A VISION ON #5

MOBILITY JANUARY 2010

The emergence of an international mobility

culture among young graduates is good news for
the HR departments of major groups that have to
deploy talents worldwide. However, experts and
practitioners stress the need for corporations to
harmonise mobility policies with their managerial
style, as it is also the organisation’s values that
are shared via its expatriate employees.

Franck Bournois, Fabrice Bouchaud, Hubert Krieger,

Professor at Panthéon-Assas
Paris II University and Director
of the HR school CIFFOP
The top manager’s
journey of initiation
Schlumberger group’s
HR Director Practice
and Transactions
"Mobile"… Even in their
own country!
Research Manager
at the European Foundation
"Let’s draw inspiration
from Erasmus"

An ADP publication
 EXPERT
Frank Bournois
The top manager’s journey of initiation
Working abroad is a vital stage in any future manager’s career,
according to the co-author of "Comités exécutifs" (Executive
committees). But it is not enough in itself. HRMs need to view
mobility from the geographical, functional and divisional points
of view. At the same time, incentive policies must be in line with
a company’s principles of governance.
Mobility has become a prime objective for
HRMs. But what is the real challenge?
The main aim of large groups is to secure
the talented people they need to manage
their units and subsidiaries, especially after
a takeover. The challenge comes in sharing
the group’s strategic vision, culture and type
of governance. Expatriate managers must
of course immerse themselves in the culture
of their adopted country, but this is of little
benefit if at the same time they do not display
a real aptitude for general management
and a full understanding of all the different
functions within the company…
So geographical mobility alone is not the be-all
and end-all?
It is obviously relevant in the case of an expert
who is required to contribute specific expertise
to a subsidiary. But as regards a manager’s
Frank Bournois is a Professor at Panthéon-Assas Paris II
University and Director of the Centre Interdisciplinaire de
Formation à la Fonction Personnel (CIFFOP). He lectures at
a number of prestigious universities (Oxford, Cranfield, Utah,
Liverpool) and has been responsible for the creation of several
professional degree courses, including the "Master of International
Human Resources Management".
Frank Bournois advises the boards of management of several major
groups (L’Oréal, Bouygues, EADS, etc.), in particular in spotting top-
flight managers. A former auditor of the French National Defence
Studies Institute, he holds degrees in law and management science,
a doctorate in management from the University of Lyon and an MBA
from Aston University.
career development, mobility needs to be
promoted in three directions. First, it is good
for a future manager to cultivate his talents
in several different countries. But to hone his
general management skills, he must also cross
the boundaries between sales and marketing
activities, accounting and finance, functional
and operational aspects and so on… Lastly,
if he is to take the group’s strategic vision
forward one day, he needs to be able to move
from one business area to another. HRMs,
therefore, need to promote mobility on three
fronts: geographical, functional and divisional.
And making sure that each stage of a
manager’s career features at least two of these
is no easy task.
Moving abroad can also be quite nerve-
wracking. You know when you are leaving but
not necessarily when you will return… nor
under what circumstances…
A number of misadventures have made the
situation look blacker than it really is. Take
for example the case of expatriate managers
working for joint ventures in which their group
is a minority partner. They in fact change
employer and HRIS. Their return home
becomes something of a hit and miss affair!
To encourage mobility, the first golden rule
is, therefore, to ensure that the dates and
conditions for an expatriate’s home-coming are
clearly defined. This is what Renault did very
early on. In this way, the expatriate returns
home in a stronger position – provided, of
course, that he has been successful.
2

