Researcher James Kirk interviews expat workers on assignment in Mexico. The resulting feedback gives employment counsellors some excellent tips on how to prepare clients for assignments in Mexico and other locations.

Mexico City

The North American Free Trade Agreement (Weintraub, 2004) and lower labour costs in Mexico have caused many US companies to move their operations south of the border.  While the majority of the workers in the US-owned plants are Mexican, some of the employees are US workers on temporary expat assignments.

While not randomly selected from a large pool of expat workers, my ten interviewees did hold a variety of jobs.  Several of them were managers and engineers.  Others in the group included a US Air Force officer, an HR representative, a Director of Research and Development, and a missionary.  Two were female and eight were male.  For the vast majority of the group this was their first expat assignment and they considered the assignment a means of advancing their careers and providing their families with a rich cultural experience.  Half of the workers said that they would be interested in doing another expat assignment in the future. 

Preparations for the assignment

When asked about preparation activities, the expats answers where noticeably different.  One worker said. "My employer told me to go home and pack.  They did the absolute minimum, pretty much nothing.  If my husband and I hadn't already travelled extensively and lived abroad, it would have been a nightmare."

One individual told me, "They sent us to a three-day culture training in Chicago, a week-long house hunting trip, and we met with tax professionals to get a better understanding of how the taxes and necessary paperwork and timelines would work.  The culture training was not a good experience and as we walked out I told my husband we were not going under any circumstances. The training was conducted by someone who had little to no knowledge of Mexico and was giving us incorrect information.  Then they had a lady from Mexico City teach us for part of a day via phone.  She scared me to death.  She kept talking of our safety and how they would kidnap our child and she had only been hijacked three times etc.  Luckily for us, my husband had already lived in San Luis Potosi and said it was nothing like that."

Another worker commented, "We had seven weeks of cultural learning orientation and in many ways we were prepared for many of the issues that we would face.  My husband's mother died eight months after we left the states.  It was hard, but in our cultural training we had been prepared that a death could happen and to say those goodbyes before we left the states.  We had made a few plans in case of emergencies and how we would handle them.  We were trained in being pro-active in language classes so that we could make sure we got the info that we needed most.  We were given one year of language training as well as tutors to help with special projects.  The part that we were not prepared for was the day to day details though I am not sure we could have absorbed all the info that we needed."

Cultural training, Language classes, pre-assignment visit considered most useful

In terms of the most useful preparation activities, interviewees mentioned cultural training, language classes and a pre-assignment visit.  As to that which was most lacking in their preparation, one person commented, "A detailed compensation review.  It is very different than the norm and they should have sat down to review it with me."

Another worker said, "I personally would have liked to have had more visits to get to visit hospitals, schools, and talk to folks that were already living there."

Several of the workers expressed a need for more language training.  One interviewee explained that, "Even though many of the people who work for me are fluent in English, information is best exchanged in the native language.  I have had to use my intuition a great deal to make sure I am conveying the correct response to an issue or to following up to make sure the changes I have asked for are being carried out."

Tips for employment counsellors

When I asked interviewees what advice they had to give employment counsellors helping clients prepare for an expat assignment, they offered the following suggestions:

• Provide counselling services up front to establish compatibility with the assignment and its goals.
  
• Arrange several visits to get a feel for the city or areas that they might want to live in according to safety and location, and identify and tour local schools, hospitals, etc. 
  
• Link them to local support groups in the area.
  
• Provide them as much exposure to the new country and the new employment opportunity as possible prior to accepting the assignment.
  
• Set the employees up with a sponsor type programme.  Make sure they are contacted and accomplish whatever they can before they move.
  
• During cross-cultural courses use local examples (such as how to get cable or phone service).  Too often the cross-cultural course is generalised and not specific enough.
  
• Focus on preparation and support as people get to their overseas locations. It is a bit like reading a book on parenting before you have kids. The real learning takes place as you confront the actual challenges and then have a process or individual who can help you reflect on what you are learning and assist in developing appropriate strategies.
  
• Prepare the whole family for the assignment. It is a lot more than just what happens in the office.
  
• I think it would be good for the employment counsellor to have a good working relationship with the HR group where the expat will be assigned. 
  
• It would be good if the employment counsellor could visit the location, spend some time at that location to understand the differences between what the employee and their family are used to and what they can expect.
  
•   Have the potential expat meet with someone who has had an expat assignment.
  
• Give them some special cultural training type classes. 
  
