Laying out the welcome mat

Starting a new job is always a challenge but if you are also settling into a new country then more is demanded of all sides, reports Eamon McGrane

IF YOU have ever tried to find work or settle down in another country you probably know how hard it can be to integrate not only into the company's culture but also to the customs of the newly adopted country.

Trying to negotiate the hurdles of a different tax system, conducting financial transactions, finding a place to live, language issues and trying to settle and make friends can all be daunting tasks.

It is even more difficult when you're trying to do this in a country where the spoken and written language is not your first.

By accident rather than design, Ireland has become a multicultural, cosmopolitan place and our strong economy has been attracting some of the best talent from throughout the world.

The problem is, once here how do non-nationals integrate into Irish society, life and culture while trying to be a productive employee?

IT company Citrix is one of many organisations to have recognised the difficulties non-nationals face when trying to set up a career and a life in a new country. It has more than 21 nationalities at its European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) customer support centre in Dublin's East Point Business Park.

John Kelly, director of customer technical support for Citrix in EMEA, said there were some real challenges in implementing the firm's diversity management and integration scheme. It was essentially a matter of getting their employees' lives restarted. This involved helping them to find a place to live, open a bank account and so on.

"From an employer's perspective, having an employee needing time off work to deal with all that is not what we or they want," says Kelly. "In addition, we've now put in place a relocation policy where new candidates get accommodation and we pay for the first few months until they find somewhere to live. We also provide a taxi service to move them from a temporary location to a permanent residence.

"Our HR guys have also helped with the practical things such as getting employees set up with a PPS application and other tax matters." According to Kelly one of the big initiatives, which has had a very positive impact, is how the company has linked up with the banks.

Some of the major banks now have a Citrix employee scheme in place. This entails the financial institution coming onsite at East Point Business Park to assist employees setting up accounts.

So, all the form-filling is done in a conference room and they can use "Care of Citrix" as their address which gets over the catch 22 situation of needing a place of residence to open a savings or current account.

Another integration scheme about to launch is something Citrix calls "project red carpet".

This, the company hopes, will be a one-stop-shop on an internal web page where new employees will be able to access information on everything they need to know about their role within Citrix.

"When you start a new job anywhere you're not sure of your role, or 'who's who', 'where do I go to get a new laptop', 'how do I get a phone extension' and so on," explains Kelly. "All of that will be included on an internal web page."

In terms of employee satisfaction and integration, another process Citrix operates is a monthly discussion forum where seven to eight employees are chosen and have an informal discussion with the HR manager and Kelly about what it is like to work for Citrix. This helps iron out problems in any of the company's policies and assimilation issues. One of the concerns mentioned was the lack of a social network for new recruits from overseas.

"As a result of listening to that feedback we've sponsored several social events that helps foster interaction and gets people out meeting other individuals from across the teams."