HR & Training Strategies for a Newly Internationalizing Organisation

This essay examines the crucial role of Human Resources (HR) and training in the successful internationalization of a company. It begins by outlining various HR strategies and approaches, including ethnocentric, polycentric, geocentric, and regiocentric approaches, used to recruit and train employees for overseas operations, recommending the geocentric approach for its ability to leverage talent regardless of nationality. The essay then discusses the challenges employees often face when working abroad, such as language barriers, health issues, loneliness, cultural differences, and accommodation problems, and suggests solutions like language training, health allowances, family relocation assistance, cultural events, and suitable accommodation. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of HR and management in providing the necessary training and support to ensure employees are well-prepared and successful in their international assignments.

HR and Training for a
newly
internationalising
company
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Strategies and approaches a newly internationalizing organization......................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P2) Discuss what challenges of employees often face when working abroad............................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................9
Books and Journal.......................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Human resource is one of the important resources of the company that helps to make
their functions and operations possible (Alhejji and Garavan, 2017). For the success and growth
of the business it is important for the organisation that they provide training and development
program to the human resource so that they can cope up with all miss happenings. This essay
provide brief explanation of strategies and approaches that are needed when the organisation
work on overseas business. It also covers challenges face by employees when they work abroad
and HR practices that help them to make solutions.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
P1 Strategies and approaches a newly internationalizing organization
HR plays a vital role in the organisations' functions because they are the person who
makes the operations possible. They are the person who perform their duties and responsibilities
that helps to accomplish organisational goals and objectives (Bezkorovaina and et. al., 2019). It
is not easy to manage HR activities because they face many challenges when the organisation
wants to expand their business internationally. So it is very important for the organisation that
they should make their HR department flexible so that when company face any challenges then
they take an corrective action. There are number of strategies and approaches that used by
organisation to deal with challenges. Some of the approaches are mentioned below that helps to
train employees so that they can handle the situation of overseas business.
Ethnocentric approach. It is the approach that use by HR department of the organisation
to recruit employees in overseas branch of company. In ethnocentric approach the HR
department fill vacant position with the recruitment in parent countries. It can be done with
relocation of existing employees from parent country to another country (Casprini and et. al.,
2020). With the help of this approach they get experienced person or employees that exactly
know the behaviour and working conditions of the organisation. They can be hire new new
employees from parent country of organisation. It is very helpful when the organisation newly
shift their organisation to new country with the vision of expansion of their business. It is used
because appointed candidate know the culture and behaviour of organisation that helps top
operates their business with ease.

For example, Unilever wants to expand their business so that they open new stores in
USA. It is very difficult for the organisation that they operate their business at new place because
they face many problem that can be internal and external. It can be deal only by human resource
with their presence of mind. So that's why they choose ethnocentric approach so that employees
perform their work according to the need of organisation (Schlabach, 2016).
Polycentric approach. It is one of the effective approach in which organisation recruit
people who are local of their host country. In this approach, organisation needs experience
person of local area who know the market already that helps to understand the taste and
preferences of business. They hire local people who have knowledge of their culture because the
newly shift organisation doesn't know the behaviour and culture of market. There are many types
of external factors that effect the organisation, it can be only deal by the people already know the
markets' behaviour. In this context, there is one best example that shows the importance of
polycentric approach. The example is there are many countries such as Britain and Japan who
adopt this approach to manage their business of other offshore branch.
Geocentric approach. It is the most effective approach in which organisations recruit the
most suitable candidates that become the reason of organisation success. It becomes the most
effective because it doesn't focus on any nationalities. They can hire person from the host or
parent company. When the organisation actually wants to globalise their business they they
choose this type of strategy (Dikli, Rawls and Etheridge, 2020). Companies face many types of
challenges that needs wide range of knowledge and experienced person. So this approach
becomes the most appropriate approach who hires right candidate with any nationalities. Because
they have main focus on achievement of their goals and targets. They used both option that are
hiring local people and relocating their existing employees. For example, UK companies hires
many natives of different countries that helps to understand all types of behaviour and make
them best solution.
Regiocentric Approach. It refers to approach where the organisation hired and trained
managers from different countries but the region is same. Sometimes people are not ready to
transfer their region so they are hired for that region. When the organisation need region based
employees then they can go for this approach that helps to meet their targets and goals. It is the
appropriate for those organisation in which employees are not ready for relocate their home town
to other countries (Zhang, Yang and Zhang, 2018). But there is shortcoming of this approach,

