Experience as a Local Advisor
September 8, 2016
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By: Khalisha Sharifah
I was previously Fragomen's local advisor in Malaysia where on behalf of Fragomen, I provided on the ground immigration assistance to its clients. Fragomen manages immigration matters in certain locations where it does not have its own offices, in conjunction with its extensive local advisor network. In these locations, Local Advisors are essentially an extension of Fragomen and act as the intermediary between Fragomen and the relevant immigration authorities in the said location. Local advisors are an integral part of the immigration program given their accessibility to the local authorities; assistance in obtaining real-time updates from the relevant local immigration authorities and of course, assistance with the preparation and submission of the relevant immigration applications to the local authorities, amongst others.
Although in my previous firm, we also assisted with Malaysian immigration matters on behalf of our own portfolio of non-Fragomen clients, Fragomen was by far, our biggest client. Generally speaking, all client-facing communications were managed by Fragomen directly with the client, with me in the capacity of local advisor assisting 'behind the scenes'. Contrary to what one might think, working behind the scenes was as demanding, if not more! The Fragomen case team with whom we interacted demanded excellence in quality and in service delivery and always kept us on our toes. The Fragomen case team was in constant communication with us several times a day either by phone or email, seeking case updates to ensure that cases were progressing well. Although at times the level of service and expectations were overwhelming, the approach of the Fragomen case team towards us was always in the spirit of partnership and with the common goal of ensuring that its clients were always receiving the best service. It was clear to us why so many companies chose to work with Fragomen for its immigration needs; this is a firm that places quality of service delivery and client satisfaction at the forefront of everything it does!
I was delighted when Fragomen decided to establish its own office in Malaysia and had no hesitation at the opportunity to join the Fragomen team. Although it was challenging initially to transition from a “back-end” role to a direct “client facing” role, this transition was made easier with the support provided by the transition team at Fragomen. Today, after almost 2 years, I am a very proud senior consultant with Fragomen Malaysia and consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to utilize the skills I gained as a local advisor to ensure that my clients always receive the best in class services. I shall conclude this post with a quote by Albert Camus which I absolutely love – “You cannot create the experience. You must undergo it”.
Learn more about our Malaysia office.
