Guidelines for the management of the employee repatriation process in South African multinational enterprises

Abstract

Expatriation has been extensively covered from a literature perspective, both international and locally. However, repatriation (as the final phase of expatriation) has received less attention, especially from the perspective of South African multinational enterprises (MNEs) that send expatriates abroad and have to manage their return to the home country upon completion of an assignment. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of repatriation from an enterprise perspective, with the objective of compiling and categorising guidelines for repatriation management. When the repatriation process is planned in advance and executed properly, the enterprise can expect the associated return on investment and establish a competitive advantage. Knowledge transfer of international skills and experience can take place, and the enterprise is able to build a cadre of international managers, allowing international mobility. A thorough literature review was carried out with the focus on international human resource management, expatriate management and repatriation and retention. The literature study was followed by the empirical study that employed an electronic survey method of data collection, distributed to 101 respondents. Results of 41 SA MNEs contributed to further data analysis. Based on the literature and the findings, the dissertation suggests that a phased approach to repatriation provides a well-defined and structured process to assist and guide the enterprise to manage repatriation. If executed properly, this should result in a reduction in costly repatriation turnover. This dissertation adds to existing knowledge about the employee repatriation process by contributing new insight and focus areas to aid SA MNEs to implement best practices for future international assignments.