that managers can not understand the organisations' viewpoint and may be not appropriate for
global business. This approach is not considered by all organisation because they have some
drawbacks that exploits the market.
From the above discussion it is analysed that, recruitment and training is done on the
basis of organisation's demand. In simple words when the organisation wants local people then
they go for polycentric approach because it shows that the market knowledge is known by local
people. Another situation is that when the organisation need their existing employees then they
adopt ethnocentric approach (Galina, Carvalho and Costa, 2016). Because this approach helps to
make available existing employees that have knowledge and experience of company that can
handle all internal issues. But after the brief explanation, it is analysed and recommended that
organisation should adopt geocentric approach that actually very helpful to handle all type of
problems. Problems can be external or internal for that it can be handle through geocentric
approach. It is helpful in dealing with all types of organisation problems that can be handle
through this approach. It is very effective because it hires most suitable candidate without any
nationalities which gives many choices and alternatives to select their candidate. So that's why
organisation should go for geocentric approach when they are newly shift their business to
another organisation.
TASK 2
P2) Discuss what challenges of employees often face when working abroad
Moving to a new place for tourism is a fun but when a person has to move to any foreign
place to relocate himself alone or with their family for a short or long period of time or
permanently, it is a major challenge faced by an employee as everything changes for him. A
person is familiar to the place he is residing from initial time and when he relocates, it becomes
an issue for him. Such as in Unilever when the company sends any of his employee from its
current working place to foreign workplace to start a subsidiary company or extend their work in
foreign location.
For this, the Human Resource manager has to take several measures to train their
employees or provide proper guidance to them. In this regards, proper assistance for some of
major problems, if provided will create an ease for employee to adjust. The employees are
relocated in different parts round the globe to enhance growth of respective organization. As

people are expatriated in different parts apart from their current location they face a lot of
challenges for fitting in to the new society, adapting their culture, becoming familiar to the
society, making new friends.
The people suffers language barrier, if they are relocated without the family the sense of
loneliness arises and if they are sent with their family then other problems related to partner's
career, children's schooling and much more arises. There are many more problems like
healthcare, culture and location of housing accommodation affects the employees. the whole
system of managing the finances and monetary division is affected in regards to the employee.
the person relocating might face health issues due to the change of environmental conditions like
weather, air, food, water and other essential commodities.
Determined rate of exchange of currency also differs which is also an essential living
necessity. All these can cause severe health uncertainties which may lead to stress, depression,
etc. The way to commute from living accommodation to the work place also changes and it will
be challenge to learn the whole new system. When a place is new and the person has no friends
then in case of any emergencies there will be no local support to the employee. When employees
of Unilever were relocated to other countries, the people faced issues regarding the foreign laws
and regulations, as the geographical areas changes and so is the political environment and the
compliance framed by them. At the organization Unilever also faced the situation when they sent
the employee to foreign location to relocate but the employee was proved unsuitable and less
experienced for the job profile and that caused loss to the organization and wastage of resources
and time. the HR manager has to keep check on all this so that the working is proved effective
and efficient.
Management and HR can help any individual in many ways after ascertaining challenges
they are facing in organisation. The major problem faced by employees in working abroad is
language barrier which is discussed above so it can be solve by HR and management by
providing prior training to their employee for language and help them to learn the same to work
smoothly. If managers are unable to provide training or in case of immediate transfer, company
can provide a translator to employees but this facility is provided to high level managers and
directors only.
Another challenge faced by employee in abroad was health issues of the employees due
to change in atmospheric conditions or any other reason discussed above. Company should

provide employees allowances for their health also provide employee a general guide of the
country to which employee is shifting and basic things about the location of residence at that
place.
Employee if shifted alone from native place will feel lonely at new place. If employee
will work for long period of time in abroad then company should provide them facility to shift
with their family. If employees will not feel lonely it will work for company for very long period
of time and with full dedication. The company should also take care of children of their
employees to be shifted as they will have to leave their previous school and shifted to new one so
facility of school should be near the accommodation of employee if possible.
Another challenge the employee faces in working abroad is change in the culture they are
living in. Different countries has their different cultures and employee needs to understand the
culture of new country and for this management and HR of company should conduct cultural
event in organisation by which local employee of the organisation feels connected to
organisation and the employee comes from abroad will come to know more about culture of the
new places.
One of the challenge faced by employees is accommodation although it is provided by
company itself but sometimes it is not suitable for employees to live there due to some reasons.
So accommodation to employees should be provided taking care of distance from the
organisation, health and hygienic place, in touch with the society and nearby necessary facility
stores, etc.
CONCLUSION
From all the above discussion it can be concluded that company can provide their
excellent and loyal employees required and necessary training to work in abroad. HR and
management plays an important role to get the employees trained and also develop the required
skills to shift abroad for work. There are several challenges faced by employees and the
management can solve them in their own way to increase the dedication of employees and to
retain efficient human resource in organisation. This report discussed in brief about challenges
faced by employees and solutions provided by management and HR of company to their
employees to solve those challenges.

REFRENCES
Books and Journal
Alhejji, H. and Garavan, T., 2017. IHRD in international non-governmental organisations,
nonprofit and public sector. In Handbook of International Human Resource
Development. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bezkorovaina, O., and et. al., 2019. Entrepreneurship education of future travel managers.
Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 2019(22 (6)).
Casprini, E., and et. al., 2020. A bibliometric analysis of family firm internationalization
research: Current themes, theoretical roots, and ways forward. International Business
Review, p.101715.
Dikli, S., Rawls, R. S. and Etheridge, B. C., 2020. Reflecting on New Faculty Training:
Internationalized Learning Essentials. In Multicultural Instructional Design: Concepts,
Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1230-1242). IGI Global.
Galina, S., Carvalho, L. and Costa, T., 2016. Innovation management of internationalised IT
companies in Brazil and Portugal. International Journal of Knowledge-Based
Development. 7(4). pp.317-335.