HRMs need to
promote mobility
on three fronts:
geographical,
functional and
divisional”
Franck Bournois,
is a Professor at Panthéon-
Assas Paris II University and
Director of the HR school
CIFFOP.
People willing to move abroad no doubt have
different expectations depending on their age
and position…
Obviously you do not approach a 25-year-old
volunteering to work abroad in the same way
as a 30-year-old manager with two young
children or a senior manager whose children
have left home. Just because a young single
agrees to work in India for a few months
doesn’t mean he is always going to be “mobile”.
Two or three years later you may find he has
become a real stay-at-home! At the very best,
he may agree to move if his wife comes with
him and can also find a good job.
It is also essential to distinguish between
those managers who have a real pioneering
mentality, ready to go anywhere in the world
to plant the company’s flag1 and those who
will only accept to go to well-established
third-country
1 subsidiaries in selected countries2. HRISs
nationals provide invaluable service in helping to
host-country
2 identify the right career paths and spot the one
managers in a million…
Frank Bournois has authored or co-authored numerous works, including:
L’intelligence sportive au service du manager (What managers can learn from athletic intelligence) (2009).
Le grand livre du coaching (The coaching manual), Paris, Éditions Eyrolles (2008)
Comités exécutifs – voyage au cœur de la dirigeance, (Executive committees – journey to the heart of executive governance) Paris, Éditions Eyrolles (2007)
3
mobility
To what extent should incentive policies
and accompanying measures be tailored to
individuals?
The important thing is that an incentive policy
needs to be in tune with a company’s method
of governance. In “mechanistic” organisations,
where the culture of procedures predominates
(as in many Anglo-Saxon groups), job banks
play a vital role and annual interviews ensure
that expectations are fed back to HRISs.
Everything is done to facilitate the law of supply
and demand. Some major companies, such
as EADS, have extremely advanced methods
for assessing and measuring mobility. Career
paths are analysed from all three standpoints:
geographical, functional and divisional.
In contrast, nothing could be worse than
introducing complicated processes into “organic”
organisations with a culture of networking
and informal contacts. At L’Oréal, for example,
verbal agreements are more important than
formal procedures. A manager at the head office
meets a young German who has been working
in a Portuguese subsidiary for four years and
who would be ideal in a team in Britain…
Spontaneously, he talks to people around him,
contact is made and everyone seems to be all for
it… so it is time to contact the HRM. Two months
later, the young talent has moved from Lisbon to
Brighton…
How can you measure the dividends from
someone working abroad?
The company can measure them in the very
short term, by capitalising as quickly as possible
on the experience gained by the expatriate. As
soon as he returns, he should be offered new
responsibilities or move on to the next stage in
his career. Indeed, if it is to be profitable, the
company’s mobility policy must go hand in hand
with a real commitment to ensuring staff loyalty.
On the strength of their experience abroad,
today’s managers are quite capable of devising a
fourth form of mobility: changing employer!
PRACTICES

Schlumberger engineers
"Mobile"…
A Even in their own countr
t the forefront of Schlumberger’s
77,000-strong workforce is a group
of 9,000-10,000 engineers. These
senior technical employees provide top-level
expertise to the oil industry at exploration At oil sites throughout the world, Schlum
and production sites around the world. From
Turkmenistan to the coasts of Angola via
is banking on the "world class" of its eng
the Indonesian jungle, they clearly bear the Neither locals nor expatriates, these
Schlumberger hallmark. qualified engineers never lose their mobile
4,000 foreign postings a year even in their own country.
When an American supermajor is looking
for a well manager, it prefers an American.
A national oil company, on the other hand,
will prefer to work with people from its own
country.
“Our clients want people who are like them”
says Fabrice Bouchaud, the Schlumberger
group’s HR Director Practice and Transactions. Those who lea
However they are uncompromising when know we are
it comes to expertise, of course. All these
engineers, wherever they are working, must good care of t
be familiar with the same leading-edge
technologies and the same quality standards
as those used in the North Sea or in the Gulf of
Mexico. Mobility is the key to getting the right
blend of expert skills and local knowledge.

To nurture such talent, Schlumberger has

introduced a specific international programme
geared to mobility and a special status,
that of “International mobile,” enabling
4,000 engineers to change country each
year. “Mobility and diversity are core values
of our business model, and at this level of
performance, they also give us a competitive
edge” adds Fabrice Bouchaud.
International locals
Engineers develop an international mindset
right from the time they enter Schlumberger.
They begin by spending three months in one
of the group’s eight training centres in France,
the United States, the United Arab Emirates or
even Siberia. They are then assigned to their
first jobs in at least two different locations.
Further courses over a period of 36 to 40
months help them to build on their technical
Fabrice Bouchaud,
Schlumberger group’s
HR Director Practice
and Transactions.
know-how. “The programme is highly
structured, and their skills are constantly
monitored,” stresses the HR Director.
But for all of this, mobility is not an obstacle
to building close working relationships with
clients. After his initial training in various
parts of the world, a Schlumberger engineer
from Brazil may be offered his first job as an
Account Manager in his own country. Once
he has gained a thorough grounding, he will
be assigned to one of the same company’s
sites abroad, only to come back later in a
more senior position. “The ultimate aim of
our policy is to develop this kind of profile,

