To ensure the success of the expatriate it is best for the company to assign them a mentor or for the expatriate to acquire a mentor on their own to help guide them. A mentor must be aware of the issues that come along with an expatriate moving to another country on assignment and the expatriate’s family if they have one. The role of the mentor is to focus on the issues that the expatriate will experience while on the overseas assignment as well as giving the expatriate a guide of what to do while on assignment that will make the transition easier. Mentoring is beneficial to the mentor, the mentee, and the company.
Key things to look for are:
- Compatibility between the mentor and the expatriate
- Availability to conduct the mentoring
- Guidance with the expatriate process including pre-departure, on site, and repatriation.
The mentoring process will help ease anxiety the expatriate may have.
A mentor can be a fellow co-worker in the foreign country or they can be other expatriates. It can be very beneficial to have a mentor in the home country as well as a mentor in the host country. A fellow expatriate being a mentor can help with social adjustment and a mentor in the host country can help with learning the cross cultural skills, conflict management skills, and work-life balance skills required for successful business life and a successful home life. There can be formal and informal mentoring; the formal side is business focused and the informal has a social focus. The expatriate not acquiring a mentor can be detrimental to the company and may result in the expatriate leaving the assignment early without completing the job.
MENTOR PROGRAM
República de Panamá