Staffing Levels

There are different levels of international employees around the world. An expatriate is an employee who is sent by a company in one country to manage the same company's operations in another country. There are three types of expatriates: parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs), and third country nationals (TCNs).

PCNs are employees who are born and live in the parent country. These employees tend to be responsible for starting up operations at locations in another country. A hiring manager is responsible for staffing the operations with employees who can adapt to the new environment and be self-motivated. Some of the desired characteristics of a candidate include work experience with other cultures, knowledge of multiple foreign languages, and extensive travel overseas. However, some multinationals are concerned about hiring too many PCNs, given the additional expenses that are incurred by the company. For example, the multinational corporation (MNC) will have to consider costs such as relocation expenses, cultural training, housing assistance, taxation allowances, incentives and rewards, and family issues. HCNs are employees who were born and raised in the host country. MNCs have found that hiring managers from the host country is an opportunity to build good public relations with the citizens ofthat country. This approach shows an economic commitment on the part of the MNC by providing local citizens with the opportunity to gain employment and fueling the local economy. Another incentive is that hiring an HCN is not as costly as hiring a PCN TCNs are employees who were not born or raised in either the host or parent country but work in the host country. These candidates tend to be pursued when there are jobs that require a certain level of expertise and skills to perform certain jobs.

[Page 1484]Different countries will utilize different combinations of these employees to staff their international operations. Four of the major approaches include the following:

• 1.
  Ethnocentric staffing approach: The staffing plan is dictated by the MNCs values, attitudes, practices, and priorities. The corporate office is responsible for establishing human resource policies and practices as well as selecting candidates who will be equipped to provide leadership to the subsidiaries in other countries.
• 2.
  Polycentric staffing approach: Although the corporate office may make all of the hiring decisions, there is consideration for the needs of the local subsidiaries. In addition, the policies and practices are developed at the local level to meet the needs of the local citizens filling the jobs. Although the locals are selected for managerial positions, it is rare for these individuals to be promoted to the corporate office. These employees tend to be promoted to positions at the local level only.
• 3.
  Regiocentric staffing approach: Human resource policies and practices are dictated by the needs of the region. The approach utilized is similar to what occurs in the polycentric staffing approach. However, there is a broader territory—it is regional versus local. Therefore, there are opportunities to hire and promote workers to regional levels.
• 4.
  Geocentric or global staffing approach: The multinational's focus is to look at the “big picture” and develop a plan that provides optimal utilization of all resources, not just human resources. Local and regional concerns are not given priority; rather, they are given equal weight as some other factors in the decision-making process. Staffing practices are developed at the corporate level and the selection process is based on a global pool without regard to a persons country of origin or cultural background.

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