Relocation to Australia
Cultural Intelligence for Australia
Executives moving to Australia from countries culturally similar are often surprised at some of the more subtle differences that exist between countries such as Australia and the USA or the UK. Those moving to Australia from areas more culturally diverse to Australia may have many aspects they need to become aware of to enable them to manage and relate effectively.
Relocating to Australia
Australia is generally viewed as a very positive location in which to live. Surveys often rank Australian cities high for quality of life, creating an attractive perspective of various locations across the Australian continent.
Many people are drawn to work in Australia valuing aspects such as; political stability, personal freedom, hospital services, availability of consumer goods, climate and the accessibility of sport and leisure activities.
Does this mean the relocation is always smooth and easy? Not necessarily, many Global Mobility Managers, have stories of people positive about the transfer to Australia and eager to adapt, who encountered difficulties in the first few months. Sometimes those positive expectations can prevent people becoming aware of possible challenges such as cost of living differences, or unexpected value differences.
Even positive environments mean major changes and family members may have different perspectives on what makes an environment positive. Training or coaching Programs can ease these difficulties and enable the relocation to proceed more smoothly.
Repatriation to Australia
Repatriation Programs
Repatriation Training or Coaching services can assist with this transition providing the employee and the family with an opportunity to review the overseas experience, understand the psychological processes involved in repatriation and manage the transition effectively realigning their goals and focus on their new role and location.
The benefits to be gained for the organization include lower turnover, more focused employees, and a greater awareness of the skills and competencies which the employee has brought back from the international assignment
Why is Coming Home Sometimes Difficult?
Often we assume that returning home will always be a positive and easy experience. Your employees know the location, they are returning to a familiar work and national culture and they will be moving back to social and work networks. However the reality is often different. Changes to both work and society may present a very different environment to the one they left behind.
The work experience they have been focused on may have provided greater challenge and complexity than the job they are returning to, utilizing few of the skills they may have developed while overseas. Research shows that the majority of returned expatriates consider seriously leaving their organizations in the year after their return and many do so.
