UFHRD Europe 2012; 23 – 25 May 2012

Frontier Workers in Luxembourg - The Rationale behind the phenomenon

A study in Strategic Human Resources Management

Eva Wuellner, HR Director Lindab, Route d‘Ettelbruck, L-9230 Diekirch e.wuellner@lindab.com

27.03.2012

Paper for the Doctoral Workshop Stream

Table of Contents

1. Abstract……………………………………………………………………….22. Key words…………………………………………………………………….23. Research Methodology……………………………………………………..24. Key findings to date………………………………………………………....65. Literature review……………………………………………………………..76. Limitations of the research…………………………………………………127. The next steps……………………………………………………………….12

References……………………………………………………………………………13

List of Abbreviations

BCG Boston Consulting Group

EUROSTAT European Statistical Institution

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GTM Global Talent Management

IBA Interregionale Arbeitsmarktbeobachtungsstelle = Interregional Labor

Market Monitoring Agency

IHRM International Human Resources Management

INSEE Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques =

French Statistical Institute

MNE Multinational Enterprises

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1. Abstract: The research problem

The topic appears in the framework of International Human Resources Management (IHRM) and is dealing with the phenomenon of frontier workers in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is, with the exception of Malta, the smallest of 27 members of the European Union. As one of the leading investment and financial centres worldwide, employing 142 different nationalities, it is by far the richest country in the European Union in terms of GDP per capita. Luxembourg stands for attractive fiscal policy, good working environment, low taxes and high social security and is seen as an excellent choice for a career move (Business review 2011:36).

45% of workplaces in Luxembourg are occupied by frontier workers, commuting every day from the border countries Germany, France and Belgium.

The thesis aims at exploring the rationale and motivation behind frontier workers by using qualitative approach. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with selected German, French and Belgian frontier workers of multinational companies headquartered in Luxembourg are to be led.

The research is particularly interesting and important as so far there was only quantitative research done in this field.

The object is to answer the following research question:

What is the rationale and motivation behind frontier workers in Luxembourg?

2. Key words

Frontier worker / cross-border worker, Talent Management, Globalisation, Mobility, Diversity, International Human Resources Management (IHRM)

3. Research Methodology

Why do we need research methods in science? Following Blinkert (2009:15ff), human beings only possess few hereditary methods of knowledge. Hence, we can draw conclusions only on the basis of visual relations. Our common knowledge is based upon other interests like habits or utility. Therefore, research mainly lies on quality criteria like objectivity, validity, reliability or generalisation.

Research as defined by Remenyi is “a scholarly enquiry involving a careful and diligent research” (Remenyi 1998:289). In business and management, the empirical approach prevails, although research´s nature can be either empirical or theoretical. According to Collis and Hussey, research design is “the detailed plan for conducting

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a research study” (Collis and Hussey 2003:355). Silverman states that “like theories, methodologies cannot be true or false, only more or less useful” (Silverman 1994:55).

Research design according to Thietart “is the framework through which the various components of a research project are brought together: research question, literature review, data, analysis and results” (Thietart et al. 1996:111).

The researcher in business and management in first place needs to understand which personal paradigm one follows and its basic believe, because this will decide upon the future course of the entire research project (Collis and Hussey 2003:251). Having chosen one´s topic, the researcher then needs to deliver a research proposal in which the research design is laid down. It consists of clarifying the right research questions, listing available literature, thoughts about how data should be collected and analysis of results.

According to Saunders (2003:2) “the research methodology refers to the theory of how a research is undertaken.” In empirical research, the research design guides the researcher. Having identified the research problem or question, it is of outmost importance for the researcher to select a research strategy (Thietart et al. 2001:60). The process of the research can be either of qualitative or quantitative nature. Whereas qualitative research is related to the phenomenological paradigm, quantitative research is linked to the positivist paradigm.

Saunders (2003:597) explains phenomenology as “research philosophy that sees social phenomena as socially constructed, and is particularly concerned with generating meanings and gaining insights into those phenomena”.

