Would you hire more foreigners if you didn’t have to deal with the Department of Home Affairs or VFS? Let’s face it – neither the DHA or VFS are known to be efficient or helpful in 100% of cases.
Here’s another question for you – have you ever not hired a foreigner because the wait for them to start was just too long? You probably have. Not everyone has the luxury to wait for an employee for months.
The thing is, hiring a foreigner can be extremely beneficial to your company. Dealing with the DHA and VFS, and waiting for months, have the potential to pay off in three big ways:
More innovation
Coming from a different culture and country, a foreigner will bring with them fresh ideas and new approaches to problems. You can use these insights to improve processes and refine systems.
Different ways of doing things can also come in handy when your company want to expand on existing products or services.
In a nutshell – your foreign staff member could become your secret weapon to staying one step ahead of your competition.
Access to global markets
Many employers take advantage of the ties their foreign staff members have in their home countries. Take for instance the company with a German employee who want to explore German or European markets. The employer is in the perfect position to ask the German employee for insights or even contacts to build relationships in Germany. After all, business is as much about who you know as what you know.
As a South African employer, it could be very beneficial to employ workers from other parts of Africa. An increasing number of corporates are investing in Africa. With staff members from other African countries, you secure a foothold in those countries. The added benefit is that you have staff members that can speak African languages in your office.
More rewarding work environment
Most people like learning from their peers. Foreign workers offer so much in this regard to their colleagues. Not only from a business perspective, but on a personal and cultural level too. This makes the office a more interesting and rewarding place for all employees.
The knock-on effect is that employees are happier, making them more likely to recommend you as an employer. This could attract even more foreigners, amplifying the already great benefits of employing foreigners.