Five ways to avoid a crash landing
Dr Nan Sussman, president of international HR and cultural-training company Global Strategies, offers five tips on successful repatriation.
1. Keep your home office well informed about your work, progress and new cultural business acumen learned while in China. You need to position yourself as an indispensable cultural source in the home office.
2. Start working on a repat job as soon as possible; be sure home office and supervisors don't forget about you. This is less likely with repats from China, as this is now the "hot country", so repats from China should be in demand. Be sure that repat benefits and relocation processes are clear before returning.
3. Keep friends and extended families appraised of experiences via blogs and monthly e-mails, so that you don't feel compelled to discuss five years of experiences upon returning home.
4. Negotiate with the company for a repat-training workshop for the whole family - both pre-departure from China and then within a month of your return to your home country.
5. Get involved in Chinese things. Continue taking mandarin lessons, tutor Chinese immigrants in English, start a China club and take related college courses.
China Daily
(China Daily 09/07/2007 page19)