According to him, qualitative research in general follows induction building theory. The results of a qualitative study in general are outlined within a written statement or a proposition derived from qualitative data. Qualitative Research according to Yin (in Tucker, Powell and Meyer 1995) is the most appropriate method for someone trying to understand the characteristics and components of a phenomenon when theorizing around it as it allows deeper insights into the subject of study as a result of building an understanding of their experiences relating to the particular phenomenon (Tucker et al. 1995). It has also been defined as “any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of qualification” (McLeod, 1994:77). Denzin and Lincoln (1994) describe qualitative research as follows: “Qualitative research is multi method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter.” Creswell’s definition of qualitative research and its characteristics add the concepts of exploring “a social or human problem” and the researcher building “a complex, holistic picture” by analyzing words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducting the study in a natural setting (1998:14-16). Gephart states that “Qualitative research starts from and returns to words, talk, and texts as meaningful representations of concepts” (2004:455). It is based on evidence that is not easily reduced to numbers (Remenyi 1998). There are three ways for data collection in order to get output from qualitative

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findings: in-depth, open-ended interviews; direct observation and written documents (Patton 2002:4).

The method employed to conduct my study is an in-depth exploratory approach, focused on gathering qualitative data from a specified group, also named focus group. Carson 2001, cited in Saunders (2003:344), describes the term focus group as the one used “to refer to those group interviews where the topic is defined clearly and precisely and there is a focus on enabling and recording interactive discussions between participants.” The participants have certain common characteristics and are able to share their experiences and point of view with the others (Krueger and Casey 2000 as cited in Saunders 2003). The researcher has the role of ´moderator´ or ´facilitator´.

Focus group research is an approach “from collecting evidence from a highly specialized group of individuals” (Remenyi 1998:53) which should consist of at least four persons. It is similar to in-depth surveys with similar positivistic and phenomenological implications. Such an approach is often used as collection technique for management research. It is “a useful way of obtaining evidence from experts in an intense or concentrated way” (Thietart et al. 2001:53). Qualitative evidence uses phrases in order “to describe situations, individuals, or circumstances surrounding a phenomenon” (Remenyi 1998:121). Object of focus group interviews is to “get high quality data in a social context where people can consider their own views in the context of the views of others” (Patton 2002:386).

By using semi-structured interviews, the researcher´s target is to gradually progress in relation to the research question (Thietart et al. 2001). I furthermore plan to follow the logic of triangulation given the fact that there is not only one single method for explaining the research problem, as stated by Denzin: “By combining multiple observers, theories, methods, and data sources, [researchers] can hope to overcome the intrinsic bias that comes from single-methods, single-observer, and single-theory studies” (1989:307).

Kvale as cited in Cassell (2004:11) defines the qualitative research interview as “an interview, whose purpose is to gather descriptions of the life-world of the interviewee with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the described phenomena.” The data “typically comes from fieldwork” (Patton 2002:4). Cassell identifies four steps needed to lead qualitative research interviews: defining the research question, creating the interview guide, recruiting participants and carrying out the interviews (2004:14).

My case study is cross-sectional with data to be collected in a certain period. Given the exploratory nature of the study, it necessitates to lead face-to-face, in-depth interviews with the Focus group members. The research questions are posed to guide the empirical research methodology based on an “interview guide” (Patton 2003:343). Yin (2003:90) calls this approach “focus interviews”. Prior to the

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interviews, all questions are pre-determined and listed as a guideline, and are to be used on each case.

I choose the phenomenological emphasis on how individuals (in this case the - to be - interviewed frontier workers from Germany, France and Belgium) experience the world to enter into the interviewee´s perspective and experience (Clark Moustakas 1994).

An interview guide including open questions, minimizing any source of influence for the interviewees, shall lead through the meetings with about 60 minutes each. All interviews have to be transcribed in order to facilitate the analysis of their content.The intended audience of the study is an important consideration when compiling the research methodology and qualitative research according to Marshall and Rossman (2006), as the research focuses on contextual and real world issues and therefore necessitates an “interactive and humanistic” (Marshall and Rossman 2006:3) approach.

The target population of relevance for this study consists of approx. 12 interviews with frontier workers of three nationalities, each four interviewees, of companies established in Luxembourg: Bank, Insurance, Fund Administration, and Industry, employing each at least ten cross border workers from the three nationalities listed above at different function levels.

The selection of interviewees meets the following criteria: Employed by a global organisation A minimum of 2 years experience within their current job at least commuting to Luxembourg since three years and varied in age.

The interview is structured in a way to encourage a conversation focusing on a number of themes with the intention to piecing together an intellectual puzzle (Mason 2002). Due to the personal and exploratory nature of the subject material, it is necessary that the researcher develops a relationship of trust and respect with the respondents. Interviews are to be hold at the interviewees’ company in a separate meeting room in order for the researcher to gain insights into the environment and context. Pre-testing is to be conducted prior to the in-depth interviews so as to be comfortable with the interviewing and probing techniques and the data capturing process.

