Every year, Danish companies have to say no to large assignments and pay large sums of money for re-recruitment, because it is difficult for them to get foreign employees to stay on. High salaries are not sufficient - but what does it then require?

Surveys show that it is often lack of social networks in the workplace and in the local community that makes worker migrants leave. Therefore Foreningen Nydansker and nine Danish companies wanted to develop a family-based mentor arrangement to focus on social integration.

Migrant workers and Danish companies and employees.

Employees were offered the opportunity to be host families and mentors for a colleague and his or her family. The idea of offering experiences rather than appealing to social responsibility proved efficient.

An unexpected high numbers of Danish families signed up for the project. So many that we had to turn down many. The project shows that voluntary integration programmes, focusing on employees in Danish companies and their families, have great potential.

58 mentor families joined the project - a total of 29 pairs of mentor families. The families met in the period June-December 2008. Danish families introduced migrant families to the workplace and the local community - and migrant families taught the Danes how better to introduce foreigners to the workplace and make them want to stay. The families developed significant relations with new families - and in many cases new friendships developed.

We started the project with a workshop where we introduced the mentor families to the project. We asked the families to design an optimal plan for the project. The families agreed to have at least three dinners together. We organised mentor events, where the families had good experiences - and formed networks across workplaces and families.

43% of the foreign participants believe that the project increases the likelihood that they will stay longer in their current workplace than they were planning to. 38% believe the project increases the likelihood that they and their families will stay longer in Denmark than they were planning to.

There is also a further interesting side-effect: 20% of the Danish participants find that the project has increased to likelihood that they will stay longer in their current workplace.

The mentor family concept is useful for a wide range of Danish companies, and the concept can contribute to the integration and long-term employment of migrant workers under the LAB law and the integration law.

Ministry of Integration and nine Danish companies.