AE Managers and knowledge transfer

With regards to knowledge transfer in CoinCo, this occurred in both directions, that is to and from the subsidiary, and was undertaken with different objectives in mind. When asked about the primary reason for utilising international management assignments within the UK, the HRD at Coinco made it clear that this was for language purposes. This was in order to facilitate better transactions between MonCo and its clients within the UK setting. In other cases, managers were assigned to this location in order to transfer key organisation systems and processes, and to disseminate their functional and business expertise within CoinCo. These will now be further discussed, with highlighted examples in the following sections.

6.5.1.1. Language translation and knowledge facilitation:

As MonCo was a Spanish company, with one of its significant business markets in the Latin American region, many of its clients around the world were from Spanish and Portuguese origin. C1, the HRD based in one of MonCo’s UK head offices, and who had the mandate for the assignment of managers to the UK, stated that because of a lack of foreign language skills among its UK employees, it was important to assign managers who could communicate with foreign clients. When asked about the main purpose for using such assignments, he said:

“Primarily language. One of the barriers that we have for people in the UK is that generally we’re not particularly good at languages. So a lot of our businesses operate in

166| P a g e Spanish or Portuguese and we don’t have a lot of Spanish and Portuguese speakers. So we’ve got some who go abroad, in fact I’ve got two people in the HR department”

- C1, HRD, CoinCo

Other interviewees agreed with this, stating that while they were involved in other knowledge- related roles, one of their key priorities was ensuring that clear and accurate communication was possible, not only between the head office and the UK subsidiary (addressed further in the chapter), but also between the MonCo and its global clientele. One of the managers to whom C1 referred, who was assigned to CoinCo’s HR department, was C4. When asked about the purpose for her assignment she stated:

“So we don’t have many people here that speak Spanish and then probably the level of English that that person has in Spain is not so good to maintain a specific conversation so I will try to solve any kind of gap that we could have.”

- C4, HRM (CoinCo) C4 also explained that this role was both inward and outward facing. In addition to bridging the gap between MonCo and its clientele, she also helped to communicate or interpret policies and enhance communication internally as well. This involved, on many occasions, acting as a translator for employees within CoinCo and those who were based within MonCo’s headquarters in Madrid. Within this UK facility, she worked closely with, C1, the HRD, in order to facilitate communicate between him and the Madrid office. She provided an example of this:

“So for example if there is any issue in one of the divisions between the UK and Spain, like risk or audit or finance, normally the HR Director of that division in Spain, normally calls me because we sometimes have a gap with the language”

- C4, HRM (CoinCo) Above, C4 also highlighted the fact that her translation activities at time extended beyond the HRM department within CoinCo, as she was often called upon to translate for other employees in various departments in this subsidiary. Another manager, C2, who was based within the Finance department, also stated that language translation was a key part of his role in CoinCo. His unique

167| P a g e history with MonCo also indicated that the expatriate translation function also occurred within Madrid home office, with managers being assigned to that location primarily because of their multi-lingual skills. C2, who was originally from England, explained that he had been with the bank for 24 years and was based in the UK for three years before being assigned to Madrid, where he became a local. He explained:

“When I joined the bank I started to learn Spanish and I think they just took note, some people in Madrid came over to visit London and were looking to build up the credit unit in Madrid, and for someone who is English speaking…so I guess I was a candidate and they offered me the job and off I went.”

- C2, Finance (CoinCo)

Twenty years on, the need for AE managers within MonCo who are bi-lingual remained a top priority. After working in the Madrid office for ten years, and then being assigned and localised within MonCo’s US headquarters for 12 years, this manager was sent back to the UK as an expatriate, following the establishment of MonCo’s UK presence. Regarding his main expatriate role, C4 indicated that this was more for control purposes, however, reiterated that his language skills helped to facilitate other expatriate roles. In addition to C2 and C4, C3, who based in MonCo education department also stated that his language skills were a key reason for him being chosen for his particular assignment within CoinCo. He stated:

“For this role it was someone working 7 years with LatAm someone who could speak languages and understand the local culture”

- C3, Education (CoinCo)

This manager’s ability to speak several languages was particularly important as his roles brought him into contact with several internal and external stakeholders on a daily basis. This was because of the nature of his local position, which required him to pursue business partnerships with local institutions. The knowledge translation role that the above managers described was also essential to maintaining organisation control, and hence will be discussed further in section 6.5.3. Another key knowledge-related function that managers performed was the dissemination of key organisational knowledge to the local environment, which will be expanded upon below.

