Seven ways to help new staff settle at your international school

Most international schools need to recruit between 10% and 25% of their staff each year. They rely on being able to attract talented individuals to move to a new country or to move abroad for the first time. Given that the prospect of relocating can be very daunting, a school which develops a reputation for having effective structures in place to support these teachers will have an advantage in what is an increasingly competitive international recruitment market. Here’s seven ways in which international schools can build an effective induction programme to support staff moving abroad. 

1. Guiding new staff through the red tape 
   The induction process for teachers moving to work abroad usually starts months before the adventure begins. There is a certain amount of paperwork that is much easier to do whilst still in the UK, such as getting a local Police Clearance or producing attested copies of Degree and Teaching Qualification Certificates and, where relevant, Marriage Certificates. Given that most teachers haven’t even heard of ‘attestation’ let alone how to complete this complex process, it is important that schools have a strong (and patient) HR team who will put new joiners at ease by guiding them through what they need to do in a timely manner. 
2. Connect new staff through Social Media
   Teachers who are moving abroad can feel quite distant and isolated from the school community they are joining. One way to overcome this is to connect those joining the school in September via Social Media. For example, at JESS the HR Department run a ‘JESS New Starters’ Facebook group which allows the new cohort to get to know each other, to ask questions and, which, over time, has become a repository of FAQs. The group builds a sense of camaraderie so that when they all finally meet at the ‘New Staff Social’, they already know each other. 
3. Relocation Advice 
   One of the most difficult decisions for someone moving abroad is to work out what items they need to take out to the new country. The temptation is to ship too much out of a fear that it won’t be available or will be too expensive abroad. Rather than reinventing the wheel, school HR teams can help by pointing new staff to local online forums and networks (such as ExpatWoman.com). 
4. Meet and Greet 
   The most seasoned traveller will tell you that arriving in a new country knowing that this is now ‘home’ is a totally different experience to going on holiday. It can be an emotional time and a familiar face can be most welcome. It is common practice for members of the school’s senior management team to meet new staff at the airport and to ensure that they are settled into their accommodation, which is usually provided or arranged by the school in the first instance. 
5. Teacher Buddy 
   Schools often allocate new staff ‘teacher buddies’ in the summer term prior to the ‘big move’. This gives an important point of contact for the new teacher, who can help the new staff member both before their arrival and to settle into the school and the expat community.  
6. Living in Limbo 
   It usually takes a number of weeks for Visa and Residency paperwork to be in place. During this time, it can be difficult to buy a car, lease an apartment, get insurance and set up a mobile phone account. A good HR team provide support by advising new teachers on what they need to put in place for this transitional time. (In practice new teachers usually need to take the same steps that would were they to be visiting the country as a tourist.) One of the most practical things that a school can do is to help new staff with WIFI in these early days, for example by lending 4G dongles to new staff. 
7. Introduction into Local Laws and Customs 
   One of the most important parts of new staff induction in an international context is to provide some guidance on local laws and customs. It is vital that ex pat staff understand the expected norms of behaviour when in public, especially at times of key religious and national festivals. For example, there are a range of attitudes in the Middle East around dress code, which not only vary from country to country but also from context (the street, the shopping Mall, the Government building, the beach). It is much better that schools take the time to run sessions on local expectations, than their new staff learn what is and what is not acceptable the hard way. Some schools take the process of induction to the next level by providing classes in the local language to facilitate this process. 

First impressions count, and that applies as much to schools as it does to teachers; so, HR Departments are very much in the front-line when it comes to recruitment and the on-boarding of staff. In the highly competitive world of teacher recruitment, a good HR team who communicates well and puts candidates at their ease is an enormous asset that can make the difference between securing and losing the top applicant. The HR team’s work is not over once the preferred candidate has accepted the post: HR’s role in the induction process is crucial in ensuring that new staff settle and quickly find their stride in the school. This is true of all schools, but the challenges facing HR teams in International schools are even greater as they play a crucial, guiding role in helping staff and their families through the process of moving abroad and finding their feet in what is often a strange, new country.

This article was published in Tes 12/06/2019