Navigating International Expansion of a Domestically Based Consulting Firm

* Joint venture with a foreign partner.

* Foreign acquisition.

* Cross-national merger. 

But as you know, it is not that simple! Leaders must start with a realistic perspective, including the global competencies and human resource development, that is necessary for cross-cultural success. 

As Paula Caligiuri, leading consultant and educator in global development, states in her book Cultural Agility, "talent management is one of the most critical vehicles for implementing global business growth strategies for the future." Leadership teams looking to expand their consulting firm internationally must first inventory their current human resources and team of consultants. From a strategic perspective, leadership teams must identify which culture(s) may be most beneficial for organizational growth. This is critical as all hiring and training practices should focus back on competencies, principles, and information that are invaluable for the target culture(s). Further, by identifying a target culture, the firm—from sales through to consultancy—has direction in which to work.

Organizational Learning

If the firm is aiming to shift the current, domestic team into servicing international clients, consider the necessity of organizational learning for organic cross-cultural growth. And, as a leader within the firm, it is important to emphasize organizational learning. This attitude of organizational learning is far more than just knowledge acquisition but deals with integration, development, and improvement of the way in which the business performs. 

Some management scholars have classified organizational learning into four simple yet critical dimensions: acquisition of distinctive insights, distribution among the team, shared impressions and interpretation, and memory for future usage. With this perspective, the team is equipped with an attitude of willingness, and an understanding of the value growth brings. Both human resource management along with individual initiatives help firms to achieve success during cross-cultural expansion efforts. 

HR Management Hiring Practices

Each culture is different. Because of that, it is critical for the leadership team to communicate with the firm's HR practitioners in order to have a proper inventory of the firm's current talent pool. This inventory must account for the specific cultural competencies and needs of the target culture(s). This is essential as hiring managers look to fill necessary talent gaps of the firm with new candidates. Because cross-cultural considerations are critical, HR practitioners must look outside the typical North American style of selection. They must look beyond the schooling, certifications, professional experience, and job-specific skills. Consider these examples of cross-cultural insights:

* Japanese cultures look for temperament in candidates.

* Islamic cultures look for agreeableness and trustworthiness.

* Latin American cultures look for family priorities and values.

By knowing the firm's plan of strategic growth, hiring managers can determine what competencies the firm is lacking. Hiring managers must look for candidates to strengthen the firm with their cross-cultural competencies but who also embrace organizational learning. Identifying the candidates who are motivated and ready to learn must be at the heart of hiring practices designed to facilitate sustainable growth. This concept ties closely with motivational CQ (cultural intelligence). Candidates with high motivational CQ tend to adapt well to new experiences, persist when placed in diverse situations, have higher rates of self-efficacy, be intrinsically motivated, and adjust more easily to new situations.

Training Programs

As most organizational leaders and HR practitioners know, developing a training program is not as simple as downloading the most recent fad tool from the internet or buying a promoted series online. Training programs are influential for both new consultants as well as tenured consultants. 

Training programs within the firm must take into account the delivery method, type of learner, job-relevancy, content covered, facilitator, learning environment and more. Though not simple, training programs and other HR practices provide organizations with a considerable amount of value if focused on areas of strategic growth—and in this case, the target culture(s). Consider the various resources the firm has available within the current team, vendor relationships, networking opportunities, and third-party investment opportunities. 

Employee Resources

There are a variety of resources the leadership team can provide consultants through the human resources development. Consider implementing the following ideas to aid the firm's cross-cultural expansion. 

* Develop performance appraisals that speak to the competencies required in the given culture. This allows for further identification of areas where the consultant may need to develop to better meet client expectations, communicate, and deliver necessary insights.

* Facilitate career mapping for consultants interested in proactively pursuing cross-cultural situations. This will help the consultants work towards necessary competencies he or she is currently lacking to meet the position expectations.

* When it is time to assign cross-cultural projects, provide a Realistic Living Conditions Preview (RLCP) for the consultant before starting the assignment. RLCP provides insights on daily routines and specific information relevant to the culture in which the consultant will work. RLCP informs consultants cognitively for a realistic picture of the cross-cultural experience.

Individual Initiative—Motivation

Find the consultants within your firm who take it upon themselves to grow in cultural competencies necessary for global expansion and cross-cultural success. It is that level of motivational CQ, that level of interest, that level of drive to understand cultural surroundings that will set the firm apart from other firms not interested in learning within the global context.

Cross-cultural encounters are not limited to the development programs the firm offers. Consultants too can take it upon themselves to be prepared for cross-cultural projects and clients. There are a variety of opportunities to pursue intercultural situations outside of the office:

* Personal travel and tourism is one method a consultant can leverage that has professional benefits. When traveling, consultants benefit from building relationships and spending time with locals. 

* Education is another opportunity for consultants who are interested in building their cultural perspectives—there are countless ways to use a learning environment.

* Community-based programs on a local level require less monetary investment to interact with another culture. 

Conclusion 

As the leadership team seeks global expansion, understand the role of the firm's HR department but also the consultants themselves play in achieving cross-cultural success. From an HR perspective, hiring, training and resources are critical for the firm to arm consultants. But, the firm must have consultants willing to invest in individual initiatives to build skills, as well. The strength of the firm's human resource development to address cultural training correlates strongly with the success of the firm's international success. Ultimately, the attitude, perspective and culture towards organizational learning impacts the firm's global growth. 

Sarah Skidmore spurs the creative application of theory & strategy for leaders and organizations seeking to enhance their competitive advantage. Skidmore can be reached at Sarah@Skidmore-Consulting.com.