By Mark Symmonds

International School Leader • Founding Head of Pre-Prep, Rugby School Hanoi

📍 Hanoi, Vietnam

📅 Published: 16 July 2026

⏱  11 minutes read

Changing jobs is stressful.

Moving home is stressful.

Moving to another country can unsettle almost every part of your life.

International teachers are often expected to do all three at once.

They leave behind familiar people, routines and places. They may be learning a new language, finding a home, opening a bank account, understanding healthcare, supporting a spouse and helping their children settle into a new school.

Then, almost immediately, they are expected to walk into a classroom and perform at their best.

That is a great deal to ask of anyone.

They may arrive carrying excitement, ambition and hope. But they may also be carrying uncertainty. They are learning a new role, adapting to a new culture, building new relationships and trying to create a home, sometimes while supporting a spouse and children who are experiencing exactly the same transition.

At the same time, the school expects them to learn quickly, contribute immediately and provide an excellent education for the children in their care.

That is why every teacher deserves a great welcome.

A great welcome does far more than create a positive first impression. It removes avoidable worries, builds trust and allows teachers to focus their energy where it belongs: on the children they came to teach.

Every welcome teaches a teacher something about the school they have joined.

The very best welcomes say just three words.

You belong here.

Unfortunately, not every welcome does.

Several years ago, my wife and I arrived in Brazil to begin a new chapter in our lives. It would be our last international move before our children were born.

HR and a member of SLT met us at the airport. We were given a small amount of local currency to help us through those first hours.

When we entered our apartment, the refrigerator had been stocked with food and drinks. Towels and toiletries had been provided. A welcome guide to São Paulo was waiting for us, complete with restaurant recommendations, emergency contact numbers and practical information about local hospitals, dentists, supermarkets and even veterinarians for families arriving with pets.

It answered questions we had not even thought to ask.

None of these gestures was extravagant. Together, they sent a powerful message: the school had been expecting us. Before we had even stepped inside, we already felt part of it.

During the days that followed, members of the leadership and human resources teams helped us visit the bank, understand the local area and begin navigating our new surroundings. Existing colleagues were involved too. We were taken to the beach. People gave their time, shared what they knew and made sure we did not face the transition alone.

What stayed with me was not any single gesture, but the thoughtfulness behind them.

Earlier this year, when I visited Waterford School in Utah, the Head of School had slipped a handwritten welcome note into my welcome bag. I no longer remember every detail of the visit, but I still remember that note.

Small gestures endure because they tell people they have been considered.

A meaningful welcome does not need to be expensive. It needs to be intentional.

I have experienced the opposite as well. In many ways, that experience prompted me to make staff induction the focus of my Master's dissertation in International Education.

On one international move, my family and I arrived with very little practical information. We did not know the local area, who to contact in an emergency or where to turn if one of our children became unwell. Like many international teachers, we were trying to settle into a new country while preparing to begin a new role.

Nobody intended to make us feel unsupported. But international moves are full of uncertainty, which is why regular communication, practical guidance and simple check-ins matter so much. They reassure people that someone is walking alongside them as they find their feet.

Like many new colleagues, I found that some of the clarity I had hoped for only emerged gradually. During those first weeks, I was still trying to understand expectations, priorities and what success would look like.

I sometimes described the experience as being like a ship travelling through fog: moving forward, but without a clear sense of the destination. Occasionally, just as the route seemed to become clear, new information suggested a different course altogether.

When expectations are unclear, new colleagues spend valuable energy interpreting silence, searching for information and wondering whether they are meeting standards that have never been properly explained.

Schools sometimes underestimate the effect of delayed communication, unanswered questions or unclear arrangements. To someone already established within the organisation, these may appear to be small matters. To a person preparing to relocate their career and family, they can feel significant.

The lesson for me was not that every difficulty must be removed. It was that communication itself is part of the welcome.

A clear message, a useful contact or a short conversation can prevent uncertainty from growing.

The welcome begins long before the airport.

It begins with the first application, the first email and the first conversation.

Teachers do not suddenly become people when they sign a contract.

From the moment someone applies, the school is beginning to demonstrate its culture.

• Was the application acknowledged?

• Were interview arrangements clear?

• Did the school respond when it said it would?

• Were questions answered honestly?

• Did the candidate understand the role and the school’s expectations?

• Did the reality of the school match the experience that had been described during the interview?

