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The Trouble With Americans Abroad

Posted by Rusty Weston on Monday, December 28th, 2009

Foreign assignments often seem exotic and enticing, especially to workers who have studied the local language and customs. But despite everyone’s good intentions these critical career moves often fizzle out, resulting in an expensive setback for the employer and a career-hiccup or worse for the employee.

One problem is the vast majority of overseas assignment candidates start with little more background than a travel guide and a passport. A lack of preparation isn’t considered by management sufficient cause to delay an assignment. Karen Beaman, founder and managing partner of the Jeitosa Group cites stats that “Between 16 and 40 percent of American international workers fail to complete their assignments.” And she asserts that, “Of those Americans who do complete their international assignments, 30 to 50 percent are considered ineffective or marginally effective by their companies.” Is it possible that Americans need extra help and guidance in global situations?

“Absolutely, they do,” says Beaman. Americans often lack international experience, she says, “it’s not an aptitude thing.”

And yet, identifying who is ready and who is not isn’t always obvious. “Some people I thought would be successful weren’t,” she concedes. “People could have all of the skills in the world but if they were rigid in their way of doing things – nothing would happen.”

Why do so many foreign assignments fail? According to Jeitosa, problems creep up, such as these:

Unable to adapt to new physical or cultural surroundings
Spouse unable to adjust to new physical or cultural surroundings
Family problems
Narrow or parochial perspective
Emotional immaturity
Lack of people skills
Unable to cope with foreign responsibilities
Lack of clear goals/objectives
Not technically/functionally competent
Lack of motivation for foreign assignment

It’s unlikely that a consultant can prevent or resolve some of those issues, but at least surfacing them in advance gives a foreign assignment candidate a fighting chance to prepare.

Beaman says three factors in particular are key to foreign assignment success, including:

Personality traits – it’s whether you’re flexible and accommodating or not.

Spousal (or family) pressure – If the spouse isn’t happy, that puts all kinds of pressure on the employee.

Job context -The nature of the job matters. People who sit in a corner and write code could be much more successful in a foreign assignment than other people who travel or face challenging social interactions.

Beaman contends that companies that send an ill-prepared employee on a foreign assignment risk hundreds of thousands of dollars and worse, “wasting the best talent – because the managers who are selected to go overseas are typically the best and the brightest.”

Let us know how you or your company avoid boosting the foreign assignment failure rate.