As more and more UK retailers broaden their overseas operations, the most successful ones are realising the value in moving their top home-grown talent around the globe too. Not only can this develop an employee’s personal potential, it can also help maximise an employee’s contribution to the business.
When opening in a new market, striking the balance between expat expertise and local knowledge is a major concern. There is a broad consensus that says the quicker you can get expats out of a business, the better. Kingfisher group HR director Tony Williams says: “We’re not Ikea. We don’t have a format that we drop into every country. There is nothing quite like having a real understanding of what local tastes are. You need local people who understand the dynamics of the local market.”
The best results come when expats work together with the new local management to pass on knowledge. Williams points out that it is often more efficient to share best practice even when there are huge distances and language barriers. “It’s cost-effective to get translators in for some of the time, because the return in terms of not making mistakes compensates for the day-to-day costs,” he explains.
The key is matching the needs of one country to expertise that is already present in another. “You want a mix of local and expat,” says Williams. “You have to take a view of the team as a whole and what the skill sets are. You can’t have a rock band full of drummers, or a football team full of goalkeepers.”
Ted Baker operates seven company-owned US stores. At present, the top two management tiers are still made up of staff from the UK, who have gone to the US to set up operations. “They are grooming local inhabitants to take that onwards and upwards,” says brand communication director Craig Smith. “We expect them to understand the brand ethos and to deliver that.” He adds that it is difficult, but essential to ensure they educate people about the brand.
Sharing ideas and best practice internationally does not have to be limited to secondments abroad. The Kingfisher Talent Group brings together those identified as the most talented across the whole group. They meet at least once a year to work with each other and develop relationships. Williams says it helps people to look beyond their own operating company and consider themselves part of the Kingfisher family.
Working abroad can be fantastic for an individual’s personal development. Going to help out in less developed parts of the business forces people out of their comfort zone and means they have to come up with new ways of doing things. Even working in established operations, people can learn from the differences in the way other countries do things, even where the core processes may be the same. Acquiring language skills and a greater cultural awareness can also be beneficial.
At Ted Baker, it is part of the training programmes for colleagues in its North American business to get experience working in the UK before moving back to take up positions in the US. However, there is no formal programme as such. Smith says: “Flexibility is key on every level and in every area of the business. The format that secondments take depends on the life experiences people may require,” he adds.
Having an international dimension to a business can be a great recruitment tool, both in the UK and in terms of attracting local talent abroad. Williams says: “Some of our businesses are small. A way of attracting the best people is that they know they are part of an international business with opportunities to work abroad.”
Today, more and more retail businesses operate at a global level. Increasingly, recruiters are scanning CVs for experience of working abroad.
DSGi group director of leadership and development Becky Ivers says: “To be a serious player in an organisation, one of the critical things to say you have is international experience.” She adds that, at DSGi, international secondments are by no means mandatory, but they are actively encouraged.
However, moving to work abroad does not suit everyone. Corinna Wilmott, managing consultant of Quest Search & Selection’s international division, says: “People who go and work internationally are a different breed. They are very forward-thinking, happy to put themselves out of their comfort zone and very career-driven.” It is not without its risks, either. “It can be a big benefit for them, but it depends on how the company looks after them,” she warns.
When employees return from an international role, the UK HR department may have difficulties reintroducing them into the domestic business; they run the risk of coming back to what may feel like a more junior role after far more autonomous or exciting work abroad.
Wilmott says: “There is a risk that when people come back to the UK, it all seems a little bland. International work is definitely a good thing that needs to be encouraged, but people need to be handled properly, with a good succession plan, or they become disenfranchised and leave.”
Williams acknowledges that employees can be disillusioned upon their return to the UK, but says that, at Kingfisher, they do a lot of work to make sure people are reintegrated successfully. “We have a duty to them after their international assignment is over,” he says.
Moving people around within a growing international business to benefit both them and the company is undoubtedly a challenge. But when retailers work hard to find the right solutions for them, it can provide a great boost to the company, improving recruitment, motivation and, ultimately, the bottom line.
Case study: DSGi
When DSGi set out to establish its Electro World chain in Turkey from scratch, its first task was to appoint a local managing director. “It was really important that we didn’t take people from here – the central mother ship – and plant them there,” says DSGi group director of leadership and development Becky Ivers.
Ali Serhan Sahin was appointed managing director in August 2006 – a year ahead of the first opening. The group has typically expanded internationally through mergers and acquisitions, but the joint venture in Turkey was an opportunity to open from scratch. A new infrastructure had to be established, as well as the management team to build and support it.
In Turkey, having a deep understanding of the culture is absolutely critical to everything – from keeping abreast of market preferences to knowing how to develop good relationships with manufacturers and suppliers. Ivers says: “Ali understood all local nuances, but we also needed him to understand the culture of the overall group as a corporation.” He began by spending time with colleagues in the UK and the rest of Europe to get a good grounding in the management processes and make some key contacts.
Upon returning to Turkey, his main challenge was to recruit and manage his own team locally. Ivers says: “It’s really important to have a local flavour. People like to work for a reputable Western firm, but where the local culture is preserved and respected, people respond to that.” However, while the business was being set up, “buddies” from the UK, Norway and Spain were sent over on short-term contracts to provide support and pass on critical information about processes. The first stores opened in August last year and, now, all key directors are local to Turkey.
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