How to Tell Good From Bad!

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.

A good international recruiter should be able to advise you in the sort of details that you need to know, explaining what to expect and to help you to make the right decision based on their own previous experience and advice. However, this would happen only if your recruiter is able to source workers from several countries.

For example, East Europeans are well know to 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!

Not all Filipino agencies are like that, it also is a trait of agents from China, India, Bangladesh and Israel too and you need to be really sharp to spot whats happening. As controversial as that statement maybe, i think its is too important a point not to mention in an article about using international placement agencies, as it can cost your busuness a lot of money and damage your reputation irreparably.

You need to be aware of the risks in order to take steps to avoid things going wrong.

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.

Other countries may be easier to recruit from, and need less time consuming running about verifying and getting documents notarized as is required by the POEA.

But, if you understand that they are there to protect the workers and don’t mind to courier documents to the Philippines embassy in your country to 1. verify the jobs 2. verify you are a bona fide business 3. confirm your business address 4. send a notarized job offer with salary confirmation and an agency agreement document showing the terms of the agreement between you and the international placement agency, and then wait for a reply from them before sending this info off to the international recruitment agency by courier, then the Philippines might be the right choice for you.

I received an email this morning which is from a leading immigration publisher quoting an article on the Wall Street Journal A Wall Street Journal which points out that an infusion of innovators is even more needed in a recession.

Companies founded by immigrants include Yahoo, eBay and Google. Half of Silicon Valley start-ups were founded by immigrants, up from 25% a decade ago. Some 40% of patents in the U.S. are awarded to immigrants. A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation found that immigrants are 50% likelier to start businesses than natives. Immigrant-founded technology firms employ 450,000 workers in the US.

Immigrants if recruited correctly, with proper screening procedures, that is… suitable for the International movement of highly skilled migrant workers and professionals, in order to fill skills gaps then they do have a lot to contribute to any economy that has a shortage of skills, brains and innovators.

Most of the issues about taking American jobs are taking things to the extreme for professionals in silicon valley, a good American candidate will not be turned down for an H-1B applicant as it doesn’t make sense to do so.

Why is that?

1. There is no guarantee they will get the visa

2. Its expensive to do

3. It takes time…too much time!

Now, with the H-2B Guest worker program we have a different situation, which I have witnessed first hand, and the problems are aplenty due to very poor quality applicants being pushed as suitable to employers, so that some agents can make a quick buck. However, if done properly and by the right recruiters for skilled jobs like welders, Fitters, Engineers, Nurses. Vets as well as many other blue collar skills that ARE hard to find in USA even during a recession, then this is a blessing to the employers and to the economy.

What never fails to surprise me in USA, and this is not a criticism, its an observation, but there seems to be very little awareness that there is a worldwide competition for the very best migrant workers.

Canada for example needed masses of skilled workers from Nurses to meat boners, seamstresses, Skilled welders, Pipe fitters etc. and they were succeeding in bringing in from a very limited international pool. Along with Australia, the Canadians have recognized the need for migrant workers, and what they can offer to the economy.

Perhaps this isn’t such an issue for America as the market tends to go for Mexican workers anyway, but the Australians, Canadians and British are cherry picking the very best from Philippines, India, South Africa, new Zealand, Ireland and many parts of Europe, Asia and South America. They are taking a very high percentage of the available English speaking skilled tradesmen.

Australia has been at the forefront of attracting the very best workers through a good visa system that allows businesses to rely on faster and more consistent results than US employers may enjoy due to the lottery at the US embassy for applicants to get visas, this often after nearly 4 months of the H-2B process for the employer while they tried to get through Department of Labor and USCIS. When the consulate refuse visas then there is no way to get the decision reversed. This is an expensive and long road to end in bitter disappointment.

Its not unusual for American employers to be left disappointed with no visas at the end, but this would be highly unlikely in other countries to have 100% rejections when there were hundreds of visa spots allocated by the USCIS and DOL.

Should immigration reform take place in the current administration, i would hope that genuine needs for employers are given a better and fairer chance to succeed than we have seen recently.

The US desperately needs Nurses, Dentists, Veterinarians and many other skills and there is a way to get them easily but its not widely known.. The TN Visa program.

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