Create a welcome kit

Your welcome kit should give your new employee tips and information on working and living in New Zealand. It is most effective if you can provide this kit before they leave their home country.

Take the time to sit down with your new employee and go through the welcome kit and any questions they may have when they arrive.

Your welcome kit could include information on:

  • The travel and arrival process
  • An overview of New Zealand, including arts, sports, and Māoritanga. 
  • New Zealand language and culture (including New Zealand management and communication culture, plus sector specific jargon and slang)
  • Advice on the New Zealand climate and clothing requirements
  • What to do in an emergency
  • The local area including schools and school enrolment, community health services, shops and banks, rubbish collection and disposal, places of worship and other useful community contacts. 
  • Justice of the Peace contact details
  • Company expectations on the job, such as timeliness, honesty and openness
  • Obtaining an IRD number and tax in New Zealand
  • Driving in New Zealand (warrant of fitness, car registration, insurance, driver licensing
  • Food and commodity prices
  • New Zealand postal service
  • Embassy contact details
  • Using language line – an interpreting service for migrants
  • Who to contact for advice and support

It should also include one of Immigration New Zealand’s settlement guides (if you are employing migrants in aged-care, construction or dairy there are sector-specific guides for them).

Resources for your migrant staff