4

ry!
mberger
gineers. which combines international experience and
understanding of our clients’ specific cultures,”
highly explains Fabrice Bouchaud.
e status, Resident status
The status of “International mobile” is at the
heart of the concept. It allows Schlumberger
to do away with the notion of expatriation.
Mobility becomes second nature to its
engineers. Whether they are working in their
home country or abroad, they are considered to
be “resident”, which strengthens their relations
with clients. There is no possible confusion with
ave the “commuters”, those technicians dispatched
taking on operational assignments at offshore sites or
in remote parts of the world. At Schlumberger
them” such technicians are, almost without exception,
the only ones to make regular round trips
between their home country and the country to
which they are assigned.
When “International mobile” engineers reside
outside their home countries, they benefit from
a comprehensive package paid in dollars. It is
the same for everyone, with a coefficient being
applied depending on local living conditions.
This makes it much easier to manage mobility
between one country and another. “When we
suggest transferring someone to Venezuela, he
doesn’t have to worry about what will happen
to his future retirement benefits or health
coverage.”
“International mobile” engineers working
in their home countries enjoy specific pay
conditions and benefits, midway between those
for local employment and expatriation. “This
package is designed to make sure they are
willing to return home without losing out too
much, but also to make sure they are willing to
go abroad again,” points out Fabrice Bouchaud.
Coming home simply paves the way for leaving
again.
5
mobility
An HRIS designed accordingly
The HRIS must be able to cope with this
model. A local HR manager wishing to fill
a post has access to all the information he
needs on employees who are available, have
the right skills, and whose career aspirations
match the job. He can suggest three profiles
to the manager concerned. Once the choice
is made, all he has to do is get in contact
with the candidate’s current manager, who
should be easy to persuade as he will already
have benefited from the same mobility model
himself. Schlumberger stresses personal
development whenever such transfer decisions
are made. “If several candidates have the
same qualifications, the job will go to the one
who will benefit the most by it,” affirms the
HR Director. “Unlike others, we have a policy
with no commitment to come back. But those
who leave know we are taking good care of
them.”
SCHLUMBERGER
Schlumberger is the leading oilfield services
provider to oil and gas companies around the world.
Through its well site operations and in its research
and engineering facilities, the company develops
products, services and solutions to optimise customer
performance in a safe and environmentally sound
manner. Fields of activities include drilling, well
testing, production optimisation, subsea solutions...
Schlumberger operates in 80 different countries
and employs 77,000 employees of 140 nationalities.
The company’s operating revenues amounted to
$27.16 billion in FY08. In 2008, Schlumberger
invested $818 million in R&D.
 EXPERT
Hubert Krieger
"Let’s draw inspiration from Erasmus"
No more than 0.5% of working-age Europeans move to a
different country in any given year. However, the research
manager of Eurofound notes the emergence of a mobility
culture among young people thanks to foreign study
programmes such as Erasmus. Why not make schemes of
this type available throughout our working lives?
Why is the European Union (EU) keen to promote
cross-border professional mobility?
Firstly, remember that the right to live and
work in another member state lies at the heart
of the European ideal. Looking beyond this
institutional aspect, worker mobility must help
promote a better match between labour supply
and demand on local markets. And lastly, it
boosts competitivity in a rapidly changing
globalised world where a high degree of
flexibility is a must.
Are Europeans sufficiently mobile, from this
point of view?
Not particularly, if you compare them with US
citizens. Four percent of Europeans have lived
in another EU country at some point, whereas
32% of Americans live outside their home state.
In terms of flows, 0.5% of the EU working-age
population moves to another member country
each year, compared with 1.9% in the United
Dr. Hubert Krieger is Research Manager in the "Living
Conditions and Quality of Life" unit of the European
Foundation, based in Dublin, Ireland. He focuses more
specifically on quality of life and migration in the EU. His role is
notably to provide information, expertise and advice to EU policy
makers and governments.
Dr. Krieger previously worked for seven years as a policy adviser
in Bonn for national and regional governments. He holds a
Master’s in economics and sociology from the University of
Cologne, a PhD in labour market economics from the European
University Institute in Florence, and a Master’s in social policy
from University College Dublin.
States who move to a different state. But
the perception that “Americans are movers,
Europeans are stayers” can be misleading.
Reality is more complex: a European who
moves from Helsinki to Barcelona has to adapt
to a different language, culture, labour market,
social security system, etc. An American who
moves from Los Angeles to New York stays
in the same country with the same language
and the same labour legislation – a far simpler
proposition.
According to your studies, what are the main
barriers to mobility within the EU?
The primary factor that puts Europeans off
moving abroad is the fear of leaving family
and friends. Next comes the fear of losing the
practical support of their social ties, learning a
foreign language, and coping with the housing
conditions and healthcare system. Indeed, most
companies compensate for these aspects via
their expat packages. But the fact remains that
Europe still lacks a real mobility culture.
What prompts the people who do consider
moving abroad?
The top three driving forces that they cite
include discovering somewhere new, earning
more money and enjoying better working
conditions. Better weather and meeting new
people are also popular reasons. These are
factors that companies should consider when
looking to set up in a new place. To attract
applicants from a wide range of geographical
areas, they should choose locations with
pleasant living conditions, and where it will
6

