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Employing Workers from Abroad In 2020 [Guide]

For many organizations, the ultimate goal is to grow beyond their initial capacity, building new franchises, entering new markets, and generally taking their organizations to new heights. It is a laudable goal. However, it comes with its challenges, that if not carefully maneuvered, can cause problems for such an organization. One such challenge is hiring and managing highly-skilled employees, especially from abroad. Employing workers from abroad serves many purposes, and in 2020, organizations can benefit from the many advantages of taking this route offers.

For some other organizations, expanding and building new frontiers may not be their immediate goal. They just want to cut costs and enjoy the benefits that employing workers from abroad may offer to their organization. This can also be an option. So, in this article, we’re going to be outlining everything that companies need to know about employing workers from abroad in 2020, their pros and cons (if any), and how to go about this strategy.

Summary

• Why Does Your Organization Need Talents from Abroad?
• Analyzing the Current Challenges Facing Organizations in the EU
• Current Job Market Trends in the EU
• The Legal Aspects – What Companies Should Know
• Recruiting for Your Organization – How to Go About It
• Planning the Arrival of Your Employee
• Meeting Your Employee for the First Time
• Accommodation
• Helping New Employees Adapt to a New Location
• Cultivating a topnotch workplace culture
• Inclusion and Diversity
• Conclusions

Why Does Your Organization Need Talents from Abroad?

We now run a global economy supported by digitization. New technologies have made it possible to recruit highly-skilled from almost anywhere in the world. And many companies are taking advantage of it to boost their innovation, drive down costs, and generally improve their scale. Reports show that European companies are losing their skilled workers to competitive startups and big corporations in the US. This has caused the shortage of skilled talents in short supply.

So, to meet up with this labor shortage, companies are looking across shores to boost the quality of their employees. Your organization needs talents from abroad for the following reasons:

• A wide pool of highly-skilled professionals: If you’re seeking for top talents for your organization, then it makes a whole lot of sense to widen the pool of candidates as much as possible, to ensure that only the best are recruited to help your organization achieve its goal. Companies who look outside their immediate location can find the best talents for roles that are very difficult to fill, especially the tech or IT-related ones. As new technologies emerge, the number of skilled workers to fill those roles decreases. For companies hiring only from countries where they’re based, the talent pool is reduced to a large extent. But when the same companies spread their dragnet to other European countries, especially the Eastern European countries, they are overwhelmed with a wide range of talent pool to choose from.
• It is cost-effective and strategic: The goal of any company is to boost profit by minimizing cost. When companies turn their sights to employing workers from abroad, that aim is achieved. It is a strategic way of reducing the need for a lengthy selection process and removing the necessity to provide costly training. Most times, companies from first-rate economies offer employees from abroad job opportunities that are richer and way above the scale of what they might be currently enjoying in their countries. These opportunities are attractive, not only in terms of the perks that come with it but also because these employees see the chance to gain international work experience with a reputable company and run with it. This translates into the labor being cheaper, thereby directly reducing costs for the organization in question.
• Foreign workers are properly trained: Recently, there have been more skilled migrants coming from East and Central European countries. According to the Institute of Labor Economics, 2017 Report , in some of the EU member countries, notably in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Slovenia, the second generation has attained tertiary education at a much higher rate than their parents, and these are the migrants moving to first-rate European countries. There are properly trained workers from abroad. Companies only need to source for them to find them.
• Adaptability and Initiative: Workers from abroad generally show more flexibility, as they are more used to moving to new environments now and then. That’s not to say that local talents are not able to showcase these skills. However, foreign migrants have consistently displayed an ability to respond to changes within the workplace. They are more flexible when it comes to relocating to a new city and integrate perfectly with their new team whenever the occasion calls for it, which is a skill that is highly needed in our ever-evolving economy.
• High level of independence: Relocating to an entirely new country is a big deal. A candidate who can display such a level of autonomy and commitment is always a top clinch for any organization. Leaving family and other attachments behind can signal a highly motivated and ambitious individual. This level of motivation can be utilized by such an organization to meet its goals and objectives.

