Resource Management is the administrative procedure aimed at promoting the efficient performance of personnel in an international company. Its objective is to create and maintain a harmonious and positive work environment for workers from different countries.
The main objectives of resource management are:
- Generate, maintain and develop a group of workers with sufficient skills, motivation and satisfaction to achieve the objectives of the company.
- Establish and maintain organizational conditions that allow the application, development and full satisfaction of workers and the achievement of individual objectives.
- Achieve efficiency and effectiveness with the existing human resources in the company.
All these objectives are more difficult to achieve when a company is international, because it is necessary to take into account the cultural and social differences and the different ways of working that exist between workers from different countries.
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Importance Of Resource Management
Those responsible for resource management have an important role in the internationalization of the company, and will have to face various factors, both external and internal.
External factors:
- Performance in a different environment and culture.
- Different business models and according to the other countries.
- Other languages different from the country of origin.
- Different legal aspects.
- Different motivations.
Internal factors:
- Decision-making on the hiring of own workers or of the country where the branch is located .
- Training of workers from different cultures.
- Salary differences between different countries.
As head of human resources you must be prepared and qualified to face these difficulties and overcome them successfully. Therefore, the internationalization of the company would not be possible without proper management of human resources at the international level.
Functions Of Resource Management
Because we take into account the complexity of the decisions that you must make and the actions that you must take, here is a guide that will help you with the necessary functions to manage the human resources of your company internationally.
Personnel selection process
You will have to identify candidates for both national and international positions, so it is important that you know the culture of the workers’ destination country. When deciding on a candidate you must take into account their ability to adapt to the culture of the host country and also to the values of the company. Don’t overlook their level of emotional maturity, their skills, and their professional knowledge.
Training of workers
You must consider that in addition to providing technical training so that you know how to perform your functions in a job in another country, it is also necessary that you inform them about the culture, customs and habits of the receiving country to facilitate as much as possible that your adaptation is quick.
Professional development
It is convenient that you only send to work to another country those employees who you know will make this experience enhance their professional development.
Salary policies
In resource management, you should avoid making comparisons of salaries between national and international workers. To do this, it develops a fair policy for everyone, taking into account aspects such as the country’s average salary, compensation for expatriates, etc.
Employee expatriation
A dilemma that you will face as a human resources manager is whether you are going to send your own workers out or you are going to select local workers , and this is where expatriation comes into play. A few years ago, expatriation was something unwanted and was not valued well, but today, with a globalized world, this perspective has changed and expatriation is considered a magnificent job opportunity.
The advantage that expatriation provides is the experience that is acquired working in another country and this is something highly valued by companies today. It is important:
- Offer the expatriate worker a good financial or professional incentive for agreeing to go to work abroad.
- Explain clearly what your job title and functions will be.
- Get involved in helping the expatriate’s relatives to facilitate their adaptation.
The use of expatriates in resource management has the following advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
- Cultural synchronization with the parent company.
- Tighter control and better coordination.
- Executives with international experience.
- You may not find a qualification available in your destination country to get all the value that expats offer.
Disadvantages:
- Possible problems of adaptation to foreign culture.
- Possible high salary costs, transfer costs, etc.
- Possible personal and family problems.
- Negative effect on the motivation of national managers.
- Recruitment may be subject to local government restrictions.