• Was information about salary, visas, housing, schooling and family life accurate?

Professional communication matters because applicants are making significant decisions. They may be speaking to several schools, discussing a move with their family and weighing up uncertainty against opportunity.

A school that communicates clearly is already beginning to build trust.

A school that communicates slowly, inconsistently or vaguely may lose excellent candidates before an offer is ever made. Even when the candidate accepts, early doubts can follow them into the new role.

Induction should therefore not be separated from recruitment. It is one continuous journey from prospective applicant to confident member of the community.

I have explored the practical design of staff induction in my earlier articles, Improving the Induction of New Staff in International Schools and Protecting Your Investment: Why Induction Matters. Here, however, I want to examine the deeper leadership principle beneath that work: the way a school welcomes people reveals how much it values them.

School leaders are often highly efficient at managing the visible parts of international recruitment.

Contracts are issued.

Flights are booked.

Visas are processed.

Accommodation is arranged.

These things matter. Yet a completed checklist does not necessarily mean that a person has successfully transitioned.

In Safe Passage: How Mobility Affects People and What International Schools Should Do About It, Douglas Ota examines how mobility affects identity, belonging and wellbeing across school communities. His work reminds us that transition is not merely a logistical process. It is also an emotional one. Moving can involve the loss of relationships, routines, status, language, familiarity and a sense of where we belong.

Ota argues that these losses should be understood as a form of grief. Although often overlooked, they are real and can influence how people think, feel and perform during their first weeks and months in a new school.

That loss may sit alongside genuine excitement. People can be grateful for a new opportunity and still grieve what they have left behind.

Both things can be true.

This is one reason schools should resist assuming that a smiling new colleague has already settled. Some people establish themselves quickly. Others need much longer. A person may appear confident professionally while their spouse is lonely, their child is struggling or their home life remains unsettled.

Successful transition requires empathy, not assumptions.

I have seen this happen more than once during my career. On one occasion during my career, an exceptional teacher arrived with her husband, full of excitement about a new chapter.

She was highly capable and made a strong contribution to the school. Her husband had relocated with her but was not working. During the onboarding process, almost all the attention went to the employee. Very little thought was given to the person who had moved because of her appointment.

He was largely left outside the school community.

He struggled to settle and became increasingly unhappy with life in the country. By Christmas, they had decided to leave.

The school lost an outstanding teacher, not because she disliked her work, but because her family had not successfully transitioned.

Schools may employ one person, but international appointments often relocate an entire family.

A spouse may have paused a career, left friends and family, lost established routines and arrived without an immediate community. Children may have left schools, friendships, grandparents and everything that previously felt normal.

Supporting families is not an optional extra or a generous favour. It is part of helping the employee succeed.

Introducing new families to one another, including spouses in appropriate social events, sharing information about employment and community opportunities, helping parents understand healthcare and schooling, and simply asking how everybody is settling can make an enormous difference.

No school can solve every challenge. It can, however, ensure that families do not feel invisible.

My interest in this subject eventually became the focus of my Master’s dissertation at the University of Bath:

Protecting Your Investment: A Study to Explore Teachers’ Perspectives of Induction Programmes at International Schools.

The research gathered responses from 190 international teachers working across five continents.

Although their schools, countries and experiences varied, several themes appeared repeatedly.

The first was that induction strongly shapes how teachers initially perceive a school.

Nearly three quarters of respondents rated the effect of induction on their first impression of the school at eight or higher out of ten.

The second was that induction was often too short.

For 71 per cent of respondents, formal induction lasted less than one week, even though many teachers reported that adjustment to a new country could take considerably longer.

The third was that excellent induction remained relatively uncommon.

Only 19 of the 190 respondents described their experience as excellent.

These figures reinforced what I had seen in schools across several countries: induction was too often treated as an event rather than a sustained process.

Yet the written comments were even more revealing than the statistics.

One respondent wrote:

“The induction programme is a reflection of the values of the school.”

This reflected the findings of my own Master's research into international staff induction. One participant explained that feeling settled both at home and at work was central to deciding whether they would remain beyond their initial contract. Similar conclusions were reached by Alicia Ann Ritter (2016), whose research into international teacher retention found that successful adjustment, school support and the time it took teachers to settle were all significant factors in whether they chose to stay. 

A further respondent observed that when a school helps teachers feel at home, the children in their class benefit too.

That is the central point.