The Cons of Recruiting from Abroad

While many benefits are accruing to recruiting from abroad, companies must be made aware of the cons of taking this step.

• Internal wrangling: Most employee disgruntlement occurs when they are passed over for a promotion or important job assignments for outsiders. So, before considering employing workers from abroad, make sure that there is existing staff in your organization who are highly-qualified to fill such job roles.
• Cost of bad hires: Once your recruitment is poorly managed, the cost can be pretty high. You do not want to hire a foreign employee whose resume looks intimidating on paper only to find out that such an employee costs your organization so many resources in travel cost, accommodation, and wages. So, you must be careful to ensure that only the rightjob agency or job board, such asZutzu handle your recruitment process.

Analyzing the Current Challenges Facing Organizations in the EU

We don’t have enough skilled workers

One of the challenges facing organizations in Europe is skill shortages and gaps. According to a 2015 report by the European Center for the Development of Vocational Training, four in 10 businesses in the European Union (EU) report difficulties finding staff with the right skills. This has reflected in the level of competitiveness and productivity of European enterprises.

In one of her weekly podcasts in 2019, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reechoed the same sentiments when she said her country was experiencing a skilled labor shortage, saying this could force companies to move elsewhere. Providing a solution to this niggling problem, as experienced by other countries, Merkel said her country was “looking to recruit qualified people from other European Union countries, and further afield.” Migrants contribute in no small measure to sustainable economic growth and development, both in their home and host countries.

European enterprises are facing significant setbacks in growth over their inability to fill certain job roles, especially the mid and lower-level cadres. To reduce the problem posed by shortages in skilled workers, companies are now recruiting migrant workers from multiple low-income countries, especially within Europe and third-world countries. Companies are also recruiting from other European countries where highly-skilled professionals exist in abundance

How to Find Skilled Workers Abroad for Your Organization

Recruiting, developing, and retaining skilled workers, especially from abroad, are vital to the success of any organization. In today’s global economy, a lot of organizations have now realized that to expand and compete globally, only the best talents would do, and most times, these talents can be found only in foreign countries. Employing workers from abroad is even more challenging than finding talents at home. And this can be caused by the laws and customs of the country your organization is recruiting from, which can vary significantly. Before you employ workers from abroad, you need to devise a strategy that takes the laws, culture, and market practices of the country you’re recruiting from into account. The following tips can help your organization:

• Be specific about your needs: When you’re hiring workers from abroad, then you need to be specific about the needs of your organizations. When posting openings in job boards, job forums, or if you’re leaving the process to a job agency, avoid general language. State categorically what is expected of your intending employee, and how they can help meet the objectives of your organization. Being very specific will help your organization find the right candidate. Post job ads with keywords that target only certain professionals.
• Highlight the perks that come with the position: As stated earlier, it is usually a big decision for individuals to leave their families and every attachment that they have in their home country and move to an entirely new country, even if such job role has always been a dream job. So, to be able to convince highly-skilled workers to make that move, you must clearly state the incentives and perks such as salary, health insurance, and vacation benefits that such job role offers. Would your company handle their relocation expenses such as visas, travel costs, and work permits, and accommodation, as the case might be? Once your organization highlights the compensation package that accompanies an international job role, the right candidate from abroad is just seconds away.
• Your onboarding process: A topnotch onboarding experience can help find the right candidate for your organization. And not just finding the right candidate – it can help retain them also. According to a survey by Glassdoor , organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%.
• Attend international job fairs: Contrary to popular opinions, international job fairs are not a dying culture. Your organization can employ this route to find highly-skilled workers from abroad. In most cases, organizations will never get to meet their international employee until employment contracts have been signed. Career fairs allow you to meet your intending employee in person, no matter how brief. It helps your organization put a face to multiple resumes while identifying strong candidates from the outset.
• Narrow your search: When the job market of the entire continent, or in some cases, the whole world, becomes your hunting ground, it can prove hectic finding the right candidate. So, instead of looking for candidates in every part of the world, you can confine your job search to only certain job markets – let’s say job markets in East-Central Europe, or maybe the Baltics.
• Understand the culture of your recruiting country: Understand that employees from abroad might not share in the cultural assumptions of your organization or host country. For example, the workweek in Israel runs from Sunday to Thursday. This is to allow its citizens to observe the Shabbat, the Jewish holy day, which commences from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Also, the Israeli workweek is 43 hours, which is a significant shift from the workaholic nature of the Brits. So, before you recruit from a particular country, take time to research the cultural nuances of that country, see how employees from that country will fit into your organization.

