Given everything your business is up against in the immigration landscape, evolving beyond an emerging immigration program is commendable. Identifying your pain points, brainstorming solutions, and finding the right technology partners take considerable time and effort.
Now that you’ve established a predictable immigration journey for your international employees, all that’s left to do is gather data and use it to continuously improve. Of course, making data-driven refinements comes with its own set of challenges, but it’s an easier process than what it took for your team to leave a chaotic program behind.
Employees Are Empowered & Informed in a Predicable Immigration Program
An optimized immigration program offers many benefits for your People team and international employees, including:
A deep knowledge base
International applicants and employees have access to up-to-date legal information before, during, and after the application process. The basic information they need is at their fingertips, saving your People team and immigration provider time. An international applicant’s questions are naturally limited to more nuanced issues.
Direct lines of communication
You’ve realized the handicaps of email and given your international employees better tools. Now your stakeholders have a direct, secure way to reach out to the immigration provider that’s easy to keep tabs on and refer back to.
Ongoing provider availability
Your employees can ask questions and express concerns before, during, and after the application process. They have continuous access to legal information and advice from an experienced immigration provider.
Rapid response times
Your international employees no longer deal with delayed responses by email or phone. No more waiting anxiously for days to hear back. Your immigration provider understands your high expectations and responds to employees within a day or two—even given the significant time differences.
High-quality responses
Your international employees receive understandable and direct answers to their questions. They don’t have to worry that the information will be convoluted or ambiguous—even if cultural and language barriers exist.
How to Reach Full-Scale Accessibility
An immigration program, no matter how many improvements you’ve made, is never perfect. Or at least it won’t stay that way for long.
The best immigration program is one you can measure, evaluate, and adjust over time. Here’s how:
- Choose benchmark metrics: Part of maintaining a great immigration program is working with a best-in-class immigration provider. But you’ll need a way to measure that vendor’s performance over time. Two important metrics are response times and the quality of the provider’s answers and assistance.
- Measure your provider’s response time: A large part of an optimized program is quick responses from your immigration provider. Don’t rely on the business’s promises. Keep track of response times and immediately address the issue if you notice delays.
- Measure the quality and accuracy of your provider’s responses: Do your provider’s responses fully answer the employee’s question in an understandable and actionable way? Pay attention to the provider’s answers and address any quality issues immediately.
- Review data consistently: Once you’ve established benchmarks for measuring your immigration provider’s performance, you must gather and review the data on a regular basis. This could be monthly, quarterly, or annual schedule. Whatever you choose, use the information to make data-driven decisions about the relationship with your immigration provider.
Do You Have the Right Immigration Solution & Partner?
Your immigration provider should deliver consistent and high-quality services to your People teams and international employees. Their quality should never waiver over the months and years.
If you aren’t confident in your current immigration provider, look for a new partner that offers:
- An up-to-date knowledge base,
- Visibility into the application process,
- Direct communication with international applicants and employees,
- One-on-one legal advice for international applicants and employees,
- Conversation histories,
- Document samples and explanations, and
- A dedicated client services team.
Your immigration provider should position itself as a partner in growing your international workforce and business, not as a simple service provider.
Content in this publication is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult a Bridge-affiliated partner attorney or another qualified legal professional.
