Most countries have difficulties recruiting employees with specific skills in their own country because there is a shortage of the most sought after skills. The only option is to recruit international workers who have the skills to help the country complete its tasks. Even though it is necessary to hire workers who are fluent in the language spoken in the recruiting country advertising and providing job descriptions in the targeted country’s language is often more likely to attract potential applicants.
Social skills are not always important
Depending on whether the new employees are going to migrate to take up the new job position or remain in their home country and work remotely, being fluent in the employer’s language is essential, but if the employee is working remotely social skills such as interacting with other employees are not quite so important.
Time zones
It is worth thinking about the time zone your new employees are likely to live in, even if they are working remotely, as virtual communication is difficult to arrange. Of course, there are times when having employees working in a different time zone can be an advantage as some jobs can be completed while other employees are asleep.
If you’re thinking of recruiting overseas, here are 6 tips to help you attract the right international employees.
- Get to understand that workplace cultures may differ
In many countries, the standard working week is Monday to Friday, but this is not in all countries, as some countries take into consideration religious beliefs when deciding on the working week. For example, in Israel the working week runs from Sunday to Thursday so that employees may choose to observe the Jewish holy day, Shabbat. In Muslim countries, prayer times are allocated and they are more important than other aspects of life even an important meeting.
Whether you are recruiting overseas for staff to work remotely or for migrating either temporarily or permanently to take up a position their religious preferences may be worth considering before you begin the recruitment process. There is nothing worse for your company if you offer top dollars to a highly skilled worker to migrate to live in your country and the person just doesn’t fit in because of their language and cultural leanings.
- Be clear about your requirements
When recruiting internationally, it rarely works well to fill a vacancy when a general language is used to describe the job. It is important to be very specific, even if it means translating your advert into the languages of the countries you think have the best possible recruits. You will need a highly experienced translator to translate your job description and the aims and goals of your businesses so you get just the right applicants applying. If you don’t want your new recruits to work remotely in their own country then you will have to explain the requirements for obtaining a work visa. There are some stumbling blocks when applying for visas such as your applicants proving they are sufficiently fluent in the language.
- Offer relocation perks
If you offer help with moving and airfare expenses to your new recruits this is usually an incentive to any applicant. If your company is prepared to assist a new employee find suitable permanent housing this may get just the worker you want. Just don’t forget to provide a translation of your job description and the job’s perks so that there is no misunderstanding.
- Include onboarding when marketing
Statistics indicate that 70% of employees are far more likely to remain for longer with an employer if they have gained from onboarding. This is the process used for integrating new employees into an organization. It may include providing an in-depth description of the company’s expectations of their employees. Any new employee will create sufficient output in the first week if they feel they know the company before they even start the job. One common feature of onboarding is allocating a mentor to a new employee especially those who have been recruited overseas. Even an impromptu social event where the new employee is introduced to the company’s workforce makes the new recruit feel more comfortable in the job.
- Be aware of languages
When recruiting international workers, the languages spoken in particular countries shouldn’t be overlooked and you could see which languages may help your company the most when going through the recruitment process. Make sure you hire a translator for the job adverts whether they are being placed online or the print media overseas in the targeted country. The translator can help to ensure that the translations are clear and there are no mistakes.
Publishing advertisements in the commonest language(s) used within the country you are targeting for new recruits may speed up the recruitment process. When using social media such as Facebook you should be able to adjust the settings so the advert can be viewed in different languages.
- Ensure a presence at international job fairs
International recruitment does have its difficulties because you may not have any face to face encounter with a new international recruit until s/he actually sets foot in your country. However, if you send a recruiter to any of the top international job events s/he may find a suitable employee that way. Otherwise, much of the recruitment is confined to virtual meetings through Skype or Zoom.
Hiring the right workers is dependent on you translating the job descriptions so that there are no misunderstandings regarding the job’s duties and the type of company you represent. Offering help to your new employee in the migration process such as getting all the required documents translated will speed up the process and get that ideal new recruit working as quickly as possible.