Where to Find Talented Skilled Workers

Now, your organizations have decided to employ workers from abroad. The next challenge will probably be where to find these workers – platforms to use. Let’s look at the platforms that companies are using for their international recruitment.

• Job boards: Job boards have continually been an effective and incredibly valuable tool for organizations in finding the right candidate, especially from recruiting workers from abroad. Most job boards offer a recruiter section with company profiles wherein companies can place their job ads for a fee. The job boards also provide an opportunity for branding for organizations, as they can present their values, missions, and objective. This is an opportunity for organizations to sell themselves to topnotch talents. Job boards also offer organizations the chance to save on the recruitment process. If your organization is used to paying thousands of euros to an external recruiter for every hire, then it makes sense to spend a couple of hundreds of euros to achieve the same result. However, you will be considering factors such as the traffic that a job board can command, its candidate quality and demographics, its pricing model, and the posting period. In lieu of these factors, the Zutzu job board presents a unique opportunity to recruit the best candidate for your organization. It boasts of thousands of quality candidates using its platform to find jobs. The type of candidate that you want for your organization also matters. Are they blue-collar professionals or highly-educated? Are they active or passive job seekers? Is it a niche job board? Zutzu meets your above criteria, offering you a wide range of options and a pool of candidates – the thorough-bred professionals and blue-collar professionals.
• Social media: social recruiting, also known as social hiring or social media recruitment, is proving to be a popular method of recruitment for organizations seeking to recruit workers from abroad. It includes using social media channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn to find quality talents. With the way that social media has evolved all over the years, it is safe to say that organizations cannot ignore this platform any longer for their recruitment process. About 79% of job applicants use social media for their job search [ Glassdoor ]. Again, recruiting via social media is growing, with 84% of organizations using it currently and 9% planning to use it [ SHRM ]. This stats points only to one fact – social media presents an ample opportunity for your organization to find the talents it wants.
• International recruitment agencies: When your organization is looking to recruitworkers from abroad, a lot of things are involved – work permits, visas, international travel, and logistics. With other vital productive things to do, the recruitment process can put a lot of strain on management and human resources. To avoid the many challenges that can be distracting, it is good to partner with an international job agency that would oversee your company’s recruitment process. A job agency frees up HR to focus on current employees and existing workplace issues.

How to Identify Talented International Workers

Asides a reputable of being the best in their industry, great organizations are adept at another skill – talent management. The ability to identify and develop talents from diverse cultures is one trait of great companies that is very important but often overlooked. Talented employees can raise the performance bar of other workers, and boost the effectiveness of other team members. Yet, when on the international scene, many organizations find it hard to identify, develop, and retain talents with potentials. So, just before you start recruiting internationally, your organization must be able to identify talented international workers whenever the opportunity presents itself. Here’s how:

