A broader range of talent is good for business, including hiring immigrants and refugees. With this post, we’ll go over the benefits of hiring from these groups and strategies to make the most of these unique employees. Did you know that upgrading your free online recruiting software can also help your overall hiring strategies? Convert to Recruiteze today! We’re number one in the market place for free applicant tracking. Read on to learn more.
Benefits of Hiring Immigrants and Refugees
The upsides boil down to two main points: immigrants’ and refugees’ appreciation of the opportunity to work and the diverse experiences they bring to the workplace.
Whether still residing in another country and merely staying for a period of time to work in this one or moving to this country by choice or by force, employees originating from another country offer unique benefits to the workforce.
Tax Incentives
Let’s get the simplest one out of the way first. Depending on your location, the job, and the employees you want to hire, you may be eligible for a tax credit for your hire.
Gratefully Fill Hard-to-Fill Positions
The most well-known benefit is that they give you access to more talent if your own country’s talent doesn’t provide enough opportunities to fill the positions you need.
If there aren’t enough candidates for a job, the candidates don’t have the skills or attitude you need, or simply don’t want the job, employers often turn to immigrants and refugees. These people often appreciate opportunities to better themselves in positions and jobs that locals are jaded by. Honest labor, a chance to interact with customers and improve their language skills, and a way to gain experience to help them get established in a new country’s job market mean a great deal to someone starting over or looking for new opportunities.
They also help make up for talent deficits locally. If an employer is struggling to meet experience and education requirements in their present candidate base, looking to immigrants, global talent, and refugees opens a wide range of new possibilities.
Many people probably aren’t aware of this, because we normally are only made aware of their plight or their desire to come to this country and not the lives they had before, but refugees and new citizens possess a wide variety of skills and education.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants describes it well, “Refugees showcase a variety of employable skills. Our refugee community is composed of doctors, nurses, small business owners, farmers, construction workers, graphic designers, tailors, and more. Most refugees speak several languages. Some refugees hold Master’s Degrees while others are expert farmers or gifted artisans. If you’re looking for a skilled employee, we can match you with a qualified refugee.”
Bring Diversity and Creativity to the Job
People who grew up in another country had different experiences and grew up with the influences of another culture. They have different viewpoints that aid problem-solving and team-building and may particularly suit individual corporate cultures.
Here is an excerpt from a 2016 study regarding refugees in the workforce:
“Persons who have been uprooted from traditional cultures, or who have been thoroughly exposed to two or more cultures, seem to have the advantage in the range of hypotheses they are apt to consider, and through this means, in the frequency of creative innovation,” according to Donald Campbell, one of the leading psychologists in creativity research in the 1960s.
Anyone who fought hard to work in or come to a country as opposed to simply being born there, clearly has a drive and desire to be there. They probably aren’t just throwing applications your way because they halfway want to work for you as we sometimes fear about local workers.
Bilingual individuals literally think differently. This aids in creative thinking and problem-solving.
People who are fluent in several languages also tend to be more creative. “Languages codify concepts differently, and the ability to draw upon these varied perspectives during a creative process generates a wider range of associations,” Frans Johansson explained in The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures.
Refugees Are Unusually Resilient
When a person has been persecuted, forced to leave their home, quite likely had to endure unspeakable hardships to come to a new land, and has learned a whole new way of life, that person is resilient, adaptable, and likely to be loyal to your business. Their strength can be a motivator for your entire team, and they definitely have some rare insights to share.
These people also have a strong desire to be self-sufficient, support their families, and improve their lives. They are going to be invested in their work and in their growth, making for passionate and engageable employees who are eager to learn.
Whether you want to manage costs, fill a difficult position, navigate a poor talent field, fix retention rates, boost employee engagement, or increase creativity, hiring immigrants, global talent, and refugees may be a major benefit to your business.
The Big Dogs Do It
Many major corporations make it part of their business strategy to hire refugees:
- Wal-Mart
- IBM
- Microsoft
- Starbucks
- Chobani
- Ford
- Hilton
- Marriott Hotels
Certainly, this choice will be following in the footsteps of the most successful businesses.
Strategies for Success When Hiring Immigrants and Refugees
To make the most of the benefits of hiring immigrant and refugees as quickly as possible, you should consider using our free online recruiting software and the following tips.