168| P a g e 6.5.1.2. Knowledge Dissemination

With regards to the dissemination of knowledge within CoinCo, two of the AE managers interviewed stated that this was one of the primary reasons for their role within the UK. While one of these managers, C3, was based within MonCo’s education department, the other manager, C5, was assigned within CoinCo’s technology department. The first manager, C3, indicated that he had been assigned to the UK because of the level of entrepreneurial expertise that he possessed, and his extensive experience setting up new business initiatives within MonCo. He stated:

“It's about bringing the best practices from our country…I'm very good at starting new areas and developing them and then passing them to someone else. I was sent specifically to start the UK arm of this business”

- C3, Education (CoinCo)

This particular interviewee had been within this location for more than five years and was responsible for spear-heading MonCo’s educational initiatives within the UK context. While such initiatives were undertaken in other countries within which the bank operated, no such operations existed in the UK arm of the business before his assignment. As this manager was responsible for setting up similar initiatives across other MonCo subsidiaries, he was deemed the most experienced and suitable person for this role. In addition to bringing this particular functional expertise, he also sought to transfer softer managerial skills within the UK context.

The second manager, C5, had been assigned within CoinCo’s Properties division, in order to set up key processes across the company’s IT platforms in the UK. This was necessary as MonCo’s UK operations had grown significantly over the past ten years, as a result of several mergers and acquisitions. C5 possessed expertise in the area of IT infrastructure and networks, and was chosen for this particular role because of his ability to set up and integrate specific firm IT structures and platforms. When asked about his role within CoinCo, he stated:

“The role is process change management. Basically supporting the IT development by defining what needs to be built then implementing and limiting the impact so change management. I am also in charge of the property function in the UK”

169| P a g e This interviewee went on to explain that once key processes were set up, he transferred his knowledge of how these were to be used to his UK colleagues. He stated, however, that this was not done formally by rather on an on-going basis as he performed his role alongside local employees. About this he stated:

“You get into situations where you to have to replicate a product that you did in Spain. You teach through the evolution and development of the project so there are no formal sessions organised. You have to do the governance and progress, and whatever decision that needs to be made, you are supported by your previous experience.”

- C5, Properties (CoinCo)

C5’s comments are in line with comments made by AE managers in the previous major case firms, who stated that the majority of knowledge transfer tended to occur in an informal setting, through the performance of daily job-related activities. This occurred both in a group setting and with individual employees. In addition to knowledge dissemination, interviewees also indicated knowledge acquisition occurred through their UK assignment, as will be discussed further below.

6.5.1.3. Knowledge Acquisition:

Of the AE managers interviewed within CoinCo, none indicated that the acquisition of knowledge was a key part of their UK assignment. However, some managers stated that although not being stipulated within their objectives, learning still occurred through the daily performance of their role. They referred to specific tacit knowledge about the local work context, which they attained while carrying out their daily job tasks. One manager, C5 in IT, explained that it was more about coming to grips with how the bank worked within a different context. About this he stated:

“By replicating the same function here as in Madrid it has helped me to understand a completely different bank and completely different situation.”

- C5, Properties (CoinCo) This manager emphasized the importance of this new knowledge, revealing that he was used to working in much larger, older and more established banks and units within the business, and that this was primarily in Madrid. Through his UK assignment, he was able to broaden his skills set by designing internal infrastructure for the firm’s relatively young UK operations, and consolidating

170| P a g e different business systems. This allowed him to better understand what processes were best suited for operations at different developmental stages and organisational scales. Another manager, C3 in Education, explained that the knowledge gained was more to do with differences between the working approaches of UK employees and his colleagues in Madrid. He provided an example from his experience on the current assignment to clarify:

“In the UK timing is always an issue and agenda etc. so we need to learn from the UK that discipline. In Spain people more adapt to changing situations. In Lisbon it's closer to the UK but that's historical as in the past”

- C3, Educatiion, CoinCo

Indeed, C3 stated that he had noticed that his UK colleagues typically scheduled meetings weeks or months in advance, and tended not to stray from the set agenda. He explained that this was not common in Spanish culture, where scheduled agendas constantly changed. In saying this, however, he iterated that there were benefits to be gained from both working approaches. He provided another example of tacit knowledge gained from interaction with external colleagues while on assignment in the UK:

“The way they keep relationships with each other is good is the way we can keep

relationships with our shareholders. Example the way they keep relationship with their

university alma mater.”

- C3, Education, CoinCo

This interviewee went on to explain that, from his experience, this type of close and reciprocal relationship between MNCs and local educational institutions was not something that was common within the Spanish working context. He believed that this knowledge would be beneficial moving forward in pursuing further external partnerships upon returning to Madrid, as it could result in better relationships between the bank’s internal and external stakeholders. The following section will move on to outline assignees’ management development function.

