International human resources Issues

International HR Issues

          Most of us have heard the term 'human resources' (HR). And, most of us realize that human resources are the department that handles the needs of the employees. They recruit, they hire, and they train employees. They explain and administer benefits and help with conflict resolution. But what happens when the human resource department is no longer overseeing the needs of a small, local company? What happens when the HR department goes global? Do they have the same responsibilities? Do they face the same difficulties? In this blog we will explore the nature of the tasks and functions of global human resources management (HRM), such as recruiting and hiring. And we will explain some of the challenges they may face, like cultural differences and labour laws (Whiting, 2018)

     Armstrong defines international management as “the process of managing people across international boundaries by multinational companies. It involves the worldwide management of people, not just the management of expatriates” (Armstrong, 2009)

           Operating human resources across geographic and cultural boundaries can often prove difficult for small-business owners and managers. Nonetheless, with the widespread use of technology, the ability to communicate with anyone around the world and access to new and varied markets, international HR issues are important to grasp (Bradley, 2018).

Almost in every field of HRM, there is one or two problems occurs when domestic HRM goes globally. Some of them are as follow:

Training and Development:

The transfer of training techniques across cultures is fraught with difficulties for both trainers and trainee. Trainers working within multicultural setting need to be especially sensitive to their trainees' needs and socio-cultural learning backgrounds. Both trainers and participants in the workplace bring to training courses a baggage of past and present educational experience that impact their reaction to organizational learning approaches.

Recruitment and selection:

Due to globalization many organizations begin with the simple but difficult situation of having multiple candidates for each international position instead of a single choice. International human resource professionals often report that it is difficult enough to identify one employee, who can perform the international job, will accept the assignment.

Career planning and management:

In these days of globalization, rapid change, mergers and acquisitions is very difficult to accomplish career planning and management. In fact, many excellent international assignment candidates are demanding to know what is next for them if they accept the international assignment. They want to ensure the company will value their international experience and, to the extent possible, help them with next steps in their career.

Compensation and benefits policies:

International assignment compensation and benefit policies vary widely across organizations. Many of them offer very lucrative packages; apparently making the assumption that financial incentive leads to superior international performance. The risk here is that this type of policy may attract those who see the financial reward as the single or most important motivation for the international assignment. The best practice is to seek candidates who see the financial reward as the single or most important motivation for the international assignment. The best practice is to seek candidates who balance financial motives with those of career development and international experience.

The above issues and a few more will be explained in the following weeks and will be provided with solutions.

References

Armstrong, M. (2009). ARMSTRONG’S HANDBOOK OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE. London: Kogan Page.

Bradley, J. (2018, 4 23). International HR Issues. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/international-hr-issues-61937.html

Whiting, B. (2018, 4 23). Global HRM: Functions & Challenges. Retrieved from Study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/global-hrm-functions-challenges.html