Talent Development Strategies in Relocation

In this episode of CRI's webinar series, "Relocation Explained -Talent Development Strategies in Relocation," we spoke with Andrew Miziniak, CEO of HansaOne & AASK Global Destination Services and gained insight into the crucial convergence of talent development and relocation. Our conversation with Miziniak centered around the essential topics related to talent acquisition, talent development, and the complexities of relocation in today's interconnected world.

As global relocations increase, successful talent management is characterized by various factors, including mitigating talent shortages, minimizing attrition, easing role transitions, and recognizing cultural challenges. This success is dependent on the entire supply chain ensuring the seamless adjustment and well-being of relocating employees and their families. However, when looking at the bigger picture, the ultimate aim is to harmonize with the company's specific business objectives for each relocating employee. A significant aspect of reaching this goal involves acknowledging the inherent diversity of talent and learning how to respect and understand it.

“There are many dimensions of talent acquisition that a relocation company is involved in,” says Miziniak. “Throughout their entire supply chain, we're (cultural training and destination service companies) a very small fraction of it…with the destination, the intercultural and the language.

“But we feel that the entire supply chain is really responsible for carrying this very important cargo with this very important individual, their families…making sure that things are stable when they leave, to when they come in (to a new country), so they can fulfill the natural goal of maximizing company and personal objectives with this investment that our clients make.”

Through Miziniak's extensive research, the factors that lead to effective integration into global companies are driven by an individual's work motivation. These motivations originate from various sources, are driven by diverse values, and touch on personal, financial, social, or brand-related factors. Oftentimes, companies make the mistake of solely focusing on the superficial factors of talent, concentrating exclusively on observable behaviors. Although this observation is relevant, Miziniak’s research also shows another important component of success: trust within the team.

“What we're really trying to help (companies) understand is that it's not just the relocating individual, it's the whole team that has to have trust. That's where talent really comes down to…maximizing it, not just acquiring it,” says Miziniak. “Really looking at the successes of talent is to help teams understand how to build trust with each other, because that's really what we're doing – we’re taking a person out of their own trust network and we're dropping them off in a new country where they have all the skills, but they don't have the trust.”

In these situations, rapid trust-building is essential, requiring a supportive environment, repetitive interactions, timely feedback, and deliberate practice. This is where cultural training plays a significant role in creating a valid, conducive environment for trust building.

Miziniak also highlights the significant role communication has in building trust, underscoring how it is central to all challenges. This is consistently evident as individuals express their culture and preferences in non-verbal ways – on a cognitive level, when they assess the alignment of their beliefs with others; emotionally when they identify with groups based on factors like religion, politics, and region; and behaviorally when they demonstrate cues that reveal how they handle acceptance and tolerance. There are myriad physical reactions that also convey messages, and most of us remain unaware when we react this way.

“Communication has always been at the heart of issues that we have, and also the success that we can earn,” says Miziniak. “That's why it's so important that we not only have intercultural training in a relocation, but also that relocation companies are supporting their clients in terms of team building, in terms of leadership, in terms of growth, because that one person that's relocating is working with a team that perhaps wasn't trained, perhaps doesn't have the grasp of the nuances of intercultural communications that the person who relocated had gotten during the relocation.”

For more insight from Andrew Miziniak on this topic, check out our blog,  A Culture of Trust - How Dynamic Communication Generates Business Success. We also encourage you to visit at Hansa One and AASK Global for more information about cultural training and destination services for relocating employees.