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Annex 1 Topic Guide for Organisation Interviews

Experience of People who Relocate to Scotland

Topic Guide for Depth Interviews with Employers

1. Background to Project

• About TNS Social, independent research agency
• About the project
  • To explore employers' experience of employing people from outwith Scotland
  • Commissioned by the Scottish Executive
  • This is one of a number of interviews being conducted with employers, and part of a larger research project
• Duration of interview - around 45 minutes to one hour
• Confidentiality and tape recording - will not name individual but organisation may be identifiable - confirm respondent ok with this
• Explain purpose of research
  • Refer to box above
  • stress interested in returners and people from rest of UK as well as people from overseas (note: ask about difference in issues facing overseas people from within and outwith Europe)
  • and interested in different stages of relocating: attracting people to Scotland, process of relocating, and longer term settling-in and deciding whether to stay on

2. Organisation information

2.1 Collect or check demographic/ socioeconomic information as follows:

• What is your name and job title?
• What is your role regarding employees who have relocated?
• What type of business is this? (if relevant)
• How many employees work in this office?
• What is your approx turnover? (if relevant)
• What are your recruitment needs? Where are their skills shortages?
• Do you have a criteria for recruitment (e.g. job spec, skill set)?
• Which parts of Scotland does your organisation cover?

2.2 Please give a brief background to your reasons for considering employing people from outwith Scotland?

2.3 How much experience and what contact do you have with people who are relocating?

2.4 Ask about recruitment procedures for people from outwith Scotland:

• At what stage do you have contact - attracting people/around the time of the move/longer term

2.5 Is there anything that puts the organisation off recruiting returners/rest of UK/overseas?

Probe:

• work permits
• accreditation of qualifications
• recruitment costs
• administration
• language barriers
• likelihood of people staying
• other

2.6 What support, if any, does your organisation give to people who relocate? Probe - relocation package? Financial assistance? Help with finding accommodation? etc

2.7 To what extent do you use other organisations or services to help you recruit from outwith Scotland?

2.8 What are your needs/ expectations of these organisations?

3. Attracting and supporting in-migrants

3.1 Where do in-migrants come from and why?

• To what extent does your organisation actively recruit returners/from rest of UK/from overseas?
• As an organisation, where is your 'competition' for people based? Probe: returners/rest of UK/overseas
• Where else do people consider moving to?
• Why do people come to Scotland/ area/ your org?
• Why do you think people come to you rather than other parts of Scotland/ other organisations?
• Who is it easiest to attract? Why?
• Who is hardest? Why?

3.2 In your experience, what are the characteristics of the people who relocate? Can you describe:

• 'typical' returner?
• 'typical' in-migrant from the rest of UK?
• 'typical' in-migrant from overseas?

Probe:

• age?
• with partner/family?
• which countries do they come from/return from?
• Type/level of job?

3.3 How much do you think people know about life in Scotland/specific place/your organisation?

• What do you think are their perceptions of Scotland
• What do you think attracts them to Scotland/place/organisation/job
• What concerns/apprehensions do people have about coming to Scotland?
• Where do they get this information? What are their previous connections?
• What do people ask you/the organisation about? What are their concerns?
• How much are you able to help?
• Do you refer them to any other organisations for more information/support?
• Once here, do you think there are any aspects that are better than they expected?
• Any aspects that are worse than they expected?

3.4 As an organisation, what support, if any, do you get to attract people from outwith Scotland?

• What support would be useful?
• Where do you think support should come from?

3.5 In general, what could be done to attract more people/different people?

Who is best placed to do this?

4. How easy is it to move to Scotland?

4.1 To what extent do you think people relocating to Scotland find it straight forward or face challenges?

• If easy what smoothes the way
• If face challenges - What are the main challenges people face? Probe: returners/rest of UK/overseas

Prompt:

• work permit/immigration?
• bureaucracy?
• accommodation?
• partners?
• children? schools?
• money?
• language?
• anything else?

4.2 How much is your organisation able to help with these things?

• What situations are easier/harder to assist with?

4.3 As an organisation, what support, if any, do you get to help people relocate to Scotland?

• What support would be useful? Think of two key things that would help.
• Where do you think this support should come from?

5. Settling-in and staying on

5.1 In your experience, do people tend to settle in and stay in Scotland?

• Who does? Why?
• Who doesn't? Why not?

5.2 What do in-migrants say about - place they live, work place and family/friends - probe separately

Scotland/area/community

• How welcoming are public in Scotland feel accepted/integrated
• Becoming part of /engaging with community
• Accessing services - education/health etc
• Accessing social/leisure/cultural facilities
• Quality of life? What's good? What's not so good?
• Housing?
• Cost of living?
• Transport/travel?

Work

• Work culture - different from expectations
• what's good/not so good
• Language issues
• How does the company help people integrate with other employees?
• Are they made aware of their employment rights/ health and safety issues?

Personal/Family issues

• Importance of family settling
• Issues of isolation/ homesickness in-migrant or family members
• Language issues for family members
• Work opportunities
• Education opportunities

5.3 What support, if any, do you get as an organisation to help people settle in longer term?

• What support would be useful?

5.4 What support, if any, is available to individuals from other sources to help them settle in? Probe:

• from recent movers?
• from family/friends
• from other groups/organisations

5.5 In your opinion, what could be done to help more people settle in and decide to stay?

• Who is best placed to do this?

6. Case studies (ensure time at the end - or use as prompt earlier in interview)

Could you describe the experience of an individual you know who has had a positive and successful experience of relocating to Scotland?

Could you describe the experience of an individual who has had a negative and unsuccessful experience of relocating to Scotland?

7. Finally…

Are you aware of any local or Scottish-wide policy initiatives intended to attract and retain people?

If not - Provide information on Fresh Talent Initiative:

The Scottish Executive's Fresh Talent Initiative aims to attract and retain bright hard working people to Scotland. Strands of the Initiative include a Relocation Advisory service that provides information to individuals and employers about relocating to Scotland; a Working in Scotland scheme that enables graduates to remain in Scotland for up to two years after graduating; sponsorship of academic scholarships and a marketing arm that promotes Scotland in the UK and abroad.

If yes - What experience do you have of these initiatives?

What do you think of them?

Any thoughts on how they could be improved?

Is there anything else you would like to say?

Discuss the best way to contact employees who have relocated for the individual interviews.

Thank and close

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