As an employer, your first thought might be, “I need to ensure our new employee receives support in learning the local language” and you’ll work towards setting them up on a course. This will, in time, help massively – breaking the language barrier will ensure clearer communications, a reduction in errors and a more cohesive team. You may also extend this to their family members, to assist them in fitting in at school, or going about their general day-to-day tasks.

But what about the cultural implications? Would your new employee know that during a meeting, new ideas may take longer to discuss before reaching the approval stage? Or that there is a hierarchy system that must be adhered to? That “Yes” could mean “Maybe” or even “No?” That during meals, it’s preferable (not) to burp/leave cutlery open on the plate or not use their left hand?

If your new employee isn’t aware of the “usual way of doing things around here”, it can cause embarrassment, feelings of exclusion, low morale for the and the team and leave them wondering if they’ve made the right decision in working for you. Therefore, it’s vital to ensure that as an employer, enough preparation and thought is given to ensuring your recruit feels at home – both in and out of the workplace.