By

Daniel T. Bloom SCRP

Ever hire an employee who you thought was perfect for the position and have them leave the company? One of the reasons for this might be that the hiring manager or human resources did not look out for whether the new hire could develop a sense of community in the new location.

When most of us hear the term community, we are immediately drawn to the idea of the neighborhood or the city in which we reside. In this case, we are looking at an expanded view of this concept.

Typically, when a transferee and the family are asked to relocate to a new location they are striving to duplicate the lifestyle that they had before the move. When you ask a new hire to move somewhere where they find it difficult to achieve this goal, the possibility of failure of the transfer increases. This brings us to the term community we began with. What do you do for the employee who moves from an area where there is a strong ethnic community to an area where they may become a minority of one.

So here are some suggestions for countering this bump in the road:

Counseling of Transferees. Every employee whether a new hire or

Current employee who is being asked to move should undergo extensive

question and answer sessions pertaining to their current lifestyle and its

affect the family unit. These questions should include references to

ethnic activities and traditions that they are involved in.

Know the new community. As a hiring manager or the human resource director

It is critical that you have a broad background of what is available in the new location.

What subcultures are found in the community? For example if the employee is very

observant religiously, can the demands of this involvement be met in the new location.

Can the orthodox Jew walk to the nearest temple in less than two miles? If the family

Resides in Chinatown currently is there an Asian community in the new location?

Locate a mentor. Take a page out of the military's book and locate an individual

in the new location who can serve as a guide for the new employee to the community.

This mentor should be someone who is of the same ethnic background where ever

possible. The mentor becomes the lifeline to the new community. A guide to the

resources that the new employee will need to make a successful transition to the

new location.

Carefully choose vendors. When dealing with vendors such as real estate

agents be sure that they are willing to work with the needs of the employee. The

agent assigned to work with the employee must be dedicated to providing a

level of service, which goes beyond just selling them a home. If the agent fails to

reach this plateau find a new agent.

Provide special services. Another strategy is to provide some ethnic

particular services to assist with the adaptation. If there is a local ethnic

publication, arrange for a one year subscription for the employee at the

company's expense. If there is an organization locally that represents the

employee's family background arrange for the organization to contact the

employee prior to arrival in the new location.

Every employer in this country is having problems finding quality talent for their openings. This is especially true with the IT industry. With the increasing presence of Expatriates to fill open positions, the need for assisting employees with different ethnic requirements becomes even more critical. As HR professionals and hiring managers, you play a critical role in whether the transferee is a successful one or whether it goes in the books as another failure.