Recruiting international teachers successfully depends on clear communication and a positive, helpful environment. Keep your newly hired teachers connected and engaged with the below tips from our experienced Account Managers.
Connect them with teachers currently at the school
Current faculty from overseas can offer advice and support that might not occur to you. Having someone to connect with who has made the move before will help your new teachers feel supported, allowing them to feel more confident about their transition.
Send information about the surrounding area
Your teachers should spend their pre-departure time getting excited to move to your country! Send any information you can with advice on settling in, finding nearby necessities, and discovering places to eat, shop, and socialize.
Touch base periodically about departure preparations
Frequent communication is the key to avoiding last-minute crises. Check in with your new teachers every 2 – 3 weeks prior to their departure to ensure that everything is going smoothly: visa documentation, flight scheduling, class planning, or family arrangements.
Send curriculum, if possible
Your teachers’ first few weeks will be a whirlwind. It may be difficult for them to spend as much time as they would like planning classes when they are still becoming acclimated to their new workplace and culture. Sending curriculum ahead of time will ease this transition for them as well as improve the quality of their classes.
Connect them with their immediate manager or superior
It’s helpful for teachers to have a point of contact with whom they can direct their work-related questions. However, if you are using Teach Away’s full-service recruitment, keep in mind that your Account Manager can also serve as the point of contact for all of your teachers’ questions, freeing you to focus on the operations of your school.
Encourage them to connect with larger online communities – Teach Away hosts a number of Google communities for teachers heading to popular locations for teaching overseas. These communities – found by scrolling down Teach Away’s G+ “About” page – allow educators from around the world to connect and share advice about moving abroad.
