Successful law firms that emphasize diverse work environments have proven that people learn to channel their differences to make themselves strong when given a common challenge.
In diversity, people still maintain their values and mutual respect as unique individuals, even if they work as a team on a common challenge, combining their skills, experiences, and ideas. In a sense, diversity is a difference. How you analyze and exploit these differences will determine whether diversity is an asset or a liability for you and your firm.
Social Networks
LinkedIn is the leading recruiting channel: as a rule, post vacancies there and conduct an active search. First, do some market mapping – where you study the labor market and determine the list of companies where the candidates work. Then reach out to potential employees and offer to talk about cooperation. Other social networks are more challenging to work with. The fact is that foreigners clearly distinguish between business and personal communications: if you write not in the place where a person is used to talking about work, he may perceive it negatively – as an intrusion.
Recruitment Agencies
The necessary staff for diversifying your firm in foreign countries and hiring foreign employees can be found with the help of recruitment agencies. Agencies are helpful if you are conducting a closed search and cannot interact with candidates directly.
Many businesses have found outsourcing to be the right thing for them. It improves efficiency, speeds up results, and guarantees better outcomes. That is why you should consider using the services of an employer of record. They will take responsibility for all formal employment tasks on behalf of you.
Or you do not have the resources to organize the selection independently, and time is running out. Such intermediary companies are demanding compliance with the laws and, for example, know all about the Chinese working visa if you are expanding in a new country – China.
Job Boards
Different services allow you to post vacancies on several resources at once automatically. A lot of responses come from job boards, some of which are irrelevant. For example, about 90% of candidates have to be filtered for a popular product manager or recruiter positions. However, there are worthy foreign candidates.
Adaptation Of Foreign Employees
You managed to attract a foreign specialist for cooperation, which means you have already tried hard. Now comes the most critical period – the adaptation of a colleague to life and work in your company. Imagine that a foreigner with glowing eyes and a suitcase of enthusiasm flew into a new environment for himself. Of course, he will face unusual things, step out of his comfort zone and feel out of place.
The Main Problems Faced By Foreign Employees
- The language barrier. Many foreigners speak several languages but may not understand the local speech at all. This means that your employee temporarily falls into an information vacuum: not everywhere are signs and menus in English, people cannot give directions, and have no one to talk to. The employer should be aware of this problem in advance.
- It’s hard to find acquaintances. There may not be many international employees in your country, so it is not easy for a foreigner to find his community and make new acquaintances. Integrate a new employee into the corporate environment – organize joint events, talk more and ask questions about his communication with colleagues.
- Mentality. For most foreigners, the friendliness and openness of people are essential. For a foreigner, it may be strange and incomprehensible to communicate in the format of shouting and rudeness, which are still found even in the corporate culture of many foreign companies. How to help a foreign employee solve a mental problem? The easiest and most effective option is to assign a curator to him, who will help the foreigner sort out any issues.
You must provide the employee with a comfortable environment while working in the office and everyday life. Only in this way will a person effectively perform his duties. And you can naturally continue to increase diversity in your workplace.
Final Words
The practice of diversity has undoubtedly made the workplace a much more interesting, dynamic, and exciting place. When different people from different walks of life start working together, they can exchange information, traditions, and experiences, making the workforce a much more balanced and tolerant place to work.
