International Human Resource Management as followed by Ericsson.Expat Employment Contracts. Hiring Practices. Difference in work culture of SWEDEN, INDIA and USA. Post arrival Training.

1. Submitted by:
Group 6 IMG 10 E
Ankit Aggarwal (10346)
Ashish Verma (10350)
Diksha Jaiswal (10355)
Shrutkirti Sood (10380)
Ushma Khattar (10383)

2. Ericsson
 Ericsson was founded by Lars Magnus Ericsson in 1876 (Ericsson,
2009a) and has today grown to having 78,000 employees and
customers in over 175 countries. The company’s main business is
telecom network equipment and related services, where it is the world’s
largest provider.
 The company has a longstanding tradition of sending employees
abroad, Its international presence has also led an extensive movement
of human capital within the organization. The company’s training
program for preparing future expatriates started in 1978.
 Today the company has expatriates from 71 nationalities working in 110
different countries
 A total number of 1,615 expatriates (or Long Terms Assignees -LTAs, as
they are referred to within Ericsson) are currently working at Ericsson,
out of which 1492 (92%) are men. Sweden is the predominant host
country, hosting 152 expatriates (9%) as for the first quarter of 2009

3. Expat- Employment Contracts and
Ericsson
Short Term
Assignments
Long Term
Assignment
s
Regular Special
Assignment

4. Hiring Practices
PCN HCN

5. Motivation to work at Ericsson
India and Sweden
Sweden:
 Career development and personal growth
 Compulsory requirement by Ericsson to work at Sweden headquarters
 Understanding how new technology develops and works and it’s
implementation
India
 Understand and implement Ericsson’s global strategy in emerging
markets
 Understand new business lines- higher risks
 Undertaking a challenging role for personal and career growth- holistic
adaptation of Ericsson’s various verticals
 Global exposure- selling practices in India
 Past experience of her mentor in India- acted as a “guiding tool”

6. US
• Action oriented
working environment
• Act First Attitude
• Focus on taking higher
risks and achieving
higher rewards
• Mature developed
market, resulting in
high growth and career
advancement potential
• Higher expectations
from high salaried
employees
Sweden
• Exact opposite culture
from that of the US
• Slow alignment towards
newer and faster
technology
• Agile ways of working
• Difference in mentality
- focus on quality of life
• No clear cut roles-
highly feministic
• More focus on soft skills
than technical skills
India
• High potential and
growth
• Complete
amalgamation between
work and personal
environment- personal
issues discussed during
coffee breaks, etc
• Emerging market-
different ways of
thinking and acting in
tricky work situations
• Not time bound
Experience at Ericsson India, US
and Sweden:

7. Difference in Soft Skills
US
Direct Communication- to
the point and brief
“Time is Money”- attitude;
getting things done
Forthcoming and open
attitude between seniors
and juniors- low Power
Distance
“Cold”- minding one’s own
business; lack of sympathy
and empathy
High level of accountability
Sweden
• Consideration
towards other co-
workers’ feelings
• Passive and soft-
warm attitude
• More family-like
working atmosphere
India
Communication is a
challenge
Indirect and subtle
communication- “read
in between the lines”
Lack of clear
accountability
Delayed response to
emails- relative time
Delays in delivery

8. Training and Development
Programmes for Expats at Ericsson
Pre-Departure Training
 Swedish employees are offered to attend a one day briefing session before
departure.
 Expatriates from other countries than Sweden receive a DVD with information
as a substitute for the briefing session.
 Before the expatriate attends the pre-departure course they receive
information, mainly via email and Internet. This information serves the
purpose of inspiring and motivating participants to start investigate and read
more on their own, but a booklet containing checklists with important things
to do before departure is also received
Post-Arrival Training
 Culture specific training, as well as other general information, is received in a
post arrival Induction Program, organized by the host organization. Contacts
with current expatriates, who are already familiar with the country, also occur
here.
 The coordinator for the Induction Program is a local Ericsson HR officer, but
external service providers are used when needed

9. Post Arrival Training for Expats in
Ericsson India
 Post arrival expat training at Ericsson India consists of a very formal
and organized activities during one day where a specialist on cultural
issues gives speech about cultural differences and representatives from
Ericsson speak about security and the work itself.
 Accompanying family members are welcome to participate in these
activities and evening activities are arranged.
 Training is also location specific-local regulations and tax policies
 Economic Scenario and current political climate
“Training provided at Ericsson India was not enough. The content was
sufficient but there was a lack of practical training provided, especially
cross cultural and communication training.”

10. Expat Compensation at Ericsson
India
 A special case is made for Third Country Nationals for sending their talents to
other countries- make a thorough justification for choosing expats over HCNs
 Motivated employees who are ready to work with a collaborative environment
in place.
Compensation
 Uniform criterion for evaluation-equal opportunities
 Compensation relative to markets- Going Rate
 Expat packages- series of meetings and negotiations with the HR heads
 Special care is made to maintain the expat’s standard of living, ensure safety
and personal and family needs
 Special extra benefits given to expats transferred to unsafe locations, eg African
subcontinent

11. Expat-specific issues faced in India
Personal issues
 Bad traffic an network of public transport- difficulty in
getting around
 having chauffer driven car- restrictive and curtails
independence
 Difficulty in understanding the communication styles-
mixture of casual and formal communication
 Social economic classes-very visible income inequality;
“There are malls in Gurgaon on one side of the road and
slums on the other”