This is not simply an employment issue.

It is an educational one.

When new teachers arrive, their attention is divided.

They may be worrying about a visa problem, an unfamiliar banking system, housing, transport, medical care, internet access, school places for their children or a spouse who has not yet found a sense of purpose.

At work, they are learning unfamiliar systems, names, curricula, policies and expectations. Every unanswered question occupies mental space.

The role of a school is not to remove every difficulty from adult life. Nor should teachers expect every aspect of relocation to be managed for them. But when a school already holds knowledge that could quickly resolve a concern, withholding or failing to organise that knowledge helps nobody.

• A useful contact number may take a school five minutes to provide and save a family hours of anxiety.

• A stocked refrigerator may cost relatively little but transform the first evening after a long international journey.

• A clear role conversation may prevent months of uncertainty.

• A social introduction may become the beginning of an important friendship.

• A handwritten note may be remembered decades later.

The smallest action can go a very long way.

Recent research outside education reaches a similar conclusion. Formal onboarding is intended to reduce the stress and uncertainty experienced by new professionals by structuring their early experiences, although researchers continue to emphasise that onboarding must extend beyond a single corporate welcome session. 

Effective adjustment is supported by relationships with managers and colleagues, organisational identification, role clarity and access to practical and social resources.

Schools should understand this intuitively. Relationships create the conditions in which people feel secure enough to ask questions, acknowledge uncertainty, contribute ideas and take professional risks.

Belonging is not a soft alternative to high performance.

It helps make high performance possible.

It isn't buildings or facilities.

It isn't examination results.

It's clarity.

The very best schools have a clear sense of identity. They know what they believe about children. They know what they value.

They understand the kind of people they are trying to develop, and those beliefs influence everything from recruitment and curriculum to behaviour and relationships.

Some schools are academically ambitious.

Others are renowned for sport, the arts or outdoor education.

Many combine several strengths.

The point isn't what they prioritise.

The point is that everyone understands why.

When a school's values genuinely shape its daily decisions, families know what to expect, staff know what they are working towards and children experience consistency.

In my experience, schools struggle not because they try to do too much, but because they lose sight of who they are.

Great schools don't try to copy everyone else.

They become the very best version of themselves.

Many schools still treat induction as a programme to be completed before the children arrive.

There is usually a timetable.

Policies are presented.

Systems are explained.

Safeguarding training is completed.

Photographs are taken.

Then the academic year begins and induction quietly ends.

But information delivered is not the same as information understood.

New teachers cannot absorb everything in a few days, particularly while adapting to a new home and country. Some questions only become meaningful once they begin teaching. Some difficulties only emerge after the initial excitement fades.

A strong welcome therefore continues. It includes both formal and informal contact. A leader might stop for a conversation during the first week, but there should also be a deliberate meeting after three or four weeks.

• How is the role developing?

• What remains unclear?

• How is the family settling?

• Is the reality matching what was explained during recruitment?

• What could the school have done better?

A further conversation later in the term may reveal completely different needs. The teacher who required considerable practical support upon arrival may now need professional challenge. Another colleague who appeared to settle immediately may only later begin experiencing culture shock or loneliness.

There is no perfect programme because there is no standard person.

A single teacher moving from a neighbouring country may need something very different from a family making its first international move. An experienced international educator may require less support with daily life but more clarity about the school’s distinctive culture and expectations.

Consistency matters, but consistency should not be confused with treating everybody identically.

A strong welcome is rarely created through one impressive event.

It is usually built through a series of thoughtful decisions made before arrival, during the first days and throughout the months that follow.

✈️ Before arrival: Create Confidence

The welcome begins during recruitment.

Schools should communicate regularly, explain the role honestly and provide a clear timeline for what will happen next.

New colleagues should understand:

• Who will contact them

• What documents are required

• How visas and relocation will be managed

• Where they will live

• What support is available for spouses and children

• What their first days will involve

No school will have every answer immediately. What matters is that questions are acknowledged and that people are not left wondering whether anyone has noticed them.

A simple message saying, “We are working on this and will update you by Friday,” can be more reassuring than silence.

This is also the point at which schools begin building relationships.

A message from a future colleague, an introduction to a mentor or a short welcome from the Head can help someone feel part of the community before they have arrived.

👋 On Arrival: Help People Feel Expected

The first hours matter.

Someone should know when new colleagues are arriving and who is responsible for meeting them.

