Employee relocation isn’t an easy process. This step is necessary when companies have new locations which need vacant positions filled or even when the company wants the employees to develop their current skill set. Rather than investing resources into hiring and training new employees, it makes more sense to transfer over current staff.
This process can be stressful for the employee. In fact, if they’re not happy with the relocation package, you may even lose a talented staff member altogether. In this article, we’ll be discussing the key elements you need to successfully relocate employees.
Using a Relocation Service
Normally there are three ways to organise an employee relocation:
- Giving the staff member a lum sum of money to arrange the relocation themselves
- Using in-house teams to organize the relocation
- Hiring a third-party relocation service provider
The third method is the costly one, but you’re bound to get much better results. Services like ARC corporate relocation have the expertise to deal with all the moving parts from providing the estimated relocation costs to moving your employee’s household goods.
With a good relocation service provider, the HR team and employee don’t have to worry about the complicated logistics about the relocation which can hinder the company’s overall productivity.
Compensation Adjustments
Compensation adjustments must factor in the cost of living in the employee’s new area. If the employee is making a move from Massachusetts to New York, obviously they’ll need a higher compensation to survive. Failure to do so may cause them to look for better opportunities in the area down the line. Tax implications according to the host state or country should also be factored in.
Another element to consider when making a compensation adjustment is safety and desirability of the new location. Companies may use a third-party firm that specializes in collecting data objectively to evaluate the hardship of the new location according to different criterias such as safety, transportation, and school system.
Typically, a hardship allowance of 5-30% of the base pay is given. This provides an incentive for the staff member to work in a location that may be less pleasant to live in.
Paid House-Hunting Trips
Looking for a new home in an unfamiliar area is no easy task. When the staff member is limited by time and money, it adds a lot of unnecessary stress. It is only fair that your company offers the employee paid house-hunting trips, where they and their partner are allowed to familiarize themselves in their new neighbourhood without having to worry about paying for lodging, transportation, and even meals.
In fact, many companies offer to pay for the employee’s temporary accomodation for the first few months of moving in. This allows them time to sell their current location and inform their current landlord about the ongoing issues.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the goal of the HR team is to create policies and strategies to minimize the stress of the employee and HR when having to deal with relocation. These policies and packages must be attractive and suitable enough for all tiers of authority within the company.