Now that you’ve communicated your subsidiary’s organizational structure with your staff, and you’ve identified your expatriates and their roles, they’re wondering how they’re going to transition from the domestic arena to the foreign arena, and who they’ll be working with abroad. They’ve also heard rumors about the host-country’s labor laws that you’d like to set straight.

Create a paper to address their concerns. Outline your policies for staffing overseas operations. Include the following components: Strategies for preparing domestic staff to be expatriates, specifically regarding the transfer process, relocation services, compensation, cross-cultural training, retaining, and repatriation. Strategies for employing highly skilled host country national staff, specifically regarding attracting, cross-culturally training, developing, compensating, and retaining. Describe the host country’s labor relations systems, and how they will affect cross-border business, leadership styles, and human resource management. Include the following components: The restrictions and/or opportunities of the host country’s labor laws and traditional practices, and whether they conflict or align with American conceptions of equality, legality, and fairness. Consider the following: How many hours is a typical work day? Are both men and women permitted in the workforce? Are children? Do workers receive mandatory lunch breaks? Is there maternity or paternity leave? Are there unions? What these laws and practices mean for your organization’s operations?