and don’ts are a kind of generalization. A do in one context and can be don’t in another. Intercultural training enables a greater level of awareness and practical skills that can be applied to the participants contexts. 6. Much more than “just common sense” If you feel that the content of intercultural training is “just common sense”, we encourage you to think again. If intercultural skills and knowledge were common sense, then we would not hear about so many cultural mistakes, from numerous organizations. Think of all the stories you have read and heard about how good intentions offend people without meaning to or even knowing it. 7. It’s not just about the employee One of the top reasons that employees return home early from an assignment abroad is that their family can’t adjust to the host country. Some research even suggests that over 60% of early returns are due to lack of family adjustment. That’s why at NetExpat we fully customized programs designed to support the partners and spouses of mobile employees with their career and integration needs. The best time to gain cultural agility is now Cultural intelligence is an important predictor of an organization’s success 5 . The stars of the next decade will be defined by those who are able to attract, retain, and deploy their key talent globally in an environment where adaptability and change to a new normal remain constant. As your managers learn intercultural skills, they develop more efficient practices, they communicate better, they grow your business. This is how you become a culturally agile organization. Gaining cultural agility is not as complicated as one may think. Firstly, the learning solution needs to be affordable and aligned with your business goals. At NetExpat we do this by conducting an exploratory call with you. Secondly, the learning content needs to be adapted to your employee’s needs – we do this by utilizing needs assessment questionnaires. Thirdly, the employees need to be willing and open to learn – which is guaranteed with our blended methodology of high-tech and high-touch, as well as a range of innovative tools and resources that make the learning journey insightful and engaging.