Integration of skilled workers: What companies can do

The recruitment of international skilled workers is essential for the German labour market, the economy and society. But recruitment alone is not enough. International skilled workers also want to be well integrated, and employers can help here in a big way. This article will tell you exactly what you can do as an employer.

An open corporate culture lays the most important foundation for the integration of international skilled workers into your team. All team members and employees should be open to diversity. You can already look out for these values in job interviews. You should also exemplify an open corporate culture yourself but can also develop and grow this as a team. To this end, you can organise coaching sessions for the whole staff.

In any case, you should also be offering support to international skilled workers in the immigration process. What documents and translations are required for visa and recognition procedures? These processes are extremely bureaucratic and can be very overwhelming, especially for those who do not yet have a good command of the language. Perhaps you also have partners that can assist in dealing with these procedures. Your support can definitely speed up these bureaucratic processes.  

You can also help your international staff to find accommodation or assist them with other administrative procedures, such as applying for a residence permit, registering their address, converting their driver’s licence, etc.

Learning the language is essential for integration in Germany. English will not be of very much help in the long run – especially in rural regions. Help your future employees learn the German language. If you employ several international professionals, you may find it worth organising a language course. This allows your staff to form contacts directly within the company. Otherwise, you can help them choose a suitable language school and offer financial support.

Good onboarding is always important for new employees, but especially for international skilled workers. Ideally, you will also include cultural aspects in the onboarding. What has to be considered when dealing with customers in Germany? Is there anything in particular that has to be taken into account when interacting with colleagues? This is all very important for good integration but, on the other hand, does not preclude openness to other cultures. On the contrary: you should find room for intercultural exchange. This way, your employees can get to know each other better and also learn to understand each other.

Mentoring programmes help new employees integrate into the company more quickly. This sort of programme is very useful, especially for international skilled workers, who at the beginning often lack an extensive social environment in their private lives and could otherwise feel quite isolated in the company. Mentors try to integrate new employees socially into the company, for example by taking lunch breaks together. This interaction also allows new employees to easily ask questions about the company and how things are done. Mentors do not necessarily have to be from the same department or team. No matter how it is organised, a mentoring programme enables new employees to find their way into the company and feel integrated altogether much faster.

Social integration in the company can also be achieved through other measures. This works best at team events and company parties. Joint activities strengthen cohesion. But you can also organise regular meet-ups, where people come together in a relaxed atmosphere outside the company. There may also be an opportunity to organise groups for other joint activities, such as running, playing cards, cooking, etc.

Regular feedback is important for all employees in general, but especially for new employees. If you employ international skilled workers, feedback meetings can help to find out at an early stage how the integration is going, how the employee feels in the company, where there are still problems, etc. This allows you to take measures early on to further advance your employees’ integration.