Be prepared

Your new employee has successfully joined your company? Now you are faced with the challenge of integrating the new qualified professional into the company. Both colleagues and management should establish a welcoming culture and actively help the new qualified professional to settle into their new everyday working life.

Welcome folder 

Welcome folders are a symbol of a genuine welcoming culture in your company. They help the new qualified professional in finding their way around their new home and provide information about the company, the first steps to be taken as well as about the life in the surrounding region.

With a welcome folder, you are not only expressing your concern for the personal well-being of your new qualified professional, but also easing some of his or her concerns when arriving in what is often still a foreign country. The welcome folder can also strengthen the bond between the new qualified professional and your company.

"Make it in Germany" provides you with a precast, customisable welcome folder with useful and verified information for a successful start for the new qualified professional in Germany. You can download the welcome folder as a PDF in German and English free of charge.

What does the welcome folder include?

• Useful facts about the company and everyday working life (filled out by the company)
• Information about life in Germany and the region, e.g. finding accommodation, mobility, child care, cultural and leisure activities, restaurants and language classes
• Important information about the first steps in Germany, e.g. dealing with authorities, insurances, medical care, banks, taxes and the social security system
• Important and useful contact information and advice centres
•  A glossary with explanations of important terms

You can also add specific details about the company and the region to the welcome folder. This could be information on public transport, addresses of local authorities or suggestions for leisure activities in the area.

How can I provide additional support for my new employee?
 

The first accommodation

The very first thing an immigrant needs when arriving in Germany is a place to live. Without that, it is not possible to register a place of residence or to open a bank account. A temporary hotel address is unlikely to be accepted as an official registration address. It is therefore important that you arrange accommodation for your qualified professional. If possible, you should try to find a temporary accommodation that you can provide for your new qualified professional for the first few months in the neighbourhood of the company.

Encouraging the participation in language courses

The acquisition of the language is an essential requirement for a successful integration. Especially if German is the language spoken in the company, it is important to help the new qualified professional to learn German. This will help them to find their way around more easily.

If there is still enough time before the beginning of the employment, you can encourage your new qualified professional to already learn German in their country of origin. To do so, it is helpful to provide information about local language courses and their focus. The Goethe-Institut  offers German courses abroad. In addition to on-site courses, you also have the option of taking German courses online. You can find information on language acquisition in the company under "language courses"

SIM card

A SIM card is important to ensure that your qualified professional can be contacted and for him or her to be able to find their way around Germany with the help of a mobile data volume, whether by using navigation services or translation tools. Since a registration certificate and a valid residence title may be required to buy a SIM card, we recommend that you help your qualified professional to get a SIM card.