Tips for Reputation Management and Avoiding a PR Disaster
So you have decided that hiring some foreign guest workers is a good way to go for your business and you can’t find enough local people with the skills needed or willing to do the job.
Here is a quick guide to what to watch out for when choosing the right International recruitment agency to partner with to get the foreign workers to your door successfully, with visas and with the skills and attitude needed to be an asset to your business. International recruiters who specialize in recruiting and screening skilled migrant workers and unskilled foreign workers from overseas have a different remit from local recruiters.
There is no room for error, if a migrant worker does not have the skills needed or is a liability, troublemaker, alcoholic, drug user or whatever then what do you do with him? The options for you and the foreign employee are extremely limited and you can see already that this isn’t likely to end well. Furthermore, you have lost that visa space that took your time, effort & money to get processed. So, if you got approvals for 10 people, you only have 9 left now and it is something that you can’t substitute for another Visa…therefore wouldn’t you agree that these international recruiters should be far more diligent than your local staffing services?
Having been involved with and owning several International employment agencies since 1997, it’s fair to say that i know of all the tricks and games that go on within an industry, which is renowned for poor standards of screening and some very bad characters who make serious amounts of money by charging applicants thousands of dollars. I have compiled a few top tips that may be helpful in your discussions with an international placement agency to help you avoid a major PR disaster and prevent you going into reputation management overdrive.
A good recruiter will offer you a lot of good, honest , helpful advice and help you to plan…not only for your immediate needs, but also for your future needs at the same time. Here’s an example…In Australia, you can have nominations approved for up to two years, so if your immediate needs are for 10 people but in the next 2 years it is likely to be 50 or 60, the overseas recruitment agency should have enough knowledge and care enough to help you to understand this, both in terms of planning and sourcing the right people for the right time…even way ahead in advance. You can apply for nominations in bulk and these cost $55 per nomination, but they can be paid “as and when” you use them. You would not have to pay for all 60 nominations at the outset, if you want 10 people immediately then only the ten nominations used need to be paid for.
These are the type of things you need to be made aware of, and is also a sign that the recruiter is aware and knowledgable of the options that you have. A really good international recruitment agent should offer to speak with you for at least a 30 – 40 minute freindly and professional consulation initially, to fully understand what your needs are, and this will be followed up several times as and when more details are needed. They cannot recruit foreign workers and have room for error, there is no room for error in International recruitment.
A brief confirmation of what your needs are understood to be should then be submitted to you after the initial conversation, and may also include details which may have been in question during the chat, but not able to have been answered at the time. Typically, a confirmation will be done for companies looking to employ several foreign workers and will consist of details of where they recommend what country the applicants are sourced from and why, while explaining to you what the advantages and disadvantages of the different countries may be.
The report should also include details about the right type of visa guest worker program that you should be applying for, and why that particular visa or guest worker program is the right option for you business. This report would also include the costs of the service and the immigration process should be clearly outlined in a step-by-step easy to understand format.
Your chosen overseas recruiter should offer you either skills assessment videos of the applicants, or offer the possibility a recruitment trip abroad, especially if you are looking to employ enough people to make the trip viable. They should make every effort to make you aware of the skill levels available, and the need for any training upon the foreign employee’s arrival. An example of this may be welders who are professional and experienced but may not have the same modern equipment in their own country that is used in your country, or they might be used to working in metric measurements and not imperial meausurements, which would affect you if you are a UK and US employer…this is be best discussed at the outset to facilitate a plan, well ahead of time for training so that the foreign skilled workers can hit the ground running.
Migrant Employees from Eastern Europe, Asia and South America will all have a good work ethic, however there will be major differences in their mentality and skill levels. The recruiter should be able to advise you in details you need to kinow, explaining what to expect and to help you to make the right decision based on their previous experience and advice. However, this would happen only if your recruiter is able to source workers from several countries.
For example, East Europeans like to have alcohol in their time off, Indians don’t drink as much but they are slower workers, Filipinos speak good English but their international employment agencies are renowned for charging very high recruitment fees to the guest workers, which if you are an American employer, you might be forced to repay even though you didn’t take the money!
It is advisable to know the background and history of the international employment agent recruiting from overseas. Find out which countries and types of companies they have been supplying etc. International recruiters can range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Going for the cheapest option can be a mistake, this does not mean that a good overseas recruiter will be the most expensive, but just watch out for those offering a deal that is free or very low cost. What may be free and low cost to you now could be very expensive for the applicant and bring you unwanted publicity later. If you are a US employers then you really need to be aware of the new rules for the H-2B guest workers program, which clearly states that if these employees have been charged a fee, they will hold the employer accountable and make them repay it Experience is very important in an International employment agencies ability to recruit, properly advise, guide and lead the employer painlessly through the guest worker program process.
Employers should look for an International placement agency who has been working within the Overseas employment opportunities industry for several years, and is of good reputation. Employers should ask for client testimonials and case studies, and only if they can provide these without delays. then you can be more comfortable of their ability to deliver, as well as checking and testing their background and knowledge to be able to give you the best advice and service.
They should also be aware of the laws of the countries they are recruiting from, as this can avoid delays in getting the workers to your country after the visa is issued. The Philippines for example has the POEA which is set up to protect Philippine workers, and if their rules and documentation requirements are not correctly followed there will be problems getting the people out of the country to start their job in a new country. The POEA documentation requirements will have you jumping through hoops to be able to get approval to recruit Filipino workers.
Other countries may be easier to recruit from, and need less time consuming running about verifying everything, and at the same time offer less risk regarding the applicants being charged without your knowledge