• Develop a plan: It’s ironic how organizations often ask intending employees about their five-year career plan during the recruitment process, but lack one themselves. While most organizations know what they want from candidates, most do not develop an effective strategy to seek out these talents. Your organization must think ahead and develop a strategy for identifying top talents when your paths cross.
• Focus on the right traits: Recruiters have developed a tendency to use the same old criteria in evaluating candidates. If they don’t dwell too much on a candidate’s hard skills or resume, then their attention is focused on a candidate’s past performance. To identify topnotch international talents, organizations should use other benchmarks for appraisals. That is why soft skills should be emphasized. Once organizations make soft skills an essential criterion in sifting from a wide pool of talents, then the right talents will be identified.
• Use suitable performance metrics: Use objective and reliable methods to appraise performance, and make sure you’re honest about the outcome. Most managers are wont to hire people who remind them of themselves. This tendency tends to exclude talents who may have potentials in other areas that recruiting managers are not looking at. There should include an inclusive policy that uses only data-driven methods for appraisals.

Current Job Market Trends in the EU

Which country has the most skilled workers?

The World Economic Forum has identified Switzerland as the country with the most highly-skilled workers in the world – this is according to its Global Competitiveness Report . What are the reasons for this enviable standard set by Switzerland?

• It has a first-rate vocational education training system (VET), wherein up to 70% of its secondary school system takes part in it. This shift from traditional schooling at aged 16, to a rotation between school, inter-company courses and practical experience in a workplace setting for three to four years has paid its dividends in areas relating to human capital development.
• There is less emphasis on getting a degree. Instead, technical skills are given priority among employers in the country.

Which country has the most informal workers?

Often known as the shadow economy, the informal sector can be described as the sector of employment, which falls mainly outside the scope of taxation, social insurance, and other regulations. Informal employment is a key phenomenon among countries of Southern Europe and least prevalent in the Nordic countries [ Mihails Hazans, University of Latvia ]. However, a 2019 IMF working paper undertaken by Ben Kelmanson et al., presented Kosovo as the European country with the most informal workers.

Which Country Citizens Are Moving Abroad the Most?

A study by the World Economic Forum in 2017 identified the UK as the country with more of its citizens living overseas than any other European nation -about 4.9 million British people live in different countries around the world. However, when this data is broken down to show the country with the highest number of citizens residing within other EU countries, the Poles came out tops, with Romania, Germany, and Italy following closely behind.

Recruiting from outside the EU

Recruiting from outside the European Union is a chance to turn your organization into a truly global brand. Now, you're presented with an opportunity to transform the world’s job market into your recruitment playground, allowing your organization to recruit the best talents wherever they can be found. This global strategy carries huge benefits. But just before you head down this route, you may wish to consider the following key items:

• Country laws: Before you employ workers from abroad, especially outside the EU, be sure that you’ve fully researched on the employment laws of your countries of choice. Conduct all your background checks and be conversant with their employment contracts –every country has its different legislations surrounding employment. It is also pertinent that you research on the laws in your home country surrounding the employment of foreigners. Be sure of the dos and don’ts, so that your organization can remain on the right side of the law. Global recruitment needs more research and can be tasking, more so as you intend to recruit internationally. This will enable your organization to avoid the pitfalls of doing anything illegal. If your international recruitment efforts are done right, it can be advantageous for your organization.
• Cultural gap: It would also help to understand the culture of the country. Try to understand their business norms, work ethics, and communication approach. This would enable you to properly approach your candidate so that you don’t get to offend anyone.
• Visas and work permits: This is one area organizations find very challenging. Recruiting within the EU means candidates are guaranteed free movements with fewer requirements. However, for non-EU employees, they require visas and work permits.

The Legal Aspects – What Companies Should Know

Freedom of movement for workers

This is one of the four freedoms enjoyed by EU citizens. It includes the right of movement and residence for workers, the right of entry and residence for family members, and the right to work in another Member State and be treated on an equal footing with nationals of that Member State. Restrictions apply for the public service. The European Labor Authority serves as a dedicated agency for the free movement of workers, including posted workers [ The European Parliament ].

Working conditions

This is one of the areas covered by EU labor law. On Work-life balance, it provides that all essential aspects of the work should be communicated to the worker in writing; there should be a limit to the length of probationary periods at the beginning of the job, and cost-free mandatory training. For other provisions, see Here [ European Commission ].

