Quick Poll Results

When asked what would be the "most important factor" in their decision to accept an assignment in China, not surprisingly, 21% chose "family/personal responsibilities." But, another 21% chose "career progression" and another 16% chose "objective/role of the assignment."

This represents 37% of respondents who consider their role and career progression as the "most important factor" in their decision to accept an assignment in China.

With the global economy booming and more businesses investing overseas, it's even more challenging than ever before to strategically plan a long-term career. Employees are aware that when their employers invest in China, his or her future role may change. It's not surprising that many business professionals consider their role and their career progression as "the most important factor."

While Relocation professionals have, for many years, been aware of how important work-related issues can be, clear role definitions and career progression are areas that tend to be neglected. With looming deadlines and attention being focused on immediate business needs, looking at the career objectives of employees often takes a back-seat. But if 37% of the respondents believe that "their role and their career progression" is the most important factor in choosing to accept an assignment in China, then it is an area that must become a priority.

Relocation Professionals who are conducting candidate assessments or working with an employee who is considering an assignment may find that incorporating work-related objectives into the discussions to be beneficial on several levels. For one, clarifying roles and long-term objectives will help in the candidate assessment process. The process itself may reveal unexpected candidates based on their future career objectives. Plus, planning long-term career objectives may impact the decision of an ambivalent employee.

Equally important, it may provide Relocation Professionals with a way, at virtually no cost, to motivate their employees – just the time it takes to develop clear role definitions and plan long-term career objectives for the employees. While it's true that planning a long-term career plan isn't always that straight forward, making the effort to open a dialogue and working toward a plan, will demonstrate the company's commitment to the employee. Just by taking an active role in planning the employee's long-term career, the employee is likely to feel more valued and more motivated.

This QUICK POLL also asked Relocation Professionals if they would even accept a 3-5 year assignment opportunity in China. An overwhelming 86% of the respondents said they would definitely consider it (with a review of the details of the assignment and the compensation package).

While it's true that any business professional would experience mixed emotions if offered an international assignment, the results of this poll, which was specifically asking about China, revealed "concern for family/settling in" (20%), "language and communication issues" (22%) and "adapting to the culture/local management of staff" (25%) as the primary concerns. These results aren't surprising considering that many of the international companies that are investing in China are based in places that have significant cultural differences, such as the U.S. and the U.K.

What is surprising is that 70% of the responses are all related to family and culture-- when asked about their primary concerns about an assignment in China.

Consider "culture shock," which can be defined as "being cut off from familiar patterns, living and working in an ambiguous situation, having inherent values brought into question and being expected to function at a maximum level when the rules are unclear." Imagine the internal conflict and lack of confidence a foreign national would experience on an assignment in China, with a deep, ingrained culture that may be completely different than the culture they’ve always known.

To help employees adjust to culture shock, many companies that conduct business internationally have Relocation Policies which provide some level of intercultural/language training and partner support. Some programs mandate intercultural training while other programs are discretionary.

Revising policies to mandate or require that employees attend cultural training in preparation for assignments in places like China is an issue to consider. For companies preparing to grow their business overseas, it may be time to formalize, mandate or evaluate their approach to intercultural training.