Did your company just welcome an expat to their team? Or are you about to send one of your top employees to another country to work there? Great! Acknowledging a person’s work without discriminating against nationality is one of the best things to do.
And sending one of your top employees to work in another country because they could help your company’s headquarter there is just as amazing. They’ll feel appreciated.
But we can’t just leave it at that. Hey, congrats on going away to work in a country, culture, and language you don’t know! No, no. We must support them to integrate into the company.
Otherwise, the feelings of confusion and being lost could lead them to underperform at their job or even go back to their country. And it won’t be because they’re weak, but maybe because they didn’t receive enough help to integrate into their new work life.
So, without further ado, check out these tips so you know how to integrate expats into your company.
Cultural Resources
Living in a new country is never easy. You come with your own values, ways of living, traditions, ways of communicating and speaking to others, and ways of working. All of which are normal and right things in your country of origin.
But when you go to live and work in a new one, all of these things could change. Maybe they have different ways of working, of expressing their needs, questions, and ideas to others, and overall different ways of living.
This can be challenging if you’re not prepared for it. And even when you’re prepared you might still experience some cultural shocks, but you’ll know how to handle them easier.
So, a great thing the company can do for the employee they’re relocating is provide them with resources that explain the life and work culture of the country they’re going to. The employee will value that a lot, and you’ll truly help them adapt.
The company and boss of the new country they’re in, should also do this. They know more of the culture since they’re probably natives or expats themselves. So they can help their new employee with any huge cultural shock and integrate better to the work environment.
But what are these resources? It could be books, guides, YouTube videos, courses about the culture they’re getting in, and courses about being an expat.
Expectations
One of the first things you must do if you’re sending an employee to a new country is make your expectations clear. What do you expect from their work there? What’s going to be their work there, is it the same as in their home country or is it different? Which results do you expect from them? And any other matter you find important.
Don’t forget to ask them about their expectations as an expat and employee. It’s also important to hear what they want, need and expect.
This way you will all be on the same page and there will be no confusion or misunderstandings as to what you all look for and hope for. This will make the whole relocation process and the stay smoother.
These expectations should also be discussed with the boss of the company in their new country.
Talk to a Local
Another great help would be to talk to a native person of the country your employee is going to. Or talking to someone that already lived the process of being an expat in that country.
These people could show the new expat employee a lot about their new residence and even more about the work life there. What is the right way to talk in a business environment? What’s right to do and what’s disrespectful? What’s usually the work schedule? And any other question the expat might have.
Most importantly, locals that work in the same company as the new expat can introduce them to other coworkers. This way, they’ll start making new friends and some networking as well; they’ll pave their way into their new job.
This step can be done before going away, but even more so after arriving in your new country and workplace.
Implement an Expat Program
The company of the country the expat is arriving to could implement an expat program for all multicultural people working there. This program should be led by experts in related fields, such as relocation, diversity, cultural awareness, languages…
This way, they could help the expats adapt as best as possible. They could introduce them to the company and lifestyle.
But the program wouldn’t stop there. It could be there for whenever the employees needed them. After all, the process of adapting and integrating doesn’t end in the first few days. There might be issues and doubts that come up later, as they discover life and the work culture.
Expats could go to the leaders of the program whenever they have any problem, question, or cultural struggle.
Giving the families of the expats the opportunity to benefit in any way from this program could be favorable for everyone. Because foreign employees also need their loved ones to adapt to their new life and feel comfortable. If their families are fine, they’ll feel better working and living there.
Cultural Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity Talks
A huge part of an expat integration is the people that surround them. At work, that would be their direct boss and bosses from other areas, as well as their coworkers. If these people are culturally sensitive, the foreign workers will feel welcomed and appreciated.
There will also be less discrimination, and the overall environment will be positive.
That’s why it’s crucial for your company to host cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity talks and courses with professionals. All the employees and the bosses must go to these talks. They can be during work hours. So the people that compose your workforce become kinder and are respectful to other cultures and to expats.
Language Training
Last but not least, language training! This is one of the most important things you can do for your expatriate employees.
Now, chances are that if you chose a foreign person to relocate or to add to your workforce, they’re already bilingual. They probably already know the language of the country they’re going to work in. But the truth is that even though that can be true, they might still struggle with parts of that language.
Maybe they’re not very good with grammar, or they don’t know vocabulary for business, or aren’t fluent in it. So they could really benefit from getting some language training before and after starting their new job.
Another scenario is that maybe there’s an employee that is amazing at their job. Nonetheless, they don’t know a second language. Which could be an obstacle to relocating them to a new country with a new language.
As well as to accept them into your company if they don’t know the language you and your workforce talk. But not if you invest in language classes for them!
Language training will give them the tools to do their job to their full potential even in their second language.
Though this might sound stressful, you don’t have to worry about how you are going to teach your work team a new language. You can simply delegate this job to someone else, an expert in teaching languages for business and corporations. Lucky for you, Fluency Corp does exactly that!
Get to Know Fluency Corp
We’re a corporate language training school. This means that we can teach you and your whole workforce. And all our lessons are customized to the job and needs of the students. Just tell us what you need and we’ll plan accordingly.
Oh, and through the Bellieu Method in which we base our lessons, we encourage all students to talk in every class. It’s the best way to achieve language fluency!
Because we know how busy you all are, our native teachers have flexible schedules, so you can study with us.
All you have to do is pick your language (we offer many different ones). Then, choose between our online or onsite classes and contact us for a free consultation!
