What if they don't want to move?

Whether its outsourcing, career development, or a problem that only one person can solve sometimes organizations want their people to accept an overseas assignment BUT they don’t want to go.  What can you do?

       Give them a chance – they may surprise you.  Sometimes the very people you anticipate will be reluctant to move may find the opportunity a refreshing challenge and may rise to the occasion.  Perhaps resistance you had observed in their attitude or work behaviours was stemming from a lack of engagement and the overseas move may kick start a re-engagement process with new challenges.  Perhaps you never knew they had always had an interest in that location or division.

       Give them a motivation.   Intrinsic motivations such as - a new work challenge, a growth opportunity for you, “this will prepare you for executive positions in our global organization in the future”, - are more likely to motivate with drive and energy.  Extrinsic motivators such as a profitable and rewarding package will also cover the security needs which they may be feeling.  Make the promises of future promotions real by ensuring that your senior management team has all had overseas assignments.

       Give them support.  Show them you understand the challenges they will be facing from a logistical or family perspective and tell them how you will support them through those challenges.  Find out what their issues and problems will be and create innovative ways to support them using professional assistance where appropriate.  Win over partners and families by providing programs to support them in finding new work or rebuilding flourishing lives.

       Give them flexibility.  Some of your team will be at different life stages to others.  Now is not the time to lose your corporate wisdom, or your youth and energy.  Create a policy which is flexible enough to support creative living and family arrangements.

       Give them an adventure.  Present the new location in a positive light as a gateway to a source of adventure for them and their families.  Those with openness to new cultures will often gladly take an opportunity to explore those cultures and to expose their families to new experiences, new languages, and new people. 

       Give them a team.  Often these challenges are better when faced as a group.  If you are moving a number of people provide opportunities for them and their families to get to know each other and build a support network in anticipation of the challenges ahead. If this isn’t a team move give them a chance to visit before the move and begin to get to know some of their colleagues in the new location who will form the new team on arrival.

       Give them a reason.  Help them to understand where the organization is going, what is happening in the market, what the pressures are on the industry and how that has led to this decision to move them.

       Give them a future.  Help them to see their role in that future organization.  It doesn’t need to be a specific title but help them to see how the organization needs their skills and experience and will continue to do so into the future.  If that future could include other locations or other types of roles -give some examples.

Any other ideas?