The gathered data need to be reduced into manageable pieces. Patton (2002) explains that the transformation of data into key findings does not follow defined formula but requires guidance in the form of a coding frame that makes content analysis more efficient, allowing the gathering of meaning in data. Miles and Hubermann recommend to use a contact summary sheet as of the early step of data analysis and to build up on these results for the next contact.

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According to Mason (2002), reliability essentially involves accuracy and consistency of the research methodology. It is the ability to “obtain the same results if the research were to be repeated by another researcher” (Collis and Hussey 2003:354). In qualitative research, the reliability depends on the capability and ability of the researcher to condense and analyze data (Miles and Hubermann 1984, cited by Thietart 2001).

Validity in qualitative research is also described as the trustworthiness or credibility of the process. Saunders calls it the “extend to which data collection methods accurately measure what they intend to measure” (2003:492). In a phenomenological paradigm, validity has to be high in order to “gain the full access to the knowledge” (Collis and Hussey 2003:59). Yin (2003) demands multiple sources for evidence. In this case, interviews, but also direct observation and taking notes will be the source.

I strive to work as accurate as possible to make sure that all findings are complete and in order. The interviews are to be kept digitally and stored in an organized case study database.

The scale of research is limited to the boundaries of Luxembourg with its straight forwarded distances (North to South 80 km and West to East 34 km). Most of the interview partners work in companies situated in the City of Luxembourg. Neither travel costs nor costs for renting of rooms for the interviews will apply as all take place in the interviewee´s company office. I use my company car to drive to the interviews.

4. Key findings to date

A lot has been written about Talent Management and globalisation, whereas the phenomenon of frontier workers, especially when it comes to Luxembourg, has been researched mainly only on quantitative basis.

As there are more than 150.000 cross-border workers from the three neighboring countries Germany, France and Belgium commuting every day to Luxembourg, this is worthwhile analyzing more in details.

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The following picture gives an overview on the number of cross-border workers by neighboring country:

Wage earners in Luxembourg from 1975-2011 (Source: STATEC)

One can see that the number of French frontier workers has risen very sharply year over year, whereas the evolution in numbers for Belgian and German was more moderate.

5. Literature review

The literature review aims at improving the “own personal knowledge on a subject” (Collis and Hussey 2003:110). To start with, it should focus on key authors for the subject under research. The researcher should be critical, draw conclusions on models described and compare internal and external factors to finally come up with identifying the gap and formulate the research question which should be relevant for the research project. By critically reviewing the literature, the conceptual framework will be the outcome.

Given that nowadays the flood of information is huge, one has to weight out whether the information is relevant and supportive or not. Yin (2003) advises to carefully review the literature in order to develop a sharp and insightful question about the topic under investigation. Literature review is never completed, as there will be additional papers issued until the final publication of the dissertation (Thietart et a. 2001). It should not only indicate a suitable problem to research but also help the

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researcher to find out about methods and approaches traditionally used in this field (Creswell 1994). At the end of the literature review it should be clear to the researcher what he or she wants to achieve in his or her research.

The subsequent literature review focuses on the key issues, themes and prevailing thoughts around frontier workers / cross-border workers, Talent Management, Globalisation, Mobility, Diversity and International Human Resources Management (IHRM).

According to Baruch (2006), the contemporary literature around the above mentioned topics points out to the fact that the labor market is dynamic and the system in which we work is characterized by fluidity and constant change. Meisinger (2006) argues that people have become a key component to business success. That theme also comes through in a book from Cheese (et al. 2007).

Global competition and the demand for more specialized skills and knowledge have emerged as the main drivers with the need for the labor pool to constantly strive to raise the skills bar. Pringle and Mallon (2003) speak about the concept of boundary less career which challenges the traditional concept of careers. Baruch states that the “actual career or meaning of the career transcends the boundary of a single path within a single employer” (2006:128).

The changes brought about by globalisation and the raising competitive factor in the global economy has a direct influence on the workplace and the employees. Baruch (2006) sees the modern day career as flexible and dynamic, mirroring the impact of globalisation, where the knowledge worker or talent is of strategic importance and value. The challenge in this globalised new world is that a job is no longer for life, where individuals are becoming their own career managers and navigators, steering their future career paths as they see suitable (Baruch 2006). Individuals are no more isolated figures in the career development process but are embedded in the broader interconnected individual, global and organisational domains. They are becoming more personally conscious and self-concerned (Baruch 2006) as well as globally mobile (Cappellen and Janssens 2005).