• Help them create a plan for how they will live (eg, home school vs. Schooling choices).
  
• Language training is a must - at least survival language. 
  
• Help them think of how they will face certain crisis that may come up - if a family member is sick and may die before they could get back to the states.

Ongoing support

I also explored the support workers received from their employers once they arrived on the job in Mexico.  One expat worker said, "They processed all our Visa paperwork, helped us find and set up housing, gave us a city tour and a welcome packet including information on the city with many maps and business cards.  They helped to provide a Spanish teacher for me once we were settled. They were very supportive and helpful in connecting us with the appropriate paperwork, offices, and documents needed to get our son a Mexican birth certificate and passport once he was born."

Another worker explained, "My employer pays the country taxes that are required, provides tax preparation services, housing allotment and hardship stipend as well as a car for my use here in Mexico.  They also pay for one trip back to the US."

One individual said, "My employer knew that I loved Mexico and extended an original two-year contract to four years, then to six years.  I could have retired there, it was lovely.  They went out of their way to make sure all work requests were met and met quickly."

Other forms of support included mentors, counsellors, frequent communications and visits from management, and additional language training. 

Support expatriates appreciated most

While appreciative of all of the assistance given them, the workers were especially grateful for:

• The personal attention from the host country's human resource office.
  A sponsor at their new location who met them at the airport and helped them do some prep work.
• A manager who was encouraging and empathetic and who made them feel like they are making progress even if they were not seeing it themselves.
• Genuine concern for their family and a balanced lifestyle.
• Being able to go back to the USA at both Christmas and once in the summer.
• Tax preparation services.
• Open communication so that they didn't hear news of changes in policies from outside sources or around about ways.

In terms of what they found lacking in the support provided them, one interviewee said, "We were upset with the lack of flexibility for personal situations in the corporate policy.  For instance, we had to pay out of pocket to have my spouse fly back to the states to pick us up when we were moving to San Luis Potosi as we stayed with family until our furniture arrived eight weeks later."Another interviewee explained, "When push comes to shove, the military moves a lot of people overseas, so sometimes you get lost in the masses and are expected to take care of a lot of things yourself." Along similar lines, one worker stated, "My management has, at times, been spread so thin; they have not been able to offer adequate guidance in a timely fashion."

Only one worker mentioned repatriation support.  He commented, "My company does not have a very solid repatriation process.  To do an expat assignment the company asks you to sign a contract that identifies all the parameters of the assignment.  While it gives good identification of outbound [going into the position] it lacks what will be the return parameters.  Since my contract is ending, it is up to me to make contact with our corporate HR to begin the dialog of what my next assignment will be.  I am starting that process and it seems I need to supply a resume."
 
What the expat gets out of the assignment

The workers spoke of the many positive outcomes they derived from their expat experiences.  These included seeing the world from a different perspective and really seeing what is important in life.  Here are a few comments interviewees had to say about being expat workers in Mexico.

"For me, it was the number of other ex-pats in the area that have created a support system for me, especially on those days you think you have made the world's worst decision by agreeing to come.  Also the friendships I have made with the Mexicans here. My spouse actually made friends with a couple 10 years ago and they are still our best friends today.  The greatest however is that we now have a Mexican in our family as we gave birth to another beautiful son in San Luis Potosi in August.  We also are proud of our other son's language skills and think of it as such an opportunity.  Our goal is to keep him using it once we return to the states."

"Number one was having a child.  Developing loving, life-long relationships with so many wonderful people!  Living in another culture, climate, language, opens one's mind.  Being invited by Mexicans to enter their world, enjoy their food and festivities, they are some of the happiest people on Earth.  Everyday was a new adventure. You become incredibly flexible because you lose control of just about every aspect of life as you recall it on easy street back in the USA.  One gains so much confidence learning everything from scratch.  You learn to trust people completely and rely on them like family, this happens at work and in your personal relationships."

 "I had prior experience working with the people before coming to take a full-time job and knew they were very good workers: conscientious and very supportive.  Other positives about working outside the US in this particular assignment is the recognition of what the Mexican people are like outside of work, their lifestyles, morals and ethics.  The people here in this area are friendly, honest, and very forthright.  I have not had any issues with security, little language difficulties even though my Spanish-speaking ability is not the greatest and have found services like dental and medical to be first rate.  Of course you network with other expats and local citizens for information on which dentists and doctors are the best - quite similar to what you would do in the US."

