Timing vital with international recruitment

01-01-2009 | Not Specified

Even in today's economic times, finding good staff for on-farm roles can be a challenge. Farmers need to be creative about which talent pools they access.

International staff can be a viable option for a lot of farmers, especially in the South Island where the employment market is very tight.

Employees from overseas can bring an excellent work ethic and a new set of skills to your business; however there are also challenges that employers need to be cautious about.

One of those challenges is the amount of time international employees can take to adapt and settle into a new country.

Planning the right arrival time for your international employee can go a long way toward minimising the challenges of culture shock and the adaptation period.

Planning for their arrival in February or March gives international employees time to integrate into the New Zealand culture and learn the procedures on-farm before the pressure comes on in spring.

There are a number of advantages to bringing international staff into NZ prior to June. They include:

• New employees start learning the routine of milking at a time of the year when there is less pressure on-farm and time available to teach them properly. This is one less learning curve to have during spring.

• Employees get a better understanding of the seasonality of farming, which makes it easier for them to understand and tolerate the pressure of spring, knowing that there is a less stressful time ahead.

• Having an extra employee over summer can be useful, covering for other employees when they take their annual leave or days off.

Timeframes for international recruitment

Recruitment is always about timing, especially in seasonal industries such as dairy farming. International recruitment is even more focused on getting the timing right, as anyone who has recruited from offshore will tell you!

One advertisement for a farm employee on the internet can easily generate hundreds of replies from people offshore. The process of sifting through those replies to find the top applicants can be very time consuming.

To ensure that international employees arrive in March, employers need to start planning in December. Hopefully, this will allow enough time for applicants to be thoroughly screened and visas to be processed.

Tips for a smooth integration period

There are a number of things an employer can do to ensure a smooth transition for international employees into NZ culture and their new workplace. Some of these things are:

• When screening international applicants, check their English levels, work history, family situation, immigration requirements and their expectations of working in NZ. Don't make assumptions about what they do or do not know.

• Manage their expectations by providing them with helpful and honest information right at the start. They will often be so excited about the prospect of moving to NZ that they will only hear the positives. It is very important that you make an effort to communicate the realities of life on a farm in NZ such as time off, average hours of work and the distance of the farm from the closest town etc.

• Prepare the rest of your team by telling them who your new employee is and where they are coming from. Respect is a key part of any successful work culture. Research the country of origin and if possible talk to others from that part of the world who have migrated to NZ to discover what was important to them when they arrived and what they found difficult.

• Once the employee arrives, ensure they go through a thorough induction process. Help them with things like bank accounts, local doctors, how to use NZ appliances, who to contact for support both on-farm and outside the farm gate. Remember they will be learning a whole new lifestyle. They also need to understand the NZ farming calendar, routines on-farm, the position description and key people to report to. Try to teach through demonstration and use a ‘buddy system' rather than teaching by verbal communication alone.

• Review how your employee is settling in on a regular basis. Are they experiencing culture shock, have you noticed that they are withdrawing or lack motivation? Have they been associating with other people? There are a number of support services for migrants throughout NZ. They support migrants and provide them with contacts with other people from their home country, as well as a number of other services. Settlement Support NZ has a history of providing excellent support for migrant employees.

There will always be some things that don't go to plan. It is best to accept this and manage those things as they arise.

Recruiting staff from overseas can be really successful if done right. Giving employees enough time before the start of the new season i.e. employing them in March and providing them with enough support and communication in the first few months, will go a long way toward ensuring the success of an international recruitment.

More? John Fegan is a director at ATRFegan, contact him through www.atrfegan.com

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