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,”
Irish English can be a challenge
FILIPE FIEL (35), Citrix’s technical relationship manager for service delivery in southern Europe, is originally from Portugal. Citrix is his third employer in Ireland.
Fiel came to Ireland in 1998 and was recruited because of his technical skills and the fact he could speak Portuguese. He subsequently started working for a multinational company in Dublin on the Portuguese support team.
“I had a good experience in my first job in a multinational work environment. In the beginning I was included on a team to support the Portuguese market and I found that, in a way, it limited my experience with the Irish people and style of living because you end up sticking together with people you know,” said Fiel.
According to Fiel, his cultural expectations of Ireland were informed by others as he had not met any Irish people prior to his arrival here. “My expectations were quite high based on the fact the Irish enjoy a good reputation as a friendly and reputable people.”
While Fiel’s English was not a problem it was the Irish language that often, and amusingly, proved to be a stumbling block for him.
“I had such difficulties trying to describe to a cab driver on my first day that I had to meet someone called Siobhán in Dun Laoghaire! Eventually I had to write it down and use a lot of sign language.”
Learning to pass the time of day
MAGDA PIELECH (30), a Citrix support account manager, came to Ireland three years ago and Citrix is her first employer. She said she came over because her friends told her how great Ireland was.
As soon as the Irish Government opened the market for Polish people to work here without a work permit or visa Pielech decided to make the move. Before she came she put in months of planning and research about Ireland and where to live, what to do and so on.
“I was well prepared but I was surprised, for instance, by how nice and friendly people were in the tax office when I went to get a PPS number. I did have some problems setting up my bank account but I didn’t really have any major trouble or issues.”
Of course certain cultural barriers still had to be surmounted and Pielech found the Irish way of conversational preamble, even in business, as something she had to learn.
“In Poland when you talk on the phone you get to the point
straight away. In Ireland you like to say hello, how are you’, chat about the weather and so on and only then do you get to the point.
“At the very beginning people were asking me how I was but I was getting straight to the point so I had to learn how to do this and I realised you get more from people by engaging with them this way.
Published in: THE IRISH TIMES Business This Week, Recruitment & Management, Friday, August 15, 2008