Starting a new position in International Geneva is rarely just about a new job. For international staff and their families, it often means discovering a new country, finding a home, understanding unfamiliar procedures and building new social networks. For many, such a move involves an accompanying spouse or partner who are sometimes rethinking their own professional career.
The first weeks therefore come with many questions. Having access to the right information – and the right people – at the right time can make a significant difference.
As an instrument of Switzerland’s host state policy, the International Geneva Welcome Centre (CAGI) helps international staff and their families to settle successfully and feel at home in the region. This is why CAGI does not only welcome newcomers at its premises. It also works on request with international organizations, permanent missions and other institutions to offer information sessions tailored to the needs of their staff and families.
Meeting newcomers where they are
Induction programs provide an essential introduction to a new professional environment. Yet many of the questions newcomers face begin where the workplace ends.
How does the housing market work? How can a family become familiar with its new surroundings? What opportunities are there to develop social connections? And where can an accompanying spouse or partner turn when looking for employment?
CAGI’s interventions complement organizations’ own onboarding programs by addressing these wider aspects of relocation and integration. They can be incorporated into an Induction Day or Welcome Day, organizedspecifically for spouses and partners, or developed as standalone events.
There is no standard formula.
An organization welcoming a large group of new staff may be looking for a broad introduction to life in Geneva, while another may have identified a particular concern among its employees.
The starting point is therefore a simple one: who is the audience, what are its needs and how can CAGI respond most effectively?
Content and format are then adapted accordingly. An intervention may range from a concise introduction to a more comprehensive thematic event, with several subjects combined where appropriate and sufficient time for questions and discussion.
Rather than asking an organization to adapt to a standard presentation, CAGI adapts the intervention to the organization and its people.
From housing to life in Geneva
The scope of these interventions reflects the diversity of questions that accompany international relocation.
Housing is naturally among the most immediate concerns. Understanding the local rental market and knowing what to expect when searching for accommodation can make the first stages of relocation considerably easier.
But settling in also means learning how everyday life works and gradually discovering a new environment.
CAGI can provide guidance on practical aspects of life in Geneva and introduce its welcome program, which offers international staff and their families opportunities to discover Geneva and the Lake Geneva region through cultural, social and practical activities.
These different dimensions are closely connected. Finding somewhere to live is one step; developing a sense of belonging is another. By addressing both, CAGI helps newcomers move progressively from arrival to integration.
Supporting careers and families
For accompanying spouses and partners, relocation can involve another major transition.
While one member of the family may arrive in Geneva to take up a new position, their partner may have left behind a career, a professional network and a familiar employment environment. Understanding the Swiss job market, presenting qualifications and experience appropriately, developing new contacts and identifying useful resources can all become part of starting again professionally.
Twice a year, CAGI organises Dual Careers Conferences followed by dedicated workshops, specifically for spouses and partners of employees of International Geneva.
CAGI invites specialized speakers to share their expertise on different aspects of professional integration. The conference provides participants with a better understanding of the local employment environment, while the workshops offer an opportunity to explore specific topics in greater depth, benefit from practical guidance and exchange directly with professionals familiar with the realities of the Swiss labor market.
The initiative also reflects a broader understanding of international mobility. The experience of the accompanying partner can influence the well-being of the entire family and, ultimately, the success of an international assignment.
Supporting dual careers is therefore not an isolated employment issue. It forms part of creating the conditions in which international families can establish fulfilling lives in their new environment.
This experience can also be incorporated into dedicated events within international organizations, particularly as part of programs designed for spouses and partners.
Connecting people with expertise
CAGI’s role is not limited to providing information itself.
Depending on the subject and the expectations of the host institution, specialists from CAGI’s network can contribute to an event, allowing participants to benefit from complementary perspectives and targeted knowledge.
This approach transforms a presentation into an opportunity for dialogue. Participants can ask questions, clarify individual situations and identify the appropriate resources or contacts for what comes next.
CAGI’s Practical Guide for Newcomers, website and multilingual chatbot also provide easy access to information and resources, allowing users to find guidance whenever they need it.
That interaction nevertheless matters. Digital resources provide valuable guidance, but settling into an unfamiliar environment can also raise questions that benefit from a more personal exchange. Knowing whom to approach – and being able to speak with someone who understands the issue – remains invaluable.
CAGI’s interventions therefore create a link between information, expertise and the people who need them.
A first step towards integration
International organizations and permanent missions are naturally among the first points of reference for staff arriving from abroad. Working with CAGI allows them to extend that welcome beyond the professional sphere and introduce employees and their families to the wider resources available in Geneva.
An intervention may become part of a recurring induction program, respond to the needs of a particular group or be developed around an issue identified by the institution.
It begins with a conversation. CAGI and the organization define the audience, priorities and appropriate format together, before identifying the content and contributors best suited to the occasion.
In a city built around international cooperation, welcoming people successfully is a shared endeavor.
Helping newcomers understand their new environment, find the resources they need and establish connections beyond the workplace contributes not only to their own experience, but also to the attractiveness of International Geneva.
Interested in a CAGI presentation? International organizations, permanent missions and other institutions can contact CAGI to discuss their needs and arrange a tailored information session.
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Centre d’Accueil de la Genève Internationale
« La Pastorale », Maison de Maître
106, route de Ferney
1202 Genève
Tél : 022 546 14 00
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