What is Host-country Nationals (HCNs)?
‘Host-country Nationals’ are those employees who are citizens of the country where the company’s branch is located, which is different from the country in which the company is headquartered.
The main advantage of employing a HCN is that the language barrier is eliminated. Similarly, a HCN would be also aware of the local laws related to employment and labour. It is also beneficial for the company since hiring and staffing costs including visas, stay, etc. are eliminated.
However, there are some disadvantages too. A prominent one is the creation of ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ attitude which is detrimental to the working of any organization. Similarly, as companies generally prefer promoting rather than hiring, a home country national would struggle in managing the host country employees.
