Tag Archive for: Relocation Africa

Sisipho Ntsabo
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Taking Care of The Caregiver: Some Tips

This article was first published by Vivian Chiona of Expat Nest.

Being caregiver to a loved one is not for the faint of heart. It’s often an act of hard work, sacrifice and altruistic love, with emotional highs and lows. We share some tips for looking after yourself, if you’re looking after someone else. . .

Caregiving offers the opportunity to show your love to the person in need, but it can also be extremely stressful and exhausting. And if you’re not looking after yourself, there’s a very real risk of burnout.

The most effective caregivers share common habits to keep paddling through rough waters:

Prioritize your self-care

Taking care of your own needs is vital when taking care of a loved one. Stay on top of your healthcare needs, eat as healthily as possible and get plenty of sleep. Try to include some exercise in your day, even if it’s just 10 minutes at a time. Only by taking care of your needs, can you do your best at taking care of others.

Seek out information

The more you learn about your loved one’s illness, symptoms and treatment process, the more empowered you will feel around what to expect and how to cope with potential extra needs. Educating yourself on the illness empowers you to face future challenges as a caregiver and to provide the appropriate help on time.

Searching for solutions

Be honest about problems as they arise, look for effective solutions and take action. Keep in mind that you are an expert by experience when it comes to your loved one, so look for solutions that are suitable both for you and the person who needs you.

Acknowledge your own feelings

Identify your strengths and your weaknesses. Be honest about your emotions; you have the right to all of them.

Embrace your support network

Caregivers often feel alone and believe that others cannot fully understand what they are going through. Building or leaning on your support network helps to prevent burnout and the feelings of guilt that can emerge when negative emotions arise. An expat caregiver might feel especially lonely, as most of our loved ones live far away. In that case, take advantage of technology to stay in touch with your support network abroad and those involved with the care – this way, you have the opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings with the people that care most about you. Alternatively, support groups for caregivers provide a safe space to share your concerns and get advice. Whenever possible, have open, honest conversations with your loved ones or the person you take care of regarding your personal needs, so that everyone has the same expectations; this will minimize misunderstandings.

Choose gratitude

Gratitude for what you and your loved ones already have or have accomplished can help to find acceptance and some measure of peace. Start gently, by noticing small pleasures and joys. Consider creating a gratitude journal to capture these moments of appreciation. You may not be able to control everything that your loved one is going through, but you can have some control over how you respond to the challenges.

Take a break

Caregiving is a demanding task. Once in a while, give yourself a rest and participate in activities you enjoy, like reading a good book, meeting a friend, take a warm bath or watching a great movie.

Practise mindfulness

Try not to focus on what is presumably coming, since no one knows if tomorrow will be better or worse than today. Living in the present can help you stay out of anticipatory fear, worry or grief.

Seek professional help

Caregiving is hard work and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed as you try your best to support for your loved one. If you feel exhausted, irritated, tired, constantly stressed or forgetful, do not hesitate to seek professional help. If these warning signs of caregiver burnout arise, take action and don’t hesitate to let a professional support you. Feel free to get in touch with us for a free 15-minute call. An experienced psychologist or coach can help you develop skills and strategies to deal with challenging emotions in a safe place, where your thoughts and feelings will be understood.

 

Remember, it’s not “selfish” to prioritize yourself when someone you care about is in need. It’s a smart strategy! By staying healthy and balanced, you’ll feel more resilient in the long run (and more able to take on your care duties).

 

Photo: Sơn Bờm/Pexels

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Andrew Stegmann
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Global Mobility Made in Africa: Relocation Africa Offers Global Mobility Advisory Services

Comparing to Europe, North America and Oceania, many things are different in Africa. So is Global Mobility. Changing that perspective is what this article is all about.

The ability of sending talent around the world for business-critical purposes, is essential for any international business no matter there the headquarter is located. The key to success is neither a generous salary package nor the destination itself. Success with Global Mobility is closely tied together with structure, predictive-ness, collaboration between stakeholders and access to the right support & information when the assignees (and partners) need it.

