Andrew Stegmann

Use your difference to make a difference: Interview with Tayo Rockson

This week Expat Nest founder Vivian Chiona is inspired by Tayo Rockson, an adult TCK (Third Culture Kid) and expert on intercultural assimilation. Tayo has lived in Nigeria, Sweden, Burkina Faso, Vietnam and the United States, where he is currently based. He is the founder of Use Your Difference (UYD), an online magazine that features top-quality contributions from TCKs, CCKs and global nomads. Ultimately Tayo is on a mission to encourage people across the globe to “use their difference to make a difference”.

In the interview (17:40 mins) you can find out:

How Tayo got to the point of “embracing his global identity” – and how he wants you to make the most of yours!
His tips for a smoother transition in a new culture
Why online media is the answer to those who are struggling to reach their potential due to blocks about being “different”
How TCKs and Adult TCKs make the world a better place

How will you use your difference to make a difference in this world? What is the one action you will take today? We’d love to know! Just leave your comment below.

PS. Visit Tayo’s website, and download the free ebook, The Ultimate Guide to TCK Living.

Did you like this podcast? If so, share it with someone who may find it useful and subscribe to more of our TOP EXPAT TIPS.

© Vivian Chiona

Expat Nest is a professional online counselling service for expats. Expat Nest supports expats who are facing challenges and who want to feel happier and more relaxed in their international experience. http://www.expatnest.com

René Stegmann

Salary Surveys for Africa

For companies to compete for talent, they need to be aware of what the market is paying for certain skills and then develop reasonable salary ranges within their organisation. 

Salary benchmarking can be time consuming and costly but it is necessary to improve an organisation’s ability to attract talent and motivate and retain existing employees. Some companies have remuneration departments to assist with benchmarking and they often have access to salary surveys.

If your organisation is paying for a salary survey or considering a survey, look out for the following:

Participants – the companies compared in the survey should be from a similar industry, company size and location to yours.

Data – look for similar job titles and compare the responsibilities. The data must be current and valid (look for dates and ensure that the sample data is large enough).

If your company does not have access to a remuneration department, would like to benchmark a few roles or has a unique role which is difficult to compare in the market, follow these basic steps to create your own benchmark:

  • establish a compensation / remuneration policy.
  • collect market data – review job descriptions (look at the job responsibilities and not just the job title; responsibilities must be similar to be comparable), consider geographical area, size of the organisation and education level.
  • Work with the payroll budget and set a salary range. 

Position your salaries relative to competitors and decide where your company wants to pay in relation to market rate.

This article was written by Lara @ www.360hr.co.za.  Relocation Africa offer comprehensive data such as Housing Data, and Cost of Living Data for Africa, we also offer International Payroll Administration for Multinationals, and Payment Services.  Email Andrew@relocationafrica.com for additional information.

René Stegmann

Home affairs shuts its door on US missionaries – News24

Missionaries Dave and Marj Patrick. (The Witness)

Pietermaritzburg – After 20 years serving the community as missionaries in South Africa, Marj and Dave Patrick have been told by the department of home affairs to pack up and go back home.

The American couple arrived in South Africa on a voluntary missionary visa to help, educate and equip poverty-stricken people with new skills to eventually take over the positions the missionaries initially filled.

Without pay, the couple worked with South Africans in the newly established democracy and were even commended for their hard work by former president Nelson Mandela a few years after they started their missionary work in the country.

Refused

Marj said three years ago when she and her husband attempted to renew their voluntary missionary visas with the department of home affairs, their renewal was refused and they were told those visas were no longer part of the system.

“We came here to work together, embrace culture and empower people. Our organisation, the Evangelical Alliance Mission, has been working in South Africa for over 100 years and we have made a difference.

“What would cause a nation to say they don’t want help?”

Marj said the only way they would be able to keep working in the country would be to apply for a visitor’s visa or a project visa as well as a work permit, which missionaries could just not afford.

“We are here to empower people, help people get an education and then take over our work once they are qualified and they will be paid where we weren’t. If you take us away, South Africans will be at the complete mercy of the government.”

Empowered

She said she and her husband leave for America next week and although there was still work to be done across the country, she felt they could leave their station at Pietermaritzburg’s Union Bible Institute knowing they had fully equipped and trained locals to take over, empower themselves and start earning a living.

“We haven’t been told why the department of home affairs weren’t renewing voluntary missionary visas, but they did tell us that eight other missionaries had been sent back to their home countries.”

The department of home affairs was contacted for comment but did not respond.

René Stegmann

Caring for your ageing loved ones from a distance by Vivian Chiona

Keeping in touchWhen someone we love takes a turn for the worse, life abroad can suddenly become very stressful – and bring on a host of complex emotions and decisions. This week Expat Nest is delighted to welcome intercultural trainer, consultant and author Elizabeth Vennekens-Kelly as she discusses some strategies for dealing with this common expat challenge. Find more info on Elizabeth’s work at www.crossculture-training.be.

Career opportunities take individuals and their families away from their home country. Their focus is on the new job and adjusting to life in another country. In most cases parents have encouraged their child to take advantage of the unique opportunity to work and live in a foreign land. Expats quickly learn that life in another country is exciting but also more complicated. They have a new life to build and challenges to handle, so less thought is given to their relatives back home. It isn’t that they don’t care; it is simply a matter of human nature that if someone or something is absent, it is overlooked.

Today most pensioners are leading active lives so we don’t have to worry about them. However, a relative’s health status can change suddenly and dramatically. When we live on the other side of the world we feel helpless. Caring for your loved ones from a distance is a multi-faceted issue and there isn’t one right answer.  Expats dealing with a frail or ill loved one from a distance often comment that they are managing, although each describes unexpected challenges, frustrations and a desire to have known more in advance. The families are juggling multiple issues including guilt, resentment by other family members, time differences, added costs, cultural traditions, legal issues, and misunderstandings.

Here are five suggestions to consider:

  1. Use technologyto stay in touch with your loved ones, your family and those involved with the care. Technology gives you the opportunity to have an active role in the ongoing activities and decision process.
  2. Create an emergency plan including a special fund. Put resources in place, such as childcare, so that you can react quickly. The emergency fund will help to reduce the financial burden of unexpected family expenses.
  3. Whenever possible have open, honest conversationswith your siblings and ageing loved ones so that everyone has the same expectations; this will minimize misunderstandings.
  4. Look for creative waysto stay in touch and involved with the family. This can help lessen your feelings of guilt for being so far away.
  5. Honour cultural differencesincluding how people want to be cared for and how you can best honour them when they pass away.

Being prepared, having information, making a plan and opening dialogue with relatives will mean less scrambling when your loved ones need assistance. Being prepared for the ‘what if’ related to our ageing relatives can give us peace of mind.

Are you abroad and concerned about an elderly or ill relative at home? How do you and your family deal with this? We’d love to hear more tips! Feel free to share them in the comments section below.  (http://www.expatnest.com/caring-ageing-loved-ones-distance/)