As Drucker (1994) explains, due to the nature of global competition the individual needs to capitalize on knowledge and drive the transference of his knowledge within and across organisations. This context puts the talent worker into a position where he or she has greater choice and find organisations competing for their skills and competences.

A global survey performed by McKinsey evidences the fact that no other global tendency has ever been considered so important (McKinsey 2008). It shows that the more and more global nature the competition for talents, the major will be the impact on companies in the following five years.

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Evidence on Talent Management not only comes from primary data in literature, but also from secondary sources like professional journals as the Human Resources Management Review, Human Resources Development International, the HR Magazine or Internet sources like cipd.co.uk.

In order to reference to most current trends in HRM, I plan to predominantly use journal articles as main source of data.

A big variety of literature has been published on the topic of Global Talent Management:

An article in Journal of World Business, published in 2010, is a good starting point for literature review on this topic (Tarique, Schuler 2010: 105-108). The article reviews literature regarding the topic of Global Talent Management, analyzes matters such as the definition of the term GTM and the differences between IHRM and GTM. It continues by providing an integrative framework on which further research can be based. Research on GTM is categorized as still being in its infancy. The paper also provides extensive recommendation regarding literature with a list of useful journals.

Another helpful introduction on globalisation and diversity is a study done by the Boston Consulting Group 2011, called ´Creating People Advantage 2011’. According to BCG, the current most critical HR topics are managing talent, improving leadership development, transforming HR into a strategic partner and strategic workforce planning. The current general mega trends are demographics, social media, globalisation, diversity and work-life balance.

Talent management issues faced by MNEs are particularly the difficulties experienced when moving management overseas. One big problem continues to be the lack of support returnees receive. Companies which are good at managing their expats earned significantly higher profit per employee. Rotating talent globally is very important to promote cultural awareness and diversity (Guthridge and Asmus 2008:10-13).

When it comes to Luxembourg, there are plenty of data available on the labour market, employment structure, and demography and frontier workers. Those data are regularly published by the European Statistical Institution, EUROSTAT.

The Interregionale Arbeitsmarktbeobachtungsstelle (IBA = Interregional Labor Market Monitoring Agency) issues brochures with key indicators for the so-called Greater Region. This includes the two German states Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz, as well as the French region Lorraine and the Belgian Wallonie. The study gives an overview of the extent and the structure of the cross-border stream in the entire region, as well as the reasons for high employee mobility. It also contains topics such as residence mobility, the overloaded and badly coordinated traffic infrastructure, language problems and administrative obstacles. Further recommendations for action and measures are compiled for the promotion of employee mobility.

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A recent study done by Löh (2011) examines the question, who are the frontier workers in the Greater Region, how to characterize them and under which conditions they work. The author comes to the conclusion that cross-border workers on average are younger, better trained and male. Examined factors amongst others are education, personal characteristics, size of business they work in, kind of occupation and occupational group. The study deals with the entire Greater Region and not only Luxembourg.

The French Statistical Institute (Insee = Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques, Nancy) published a survey about education and training in the Greater Region. It describes weaknesses and differences of education systems in the Greater Region, showing that it lags behind the European standard. But it also reveals that high-qualified persons in large-scale enterprises more and more participate in further education.

Deloitte in their recently published HR survey on global trends in Luxembourg state that the general trend in Luxembourg is restrain, as the economical upturn is seen with caution. Top priorities are recovery, business development, building customer loyalty and innovation through new products. Regarding HR, the attraction and retention of talent and high potentials/performers are valued the most. There are also lacks in the existing HR systems. Retention is seen as a great challenge as turnover is expected to rise. To combat this, companies plan to raise their attractivity, especially through Employer Branding.

Wille, a German researcher in the field of sociology and cultural sciences, is the first source found that specifically deals with the status of frontier workers in Luxembourg. He states that cross-border commuters are an indispensible part of the Luxembourgish work force. The study researches how Luxembourgish residents regard cross-border workers and what status they give them. The result shows that the Luxembourgish society has an ambivalent view on cross-border workers which focuses on differences and the construction of identity.

Prof Fehlen from the University of Luxembourg already in 1997 bespoke the unique status of the Luxemburgish job market which creates its wealth by utilizing international niches, reflected in the banking sector. The industrialisation followed by expanding the service sector led to a strong upward mobility, also promoted by the high portion of foreigners, which could occupy lower level functions. In the last decades this changed however, since the new immigrants from the border areas do not begin in low level jobs, but enter the job market at the same level as inhabitants. This new competition, as well as the phenomenon of unemployment so far nearly unknown in Luxembourg, lead to an escape of Luxembourgers into the public and semi public sector, where high entrance barriers for foreigners where created arguing

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with those people’s (at least) trilingualism. The old generations of immigrants, which are less educated and trained than the cross border workers stand in a difficult situation and cannot enter the safe environment of the public sector due to missing language knowledge.