For many companies in Africa, Global Mobility is a fairly new discipline, but following our 5-step guide below will bring you significantly closer to your goal and we guarantee it will raise the employee satisfaction tremendously!

1. Recognise the need

Everything starts with understanding your company needs. Spend a little time on considering where you are now and what has been done so far. Allow yourself as a company to admit mistakes and listen to your employees as well as your supporting staff to pick up their experiences with the process (or lack of process) and which challenges they have met trying to support international assignments whether long or short term. Where are your delays? How is your money spent? What’s the quality of the services you buy? What is your compliance level? Can you stand an external audit for an ISO certification? We are here to listen, take notes and help you getting an overview of where you are on the Global Mobility Maturity Barometer right now.

2. Understand the game

Global Mobility is not a singular service. It is a myriad of disciplines ranging from compliance topics such as immigration, employment law, tax and insurance to strategic support such a relocation, in-country destination services and trainings within culture, language & security to minimize the time to productivity and maximize the employee experience. Once you know where you stand right now, it is time to fill the gaps of knowledge and understand the game of Global Mobility.

We will provide you with an overview of Global Mobility topics to take into consideration and at the same time train and guide you through the individual topics, so you know what it is all about and can start navigating in the Global Mobility industry.

3. Build your vision

What you want to achieve should always be closely connected to you overall business strategy. Global Mobility should never have it’s own strategy. It depends on how you want to grow the business; which markets your company wants to succeed in; where you have a lack of talent/management/technical skills now and in the future; where you strategically want to be present and not the least: where your talent is available. Once your company vision is clear and you know what Global Mobility is all about, you can start building your Global Mobility strategy.

We only have one promise: we will challenge you in this process! Together we will explore how you can move from no-practice to best-practice and find the blind spots (we all have them) in your company.

Design your framework

When you have your vision in place, it is time to make processes tangible and design your policy hand in hand with your delivery process. This is where you tie it all together. You make a plan. You decide, what you want to do, how much you want to pay and who you want to do it for you.

Having a framework is guarantee for no-trouble down the road, but it covers your back and enables you to focus on the singular problem when they occur, because you’ve got the rest organized and people around you know what to do and what they are expected to deliver.

At this stage, we work as Siamese twins with you. We draft your policies and processes based on your current level og maturity and your vision for the future. We make a plan for you to achieve your goals and we stand by your side providing advice and guidance when selecting your future suppliers worldwide.

4. Taking it forward

Nothing is perfect and Global Mobility is a moving target, where you constantly need to fine tune and keep yourself updated on news. Our best advice is to join on-line groups, participate in webinars and seminars and stay close to your provider. Ask questions, read newsletters and request annual reviews of the collaboration with all your suppliers, partners and – not the least – assignees and their accompanying partners.

 

How do we support? Relocation Africa is offering Global Mobility Advisory services in order to provide you with efficient support to work through the above 5 steps within a 3-6 months timeframe. Engaging with us, you will have a combined Global Mobility expertise, coaching, mentor and sparring partner in the project and once you are ready to take it forward, we will step out of the process and just be on stand-by if you need us.  Contact us on info@relocationafrica.com.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], Martin23230 [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Relocation Africa’s Australian Immigration Interview

Recently, we launched outbound immigration services to various locations, including Australia, which you can learn more about by visiting our website here, or viewing our outbound services brochure here.

Our Immigration Lead, Lynn Mackenzie, recently had the pleasure of speaking to Nicole, our Australian Immigration partner, about Australia’s current immigration landscape.

To listen to Lynn and Nicole’s conversation about immigration in the current context, click here to view the recording, or view it below.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Nicole for her insights. We hope you enjoy the recording.  

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

Relocation Africa’s Wacky Wednesday Check Ins

By Joy Jackson, Relocation Africa’s HR Manager.

At Relocation Africa Head Office, we are big on check ins and prior to the onset of COVID19, we had a 7 minute daily morning check in with the team which proved to be very valuable. 

When we had to go into lockdown, which required working remotely, we had to find another way to connect as a team and Zoom became “our best friend” and we started off with bi-weekly check ins, but as the restrictions started lifting and we made a decision to come into the office twice a week from 1 June, our team check ins moved to once a week, and Wacky Wednesday was born.