Equality in the workplace

The EU has enacted many laws against discrimination of all types. It is on this basis that they ban discrimination on the grounds of sex, age, religion or belief, racial or ethnic origin, disability, or sexual orientation. Therefore, individuals are offered:

• Protection from unequal treatment when applying for a job
• Protection at the workplace from abuse and harassment, including bullying, name-calling or jokes at their expense
• Protection if any career advancement or training is blocked because of discrimination
• Protection for pregnant workers and breastfeeding mothers, including rights to maternity leave and parental leave [ European commission ]

Wages, income and working hours

Minimum wages, referring to the national minimum wage, is a minimum salary that most workers are entitled to be paid. It usually applies to all employees, or at least a large majority of employees in a country. It is enforced by law after many consultations with the relevant stakeholders of a country. The statutory minimum wages were raised in most EU countries in 2020 , with countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia witnessing 17%, 12%, and 11% increase, respectively.

Across the EU, there is an average maximum workweek of 48 hours, including overtime. A break is stipulated if the workday is longer than six hours. A minimum period of 11 consecutive hours of rest every 24 hours, and a minimum period of rest of 24 hours every seven days, in addition to the daily rest of 11 hours. Thanks to the EU directive, working hours legislation across EU countries is generally identical.

Industrial Relations

Each country in Europe has formulated a way to respond to issues of industrial relations. Here’s a succinct summary:

• Trade Unions : The level of trade union participation across Europe has continued to dwindle in recent years with a country such as France witnessing an 8 percent participation of workers across the board. However, countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Finland maintain a 70 percent participation of its workers in trade unions.
• Collective bargaining : The percentage of workers covered by collective bargaining in the 28 EU countries vary significantly, with workers having up to 90% coverage in some countries, and workers in other countries having a meager 15% coverage. The Nordic countries have the most workers covered by collective bargaining, while some other countries at the bottom of the table have a strong company level bargaining. Overall, there’s a shift towards decentralization.

Safety at Work

Employers within the EU jurisdiction are always mandated to ensure the health and safety of their workers in every aspect related to work. This means evaluating all the risks employees may be exposed to and putting in place preventive and protective measures to ensure that every worker has the necessary health and safety information and training. There should provision of additional measures such as the appointment of trained staff to oversee employee safety measures.

Employment incentives

While there is no EU-wide social security scheme, as each member country maintains its scheme, the EU does set a minimum standard in many areas to be observed by member states.

• Maternity leave: The EU guarantees minimum maternity leave of 14 weeks. However, the pay scale and maximum duration of this leave vary significantly across member states.
• Paternity leave: The EU does not regulate paternity leave. Again, differences exist within countries. For example, while Finland allows 45 days’ paid leave for new fathers, Spain gives a 15-day leave, France 11 days, and Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden 10 days each. Countries like Germany, Switzerland, and Austria don’t give their workers any paid paternity leave.
• Parental leave: The EU ensures that parents have the right to take leave to look after their children up to the age of eight for a minimum of four months. However, the pay during the duration of leave is unspecified.
• Paid holidays: The EU gives citizens the right to a minimum of four weeks paid per year, excluding public holidays. Countries such as Sweden, France, and Denmark offer a generous amount of paid leave (5 weeks).
• Sick leave: Sick leave benefits are not regulated and can vary between countries. The Netherlands offers the most benefits, wherein employees can be off work for up to 104 weeks while still receiving about 70% of their salary.
• Retirement and pension: The minimum retirement age in most EU countries has been raised to 65 years. Also, the monthly gross pension allowance can range from €8,000 in a place like Luxembourg, to just €400 in a place like Malta.
• Other employment incentives such as relocation package, 13th-month pay, profit sharing, health insurance, food allowance, travel expense, company car, professional development, extra vacation, and sabbatical depend on the employer.

