How to strengthen your company with international experts
There is a lack of specialists in many companies and industries, especially in IT and software development the gap is getting bigger and bigger. The search for employees is lengthy, time-consuming, and increasingly expensive.
Numerous companies have now started to invite IT specialists from abroad. This is not a temporary visit, but a permanent move to another country.
In our blog, we show how to make this strategy successful. What are the stumbling blocks?
To find suitable candidates abroad, it can make sense to work with a service provider specialized in recruiting. We explain how this can support you.
Our experience here is mainly based on personnel recruitment from Ukraine and Russia to Germany.
The 4 critical factors in relocation
Speed
The labor market outside Europe, including Eastern Europe, is moving much faster than we are used to. The notice periods of employment contracts are shorter; candidates can quickly change their jobs if they are dissatisfied. This is obviously very much to the advantage of the new employer.
However, good candidates, i.e., IT experts with very good skills and a lot of experience, always have several job offers on the table. Due to the short notice periods in Eastern Europe, decisions are therefore made more quickly.
HR managers and decision-makers in Western Europe must adapt here because otherwise good candidates will slip through their fingers due to overly sluggish, bureaucratic processes. It should not take longer than 2 weeks from the first contact with an applicant to the decision on whether to offer a contract.
Language
There are few IT specialists outside of Germany who have such a good command of the German language that they can be used in the company without any problems. It would also be wrong to expect that the specialists will learn the new language very quickly.
English, on the other hand, is not a problem. English language skills can be easily tested in advance during the application process.
However, it also means that the company in a Western Europe country must be prepared to speak exclusively in English with the new employee. Software specifications, requirements, tasks, etc. are available in English.
The project
As mentioned before, very good candidates always have several offers on the table. Therefore, they will choose the offer that fits their future career path.
For this reason, candidates are very interested in working with the latest technologies, to constantly improve themselves. A company that uses outdated technologies (e.g. PHP5) will have a hard time convincing professionals. The more exciting and challenging the project, the more likely this will succeed.
Family
In many countries, including Eastern Europe, family planning tends to start earlier. Therefore, candidates are very often already married and have children. Moving to another country is a big step for the whole family.
For the family to quickly find a connection in Germany, candidates are more interested in jobs that are located in large cities. This is because in these cities there is often already a community with like-minded people, which makes it easier and supports the connection in the new home country.
Conversely, for companies in rural areas, this means that they have a harder time attracting foreign professionals. However, this problem also exists within Germany; German professionals also tend to prefer the big cities.
How the recruitment process works
Here we outline a typical procedure that we usually follow in the recruitment process:
- There is an initial meeting between the customer and us. The customer creates a job description. Then our recruiters begin the search and send weekly reports on the status of the recruitment.
- We present suitable candidates to the customer. The client makes a pre-selection and gets to know the suitable candidates better in an online interview.
- A suitable candidate is then invited to Germany for a trial day. If everything fits, the expert receives a contract offer from the company. After the offer is signed, we immediately take care of the work visa.
- Once the visa is issued, the new employee travels to Germany and starts his job. Presumably, the new employee initially lives in a temporary apartment until he finds a suitable place to live. On-site, he applies for a Blue Card.
How much time elapses between the initial interview with us and the new employee’s first day at work? Well, usually it is 3 to 6 months.
Conclusion
Let’s summarize once again. The relocation of specialists from abroad is only possible in large cities. In addition, there must be a willingness to communicate in English. The new workplace must be interesting in terms of the technologies used.
For companies that are not based in large cities, it is possible to rely on outsourcing and nearshoring, leaving the specialists in their home countries and setting up a development team abroad. The specialists work for the company from there. You can find a first introduction to the topic of nearshoring in this blog post.
