Introduction
Relocation Africa has been in the business of assisting global corporates to relocate their employees into Africa for 23 years. They are an owner-managed business that has been able to adapt to market and client requirements over the years, while building a solid reputation based on quality of service. Their service offering began in 1993 in Johannesburg; assisting corporates to settle their staff into the city. Since then they have taken on the challenges that the rest of Africa has to offer and now deliver mobility, immigration, research and remuneration services to countries right across the Continent.
They are an independent business specialising in global relocation solutions, providing a central point of contact for HR teams and assignees throughout the relocation process working transparently and collaboratively in all areas.
Our Vision
‘to provide seamless professional destination services to enable expatriates to
be effective employees as soon as possible’
and Our Promise:
Helping your employees to ‘Embrace the Unknown’
In 23 years of experience as a Global Mobility Specialist, Relocation Africa has seen at first hand the many pitfalls of relocating staff that are not equipped to handle their assignments successfully. In every case, the decisions taken by large multi-national companies, affect people and can directly influence the success of the business.
In identifying this they have carefully reviewed what Relocation Africa as a business could do to facilitate and positively influence the successful experience of the assignee and thereby the bottom line of the business.
It is for this reason that Relocation Africa, in collaboration with a couple of expert friends, has designed a programme which they believe will facilitate the commitment from the business towards the employee whose life is about to be changed and challenged, as well as provide assignees with some invaluable tools on how to cope, manage and implement strategies to best utilise what we have termed “The Power of Difference” to benefit them as individuals and the business as a whole.
Knowing the difference can be quite useful. It can give you a sense of how you’re supposed to act in a foreign setting, especially when you have no idea where to start. It can also help you understand why others from a different culture behave as they do. But in our experience, the mistake many companies make is thinking that knowing cultural differences is enough — that discovering the key differences is all you need to master to be effective across cultures.
If the problem your employees face is that they simply don’t understand cultural differences, a solution focused on defining cultural differences makes all the sense in the world. But if, like in most instances, the real problem is that your employees can’t adapt and integrate their behavior across cultures, these solutions focused simply on differences likely won’t give you the bang for your buck that you’re expecting.
Our program will cover the following over 3 days:
- The Power of Difference
- Intercultural Skills
- Your Host Nation
- Your Home Nation
- Culture Shock
- Using Cultural Differences as a means of positive personal growth
- Diversity Management
- Dealing with differences constructively
- Aspects you need to know
- Tools to overcome it and develop further
Our Diversity Coaches are:
Dr. Layo Seriki – CIELARKO International Management Consultants. Her work as a researcher, university lecturer, consultant, trainer and coach concentrates on identifying what is needed to optimise the performance of people, especially in the African context. In over 15 years as a consultant she has worked with multinationals, NGOs and individuals in Africa, Europe and North America.
With a background in Industrial Engineering, Layo endeavours to create links between structural frameworks and human needs.
Eloise Williams – Account Manager at RELOCATION AFRICA and works as project manager, cultural trainer, language trainer and translator. She is also a qualified corporate coach who specialises in providing support to assignees from all over the world to overcome and manage cultural differences to their advantage. Eloise has herself lived and worked as an expatriate in many different countries and cultures over the past 20 years and her practical experience is a natural complement to Layo’s expertise. She is passionate about language and communication and facilitating these across language and cultural barriers.
For more information on “The Power of Difference” training please contact us powerofdifference@relocationafrica.com or +27217634240.
10 Reasons To Go To Africa Instead Of Europe For Your 2016 Vacation
You might be planning a trip to Europe this year, following the path trod by millions before you. Sure you can see Paris, Prague and the leaning tower of Pisa, but you won’t be seeing or doing anything different than those who have been before you.
So instead of Europe in 2016, why not broaden your horizons and explore a continent that fewer people have visited? You’ll likely save money, be more challenged, and have more interesting experiences to share than your Uncle Bob, who just got back from Paris for the fifth time.
Here’s why you should go to Africa instead of Europe for your 2016 vacation.
Source
African Elephants: Why Botswana Won’t Burn Illegal Ivory
With populations of African elephants declining alarmingly in many areas because of poaching, habitat loss and conflict with expanding human populations, Botswana has become one of Africa’s most important sanctuaries in the battle to conserve the species.
The country harbours the world’s largest elephant population, representing about 40 per cent of all those left in Africa. The future conservation of savanna elephants will largely depend upon how they fare in their remaining strongholds. The people of Botswana recognise they are custodians of an import global heritage.
The decision to destroy ivory stockpiles aims to deter consumer demand, the illegal trade in tusks and elephant poaching. Its effectiveness is a matter for each country to determine for itself. Since 1989, some African countries have destroyed about 150 tonnes of ivory, with 25 destruction events in 17 countries. Despite this, 20,000 elephants a year are still being killed annually.
In Botswana, we do not destroy ivory because we have told communities that there is value in conserving elephants for eco-tourism and emphasising that the value of a live elephant should be upheld at all costs.
