4 advantages of sending employees on international assignments
If you’re looking to make your company a competitive player in the global marketplace, sending some of your employees abroad on international assignments may be the right move. While there are many benefits to having an internationally mobile workforce, here are some of the top advantages of sending employees overseas:
1. Expansion into both new and existing markets
The most popular reason for transferring employees overseas was expansion into existing markets, with 52 percent of survey respondents citing this factor. Sending employees abroad helps grow a small office into a strong international arm of your business. By building out a talented workforce abroad, you can bolster your company’s global influence and revenue.
But moving employees to another country can also give your company the foot in the door it needs overseas, with the second most popular reason for sending workers abroad being expansion into new markets, according to the Santa Fe Group survey, with 49 percent of respondents citing this reason. In today’s fast-paced world, business operations can no longer be siloed. Every day, industries are strengthening their global presence, and identifying new opportunities in cities that are rapidly rising as centers of commerce. By sending employees abroad to areas that are seeing this dynamic growth, your company can make sure it does not miss out on establishing a presence in a burgeoning scene for your industry.
New perspectives, a stronger market presence – there are many advantages to sending employees abroad.2. Development of top talent
Sending an employee abroad to represent your company in another country is a reflection of that person’s value to the organization. Overseas, this individual will act as the face of your company and will be responsible for helping to maintain its corporate identity and reputation. Moving an employee overseas is an expression of commitment to their professional development, and international experience can help train employees for leadership, managerial and executive roles in the future.
3. Streamlined operations
If your company is looking to make moves quickly, sending an existing employee abroad can help streamline operations. A domestic employee sent overseas has the company knowledge and experience to quickly embed themselves in business activities in your market abroad, bypassing time-consuming on-boarding and training that is necessary when hiring a brand new employee for overseas work. In addition, a shortage of qualified talent in the local area can hurt overseas operations, which makes having a qualified employee willing to move especially valuable.
4. New perspectives are gained
Having employees working overseas helps funnel new perspectives, ideas and business practices back to headquarters. Being immersed in a new culture boosts creative problem solving and reveals valuable new ways of doing things, and the employee can both share these exciting insights with the company and apply them in his day-to-day work.