"We are much closer as a family.  When we first moved here there were no other Americans and it was difficult.  Our family grew closer as a result.  We have made some great friends who have helped us and our language skills have finally come along so that we are bilingual.  We are more tolerant and compassionate toward other people."

Unforeseen challenges and frustrations

Along with the joyful and personal growth experiences, the expat workers also shared their unhappy time.  These ranged from divorce and loss of a job to homesickness and unbearable frustration.  Here are a few comments regarding some of their more unpleasant encounters.

"I think, for us, the most frustrating and negative events are the day-to-day living tasks.  For example, we are still waiting and fighting to get our son's Social Security number from the Mexican offices and he is now seven months old. To get our car license plates it took almost a month with many visits to get the exact paperwork needed.  Nothing is on computer – it was a total nightmare."

"It is a real test for relationships such as marriages.  If both partners don't embrace the change and have a positive attitude, one will fall behind and grow resentful.  Great changes occur and at great speed.  My marriage fell apart living in Mexico and I ultimately divorced there.  It's a hard pill to swallow."

"The first couple of years were so hard.  Our children had a difficult time making friends and they felt a lot of pressure in school.  We had to do extra home schooling in the area of English.  Our daughter had to have tutoring her first year of college with English even with all we did with her at home."

"Learning how to do the normal easy everyday tasks was stressful because it was so different here.  For example, you can't just write a cheque and put it in the mail to pay a bill.  You have to find a money changing place that you can trust -get the money there but - (sometimes you go to get a large amount of money out to pay all your bills--and when you get there the bank tells you that they do not have enough money at that moment to cash your check - so you have to set a time for them to have the money ready and then go back at a set time. Then you must go hand-deliver each bill.  There are times when it takes two or three days to pay the bills because only one person that works at that business can take your money.  All of this is complicated if you don't have someone who can tell you beforehand how to do all this."

Advice to employment counsellors

As I began to bring my interview to a close, I asked the workers, "What advice would you give employment counsellors assisting individuals considering an expat assignment.  Here are a few things workers would have counsellors pass on to their clients.

• Understand their personal motives for taking the assignment, to make sure that the assignment will satisfy them.  Realise that while you are on the assignment, you are probably at the mercy of the company to treat you fairly.  Evaluate your trust of the company and its core values.  Have your contract and expat policies
  reviewed by a lawyer and reflect on the questions raised.
  
• Test your flexibility.  If the spouse is not given a work visa, it's very important that the spouse find something to do, that they become active and participate or things will become difficult.  Tell potential ex pats that it isn't easy but the rewards greatly outweigh the hardships.  This is not for the money, this is something that you have to want to do and grow from as a person.
  
• Come into the assignment with realistic expectations and be sure the demands of the job really match your strengths and your interest.  If you enjoy learning and can deal with a certain amount of uncertainty you will find the experience rewarding. If you need to be the one with all the answers, you will be frustrated.
  
• Give the employees a very clear picture of the assignment time-frame, give them information about the country, the schools, the culture and the lifestyles, the location of the US consulate and if this individual has a family - what will be the family's role in this assignment.  While employment counsellors are used to working with the employee job assignments, in an expat assignment it must be realised that the whole family goes on assignment.  If the family is not going to be happy, the employee will likely fail the assignment. 
  
• These assignments can have a cost factor involved for the company - both the company and the employee should clearly understand the limits and to know how this affects their standard of living and the standards they expect to have on this assignment.  I have seen expats who think they are being given ‘cart blanche' as to housing and services.  They run up expenses that they feel are owed to them but the company sees it differently. 
  
• Make sure that both the husband and the wife feel good about the decision to work as an expat.  We have seen families split.  We have seen people almost fired because they can't get a grip on how things are done in the new country.  We have seen teenagers threaten to commit suicide because they just couldn't stand the pressure of not having friends.  Make sure the family is prepared for what they may face.  Help the family feel good by giving them the greatest amount of information that can be given.  Connect them with someone who already lives there. 

My contact with ten expat workers in Mexico has greatly deepened my understanding of the challenges and rewards of working abroad.

 Plus, I have developed an appreciation for the patience, mental stamina, intelligence, and hard work expat workers bring to their assignments.  They have won my utmost admiration and respect.

1 October 2007

Dr. James J. Kirk is a Professor of Human Resources at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC  kirk@email.wcu.edu 

References
Weintraub S (2004), NAFTA's Impact on North America The First Decade,  CSIS Press: Washington, USA