Burning ivory would demonstrate to them that the animal has no value. We prefer not to burn elephant tusks or rhino horns or any other wildlife product which can be used to show to the wider world the value of nature and the importance of conservation.
Source
New Product – Relocation Africa – Diversity Training “The Power of Difference”
Introduction
Relocation Africa has been in the business of assisting global corporates to relocate their employees into Africa for 23 years. They are an owner-managed business that has been able to adapt to market and client requirements over the years, while building a solid reputation based on quality of service. Their service offering began in 1993 in Johannesburg; assisting corporates to settle their staff into the city. Since then they have taken on the challenges that the rest of Africa has to offer and now deliver mobility, immigration, research and remuneration services to countries right across the Continent.
They are an independent business specialising in global relocation solutions, providing a central point of contact for HR teams and assignees throughout the relocation process working transparently and collaboratively in all areas.
Our Vision
‘to provide seamless professional destination services to enable expatriates to
be effective employees as soon as possible’
and Our Promise:
Helping your employees to ‘Embrace the Unknown’
In 23 years of experience as a Global Mobility Specialist, Relocation Africa has seen at first hand the many pitfalls of relocating staff that are not equipped to handle their assignments successfully. In every case, the decisions taken by large multi-national companies, affect people and can directly influence the success of the business.
In identifying this they have carefully reviewed what Relocation Africa as a business could do to facilitate and positively influence the successful experience of the assignee and thereby the bottom line of the business.
It is for this reason that Relocation Africa, in collaboration with a couple of expert friends, has designed a programme which they believe will facilitate the commitment from the business towards the employee whose life is about to be changed and challenged, as well as provide assignees with some invaluable tools on how to cope, manage and implement strategies to best utilise what we have termed “The Power of Difference” to benefit them as individuals and the business as a whole.
Knowing the difference can be quite useful. It can give you a sense of how you’re supposed to act in a foreign setting, especially when you have no idea where to start. It can also help you understand why others from a different culture behave as they do. But in our experience, the mistake many companies make is thinking that knowing cultural differences is enough — that discovering the key differences is all you need to master to be effective across cultures.
If the problem your employees face is that they simply don’t understand cultural differences, a solution focused on defining cultural differences makes all the sense in the world. But if, like in most instances, the real problem is that your employees can’t adapt and integrate their behavior across cultures, these solutions focused simply on differences likely won’t give you the bang for your buck that you’re expecting.
Our program will cover the following over 3 days:
Our Diversity Coaches are:
Dr. Layo Seriki – CIELARKO International Management Consultants. Her work as a researcher, university lecturer, consultant, trainer and coach concentrates on identifying what is needed to optimise the performance of people, especially in the African context. In over 15 years as a consultant she has worked with multinationals, NGOs and individuals in Africa, Europe and North America.
With a background in Industrial Engineering, Layo endeavours to create links between structural frameworks and human needs.
Eloise Williams – Account Manager at RELOCATION AFRICA and works as project manager, cultural trainer, language trainer and translator. She is also a qualified corporate coach who specialises in providing support to assignees from all over the world to overcome and manage cultural differences to their advantage. Eloise has herself lived and worked as an expatriate in many different countries and cultures over the past 20 years and her practical experience is a natural complement to Layo’s expertise. She is passionate about language and communication and facilitating these across language and cultural barriers.
For more information on “The Power of Difference” training please contact us powerofdifference@relocationafrica.com or +27217634240.
Expat professionals in Africa becoming less attractive to employers
In spite of Africa’s continent-wide skills shortage and need for foreign expertise, the numbers of expats working for multinational companies is on the decrease.
For international companies operating within Africa, finding the right candidates for upper-level jobs has always been a challenge. Under restrictive colonial rule until comparatively recently, African countries in general were bereft of good schools and universities in which home-grown talent could flourish.
Following independence, oppressive dictatorships and local wars prevented the development of educational facilities and led to the present-day situation as regards the need for expat professionals to fill managerial roles. However, according to executive recruiting agencies working on the continent, this model is becoming unrealistic as major companies are now reducing their dependence on expat talent.
Many reasons are contributing to the change of heart, with currency depreciation not the least important. During 2015 and into this year, most African currencies saw considerable depreciation against the US dollar, sterling and the euro. Expats are normally paid in their home currency, meaning a real-time increase in costs to the company.
Another reason is the hardening of visa restrictions in South Africa, with expat spouses unable to find work and struggling to make ends meet on a single salary. Even multinationals can find providing the total costs of a Western salary, top-class heathcare and international schooling somewhat daunting, especially as African cities such as Luanda, Kinshasa and Lagos are now amongst the planet’s most expensive cities.
Globalisation and the ease of international travel have attracted many would-be expats to other parts of the world, and problems with over-strict work permit laws in many African countries are off-putting to many professionals. The trend towards black economic development as an objective, especially in South Africa, is another reason African states are discouraging expat workers.