GLOBAL OR LOCAL STAFFING? DORA SCHOLARIOS
Case scenario The corporate HR Director and Manufacturing Director of a US multinational with locations worldwide (including South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa) are debating whether to implement a global selection system for engineers in all the manufacturing plants or to allow each country to develop its own system tailored to the location’s special needs. The Manufacturing Director feels that a good engineer needs to have the same skills no matter where in the world you go. He wants the HR group to come up with a web-screening tool, including a standardised competency-based application form and tests, and interview protocol that can be implemented worldwide. These should be linked to the company’s brand values – technology, customer value, courage, integrity and impact. The HR Director believes that different characteristics are needed to perform the engineering job in different countries, not least to fit with local management practices; e.g. communication or representation. Therefore, each region needs to come up with its own system. The problem This case scenario is based on the work of Ryan and colleagues who over the last two decades have studied the growing use of global staffing systems used by many multinational companies, such as Motorola and Shell.
Ryan and Tippins (2009) concluded that globalisation, efficiency and technology are the main driving forces behind increasing convergence towards ‘sophisticated’ selection systems. Organisations are increasingly sourcing their skilled talent from across the globe and the millennial generation are more mobile (PriceWaterhouseCooper Talent Mobility 2020). This suggests more global hiring practices, but some argue for local cultural sensitivity. For example, in many countries, hiring may be based on possessing a degree from a prestigious university or having a contact in the organisation. Changing to an ‘impersonal’ selection procedure may even signal that the company is no longer a ‘good employer’ for those with elite education. Another issue is that tests or interview questions designed for Western candidates may be unfamiliar in some cultures. Maurer’s situational interview designed for engineers (Box 4.4) implies a particular relationship with a subordinate which may not transcend cultures. Moreover, apart from the costs of translation and ensuring cross-cultural equivalence of methods, subsidiary locations may not have the expertise in implementing formalised selection systems or the resources for training. Consider some of the evidence gathered by Ryan and her colleagues. • Cultural values do matter Ryan et al.
(1999) surveyed HR practitioners/ senior managers in 959 organisations in 20 countries. Countries scoring high on the cultural value of uncertainty avoidance (feeling threatened by unknown situations), such as Belgium, Japan and Spain, made greater use of testing and standardised interviews. • Local autonomy matters Ryan et al. (2003) interviewed local managers. One Motorola manager commented, ‘they don’t want to be compared to the US, they want to be compared locally for selection. It’s their applicant pool really from which they draw.’ They recommended integrating ‘global tools into local systems’. • Applicants’ preferences are converging In 2008 a global sample of over 1,000 undergraduates were asked to rate their perceptions of selection tools used by a particular multinational for an entry-level management job (including biodata, cognitive, personality and situational judgement tests). There were no country differences, suggesting that cultural differences in candidates’ perceived fairness are not a barrier to the global selection systems used by multinationals.
Questions
1 What is your position on the case scenario? Provide an argument making use of Ryan’s evidence and the economic and social pressures impacting selection (Table 4.2).
2 Design a multi-stage process for hiring graduate engineers into this US multinational in a country of your choice. Provide an explanation for your decisions.
Table 4.2
