How Siemens Healthineers is helping its international staff feel at home

Relocating for work can bring a lot of additional stress.

Alongside learning the requirements of a new role and meeting new colleagues, those moving internationally must also adapt to a new culture and potentially learn a new language.

It’s a challenge many people now face.

Some 12.9 million people from outside the EU are employed in the EU labor market, according to data from the European Commission.

However, expats are not always made to feel welcome.

European countries were consistently ranked among the worst countries for expats, according to InterNations’ Expat Insider 2026 report, with many of those surveyed reporting difficulty making friends and feeling at home.

In Germany, which came second to last overall, they also struggled with the practicalities of daily life, bureaucracy, housing, and the language.

Siemens Healthineers is a medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, and employs 74,000 people worldwide.

Some of the challenges facing foreign staff began surfacing during its monthly staff surveys with international employees, which represent about one in 10 of its more than 17,000 workers in Germany, reporting that they did not always feel fully integrated.

In January 2026, the company launched Beyond Borders, an employee network where international staff can help one another navigate the hurdles of settling in, such as finding a doctor, navigating an insurance policy document, or arranging childcare.

Within nine months, the employee resource group had 200 members.

Liza Follert, head of people attraction for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Siemens Healthineers, says Beyond Borders was created in response to employee feedback.

For eight years, the company has sent out a regular staff survey asking them how they are feeling.

An anonymized self-identification option, added three years ago, lets the company see which groups are dissatisfied: “80% agree.