With record skill shortages, Kiwi businesses are competing fiercely for international talent. Financial incentives may seem the only way to stay in the game, but rest assured there are other solutions.
In the 7 years that I’ve worked with international recruiters and employers I’ve seen many creative initiatives and strategies delivering tangible results to attract and retain expats and migrants.
Here are my top 5:
1. Set up a migrant/expat employee network
International employees are a unique community within your business, and helping them to support each other is key.
For example, Mobile Relocation client, T+T, has a Teams Channel exclusively for the use of their expats. As T+T’s Recruitment Lead Dee Johnson describes, ‘It’s a place to share information, laugh, vent, and (sometimes!) cry”.
Establishing this type of group is also a benefit to market to international candidates, in the same way as you’d promote D&I networks to domestic talent. And the group itself is a great way to target international referral incentive programmes for your open roles.
2. Address expat wellbeing
International relocation is highly disruptive to wellbeing - everything in life changes all at once. Research shows that 56% of expats show signs of anxiety and depression.
International hires need to know about your EAP programme , and understand that it is confidential - they may come from a country where employers don’t provide this type of support or mental health is not as openly discussed.
New Zealand’s annual Mental Health Awareness Week (held in Sept/Oct) is an opportunity to address the unique challenges faced by expats. Our Award-winning Expat Wellbeing Workshops share the latest research and strategies in an engaging and practical way. Feedback shows that participants:
Felt ‘seen’ and valued by their employers
Loved having a reason to get together with fellow internationals and get support from others going through the same issues.
3. Family first
BGRS research identified the major causes of international assignment failure as family issues, spouse dissatisfaction and inability to settle.
If families don’t settle successfully it’s harder for your new employee to focus on work, and the pressure is always there to ditch NZ and return back to their country of origin.
Understanding and addressing an international candidate’s family situation is important, right from the recruitment stage.
Is there a partner who wants to work and needs help with visas or job connections? Are there concerns about housing and schooling which can be addressed by a professional and personalised settlement support programme?
4. Mark settlement milestones
Top employers know that recognising their employees’ personal milestones has huge payoff for employee experience and engagement.
It’s easy to translate this into valuable gestures to acknowledge and highlight key points as your international employees settle into life in New Zealand.
Examples include:
Taking possession of a rental property. Moving into a new home as an expat without friends and family to help celebrate can feel lonely. A welcome hamper from your employer shows someone notices and cares.
1 month since arrival in NZ. This has often been a hectic period for newcomers, so a voucher for a meal out, or a local attraction, can provide welcome relief for your expat employee and a chance to celebrate what has been achieved.
5. Promote your Settlement Support benefit
The AEWV visa scheme’s Settlement Support requirement makes Kiwi employers unique as they all now offer a baseline level of information and connections to help candidates get set up in NZ quickly and effectively.
Amplifying this benefit to candidates will boost attraction. Settlement Support is a big drawcard for international talent, and particularly those with families, when you’re asking them to move to the other side of the world.
If you’re already using the Mobile AEWV Settlement Info Portal, or our personalised Move to NZ programmes, make sure your candidates understand all the value-adds this platform offers too!
To book a demo of our AEWV Resettlement Portal, or to better understand how Mobile can help you to ensure you are offering the right resettlement services for your candidates and your business, contact our Principal Bridget Romanes.
Bridget is a New Zealander who has lived and worked as a diplomat in Singapore and India. After experiencing all facets of the relocation experience, she founded Mobile to work with private individuals moving to NZ and leading local and international businesses bringing in offshore talent.