7 Ways to Improve the Employee Relocation Experience

Most corporations have a relocation policy that governs the process of finding housing, moving, and transitioning into the new work environment. The method your firm administers to relocate and resettle your employees is more vital than many managers realize.

Unfortunately, some corporate relocation programs leave something to be desired, which may be giving your firm a bad reputation as well as dampening the overall employee experience.

Often, companies will neglect their relocation package because it’s expensive and time-consuming to deliver the experience at least some people desire. But it’s actually worth the cost.

Employee turnover and recruitment processes are much more expensive and time-consuming than putting a little more effort into improving the worker relocation experience. If you’ve suffered some complaints about your corporate relocation program, which may be hurting your company’s overall reputation, maybe it’s time to look into improving the process and making the experience better for your staff.

1. Handle the Moving For Employees

It’s easy to forget how much it costs to pick up and move. Depending on the size of the person’s household, the number of belongings, and the distance of the move, it can cost thousands of dollars just to pack and move the truck.

If your company is relocating an employee, why not remove the burden of the process altogether? Expand your resources to locate a full-service mover that will professionally pack and haul everything for your workers, from location to location.

This can take a lot of stress out of the situation and ensure that your employees get back to work more swiftly.

2. Help People Find Housing

Many companies offer community housing for their employees so relocation is much less of a problem. If you don’t have such a resource, or your employees aren’t able to live in your housing because of family circumstances, offer to assist them with the housing search.

Forward housing advertisements that match their needs and budget to them. Your company could also offer to cover some of the closing costs to expedite the process, and take some of the extra burden out of relocating.

3. Offer Spousal/Domestic Partner Job Assistance

Moving homes and jobs can be very hard on people with spouses or domestic partners who have a good job in the current area. Employees can be resistant to relocating when they know their spouse will have to give up his or her life in order to move with your worker.

Before relocating an employee, find out if it will work for the other member(s) of the household. Then offer career search assistance for your employee’s significant other.

Though it might appear a little unprofessional to get so involved in an employee’s personal life, it’s in your company’s best interests, and your employee may well appreciate it. If things are good for the staff member at home, it will allow the person to focus more on the job and continue working productively.

4. Provide Competitive Relocation Packages

Though people are supposed to keep the details about their benefits package fairly quiet, employees will inevitably talk. They’ll discuss the information with colleagues and friends.

Often enough, basic information about fair compensation packages can easily be found online. If your relocation package is regarded as inferior to that of others in the industry, the reputation of your business can take a huge hit.

5. Maintain Transparency

Honesty is vital in relocation situations. Any surprise in the process can be extremely distressing to employees who may already be upset about the prospect.

Let staff members know all the details regarding the move and your relocation policy as soon as possible. Answer questions openly, and don’t try to hide something because you fear employees might not like the answer.

6. Communicate Constantly

Constant, supportive communication is another way of being open and honest throughout the relocation process. Provide someone for your employees to talk to, 24/7, throughout the move.

They’ll need someone to answer questions about relocation policies, benefits packages, assignment details, new work schedules, paid time off, and more. It’s essential to reduce stress as much as possible during the entire operation, and offering excellent communication can be a huge relief to employees in this stressful time.

7. Offer Transitional Training

Don’t expect workers to jump straight into the new position without any training. Even if they’re performing the same job at the new location, they might need a little guidance to fit in.

Every workplace has its own culture and rules, written and perhaps unwritten, that your employee will need to know and understand.

They might even need some training in the language. If the new assignment is in a different country, or the staff spends a lot of time working with people from a different culture, they may need some instruction on both the language and how to avoid giving offense.

Any kind of training you can provide will make the employee relocation experience a lot easier.

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Written by Larry Alton.