A Recruiter’s Tale of Expat Hiring

Do you know this story?
Your vacancy called for a search for talent beyond national borders; demanding you widen your net regionally and then internationally.

The specialist skills sets needed by the business meant you had to use a more targeted, bespoke approach. That meant partnering with an uber-networked headhunting firm with a badass, rock-solid reputation like the Canadian Mounties: –

“…they always get their man [or woman]!”

They charge an eye-watering finder’s fee of 22% of the hired candidate’s total annual compensation.

Ouch! Your recruitment budget is threatening to collapse under the strain. You gulp, knowing that bespoke always costs more. But heh! It’s worth it to get the perfect candidate, right?

Your heart beat calms down a smidgen as top quality applications start pinging in your inbox. Not too many; you did pay for targeted and bespoke after all.

You shortlist 2 stellar candidates. Your mojo is boosted by the quality.

You screen by phone, interview by Skype video. WOW! You’re extremely impressed.

Only a face to face interview will truly determine the best candidate. You fly them in for 3 days.

Your recruitment budget is quivering. You ignored the email from Finance about the seismic activity on the recruitment budget just a little while longer. Confident that a successful hiring result will quash any concerns; you press on.

After rounds of interviews, tours, meet and greets with the leadership team and colleagues, you have result. Eureka! You have found THE ONE!

Giddy with delight, you offer him or her the job.
They accept. You do your happy dance. Then reply to that email from Finance. Smug!

Minion

After completing their notice period with their current employer, they will start in 3 months.
You get busy with the process of preparing their terms and conditions, onboarding, relocation and sending them the necessary documents and information.

Then, one month before they are due to start, you receive an email regretfully declining the position due to personal and family reasons.

Nooooooooooo!

When a Great Hire Goes Horribly Wrong

As a savvy Recruiter or HR, delivering a quality candidate experience is your top priority. You diligently focused on keeping your new hire engaged and interested in the company throughout the interview process and post offer.

You didn’t short change them on the human contact. There were lots of regular communication – Skype video updates, more detailed information about the company, the culture and life outside of work.

What went wrong?

This is a great example of delivering a quality candidate experience – for a single contract or new employee on their own.

If there is a spouse/domestic partner or dependent children involved, there is more work to be done.

Even the savviest Recruiters can miss the mark. By not extending a tailored ‘candidate experience’ to the spouse/domestic partner or dependent children of the new employee, you risk torpedoing your hiring process.

If the new employee’s family has not received accurate information that explains what the assignment will mean for them, there is an extremely high risk that you will lose your top candidate within a few frustrating months.

I can share some real recruiting mistakes.

Some of these mistakes I have made during 12 years leading HR in recruiting senior and specialist expat talent for luxury hotels.

Some, I have sadly experienced first-hand during 3 years as an ‘expat family member’ accompanying my husband as he led a luxury property opening as a General Manager.

I present to you my top picks: 3 Ways to Lose Your Top Expat Candidate and Flatline Your Recruitment Results.
You will want to avoid these recruiting bloopers and pitfalls.

1.  Not offering a FAM Trip.

A familiarisation (FAM) trip for your candidate’s spouse/domestic partner is equally important as the candidate’s interview and selection process. For this reason it works best when combined with bringing a  top quality candidate in for interview.

Whilst your candidate is being interviewed, meeting the team etc.; their accompanying family should have their own specially organised preview tour. Ideally this should include, visit to potential housing, schools, supermarket, tour of city/island and meeting other family members of employees on an expat assignment.

“But my budget!” I hear your cry. This is not the place to cut corners to save money. Remember your offer of employment is not only extended to your candidate but to their family as well. If you haven’t budgeted for it, find the money to make it happen. Then make sure you include a budget provision for FAM trips in the future.

Being able to work and live in the new culture and company is critical for both the employee and his/her family members. New hires and their family who come in with a thorough knowledge of both the assignment, your company, the country and culture – the up-sides and the down-sides – are more likely to stay and successfully complete their assignment.

Discovering challenges to accepting and completing the assignment early is key to avoiding exorbitant emotional and financial costs needed to correct any missteps. This will save you from having to start your international talent search all over again.

2.  Not securing Work and Family Residence permits/visas prior to your new hire’s start date.

Great, you have issued and completed the signing of employment contracts.  However, engagement of the expat/international assignment is only truly confirmed after authorisation to work has been granted by the government of the country in which the job is based.

Application for family residence visa to match the duration of the government approved authorisation to work is the responsibility of the company.

It is critical to be completely transparent about the authorisation to work and family residence visa application process. Note: Each country’s process will vary dependent on national laws.

Imagine the horrendous fallout, broken trust and damage to your employer brand reputation, if your new hire, family and belongings arrive, only to learn that authorisation to work or family residence visa has been denied.

3.  Not extending cross-cultural induction/orientation to new hires AND family members.

Cross-cultural induction/orientation workshops for employees are common in many organisations who regularly recruit employees globally.

Supercharge your hiring success, employee retention and employer brand reputation by extending this programme to your new employee’s family.

The best and most valuable programmes I experienced included these elements:

• an expo of the many cultures within the organisation.
• interaction with local artists, musicians and storytellers to learn more about the history and culture.
• a chance to taste and experience local food.
• a ‘how to’ guide to local customs.
• the opportunity to learn the local language.

The most vibrant programmes achieving maximum impact, were organised by HR and co-created and delivered by a collaboration of HR, existing employees and specialists from the host country.

As more companies continue to internationalise their reach, the search for talent continues to stretch globally.  Expat recruitment is shedding its old image of extravagant salaries and relocation allowances whilst living in a privileged bubble. Finding and contracting top talent is still at the core of international recruitment; but the ultimate prize for businesses serious about talent is engaging individuals who are willing and skilled in working in diverse cultures.

Building the foundation for a successful international assignment will involve extending a great candidate experience to your new employee’s family too.

So savvy Recruiter or HR, take action to swiftly eliminate any risk of costly expat recruitment mistakes today.

This article was originally posted in the blog The HR Rabbit Hole 13 September 2015.

Nicole is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Aquarius Human Resources Consulting Ltd. Passionate about HR as Art, she is an advocate of Creative HR. Connect via Twitter @AquariusHRLtd.