“Home is not a place…it’s a feeling” – Unknown.

So you’ve decided that recruiting internationally is a good strategy for filling your workforce gaps in a challenging hiring environment, and you’ve even sourced them. But what do you actually do when they arrive to help them get to grips with their new living situation?

Overseas recruits are often coming from a very different cultural background; English may not be their native language; and they have a limited idea of what to expect from their time with you. It can be an overwhelming experience, and taking steps to ensure their experience is a positive one can save time and money later on. First impressions matter.

Here are a few ideas for how you can intervene to optimise the experience of your new team members, facilitate integration and maximise their longer-term satisfaction.

Plan social activities – Arranging events where new recruits can get to know their colleagues in an informal environment can help them settle in and feel  more at home as they start to build a new support network. To be inclusive and culturally sensitive, try to incorporate a range of different activities that aren’t too alcohol-focused, for example a pizza and movie night, or a department bowling trip. If you have a large intake of new recruits in one go, you may want to organise specific activities for them to get to know each other.

Stay connected – Often organisations are excellent at providing a really big welcome to their organisation, which quickly fades away after the induction week.  However, for individuals relocating from a different country, the first week is really just the tip of the iceberg. Ensure you have regular contact with your new recruits for the first 6 – 12 months of their time with you. This could be a formal meeting with HR, or more likely just a coffee. These connections act as an “early warning” indicator of any problems that the individual may be experiencing, and allows you to address issues whilst they are still “fixable”.

Make provisions for OSCE study – International nurses arriving from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) will be required to pass the OSCE exam in order to receive their NMC Pin. The OSCE is a challenging exam and it is vital that nurses have the opportunity to practice their skills in an exam environment to master some of the skills, before sitting the exam. Not only is the exam expensive (currently £992), but if a nurse fails to pass this exam twice then their visa will be revoked and they will need to return home. If you have large cohorts of OSCE students then you probably need a member of staff at your organisation to take a Train the Trainer course. It is recommended that nurses have a minimum of 5 full days of supported OSCE study in the UK before attempting the course. If your organisation isn’t able to provide this level of support, many agencies can enrol nurses in a specialist OSCE preparation training plan to ensure they go into the exam feeling confident and able to do well.

Be sensitive of their cultural traditions and yours – Remember that your new recruits come from a different cultural background and may have different traditions to your current team members – for example celebrating Eid and Diwali, or only eating Halal meat. You may want to be flexible if their holy days fall on working days, or coordinate a team celebration so the wider team members can learn more about the details of a particular celebration. Christmas can be a challenging time for new recruits if others are going home to their families and they are unable to fly. Consider ways in which you can make this time as enjoyable as possible for them – for example organising a Christmas gathering for a group of international recruits, or hosting a team gathering that allows them to participate in some of the fun.

Appoint a Mentor – Ensure your new recruit has a member of staff they can refer to with any questions they might have. This could be everything from which restaurant to go to, to how to deal with a difficult colleague. Without a support network of their own, having a “trusted advisor” can provide a lot of comfort and reassurance.

Support with long-term accommodation sourcing – Many relocation packages for nurses include an initial one month of free accommodation. However, searching for a place to live in the longer-term delete hyphen as soon as you are starting a new job can be stressful when you are just getting to grips with the local currency and local transport network. Putting plans in place to support this process can be a big help to your team and avoids poor decisions being made in the short-term delete hyphen that cause longer term challenges. This blog suggests some more creative ways of finding suitable accommodation for your healthcare professionals.

Ultimately, unsuccessful integration costs money and time and no one wins in the long-term. By putting due processes in place at the right stage employers can work proactively with the nurse to ensure they feel comfortable in their new environment. Many new healthcare professionals arrive excited and passionate about creating a new life for themselves in the UK – channelling this enthusiasm into well-managed integration activities is win-win…both for new and existing employees.

My Healthcare Recruit supports UK healthcare employers in the public, private, and care sector to find international nurses who are a great fit for their organisation by using market-leading video interviewing tools to connect them to our database of qualified candidates. Our innovative approach makes international candidates easier to find and more cost-effective to source than ever before. Find out more at www.myhealthcarerecruit.com