5 Expert Tips to Successfully Recruit Offshore Talent

Expert Bridget Romanes of Mobile Relocation has provided some key tips and considerations to successfully recruit offshore talent into New Zealand:

Promise must equal reality. It may be easier to sell the lifestyle benefits of the regions to offshore hires than to New Zealanders, as they won't have first-hand knowledge. But be honest and talk through the pros and cons so their expectations are realistic. Then make sure they have support to achieve lifestyle goals. Little gestures count - if the dream is to hit the waves, gift a surf school voucher as an arrival present.

Address 'fear of the unknown'. Personal factors are often crucial to candidate decisions on roles which involve an international move - research shows that family adjustment, spouse/partner resistance to moving and children's education stood out as the biggest worries*. It pays to ensure that candidates are as well briefed on life outside the office as they are on the role and their potential employer.

Understand the unique employee experience. A successful relocation is not just about changing jobs for offshore hires. These people are uprooting their lives and families as well. Everything is different. Newcomers distracted by stress about finding houses, or settling kids into school, are not going to be focussed on work.

Onboard outside the office too. Just like an employee is inducted into a new organisation, give your offshore hires a programme of orientation, logistical set-up and mentoring to get them functioning in their new city and set up as quickly as possible. And don't forget the spouse who lacks the instant network of work. How can you help them connect with the local community and/or find employment?

Prepare the team. Norms can be well established in close-knit communities - it's easy for newcomers to stick out. Provide colleagues with cultural agility training, encouraging the viewpoint that curiosity is the best attitude to have towards a newcomer. This builds productive and collaborative teams in which foreign talent thrives and contributes.

About the Author - Bridget Romanes is Principal of Mobile Relocation, a provider of specialist expat recruitment and onboarding programmes for New Zealand and international businesses. Bridget has built and worked in multinational teams in New Zealand, India and Singapore as a diplomat. She has also lived the personal experience and challenge of relocating internationally for work. In 2016 she founded Mobile, which now operates nationwide, and has successfully relocated many individuals and families into new roles and new lives, in New Zealand.  Connect with Bridget here &  contact your local RWR Health team to discuss recruitment for your organisation here. *https://globalmobilitytrendsbrookfieldgrs.com/#/keytrends