As a company director, the hiring process for your company is one of the most crucial. Ensuring those who step foot into your business are doing so with the intention of helping it grow and thrive while ensuring they have the best skills required for the job is challenging.
Add into the equation the stresses of hiring temporary workers of foreign nationality, and you are faced with a whole host of other obstacles. We will be considering these obstacles below and what you can do to overcome them.
Paperwork and Documentation Challenges
To work and reside in the United States, foreign workers need to own a permanent or temporary employment visa. For some foreign workers to qualify for these visas, they need sponsorship from an American-based employer, like yourself.
This is an obstacle that business owners alike will face when hiring temporary foreign workers. Following the issues that have cropped up due to the H-2B caps in the United States, those businesses that lie within the laborious sectors might lack available workers.
There are exceptions to the cap, but to get over this obstacle as a business, use the services of an experienced immigration law firm, like Farmer Law.
Language Barriers
Language barriers are an obstacle that should be expected when hiring foreign workers.
67.3 million people in the United States speak more than one language, and it is a vital skill to have in any setting.
Within this number, approximately 53% of all foreign workers and residents of the United States are proficient in English and another language. While the ability to speak English decreases the chances of you experiencing a language barrier, there is still a high chance of this happening.
Sourcing appropriate language lessons for the employees and tailoring them to the needs of the business is the best way to overcome this obstacle. On-site language classes, wherever possible, will also help; your employee will feel like part of the team from day one, which is what you want.
Cultural Differences
Another common obstacle that business owners face when hiring foreign workers. What might be wildly accepted in the United States may not be viewed as such in the country your foreign worker is from.
To minimize the chances of meeting this obstacle, you must research any cultural differences before your new employee starts. Flexibility in your existing company policies is also crucial, particularly concerning bereavement periods and being culturally sensitive as a whole.
Communication styles also differ across cultures and can be an obstacle that you face as a business owner when hiring foreign workers.
Researching what communication styles are used in the country of origin and establishing what you can do will allow you to overcome this obstacle.
These are but some of the obstacles you should expect to meet when hiring a foreign worker for your business. We hope this piece has shed some light on what you can do when faced with these obstacles, and you feel comfortable knowing how to overcome them.
