You are in : Human Resources > Work Permit

Global Migration

Addressing the challenges of employing foreign talent

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:06

HR professionals, recruiters and managers are finding it increasingly difficult to source the necessary talent within South Africa to grow their businesses and remain competitive – and this is likely to remain an issue for the next 15 to 25 years as education systems adapt to produce more appropriately prepared and skilled individuals, according to Leon Isaacson, managing director of Global Migration SA.

“In the global marketplace, there is a growing trend for workers who have skills that are in demand to move between companies both within and across national borders,” Isaacson says. “This brings its own challenges to employers, who have to cope with increased risk, and more complex legal and procedural matters.”

As skilled foreigners are likely to play a significant role in our economy until balance is restored within the education and training systems in South Africa, Global Migration has arranged a seminar at which several important expatriate management issues will be addressed, to help HR departments and managers get to grips with the complexities.

The seminar, which will be presented in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban later this month, will include talks by Isaacson, an immigration practitioner who advises businesses and individual clients about immigration options and opportunities in South Africa; Dr Marius van Aswegen, a registered industrial psychologist specialising in the field of expatriate emotional health and management; Jerry Botha, the leading partner in a tax consultancy that focuses on expatriate planning and compliance; and Dr Laurentia Truter, an advocate whose field of expertise is employment law, labour relations and employment equity.

Van Aswegen points out that in selecting and managing foreign workers most companies focus on a single criterion: that of technical competence and performance.

“The selection is made primarily on the basis of the needs of a given position and the company’s inability to fill it with an employee from the host country,” he says. “But using this ‘fire-fighting’ approach can result in a high rate of expatriate failure and the high costs directly related to it.”

Expatriate failure is seldom the consequence of a lack of technical skills, but rather the foreigner’s ability to cope with an unpredictable new working and social environment, he explains. “Organisations therefore need to place much more emphasis on the management of the individual’s emotional well-being and health in adjusting to the foreign environment and country.”

Statistics show that 16% to 45% of all expatriates “fail” – which means they return home before completing their contract - and that there is a significant drop in professional performance among 50% of those who remain in the foreign environment because of high levels of stress, he says.

He points out that expatriates face many challenges in adapting to a foreign environment.

How successful the individual is at settling in depends on a number of factors, including his ability and willingness, and that of his spouse and family, to adjust to a different country, cultures and languages; how the family copes with being away from their social support structure and whether the foreign worker is able to deal with the added responsibilities often demanded of him when working abroad.

Foreigners typically go through a cycle of distinct phases in adjusting to a different environment, Van Aswegen explains. The first of these is the honeymoon phase in which the new life is seen as exciting and stimulating. During the second phase the person experiences culture shock and feels disorientated, showing signs of depression or stress.

In the third or recovery phase, he begins to reach a mental compromise between his exaggerated initial expectations and reality; and in the adjustment phase, he begins to work effectively and experiences personal growth. “However, these phases may not always appear in such a neat sequence,” he says.

At the seminar Van Aswegen will discuss the typical problems facing expatriates in more detail and outline the support services that can put into place at any point in the cycle to help them adjust to an emotionally challenging external environment, to enable them perform at a high level and achieve personal success in their new surroundings.

Isaacson will address the issue of skills shortage work permits and HR skills strategies in his talk. In South Africa there are various types of work permits: quota, general, exceptional skills, intra-company, exchange and business permits, he explains. There is also a retired person’s work permit, and certain visitors’ permits allow foreigners to work in the country for a short while.

“Getting the right permit is critical. This requires thinking and planning, based on the current and long-term plans both of the company and the foreign worker and his family,” he says. “Some permits have limitations regarding renewal or application for permanent residence. This can have severe implications for a company if a foreign worker becomes a key employee and later wishes to live and work permanently in South Africa.”

The quota work permit is available to foreigners whose skills fall into specific categories where there are shortages. These categories are determined by the Minister of Home Affairs, who decides on the number of permits that will be issued annually in each category to meet the needs of the economy, he says.

“Normally only around 15 - 20% of the quotas are filled as Home Affairs does not actively market and recruit abroad, and it is difficult for skilled foreigners based overseas to handle the application process on their own.”

Isaacson points out that in South Africa only registered immigration practitioners, attorneys or advocates who meet the government criteria and code of conduct may legally represent a foreigner in applying for permits at Home Affairs.

But many fly-by-night operators provide illegal permits at exorbitant prices – often as high as R20 000 to R30 000 per permit - leaving unsuspecting foreign workers open to legal sanctions if found in possession of such documents.

“Anyone promising to obtain permits for foreign workers quickly and easily is probably offering an illegal service, as the timing and application processes have been laid down by law,” he says. “The issue of illegal permits is a growing problem: 50% to 60% of permits in the Gauteng region are estimated to be illegal.”

Before engaging a practitioner, it is important to establish that person or company’s credibility, he advises. “Ask for references from current clients and check the practitioner’s registration certificate".

"Many ‘immigration practitioners’ are simply intermediaries who approach registered practitioners on behalf of applicants, and then add a substantial mark-up to the practitioner’s fee. This is known as double handling, and can be avoided by refusing to deal with any agent who won’t allow the applicant to speak directly to the immigration practitioner or principal of the immigration business involved.”

Tax expert Jerry Botha will talk about some of the latest amendments to South African laws, such as the new expatriate accommodation rule which became effective in March 2008, and will also speak on topics such as compensation and benefits strategies for expatriates, among others.

Dr Truter will discuss a host of issues, ranging from the statutory conditions of employment that govern expatriate contracts of employment, and the documentation required for inter-company transfers, to whether an employee can be dismissed if it transpires that he does not have a valid work permit.

The one-day seminar on South African work permits, tax, expatriate management and labour issues will be held at The Fountains Hotel, Adderley Street in Cape Town on 28 October. The cost of R950 plus VAT per person will include notes, refreshments and lunch.

To book, contact Sam Peyton at Global Migration on 0861 644 728, or register online at www.globalimsa.com.