I have carefully selected questions each week ranging from more serious topics to the really wacky ones and I have been using this time to get our team to connect again despite the upside down world that we find ourselves in.

Some of our check in questions have included the following:

  • If you won the lottery, (and the payout is in the millions) what’s the first thing you would buy / do and why?
  • Share one lesson that lockdown has “taught” you and what “one thing” are you going to change when lockdown is over
  • Without being modest, what do you value about yourself and what are your greatest strengths 
  • What is your favorite possession – please also provide a brief explanation as to why
  • Reflect on a challenge that you have overcome (personal or work related)
  • Share the challenge briefly, describe what you did to overcome it, and how did that change you / what lesson did you learn
  • You have to sing karaoke, what song do you pick?    

The karaoke check in highlighted that we have some very talented humming birds on our team, but more importantly every single one of us really lived up to our promise of embracing the unknown and were brave enough to sing on Zoom, which produced varying moments of humour (which was my intention, as laughter and fun is also important in a team).    

But there has been one check in question that has really stood head and shoulders out from the rest:  

If you could grab one superpower, which one would you pick and why?

Here are just a few of the superpowers that were revealed and chosen by our team:    

Invulnerability; The power to be immune from all forms of physical damage. It does not necessarily mean immortal but more of an enhanced durability. Since a child I have loved superheroes because their mission was to protect the innocent from evil. I wanted to become a lawyer because I desired to represent those who didn’t have the means to protect and represent themselves against evil injustice. 

My super power would be speed, I want love to speed up  the current situation we are in and move to a brighter better tomorrow

I chose a crystal ball as my super power – we currently in a world of VUCA – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity and although in Africa we are more used to dealing with this type of environment, however I would like to be giving the staff, our stakeholders a sense of comfort and certainty going into the future and I thinking having that Crystal Ball Superpower I would be able to know what is in the future and clear out all the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity and give them a sense of certainty and comfort.  I do feel change is inevitable in the future and it is requiring us to build our resilience to both cope and start building our own accretion to be more versatile and understanding and be engaging with our stakeholders with care and kindness.

Shapeshifting is a power that allows someone to change themselves, on a cellular level, to shift into a different form. This could be in part, for example, just changing their clothing to match something they see, or changing their entire body to look like a completely different person.

Not only does this sound fun, but it also provides the ability to get out of tricky situations easily.  Also, it would provide a chance to escape for some peaceful time on my own, if I wanted that.

Furthermore, I like the idea of being able to show someone what they would look like doing something (similar to them looking in a mirror). For example, I could show someone lacking self confidence what they might look like giving a particular speech. I could have fun myself, and help others in that way.

I will probably choose the ability to fly and have always also been interested in learning to fly a small plane or helicopter.

I think we have all had dreams where we can fly and I certainly had these very often in my dream life even though sadly not in recent years.

I also attended a course on meditation and breathing some years ago where some of the mental exercises concentrating on freeing the mind from the body entailed first imagining yourself sitting on the ceiling of your room looking down on your body, this then evolved into exploring the rest of your house from your ceiling and eventually also your city using a mountain or hilltop as your vantage point – and I realised that this was entirely achievable and an amazing experience.

My chosen Superpower would be to be invisible as so much is requiring my attention right now, and I feel pretty depleted, so if I could disappear for a short while to be able to re-charge and then return with a full life battery and be 100% present and support those that need me. Whilst in invisible mode.

I would also like to be able to time travel into the future to catch a quick glimpse of the future to reassure myself and report back to others that we successfully overcome COVID19 and that the world has learned important and valuable lessons and changed for the better in this historic time. 

So, whilst what has happened during Relocation Africa’s Head Office check ins have not stayed with Relocation Africa, (what happens in Vegas has not stayed in Vegas) my hope is that you have gained some insight into our team dynamics and I challenge you to embrace the unknown with us, and share your chosen Superpower story with me by emailing: joy@relocationafrica.com

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].