{"id":53890,"date":"2025-03-12T16:21:45","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T05:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/?p=53890"},"modified":"2025-03-12T18:07:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T07:07:37","slug":"sponsored-workers-ongoing-support-for-language-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/news\/sponsored-workers-ongoing-support-for-language-learning","title":{"rendered":"Sponsored workers: Ongoing support for language learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The following is a guest post by our partners at <\/em>BiCortex Languages<\/em><\/a><\/span> and <\/em>BiCortex Translations<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Whether it\u2019s 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\u2019s safety and well-being, requires that employers do everything in their power to help sponsored workers transition well into their new environment.<\/p>

While most sponsored worker relocation policies include basics like temporary housing, home finding services, translation of legal documents<\/a>,<\/span> 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<\/a>,<\/span><\/span> \u201cIn two separate surveys, global recruiters & HRs identified language and cultural skills as the most important factors in a successful overseas assignment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

Easing the transitions<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

In order to avoid a failed international assignment, employers must consider \u201ctransition management\u201d as an important aspect of duty of care. This means going beyond the practicals and looking at \u201cHow is my sponsored worker transitioning into life in this new context?\u201d<\/p>

Ideally, offering pre-relocation language and cultural training helps to set a foreign employee up for success, but if the policy didn\u2019t allow for that, the good news is that it\u2019s not too late.<\/p>

Employers can — and should — provide ongoing support for their sponsored workers when it comes to language and culture, but it doesn\u2019t 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:<\/p>

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

1.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It start with awareness<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

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.<\/p>

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!)<\/p>

2.\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0The importance of checking in<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

Again, being aware of the language used and how it could be interpreted for sponsored workers is the starting point, but it\u2019s also important to have someone assigned to check in on international workers to make sure they\u2019re understanding what\u2019s being said. From policies and procedures to inter-office banter, you don\u2019t want your overseas talent feeling lost, or, worse, constantly frustrated.<\/p>

Assigning a coach or mentor is helpful \u2013 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.<\/p>

3.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Get outside help<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

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 \u2013 it benefits the company as well.<\/p>

As a human resources professional, you\u2019re not expected to be a language and culture trainer. That\u2019s 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\u2019s language.<\/p>

Group classes are an option<\/a>,<\/span><\/span> 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\u2019t feel targeted or singled out.<\/p>

4.\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0 Cultural training and debriefing\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

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.<\/p>

Remember, culture goes both ways: The overseas worker will need to learn about not only the host <\/em>culture but also the office <\/em>culture. And then, for an ideal experience, the host office team needs to be informed about the sponsored worker\u2019s culture.<\/p>

Another way that cultural training goes both ways is if you\u2019re participating in something similar to the Indonesia-Australia Skills Exchange Pilot Program<\/span><\/span><\/a>, which involves sponsored workers going both directions, requiring additional support on both sides of the exchange.<\/p>

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<\/em>.<\/p>

5.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Talk about it, Talk about it, <\/strong><\/span>Talk about it\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

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<\/span><\/span><\/a> and normalizing the different ways of working makes for a healthy company <\/em>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.<\/p>

Worth the effort<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

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.<\/p>

With many governments looking to increase their workforce numbers in certain fields<\/a><\/span>, like here in Australia, the number of work-related international moves will most likely still be substantial.<\/p>

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\u2019t end there.<\/p>

Providing continued language learning and support for sponsored workers requires a little extra effort, but it yields a greater return in the end.<\/p>

Looking for expert support in language and cultural training for your sponsored workers?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

BiCortex Languages specialises in helping employees navigate their new environment through tailored language and cultural programs. Contact BiCortex Languages today at contact@bicortexlanguages.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> to discuss your needs.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

Get in touch with our expert team at aisupport@absoluteimmigration.com<\/a><\/span><\/span> \u00a0to ensure your workforce is well-supported and compliant with all regulations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our partners at BiCortex Languages highlight how ongoing language and cultural support helps employers improve sponsored worker integration and global relocation outcomes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":53892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[601,602,604,603,605],"class_list":["post-53890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","tag-bicortex-languages","tag-bicortex-translations","tag-cultural-training","tag-language-learning","tag-transition-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53890"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53907,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53890\/revisions\/53907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/absoluteimmigration.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}