We live in a global economy, so it makes sense for organizations to decide to grow into other parts of the world. However, there are cultural barriers with global expansion that HR is invariably left to handle. When expansion happens rapidly, you have additional challenges to meet and conquer. Here’s how:
Learning the Language
When you open an office in a new part of the world, should you send a long-term employee from another office, or should you hire from the outside? Your decision here can have long-term implications not only in the new office but also on the health of the organization as a whole. Remember that culture plays a huge role in the success of any business, and you can’t simply transfer the culture from your home office to a new country.
If you decide to transfer a current employee to the new post, they’ll need some cultural training. While many global organizations operate in English at least at the leadership level, someone that can understand the local language will be a huge boon.
To keep reading, click here: Global Expansion: Knocking Down Cultural Barriers
I worked for a Portuguese company in NYC, that was here for 30+ years. They didn’t adapt to our culture – which worked in the beginning when they had no competition. Every few years, they moved to smaller office space until they finally ceased operations altogether.
Great article, Suzanne! Will bookmark in my Expat folder, LOL. I’d love to work abroad, but I haven’t found a way to do that yet. You never know, though. These are definitely things to consider.