What gets measured gets valued. Most recruitment dashboards value the wrong things.
Every organisation wants to know whether its international recruitment is working. The trouble is that the easiest things to count (vacancies filled, time to hire, cost per hire) describe the hire, not whether it lasted, settled or strengthened the team. The measures that matter most sit further downstream.
Snapshot metrics vs measures that last
Time-to-hire and cost-per-hire are useful operational numbers, and worth tracking. But on their own they can flatter a programme that’s quietly failing: filling seats quickly with people who leave within the year. A fuller picture asks whether the workforce is more stable, more capable and more content than before.
Snapshot metrics
Measures that last
Anchor those windows in local evidence: in New Zealand, most internationally trained doctors who leave are gone by the two-year mark, so two-year retention is the first number worth watching.
Measure the experience, not just the outcome
Numbers tell you what happened; people tell you why. The strongest programmes build in honest, regular feedback from internationally educated staff: not a single arrival survey, but a rhythm of conversations through the first two years. Ask what helped, what was harder than expected, and what would have made the move easier. Then close the loop by acting on it, and telling people what changed.
Evaluate supervision, not just the hire
Supervision is one of the biggest factors in whether an internationally educated professional settles and thrives, and one of the most commonly overlooked in evaluation. It deserves its own questions, asked of supervisors and new recruits alike.
Availability
- Was supervision available when it was needed?
- Was there enough capacity?
The supervisors
- Did supervisors feel adequately supported?
- Was their time recognised?
The outcome
- How long to confidence and independence?
- What would help the next cohort?
Every cohort should teach you something
Continuous improvement is simply the discipline of learning out loud. Each cohort reveals something: a delay that could have been avoided, an induction gap, a piece of support that made all the difference. A short, honest retrospective after each group arrives, with actions carried into the next campaign, is how a programme gets steadily better instead of repeating the same avoidable problems.
Six numbers, reviewed quarterly, on one page:
- Two-year and five-year retention of international hires.
- Agency and locum spend in the services you recruited into.
- Time from offer to first day, by profession.
- Supervisor and new-starter feedback, both directions.
- Family settlement at six months (schools, partner work, housing).
- One improvement action per cohort, closed out.
Recommendations for the sector
Individual organisations can only do so much alone. Some of the biggest gains in international recruitment across Australia and New Zealand would come from working together. These are the steps I believe our sector should take next.
Eight things the sector could do next
- A nationally consistent onboarding curriculumShared core standards for international induction, tailored locally.
- Shared supervision resourcesCommon frameworks and materials, so every service isn’t building from scratch.
- Regional supervisor networksPeer support and shared expertise across neighbouring services.
- Greater collaboration between employersLess competition for the same small pool; more coordinated, ethical recruitment.
- Better sharing of recruitment dataHonest, comparable data on what works and what doesn’t.
- Common measures of successShared definitions of retention and integration, so results can be compared.
- Greater investment in pastoral supportRecognised and resourced as core, not optional.
- A genuine offer for international staffA clear, honest answer to “why build your career here?”
The principles behind measuring well
- Measure what lasts (retention, wellbeing and belonging), not just time and cost to hire.
- Gather honest feedback from internationally educated staff, and act on it.
- Evaluate supervision explicitly, for both supervisors and new recruits.
- Run a retrospective after every cohort and carry the lessons forward.
- The biggest gains for the sector will come from working together.
To close the toolkit
A personal reflection
International healthcare recruitment has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career. Having worked in the NHS before founding Ethicare, I’ve seen first-hand the challenge organisations face in balancing rising demand with workforce shortages.
Over the years I’ve had the privilege of supporting healthcare professionals and their families as they relocate to Australia and New Zealand, while working alongside employers to build sustainable international recruitment programmes. One thing has become increasingly clear: the value of good international recruitment goes far beyond the vacancy it fills. Done well, it strengthens whole services, and it gives the person arriving somewhere to build a long and fulfilling career.
That’s why I wanted to create this toolkit: to encourage organisations to treat international recruitment not as an emergency response to shortages, but as long-term work that takes planning, collaboration, leadership and genuine investment in people. If it helps even one organisation create a better experience for internationally trained professionals, or a new way of thinking about workforce planning, then it has achieved its purpose.
Continuing the conversation
Everything in this toolkit reflects how we work: international recruitment as long-term workforce building, not a hiring exercise.
Alongside finding exceptional healthcare professionals, we work with organisations to design and improve whole programmes, shaped around their service and their long-term plans. That can include:
Whether this is your first international campaign or an established programme you want to strengthen, we’d be glad to talk it through and share what we’ve learned.
Sources
- New Zealand Medical Journal, “The Aotearoa New Zealand doctor shortage”, 2024.
- NHS England, NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, 2023.
Building your international workforce?
We run international recruitment to this standard: ethical, prepared, supported and measured on retention. Let’s talk about doing it well.