Striking the Balance in Global HRM
Dr Marnie Gibson
People & Culture Leader | Culture Transformation & Engagement | Board Director | Doctor of FoW, Leadership, Employee Engagement | Keynote Speaker | Curious Enquirer & Researcher
As companies globalize what practices need to localize? How do you strike the balance between company culture and respecting local practice?
Whilst many studies have investigated this conundrum, there is yet to be a rule book which can cover this broad spectrum. The simple reason substantiated by the research, and in my experience, is because each practice, each culture, each challenge needs to be addressed individually.
One thing I have learnt working across various cultures is that decisions are best when they are consultative. The downfall of many MNC’s is that decisions are sometimes made in isolation by people who are too distanced from the challenges at hand. Practices such as global payroll, global bench marking and organizational culture can’t be a one size fits all approach – and embarking in this nature can have detrimental impacts. Nothing can beat sitting face to face with the managers and employees at hand to gain their insights, understand the challenges and risks from their perspective and seek their suggestions along the way in all key determinations.
This week I was reminded again to seek and not assume. Working with an incredible team in China for the week it took days of discussion to reveal the key implications of assumed procedures. We unpacked the minute details, had a few challenges around translation and all that amidst some cultural boundaries. But once we got there, the rewards were evident. The team felt understood and supported and I could do my job in influencing on their behalf and they now have a passionate advocate in me who will seek to educate further abroad.
Now I know this is nothing new, but it always pleasantly surprises me the huge gains I get out of working directly with various teams face to face. In HRM we need to acknowledge the fluidity in the balance of autonomy and support, global and local, and control and trust. Although I think the key learning within this, is that the fluidity must be jointly guided by consultation, and never assumed.