Accommodation should be genuinely ready.

New staff should have essential contact numbers, practical information and a clear understanding of where to turn if something goes wrong.

Thoughtful gestures do not need to be expensive.

Food in the refrigerator, clean towels, local currency, a map, transport information or a guide to nearby shops can make an unfamiliar place feel manageable.

Schools should also resist the temptation to fill every hour immediately.

New staff may be tired, overwhelmed or dealing with children who are struggling with the move. A successful welcome balances essential preparation with time to recover, organise family life and begin settling.

The aim is not to impress people with the volume of information.

It is to help them feel safe, expected and supported.

🌱  The First Six Months: Turn Welcome into Belonging

A welcome should not end when the induction timetable finishes.

The first few months are often when new colleagues begin to decide whether they can see themselves building a future in the school. Research suggests that first impressions matter more than many leaders realise. Skeats (1991) identified a strong relationship between inadequate induction and early leavers, arguing that although teachers may remain for a year or two, the decision to leave is often made surprisingly early.

This is why the weeks after induction are so important. They are when initial excitement begins to fade, challenges emerge and people start asking themselves whether they truly belong.

Therefore, regular check-ins matter. Some should be formal, with time to discuss:

• Role clarity

• Professional expectations

• Workload

• Relationships

• Training needs

• Priorities for development

Others should be informal:

• How are you settling?

• How is your family?

• What remains confusing?

• Is anything making your work more difficult than it needs to be?

Different people will need different support. Some settle quickly. Others appear confident at first but struggle later, once the excitement of arrival has faded.

A spouse may be finding it difficult to establish a social network. 

A child may be missing friends. 

A teacher may understand the timetable but still feel uncertain about the unwritten culture of the school.

This is why schools should create opportunities for families to meet, introduce new staff to wider networks and revisit induction topics when they become relevant.

Consistency matters, but consistency does not mean treating everyone identically. A strong school provides a reliable structure while remaining responsive to individual needs.

There is also a broader principle of fairness. Wherever possible, schools should avoid allowing organisational decisions or administrative processes to become unnecessary burdens for newly appointed colleagues. The first practical experiences of joining a school should communicate support rather than create avoidable stress.

The earliest decisions a school makes communicate what it values.

A thoughtful welcome says:

We are pleased you are here.

We have prepared for you.

We want you to succeed.

That is how welcome begins to become belonging.

Schools frequently describe themselves as caring communities, close-knit teams or even families.

A new teacher’s arrival is one of the earliest opportunities to prove it.

Culture is not established by the values printed on a wall. It is revealed in how people behave when someone needs help.

Does the school respond?

Does somebody notice?

Does anyone take responsibility?

Are questions welcomed or treated as an inconvenience?

Does care extend beyond the employee to the people they love?

New colleagues watch these moments carefully because they are learning what the organisation truly values.

They are asking, consciously or unconsciously:

Will people support me here?

Can I admit when I do not know something?

Will leaders do what they said they would do?

Am I a valued member of this community, or simply the person recruited to fill a vacancy?

The answers shape everything that follows.

A great welcome is not about removing every challenge.

International life will still require courage, flexibility and patience. New roles will still involve a period of learning. Families will still experience difficult moments.

But schools can decide whether people navigate those challenges alone or with a community beside them.

Every teacher deserves a great welcome because nobody can give their complete attention to the children in front of them while worrying about unnecessary problems that the school could have anticipated or resolved.

Every teacher deserves to feel expected.

Every teacher deserves to understand their role.

Every teacher deserves to know where to turn.

Every teacher deserves to feel that they, and the people important to them, matter.

Not simply because kindness is good.

Not simply because stronger induction may improve retention.

Not simply because replacing an excellent teacher is expensive.

They deserve it because when schools remove avoidable worries, teachers are freer to give their best to the children they came to teach.

A great welcome is far more than a pleasant first impression.

It is the first opportunity to show people that they truly belong.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this article, you may also find these helpful:

Mark Symmonds

➡ Improving the Induction of New Staff in International Schools, ISC Research, 2022.

➡ Protecting Your Investment—Why Induction Matters, The International Educator, 2022.

Douglas Ota

➡ Safe Passage: How Mobility Affects People and What International Schools Should Do About It. Ota’s book is an essential read for  leaders seeking to understand transition, loss, identity and belonging across internationally mobile communities.