Onboarding international employees: language and integration from day one

Onboarding international employees: why it is more than job training

Onboarding international employees goes far beyond job training. Anyone new to Germany is dealing with a new job, a new language, paperwork with the authorities and often a new home, all at the same time. If any one of these areas does not work out, the risk of an early resignation rises, even when the work itself is going well.

In many sectors, international professionals have long been indispensable. According to the Federal Employment Agency, the share of employees with foreign nationality in occupations with skills shortages has doubled since 2014, from seven to around 14 per cent (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, in German). In nursing and care, skilled trades, IT and logistics, the performance of many businesses depends directly on whether new colleagues from abroad stay.

Language plays a key role here. It determines whether someone understands safety instructions, contributes in the team and finds a social life after work. That is why language courses for companies ideally belong in onboarding planning from the outset, not in the third month.

What should be settled before the first working day?

Before day one, practical and language questions should be settled: residence formalities and appointments with the authorities, housing or a temporary solution, bank account, health insurance and address registration (Anmeldung), plus named contacts. On the language side, this means a level assessment, a German course that starts before arrival, a bilingual welcome pack and a glossary of key terms.

Every unanswered question creates uncertainty, and uncertainty in the first weeks costs energy that new colleagues need for their actual job.

Practical matters

• Coordinate residence permit questions and appointments with the authorities early
• Offer support with finding a flat, or a temporary solution
• Provide information on bank accounts, health insurance and address registration
• Name a contact person in HR and in the relevant department

Language matters

• Assess the person’s German level realistically, ideally with a placement test
• Let the German course start before the first working day, for example online from their home country
• Prepare a bilingual welcome pack (German and English, or German and their first language)
• Prepare a glossary of the most important technical terms and abbreviations used in your company

Template: a welcome message in plain language

Write the message in simple German, in English or in both. An English version could read like this:

“Dear Ms Kowalska, we are very pleased that you will be joining us on 1 March. Your first day starts at 9 am at reception in Building B. Your colleague Jonas will meet you there. He will be your contact person for all questions during the first few weeks. Please bring your passport and your bank details. Attached you will find a plan for your first week and a list of important words from our working day. If you have any questions before then, please write to us, in German or in English. Best wishes, your HR team”

The checklist from the Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Labour (KOFA) (in German) offers helpful templates. Our article Which German level do you need for your job? explains which level is realistic for which role.

The first working day: a welcome culture that really works

A welcome culture works on day one when the manager and team greet the newcomer in person, a buddy is ready for the first weeks, a tour explains processes, safety rules and informal habits, the weekly schedule is available in writing and in plain language, and a shared lunch creates the first social contact.

The first day leaves a lasting impression of the company. International employees also cannot interpret many things intuitively: who uses the informal du with whom? When is the lunch break? How does communication work in the team?

Elements that work

• A personal welcome from the manager and the team, not just from HR
• A buddy or mentor from the team for the first weeks, ideally someone with experience of working with people who are learning German
• A tour explaining processes, safety rules and informal habits
• A clear weekly plan in writing, in plain language
• A shared lunch as a first social connection

Useful phrases for the first few days

These phrases help new colleagues with German at A2 to B1 level in everyday work. Hand them out on a card or digitally:

What language support do international employees need during onboarding?

Language support in onboarding has two sides. New colleagues need job-related German, for handovers, safety communication or team coordination, ideally in small groups or one-to-one and fitted around shift patterns. The existing team often needs English as a bridging language during the transition. This is the part of onboarding most often planned too late or too loosely.

German for your new colleagues

General textbook German is rarely enough for everyday work. Nurses need handover conversations and documentation, technicians need technical terms and safety communication, and IT specialists mainly need team communication plus enough German to deal with the authorities. The most effective approach is job-related teaching in small groups or one-to-one that fits flexibly into shift patterns. German courses online that adapt to working hours are well suited to this. Our article German at work collects useful phrases for twelve typical workplace situations.

Government-funded job-related language courses (Berufssprachkurse) are also available. However, the Federal Employment Agency points out that the supply of places is currently temporarily restricted (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). Companies should therefore not rely on them alone.

English for the existing team

Onboarding is not a one-way street. If new colleagues speak little German at first, the existing team needs a bridging language during the transition, usually English. Many teams in production, care or logistics feel unsure about this. A compact training programme as part of our Business English courses, starting at level A1, lowers the barrier and speeds up integration. Whether English should become a permanent working language is a separate decision; there is more on this in English as a corporate language. The articles English for HR and English for logistics show what this looks like in individual departments.