Recruiting for Your Organization – How to Go About It

The recruitment process involves the steps followed by your organization to attract the best talents around to fill up vacant positions in our organization. It helps to source candidates with suitable skills and attitudes that are required for achieving the set objectives of your organization. In sourcing for the best candidate, you take any route that suits your organization, depending on factors such as the size of your organization, the growth rate of your organizations, and the number of positions to be filled.

Outsourcing vs. Internal recruitment

This is one comparison that will continue to be a fiery debate amongst human resources experts. While both methods of recruitment have their pros and cons, the option that your organization decides to go should simply be based on the scope of the project at hand, and never on the trending recruitment process of the day, or what your competitors are doing.

If you’re looking at what the big guys like Volkswagen, Glencore, or Daimler are doing – techniques that they’re adopting –your organization may just be heading towards the wrong direction because you can’t always look at other people. Your set objectives and expectations do not align. So, how do you decide what’s best for you

In-house recruitment

This method has a number of benefits. The most obvious benefit is the direct control over the entire process that your organization wields. There is a confidence that comes with knowing that standards are being maintained by the in-house recruitment team, who are well conversant with the policies of the company.

Don’t get it twisted, job recruitment agencies are good at what they do. However, with the stress that comes with a filling of multiple job roles, meeting deadlines, going over the interview process, and more, standards may be lowered, and a bad could result.

With an in-house team, you can administer your standardized tests and maybe putting candidates through practical tests so that low-quality candidates do not bluff their way into your organization.

Again, with an in-house team, your organization can establish and impute the company’s culture and values into candidates from the outset. You can analyze candidates on a first-hand basis and see for yourselves which candidates will do well or not.

Outsourcing recruitment

We just outlined huge benefits companies can derive from handling their recruitment process, yet, most companies still opt for professional headhunters, why? Cost! That’s what made these agencies popular in the first place, is that not so? Engaging the services of an outsourced firm means reduced labor cost for your organization, in that there’s no new HR team to recruit for the section process, who may just be rendered redundant pending the next recruitment phase. Except, of course, other roles are created for them.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Some recruitment agencies are quite experienced and bring a high level of professionalism to the whole recruitment process. Their extensive networks, latest recruitment software, thorough knowledge of the ins and outs of the job market can prove valuable to your organization.

Some specialize in particular fields such as IT, Engineering or Finance, and know about just the right persons to fill up an opening in your organization. Think about what a high-value recruitment agency such as Adeco can bring to your IT organization.

Time-saving is another factor to consider. The recruitment process can be such a demanding and tasking process that when it comes up, your entire HR workforce can be focused on it, with no team left to handle the existing needs of the organization. Therefore, outsourcing reduces this loss of staff hours.

Which is best for you?

Is your organization just starting? A startup? A small and medium-scale enterprise? Maybe outsourcing your recruitment may be suitable for you. The reasons are apparent. One, the labor cost is reduced. For an organization stretched thin with expenses already, you need all the saved costs you can get. Secondly, your organization is relatively unknown and may not be able to attract the big names it needs to get things started or to pull some weight in the industry. A well-known job agency may be able to do this for your firm. For larger organizations, doing their stuff in-house will pose no problems.

So, at the end of the day, what matters is the quality of talent that your organization can recruit. Whether it’s done in-house or outsourced won’t matter anymore.

Planning the Arrival of Your Employee

Logistics and Travels

Finally, you’ve got just the right candidate you needed for your organization. It’s time for your new employee to leave his home country and join the domestic office. This is where it gets tough. However, it can be a smooth ride if you follow our guidelines. You can enjoy the best rates in whatever services and save the company some considerable money. It starts by asking the right questions. The following questions will help make travel bookings easier:

• Do you have a preferred airline?
• What are your departure and arrival cities?
• When would you prefer to depart and arrive?
• What’s your seating preference?
• How much luggage will you have?
• On arrival, what would shuttle service will you prefer? Uber, Lyft, etc.
• What are your hotel preferences?