Youngsters
develop the
mobility culture
that is so lacking
in their elders”
Hubert Krieger, Research
Manager at the European
Foundation.
not be a problem to find accommodation.
They should give preference to multicultural,
cosmopolitan cities where expats will quickly
settle or even feel at home.
Is there a typical profile for the mobile European?
Without a doubt, young people are the most
mobile with 4.7% of 25 to 39-year-olds having
already lived in another EU country. The figure
drops to 4.3% for people in the 40-54 age
bracket and 3.9% for those the over 55. Another
key factor is the level of education. People with
degrees are twice as likely to move abroad as
those with intermediate or low skill levels. And
that is true regardless of the country. One might
think that the new EU member states would lose
mainly low-skilled workers, and yet studies show
that it’s their graduates who are most likely to
leave.
How do you explain this mobility among young
people?
Europe is reaping the benefits of its international
exchange programme, Erasmus. By going abroad
As part of his work, Dr Krieger has contributed to a wide variety of publications:
Geographical mobility in Europe and its relevance for the social partners, Eurofound conference (2008).
Labour mobility in a transatlantic perspective, Eurofound conference report (2007) .
"Handbook on quality of life in the enlarged European Union", chapter 15 on Migration and mobility culture, Routledge publications.
7
mobility
for part of their studies, youngsters develop the
mobility culture that is so lacking in their elders,
and hence shed any fear of moving abroad before
they even start their professional career. Erasmus
is the best thing that Europe has done to promote
mobility. Plus the single currency, of course...
Can Europe really do more?
Be careful there! Doing “more” is not an end
in itself. The long-term side-effects of mobility
need to be examined. For instance, policies
that encourage mass migration in new EU
members can result in a brain drain or a youth
drain, thereby leading to an irreversible social
imbalance. If an entire younger generation were
to leave a country, who would be left to look after
their parents after they retire? So the important
thing is to do better, with targeted mobility.
So what do you recommend?
Both institutions and companies can draw
inspiration from Erasmus. Why not expand
this kind of exchange programme to continuing
vocational training? It would also be pertinent
to develop an EU-wide jobs market, by forging
closer links between employment agencies in each
country. How can you be mobile if you don’t know
what jobs are on offer elsewhere? Companies
of any size have their part to play by taking
foreigners on work experience placements, for
instance.
 www.agence-arca.com
In the same collection, read also:

A vision on Temporary Work

A vision on Working Time
A vision on Costs and Productivity
© ADP Employer Services International - January 2010

A vision on Education

Other publication:

ADP Europe at work Atlas

To receive our publications, please contact: info@europe.adp.com

www.adp.com/international

®
Borderless Human Resources