Communicating simply: tips for the team

• Short sentences, one idea per sentence
• Explain or show technical terms straight away
• Tone down dialect deliberately, without banning it
• Confirm important points in writing
• Explicitly invite questions and be patient

Anyone working in Franconia or Upper Bavaria will soon come across regional expressions anyway. Our article Understanding Bavarian dialects provides an introduction.

The first 100 days: an onboarding plan for international employees

A plan for the first 100 days combines professional, language and social steps. Week 1 covers the workplace, safety, the glossary, the course start and a buddy; weeks 2 to 4 bring two lessons a week; month 2 adds more independent tasks and role plays; month 3 ends with a progress test and a review meeting.

Make the most of feedback meetings

Plan at least three structured conversations: after one week, after one month and after three months. Ask explicitly about language hurdles and about anything that has been confusing or irritating. Many international employees do not raise problems on their own initiative because they do not want to seem impolite. Our article Intercultural communication at work provides background on this.

Language onboarding by sector: care, engineering, IT and logistics

Language onboarding should focus on each sector’s critical situations: handovers, documentation and conversations with relatives in care; safety briefings, fault reports and shift handovers in engineering and production; daily stand-ups and tickets in IT; delivery notes and calls with drivers in logistics. A good language plan starts there rather than working through generic textbook topics.

The manager’s role

Managers have a dual role in onboarding international employees. They communicate professional expectations, and they set the tone for the team. A manager who speaks slowly and clearly, explicitly welcomes questions and, rather than commenting on mistakes in German, simply picks up on what was meant, sends a clear signal: this is a place where it is fine to learn. Protecting learning time is just as important. If the language course is regularly cancelled because of urgent orders, new colleagues quickly conclude that language is not really a priority after all.

Make progress visible

Small successes motivate: the first phone call handled independently, the first shift handover without help, the first email to a customer. Record these milestones in feedback meetings. That way, language learning becomes part of professional development rather than an extra burden on top of work.

Common mistakes when onboarding international employees

Common mistakes include treating German learning as a private matter for people’s free time, expecting too much from a B1 certificate, focusing only on job training, not naming a buddy outside the hierarchy, not preparing the existing team and being vague about language requirements in the job profile. Each of these mistakes slows down integration.

1. Treating language as a private matter. Pushing German learning entirely into people’s free time slows integration and risks overload.
2. Expectations that are too high. A B1 certificate does not mean someone can confidently handle phone calls with customers who speak fast in dialect.
3. Focusing only on the job. Dealing with the authorities, finding a flat and bringing family over take a great deal of energy. Supporting people here builds loyalty.
4. No contact person outside the hierarchy. A buddy makes it easier to ask questions.
5. Not preparing the team. Colleagues need to know how they can help, and they may need language training themselves.
6. Vague language requirements. If the job profile already states which level is needed for which tasks, you avoid disappointment on both sides. See Language requirements in job profiles.

Checklist: onboarding international employees at a glance

This checklist brings the steps above together in three phases: before the start, the first week and the first three months. Use it as a template for your own process, add company-specific points and tick items off together with the new colleague’s manager and buddy, so that language, paperwork and social integration all get the attention they need.

Before the start

• Formalities with the authorities and appointments arranged
• Housing sorted or a temporary solution organised
• German level assessed, course booked
• Welcome pack and glossary prepared
• Buddy chosen and briefed

First week

• Personal welcome and team introductions
• Safety briefing in language the person understands
• Phrase card and weekly plan handed out
• First feedback meeting held

First three months

• Regular language lessons during working hours
• Learning goals agreed with the manager
• Feedback meetings after one month and after three months
• Progress test and adjustment of the language plan
• Team trained in English or plain language where needed

For companies integrating several new employees at once, it pays to take a systematic look at the language needs of everyone involved, for example with a language audit. If some of your teams work remotely, you will find additional tips in Language training for remote teams. Our article Learning German as a skilled worker looks at the topic from the learner’s perspective.

choices® supports companies with job-related German and English lessons, online, in small groups or one-to-one, always starting with a needs analysis. You will find all the details under corporate language courses, or you can get in touch with us directly.

Sources

1. arbeitsagentur.de: 2026 32 fachkraefte bleiben knapp zuwanderung gewinnt weiter an bede…
2. kofa.de: Onboarding internationale Fachkraefte
3. arbeitsagentur.de: sprachkurse

Frequently asked questions