Comment: Expats have an advantage over locals. here's why

SINGAPORE: Michael, a successful Singaporean senior executive in a global investment bank, posed as a promotion for which he thought he was more than qualified.

This dream job went to an Australian expatriate at the bank's headquarters.

Leong, a young local leader of a resort and hotel chain on a global scale, could not enter the narrow circles of his western expat bosses. He felt that without good personal relationships with these bosses, it would be difficult for him to make much progress in the business.

Local professionals and managers working for foreign multinationals complain about this stuff all the time. Every decision of hiring and promotion is of course unique and involves idiosyncratic considerations. Nevertheless, many people believe that foreigners often have an advantage over locals in the process of hiring and promoting.

Recent observations suggest that many global companies are promoting internal transfers – it's not so much that these companies prefer expatriates to locals, but that the expanding foreign firms in Singapore are simply bringing in personnel from the country. 39; elsewhere.

But why are multinationals doing this? There are several reasons.

INTERNAL AGENTS ARE MORE EXPERIENCED

First, internal staff members have a good understanding of the DNA of the company. company, its culture and its operation. For a global firm, these internal staff members also have extensive work experience for the company worldwide.

Secondly, experienced internal staff, particularly those at headquarters, probably have a broad social network through global operations that helps them move things forward. This is an advantage that a Singaporean manager who has climbed the ladder at the local level is unlikely to be able to match.

Third, global companies often systematically develop the international experiences of their high-potential employees by posting them abroad. Therefore, it is perfectly legitimate and reasonable for a US company to send an American leader to Singapore to gain experience in Asia.

READ: Why are companies still hiring expatriate staff even though they seem to cost more? A comment

Frames such as Michael often overlook these considerations and assume that they are ignored because of prejudices against locals. In reality, companies simply make the staff decisions that managers consider to be the best for the organization.

If foreign firms are moving personnel from headquarters and elsewhere to Singapore for the sake of efficiency, how can this practice be put into perspective?

Importantly, what can local managers do to increase their chances of being hired or promoted by foreign employers?

BRINGING EXPATS CAN BE BENEFIT FOR PREMISES

The practice of attracting expatriates to Singapore, often seen as increasing competition for locals, has the often overlooked advantage of develop the premises themselves.

Research shows that a multicultural workplace and exposure to foreign cultures make people more creative. Foreign values, practices and standards in world observation and problem solving can help people develop a more complex and sophisticated view of the problems they face.

Ideas and perspectives from around the world can also be exploited to formulate new ideas and solutions locally.

In one of my research papers, I found that professionals whose networks include people from diverse cultures are more creative in solving global problems than those whose the networks are culturally homogeneous.

As companies increasingly globalize, a global perspective and a multicultural social network developed through interactions with expatriates can help local leaders become more competitive in the labor market.

More generally, the influx of foreigners into local society can make Singaporeans who work with them more creative, a valuable asset to the current workplace.

LOCAL LACK OF SKILLS

In addition to embracing and exploiting the cultural diversity that expatriates bring to the local workforce, Singaporean executives should also consider developing their own non-technical skills such as communication, negotiation, leadership and networking.

Employers often observe that Singaporean graduates have strong technical skills but less human skills. In a speech delivered in 2016, the Minister of Education, Ong Ye Kung, shared some of the comments frequently received from industry leaders:

Singapore graduates know a lot of things, but we can learn them on the job. More importantly, practical and non-technical skills can help them excel in the workplace.

These skills are particularly important in a global work environment where one must interact with colleagues with different points of view and values. To thrive in a global business, employees must be able to communicate across cultures, make compelling arguments and perhaps even self-promote.

Young managers like Leong could be endowed with the difficult skills our educational system has nurtured among our youth – but success in the practical world requires more than that.

The more you go in your career, the more the general skills become important. When we manage a group of people, we do not do the technical work anymore, but we do the work with the others.

The ability to motivate, influence and persuade others becomes critical.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCE IS NOT SUFFICIENT

Moreover, in a competitive global environment where many foreign talents compete for the same work, the ability to promote themselves contributes to their own advancement.

Western expats may be more effective than locals because of cultural differences and exposure to educational systems that focus on soft skills and self-promotion.

So, it's no wonder that in a business world where soft skills are valuable and where competition is tough, local employees sometimes feel handicapped and frustrated that the best jobs come to outsiders who , in their eyes, are not technically capable. is.

They may be disappointed, but they learn an important lesson: In the modern business world, technical skills are not enough

Roy Chua is an associate professor of organizational behavior and human resources at the University of Ottawa. Singapore Management University.