What We Do
Overview
We’re international recruiting experts and cultural exchange enthusiasts. We help employers and individuals around the globe find each other to create business-expanding and life-enriching relationships. We’ve got the experience, expertise and credentials to match employer needs with great international talent.
We’re an innovative solution to a common business problem – finding the right people to grow any business. Our success comes from an ability to combine strategy with chemistry. We’re good at sizing up people and situations and developing smart solutions.
You might think of us as a place where individual pursuits, business needs and institutional ideals intersect. That’s our sweet spot. And we love what we do because our work advances careers, accomplishes business goals, enlarges personal perspectives and ignites universal understanding. We have Peace Corps passion and entrepreneurial savvy. That’s at the core of our company and in the pulse of our people.
After 27 years partnering with some of the finest brands and businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry, service runs through our veins. We understand your need to provide memorable service to be able to compete, and we know that you rely on the best people to help deliver those incredible experiences. When you hold up a mirror, your employees are the best reflection of your business. That’s where we can help.
Over the years our business has expanded, and we now serve many industries with alternative recruiting solutions. From the front of your house, to the backbone of your operations, we can help find the right people for your business. Our team is aligned to support our customers with individualized recruiting plans and customized service. We don’t merely facilitate cultural exchange, we make sure that everyone involved is optimizing the experience and getting the desired results. When everyone involved is completely satisfied, we are too.
What is Cultural Exchange?
There’s no need to paraphrase, we’ve taken the words directly from the U. S. Department of State:
“The purpose of the Exchange Visitor Program is to provide foreign nationals with opportunities to participate in educational and cultural programs in the United States and return home to share their experiences, and to encourage Americans to participate in educational and cultural programs in other countries.”
It’s not a lofty ideal. It’s an incredible idea. The more we know of each other, the more similar we are. In a globalized world, businesses and individuals that embrace the uniqueness of our differences will capitalize on its strength.
The Exchange Visitor program was established under The Fulbright–Hays Act, officially known as the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961.
“The purpose of this chapter is to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations, and the contributions being made toward a peaceful and more fruitful life for people throughout the world; to promote international cooperation for educational and cultural advancement; and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world.”
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
– Maya Angelou
How We Help
The most common problem businesses face is finding the best people to help accomplish business goals. Recruiting takes time and money and drains valuable human resources from focusing on the growth areas of your company. Retention is a constant concern, particularly in service industries where turnover can be a challenge and competition is real. But there is an alternative.
International exchange students and workers are a great solution for many businesses. You can plan for the times when your business needs additional help and select from a talented pool of young professionals and students who are ready to “suit up and show up.” They’re educated, enthusiastic and eager to add value to your business and experience to their resumes. Their focus is on the benefits they receive just by working, interning and training. The only benefit that matters to international exchange participants is life enriching and resume enhancing.
A Smart Choice
Besides being a great alternative to traditional recruiting, cultural exchange provides a chance to reflect your company’s values of inclusion, diversity and social responsibility. When you hire international exchange participants, you make a lasting impression, not only of your company, but also your country and culture.
Our experience tells us that exposure and education goes a long way toward advancing common understanding, eliminating ignorance and enhancing lives. Host employers have a chance to be both business strategists and social philanthropists.
The Chairman and CEO of one of the world’s most recognized brands, Coca-Cola, noted that more people today make purchasing decisions based as much upon a company’s character as its products and services. People buy from companies that they respect and reflect their own values. Participation in an exchange program is a great opportunity to make good business decisions and to be a good business. When you can accomplish both, your business is bound to succeed.
Why Choose Us?
It’s a delicate dance to sing your own praises, so we generally rely on the repeat business of our employers, the accolades of our program participants and the trust of leading government institutions and universities to do that for us. But we do have a host of valid reasons and credentials that we hope earn your trust and business.
Every business wants to rise to the top of their field and do so by finding unique value propositions. Your brand becomes synonymous with a promise and a great brand keeps its promise. What makes us different? Sets us apart? We know that we excel in several key areas that are important to our customers.
27 years is enough time to gain expertise in any industry. By trial, some error and a bunch of tenacity, we are leading experts in cultural exchange and recruiting solutions.
We’re no different than your business or any business. Our people are what set us apart. We know that finding the right people for your business will be your best competitive weapon and differentiator, because it’s ours, too. Our team is crazy about what they do and the passion comes through in everything we do.
Our strength is making connections between business and personal goals. Call us employment matchmakers or alternative recruiting experts. We collaborate with employers, connect with recruiting partners, universities and governments and create winning employment, experience and educational opportunities.
We add value – consider us as partners and involve us in the early thinking. Headhunters find bodies; we create hiring solutions with customized recruiting plans that will help you find the best people for the times you need them most. We want to understand your business, goals and needs. Our job is to connect the right people with you to create amazing experiences and incredible results.
The U.S. Department of State is serious about Exchange Visitor Programs. They carefully select only those companies who have the experience, commitment and proven track record of upholding the important principles of the program. Alliance Abroad is a respected visa sponsor with an undisputed reputation for supporting enriching, rewarding and educational experiences for international exchange participants and employers in the U.S. and abroad.