171| P a g e

6.4.2. Management Development

International management assignments were also used to develop top-tier talent within MonCo and the HRD interviewed highlighted various systems put in place to achieve this through expatriation. However, of the four managers interviewed, only one indicated that this was a key part of their assignment objectives within CoinCo. With regards to management development within MonCo, formal programmes were often utilised to support short-term or less experienced international assignees. For those at a more senior level, in addition to in-formal development through daily local interactions, there were also highly developed formal management training systems, and mentors available to support their developmental experiences. When asked about the management development processes for AE managers, C1 the HRD, explained that managerial assignments were typically reserved for those at a very senior level within MonCo. He also identified the grading categories that managers within MonCo fell into:

“We run a grading which basically goes S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, Dir Red, Top Red and Top Red being the most senior, S1 being the most junior. For the Dir Red and Top Red roles, which tend to be the ones where you get expatriate appointments... It’s Spanish, red in Spanish means network. So it’s the Director Network and the Top Network is probably how it

translates” - C1, HRD (CoinCo)

C1 went on explain that those managers who fell into the ‘DirRed’ and ‘Top Red’ categories were typically sent on assignment for a period for three or more years. He also differentiated between what MonCo considered to be ‘expatriate programmes’ and ‘management development’ programmes. Those who operated at the more senior level would typically sent on the expatriate assignments, and these were typically for more strategic purposes outside development. With regard to the ‘management development’ programmes, these were typically used for younger staff and involved working in an overseas location for a very limited space of time. C1 gave an example of one such programme:

“The second programme is called [programme name] and that’s actually a 4-month programme where someone would go abroad and work in another country for usually 4 months, it could be 3 months but it’s usually 4. The intention is they don’t come back to the

172| P a g e home country in the meantime, they’re out there. It tends to be younger people, it tends to be people without families who will go and do that.”

- C1, HRD (CoinCo) While C1 explained that these various programmes were at the disposal of its employees, many of the AE managers interviewed within CoinCo indicated that they were often left to determine the courses of their own individual careers, and that they developed and sharpened their managerial skills mainly through an action learning approach. While they were identified as high potentials through the previously outlined DirRed and TopRed, they stated that how their leadership or management skills developed from there was up to the assigned individual. Such skills were gained alongside fulfilling other assignment purposes. Some assignees stated that informative and useful experience was gained in the performance of their daily job-related activities. With regards to more formal training, some managers indicated that several training courses were offered in the Madrid office, but that these were not restricted to expatriates. Hence, it was up to these managers to decide if they wanted to pursue these. Some managers expressed a need for further developmental support for international assignees. One was C2 in Finance who commented:

“We are not very good at management development; we expect people to sort out their own common management development programme.”

- C2, Finance (CoinCo) These comments were verified by other AE managers interviewed, including C4, who explained that there was no formal process to track or support the development of expatriate managers or the knowledge gained while on assignment. Another AE manager, C5 in Properties, expressed similar sentiments. When asked about developmental support and monitoring when on

assignment, he stated:

“Nope no mentor. Two areas for improvement here. There is no close mentoring or supervision. We don't need babysitting but perhaps a closer tracking [after] landing or settling down should be given more attention.”

- C5, IT, CoinCo A similar view was also expressed by C3 who explained that he too was left to chart his own development and seek after such opportunities on his own. These interviewees explained that where AE managers sought to develop their own managerial skills, this was often in terms of

173| P a g e developing their verbal networks, gaining a more global perspective, and developing their career trajectory. In saying this, however, some interviewees, for example C2, acknowledged that the company was currently aware of this and that the HR function was making efforts to improve in this area. More about how expatriates were developed through their assignments will be discussed below.

6.5.2.1. Developing a Global Perspective

Little information was gained on the use of international assignments for developing a global experience. This was largely because the managers who were interviewed occupied very senior roles within the company. The majority of these assignees had already been on several international assignments throughout their lengthy careers, and stressed that they were assigned to the UK more for knowledge-related and or control purposes. The fact that managers who were assigned operated at a very senior level might help to explain the limited formal development and support they received while on this assignment, as indicated previously. Nonetheless, two of the AE managers provided a bit of insight into how being assigned to a foreign location was useful for such development. One of the AE managers, who was with the organisation for less than ten years, stated that this was her first assignment, and that such assignments were desired to gain a more international view of the company. This manager was C4, who, similar to other managers indicated that this was not the primary purpose of her assignment. Nonetheless, given her limited experience working outside of the Madrid headquarters at the time of assignment, she believed that having this experience could aid in further career development and progression. About this, she commented:

“I always thought that I would like to have an international experience, and I thought it was going to be nice for my personal and professional development… So if I think that this has been a development for me, yes, definitely, but I didn’t have it on a formal development plan. It was something that I discussed with my line manager at the time.”

- C4, HRM (CoinCo)

In addition to C4, another interviewee agreed that these expatriate assignments were arranged with the intention of providing MonCo employees with an opportunity to be immersed in and experience other cultures around the word. C1, the HRD, who helped organised assignments to

174| P a g e and from CoinCo explained:

“I think in terms of contribution it’s broadening their experience, it’s giving them different