Already in 1997, Fehlen predicted the following: “In this sense each commuter in its family, in its circle of acquaintances, in its residential surroundings is an advertising medium for the Luxembourg job market and even more inhabitants of the areas close to the border will consider working in Luxembourg as potential possibility." (in: Cahier du Centre Universitaire, Série ISIS, no. 3, p. 43)

Eleven years later, the subsequent article by Wille reflected on the social aspects of cross border workers in Luxembourg: "The atypical situation of both, growth in jobs and unemployed persons, is to be attributed to the mismatch between required qualifications and available Luxemburgish workforce, whereas Luxemburgish unemployment numbers are less due to a cut-throat competition, than of structural nature.” (in: Interculture Journal, Jahrgang 7, Ausgabe 6, p. 29)

The article deals with the creation of new, transnational areas in Luxembourg and its effects on frontier workers. After a description of the Greater Region, the job market and the characteristics of being a frontier worker, conflicts and different aspects are lit up. Frontier workers deplore that they are unequally treated, particularly in view of career perspectives. On the other side many think that cross-border workers take away job opportunities from Luxembourgers as they accept lower pay, but who are also better qualified and motivated. The public sector remains the only safe haven for Luxembourgers due to the required multilingualism and personal contacts. The investigation, however, shows that cross-border workers are not considered as economic competition, as it is out of question that Luxembourg needs them to generate and sustain economic growth. More problematic is the threat to the own culture and language and the feeling becoming a stranger in the own country and not being able to communicate in one´s native language. It is criticized that frontier workers (esp. if they have family) are only coming to work in Luxembourg but spend their private life in their home residence country. In addition, many envy the cross-borders workers due to the perception of better earnings who themselves feel stressed due to commuting. This evidences e.g. in more sick days. There are on an average 4.7 nationalities cooperating in Luxembourg. As a result, factors such as mentality differences, language knowledge and mutual prejudices are seen as largest obstacles. Different approaches to work between French, Luxembourgers and Germans often lead to misunderstandings.

The following citation from a Deloitte Senior Manager underlines the above findings:

“What our evidence shows is that cross-border workers do require special attention. Luxembourg imports workforce from its neighbouring countries because it doesn’t have enough skilled labour. The ability to face the talent challenge is linked to a delicate mix of higher salaries, a good taxation system and good employment

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environment and opportunities. If any of these points cease to be a differentiator, companies will start having issues in recruiting. And of course companies have directly impact only on one of the three points: creating good job opportunities in a positive environment. It is all a matter of pay off. As long a resident from Metz (just to make an example) has an engaging job and can gain more money, he will stand the commuting. I don’t really see a lot of intercultural issues in here, because the Greater Region population is quite homogenous, and is used to contacts. Plus companies in Luxembourg are used to be “international”. (Phone interview led on 14/2/2012)

This statement contradicts what Wille names intercultural issues as main reason for a high level of stress.

To sum up, the literature on globalisation, Talent Management and in particular frontier workers in Luxembourg has its limits as it is mainly based on data. So far, no research has been done on the soft factors such as what are the main motivational factors for those three nationalities for commuting to Luxembourg every day. I attempt to close the identified gap by thoroughly analyzing interviews with cross border workers from Germany, France and Belgium from middle and large sized multi-nationals in Luxembourg.

6. Limitations of the research

The following limitations of the study must be acknowledged: Potential bias based on the researcher´s own perspective, assumptions and

interpretations which can be limited by a sound theoretical base as foundation of the process.

The outcome of the research which is highly dependent on the quality of answers gathered in the interviews.

7. The next steps

Further literature search needs to be done so as to identify key authors who have done research on frontier workers in other parts of the world. This could result in interesting findings about differences or similarities. Furthermore, decision should be taken whether it is recommendable to limit the research in the industry sector instead of including finance and service employees. It might add value to draw a comparison by also interviewing HR Directors in the respective company where the asked cross border employees work for. Once this is clear, a questionnaire shall be drafted and a pre-test be lead with 2 or 3 persons working in multi-nationals in Luxembourg, employing the 3 nationalities under research.

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