With the above questions answered, you can proceed to arrange travel for your employee(s). Some organizations also prefer outsourcing the travel details of new employees to travel agencies. That’s also fine.

You must obtain vital information on your employee, especially their names, as it appears on his/her ID or passport. When making plans for a group, create an excel file for the information you would be obtaining.

Helping with Legal Documents

In every country in the EU, there are laws preventing illegal working, and an employer may be liable for a civil penalty if they employ someone who does not have the right to undertake the work in question. An employer may establish a statutory excuse against this liability by carrying out prescribed document checks before the employment commences.

How to conduct right to work checks

• Obtain original versions of one or more acceptable documents
• Check the document’s validity in the presence of the holder
• Make and retain a clear copy, and record the date the check was made.

Checking the validity of documents

PRADO (the Public Register of Authentic Travel and Identity Documents Online) is a public website run by the European Union, which provides guidance on an extensive range of passports and other travel and identity documents throughout the European, including their security features.

When you are checking the validity of the documents, you must ensure that you do this in the presence of the holder, which can be physically in the presence of the person or via a live video link. In both cases, you must be in the physical possession of the original document or documents. You may not delegate this responsibility to a third party.

You may wish to check the authenticity of documents presented to you using a commercially available document scanner, notably for passports, Biometric Residence Permits, and Residence Cards (biometric format).

Nationals from the European Economic Area and their Non-EEA family members

All nationals from the European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland are free to live and work in EU member states. They may demonstrate their right to work through their EEA (or Swiss) passports or national identity documents.

Non-EEA family members of EEA (and Swiss) nationals

All non-EEA (and Swiss) nationals are issued with a Residence Cards in a biometric format. This will clearly indicate whether the holder is permitted to work. A Residence Card (biometric format) will demonstrate a right to work only while it remains current.

Meeting Your Employee for the First Time

We all know that first impressions matter, so you must build rapport and make your new employees feel at ease. What steps do you take towards achieving this?

• Get a little personal: You can start building rapport by getting a little personal. This shows that you value them as individuals with their different worldviews, and not just as another employee. However, you also do not want to get too personal that your new employee feels attacked. I suppose asking about why they’re yet to get married is not part of it.
• You can talk about their goals and visions: Once you know what they about, you can talk about goals and visions. Although that would likely crop up as they begin their career in your organization, expressing your initial thoughts would help your new employee realize how working for your organization may just help them to achieve future goals.

Your first meeting with your new employee helps you to gauge their level of happiness and motivation. It can set a precedent for future talks that are not based on official appraisals and reports, thereby winning the confidence of your new entrants.

Accommodation

Accommodation is a fundamental and integral part of the right to equal treatment. Every new employee, especially international hires, just arriving in a new country needs an accommodation to be an effective member of your organization. Most hiring companies not only sponsor their employees’ accommodation but also assume responsibility for leasing contracts. In some cases, companies own their properties, specially designed to accommodate their foreign employees. So, in instances whereby companies don’t have their accommodation space, a temporary arrangement must be made while permanent options are considered. There are many accommodation options to choose from for your employees.

Serviced Apartments

Serviced Apartments are an excellent option to consider for a short or extended stay, or as a temporary home for international employees while they await their permanent homes to be available. They’ve become a popular accommodation solution for organizations around the world.

Airbnb

Housing sharing services such as Airbnb, Owner Direct, and HomeAway, are becoming an increasingly popular option for employers. Using Airbnb can give the employer or employee more flexibility in the type of accommodation, cost, and cities where employees can stay.

Hotels

Employers could also enter into a contract with hotels to host their new staff pending when permanent options are made available. This can be an option if the transition period is going to be short. However, in some cases, extended-stay-hotels could be considered. They offer the option of self-catering, more privacy, and basic kitchen facilities.

Company accommodation

This accommodation type is usually provided by top organizations that have company accommodations sprawled within its base. Company accommodation may be part of the employment contract or the perks that come with an employment offer. However, it offers huge benefits.

