Companies can help international employees settle into their new surroundings

Being a new employee in a business is already a nervous thought, but imagine you were a new employee after arriving from overseas? It’s likely you won’t know a lot of people and you won’t be completely familiar with the area you’re moving to.

As a business owner, you should make sure that your new international employee gets all the support they require in order to feel comfortable and work to the best of their ability.

How do you do this though?

Here are some useful tips that will get your on boarding process perfect.

Teach your employee before they come in.

The best possible way to help your employee embed into your business is to provide them with all the important information they need to know beforehand.

Inform them of business processes and get them clued up on the area you’re based. It might be easy to introduce them to all of this stuff right from the beginning and sit them down in your office for a couple of hours and take them for a tour.

Provide goals that are achievable for them.

The last thing you’d want is for a new employee to come into your business, feel too stressed and then feel they’re out of their depth and choose to move elsewhere.

This wouldn’t be productive considering they would have already had nerves and felt pressure before they were starting.

So, to make sure that they feel at ease sit them down and set the goals that are achievable based on their skills and accomplishments.

This will make it easier for the employee to settle in.

Do they have a personal preference?

An employee will find any way possible to make sure they feel comfortable in their new surroundings. As an employer, you can do your bit to help them achieve this. Ask them whether they have any personal preference to help them settle in.

They may prefer to have ergonomic equipment at their desk or they prefer to have a certain desk chair. The more comfortable they feel, the better they can work.

These examples are just minor examples, however, the major ones tend to relate to visa requirements as this is the main factor that tends to worry a lot of international employees.

Depending on the role they have and how long they plan to stay will determine which visa they need. For example, if you’re based in the UK then it makes sense that they’ll definitely need a UK visa. Other arrangements can also include accommodation, pick up from the airport, providing them with familiar contacts, etc.

Make sure communication is clear.

One of the main barriers that come with hiring an international employee is a potential miscommunication in language. You need to make sure that your communication is effective and understandable to the new employee.

At the same time, make sure you find a balance in not being patronizing.

Don’t bombard them with jargon and language they’re unlikely to understand. Just let them know that if they’re unsure of anything, they can always ask you for advice.

It can be tough for an employee when they come from overseas to fit in quickly and easily into your business. Taking the time out to support them in their initial stages of employment is key to helping them settle and progress well in their new role.