The following is a guest post by our partners at BiCortex Languages and BiCortex Translations.
Whether it’s a single employee or someone with a family, uprooting someone from their home country and posting them in another is no small thing. Duty of care, which is the legal and ethical responsibility of a company to ensure an employee’s safety and well-being, requires that employers do everything in their power to help sponsored workers transition well into their new environment.
While most sponsored worker relocation policies include basics like temporary housing, home finding services, translation of legal documents, and support for tax and immigration needs, the language and cultural challenges that international skilled workers will face could be deal breakers.
In fact, according to HR Today, “In two separate surveys, global recruiters & HRs identified language and cultural skills as the most important factors in a successful overseas assignment.”
Easing the transitions
In order to avoid a failed international assignment, employers must consider “transition management” as an important aspect of duty of care. This means going beyond the practicals and looking at “How is my sponsored worker transitioning into life in this new context?”
Ideally, offering pre-relocation language and cultural training helps to set a foreign employee up for success, but if the policy didn’t allow for that, the good news is that it’s not too late.
Employers can — and should — provide ongoing support for their sponsored workers when it comes to language and culture, but it doesn’t have to be a huge burden on the HR team. In fact, keeping these four tips in mind will assist in a more seamless integration:
1. It start with awareness
Remember that you have an intercultural team, so paying attention to expressions, idioms, and other instructions that may seem obvious to the host culture is important.
Whether it be something as broad as typical internal communications about health insurance to something as mundane as taking out the trash, the host office needs to try and keep communications simple and clear. (While misunderstanding trash instructions may not have disastrous effects, misunderstanding health insurance details or payroll requirements could!)
2. The importance of checking in
Again, being aware of the language used and how it could be interpreted for sponsored workers is the starting point, but it’s also important to have someone assigned to check in on international workers to make sure they’re understanding what’s being said. From policies and procedures to inter-office banter, you don’t want your overseas talent feeling lost, or, worse, constantly frustrated.
Assigning a coach or mentor is helpful – many employers offer this already to new employees as part of their onboarding process, but for sponsored workers in a second-language and new cultural environment, having someone to talk to and ask questions of can make all the difference.
3. Get outside help
While simplifying internal communications is necessary, you also want to offer your sponsored worker the option of growing and going further with their second language. This not only benefits them – it benefits the company as well.
As a human resources professional, you’re not expected to be a language and culture trainer. That’s where businesses like BiCortex Languages can step in and help. Employers frequently partner with BiCortex to provide language training, both pre-move and throughout the assignment, to sharpen language skills and help sponsored workers become more fluent in their host country’s language.
Group classes are an option, if you have people in the same level, but sometimes 1:1 is best as everyone will have their own level and challenges. As many companies already provide support for continuous learning and development, employers can present language support as part of a continued professional development plan so your sponsored workers don’t feel targeted or singled out.
4. Cultural training and debriefing
In addition to language, offering cultural training, preferably with a live person they can ask specific questions to, is also helpful, both as a part of the onboarding and then with check-ins down the road. Foreign employees will undoubtedly run into some cultural roadblocks at some point, so addressing them beforehand can be helpful.
Remember, culture goes both ways: The overseas worker will need to learn about not only the host culture but also the office culture. And then, for an ideal experience, the host office team needs to be informed about the sponsored worker’s culture.
Another way that cultural training goes both ways is if you’re participating in something similar to the Indonesia-Australia Skills Exchange Pilot Program, which involves sponsored workers going both directions, requiring additional support on both sides of the exchange.
Participating employers in programs like this will need to be proactive about making sure their foreign workers have the education and support they need, not just in language but also in the host culture.
5. Talk about it, Talk about it, Talk about it
Similar to the cultural understanding and education going both ways, making cultural sensitivity an integral aspect of your company culture is key. Having an international culture is a benefit, and frequently talking about cultural differences and normalizing the different ways of working makes for a healthy company culture. Providing opportunities for open dialogue and deeper discussion will pave the way for a successful experience all around, both for sponsored workers and the host country employees they work with.
Worth the effort
While the world of immigration is in a slight uproar at the moment due to geopolitical shifts, companies will most likely still find themselves hiring international talent, even if those numbers dwindle down below previous thresholds.
With many governments looking to increase their workforce numbers in certain fields, like here in Australia, the number of work-related international moves will most likely still be substantial.
That being so, after doing the hard work of getting an international employee recruited, relocated, and onboarded, some HR professionals would be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief. However, more seasoned professionals in global mobility will tell you that, when it comes to having international workers, the hard work doesn’t end there.
Providing continued language learning and support for sponsored workers requires a little extra effort, but it yields a greater return in the end.
Looking for expert support in language and cultural training for your sponsored workers?
BiCortex Languages specialises in helping employees navigate their new environment through tailored language and cultural programs. Contact BiCortex Languages today at to discuss your needs.
Additionally, if you are an employer navigating the complexities of immigration compliance, Absolute Immigration is here to guide you through every step of the process.
Get in touch with our expert team at aisupport@absoluteimmigration.com to ensure your workforce is well-supported and compliant with all regulations.
