Eight Tips to Manage Expat Employees

Employers who want the best out of their expat employees should provide cultural orientation, encourage cross-cultural conversation, safeguard their employees from potential risks, consider the expat’s family, and set up a dedicated communication channel.

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Are you an employer with employees living abroad for work? Are you wondering how best to support and communicate with these employees so you both have the best experience possible?

In this Pacific Prime article, we’ll go through the tips above plus more to help you take your business to the next level. 

1. Provide Cultural Orientation

Image of Diverse Team Collaborating In A Bright, Modern Office Meeting with text overlay of "Provide Cultural Orientation"

Culture shock can impact how well your staff can settle in at your office. Consider providing a cultural orientation or culture handbook to make sure your staff doesn’t have to navigate the cultural difference by themselves.  

Pacific Prime offers extensive resources to expats, from brokerage services for those seeking health insurance to education on the best cities to live in by country and information on the healthcare systems around the world. Take advantage of these free services to benefit your employees.

Here are some of the top articles for popular expat locations:

2. Encourage Cross-Cultural Conversation

If your office rarely sees expat colleagues, it is possible that they might not initiate interaction with them. Consider casual office events that encourage intermingling or inclusivity and diversity training to make sure your staff are ready to welcome their foreign colleagues.

3. Set Up a Warm Welcome

It doesn’t have to be huge, but make sure your office knows that a new employee is arriving. This can be a casual lunch or party to ensure your new employee is properly introduced. If there are other expats on your team, this can be a good chance for them to help their new colleague settle in.

4. Help Out as Much as Possible

It can be difficult for expats to devote as much time to work while they are moving. Be considerate of their moving stresses, including filing immigration papers and even culture shock. Find ways to simplify their move, whether through providing moving or translation services or extra time off.

Other ideas for simplifying your employee’s move could include providing a list of recommended areas to live, guides to daily commutes, or a list of possible international schools if your employee is moving with their children.

5. Safeguard Them From Risks

Make sure to research possible risks and concerns for expats coming to your country. This can be immigration procedure, healthcare gaps, or discrimination concerns. By proactively learning about and preventing these risks, you show your expat employees they have supportive teams behind them.

6. Think About Their Family

Whether your employees bring their family along or leave them behind, both can be disruptive to their quality of life. Consider providing them support no matter what they choose. 

If they are bringing their family along, consider including their family into your relocation assistance as well. You might help them find schooling for their kids or provide a family health insurance plan.

Even if they aren’t bringing their family along, you can still extend support in the forms of a guide or some tips for your employees to handle homesickness should it arise. After all, homesickness can be serious and can take a toll on your employee’s mental wellbeing.

7. Set Up Dedicated Communication Channel

Make sure your employees know who they should go to once they arrive at their new office. Without a clear contact person or contact point, your employees might feel confused and unsure where to go or whom they should contact should any problems arise.

8. Offer Incentives

Providing incentives such as home trip benefits or expat health insurance can help employees and their families feel cared for and can make moving overseas more enticing. 

For example, those who are looking to expand their families can move with confidence knowing that they can give birth in a foreign country. Other employee benefit solutions that can motivate employees to move abroad include dental care and wellness programs.

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Improve Your Business Abroad by Taking Care of Your Expat Employees

It can be difficult for an expat employee to jump into the middle of a business they don’t yet understand and deliver immediate results while navigating a culture that is unfamiliar to them. As an employer, you can give your employee the support to push through these challenges.

With so many international health insurance companies out there, it can be daunting to find the right one for your needs and budget. At Pacific Prime, we take the stress away by comparing group health insurance plans for you. Contact us today to receive a plan comparison or an obligation-free quote.

Content Creator at Pacific Prime
Ninnart is a content writer at Pacific Prime. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Social Sciences from University of Tsukuba, Japan. Prior to her arrival at Pacific Prime, her professional pursuit has taken her everywhere from an online publisher dedicated to raising Thai people’s awareness of the aging society to an international organization working to enhance regional academic collaboration. Through such experience, she has gotten her hands on various kinds of content, from colorful photo albums on ballroom dancing to news articles summarizing insights from the senior thought leaders of Southeast Asia’s higher education sector.

Coming to Pacific Prime, she is ready to utilize her experience for the new pursuit. With a strong passion for storytelling and writing, she hopes her words could help bring people closer to the best international health insurance plan that works for them. After all, as a writer, there is no greater honor than when one’s words can add clarity to the world of the readers.

Apart from writing, she is an avid planespotter. On the weekends, you can expect to find her loitering around the airport, gawking at all the aircrafts taking off and landing. When the weather does not permit planespotting, you can find her huddling on her cozy couch, watching ballet and figure skating as well.
Ninnart Ratanasukhon
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