• Improved productivity and morale among employees
• Reduced employees’ compensation
• Improved company diversity
• Ability to retain a valued employee
• Enhanced interactions among employees.

Helping New Employees Adapt to a New Location

Acclimatizing to a new city or country can be stressful for new employees. Every organization wants its new hires to hit the ground running and succeed once they get employed. However, this can be a difficult phase for new employees. To make the culture shock less strenuous, organizations could provide some guidance.

• Recommend a reliable moving company: Help your new employers find a licensed, insured, and reliable moving service to facilitate their relocation.
• Recommend a spousal career service: If you new employment has a spouse or partner, a career coaching service could help them find new jobs in their new location, thereby ensuring both partners are linked up once more.
• Provide a team mentor: A team member or an HR point-person could be mandated to help put your new employee up to speed with current projects, processes, and goals, and also show him or her the way around the organization.
• Encourage friendships: Organize a cocktail party where new employees are welcomed, and new friendships are established.
• Host company outings: You could set aside a week wherein new employees are taken on tours around major tourist attractions and heritage sites around the city. Sports activities and novelty matches could also be organized.

After you must have followed these tips, your organization will witness a boost in morale and productivity, and new employees will feel right at home within weeks.

Cultivating a topnotch workplace culture

Workplace culture is crucial to the success of your organization. It can produce more driven employees, increase efficiency, and create happier teams in your organization. These are the keys to creating a topnotch workplace culture.

• Transparency: Promote transparency within your organization and make it a cardinal point in every dealing. Appraise staff with data-based metrics, reward hardworking, eschew favoritism, and make the financials as clear as possible.
• Allow room for feedbacks: Create an organization where feedbacks are welcomed. Provide a suggestion box and also set up real meetings where employees can air their opinions without the fear of consequences.
• Promote non-work events: This creates bonding among employees and management, and allow for a more collaborative atmosphere in the workplace
• Acknowledge success: Celebrate company wins with employees, and reward personal achievements. A regular “thank you” note or email to employees doing a good job can spur team spirit.

While a company’s culture takes a long period to establish, some steps hasten the process as outline above. Don’t wait. Commence an effective workplace culture that would transcend the current crop of leaders and employees in your organization today.

Inclusion and Diversity

As your organization turns its sights towards international recruitment, diverse talents from all the world will make up your team – individuals with different sexual orientations, religious beliefs, age, gender, physical conditions, and cultural backgrounds. There should be no room for discrimination of any kind. Twitter started an inclusion and diversity campaign in 2020, tagged “OneTeam” wherein the company’s diversity and global representation strategies were reviewed and new approaches designed. Twitter's current hire figures for women stand at 47.1%, and 15.7% of US new hires were Blacks or Latinx. Again, recently the Tech giant removed certain prejudiced lexicons from its official communication. Words like manpower, blacklist, slave, etc. were among those removed, for more inclusive terms. The above policies of inclusion recently adopted by Twitter are worthy steps that organizations the world over, should embrace.

As the Black lives Matter movement gains traction around the world and is brought to the forefront of our conversations and consciousness, it is time for companies to avoid certain narratives that paint one race or ethnic group as supreme over the other. Do not pay lip service to the quest for inclusion and diversity in the workplace. Make sure that all of your organization’s practices – hiring, promotions, and who gets what, etc. is for everyone and not just those who look like you.

Conclusion

As your organization enters another phase of its growth and expansion, employing workers from abroad, and seeking the best hands wherever you may find them, might just signal the dawn of a new era for your organization. We, at Zutzu, will love to play an integral role in your search for talents abroad. You can contact us for more information. Let’s end on this note, with a quote from one of the world’s greatest CEO, Jack Welch of General Electric – “If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings – and put compensation as a carrier behind it – you almost don’t have to manage them.”

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Moving and living abroad Zutzu Team ZUTZU

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