When offering an employee relocation package, the best thing you can do is put yourself in their shoes. Prospective employees weigh the emotional and financial costs of packing up and leaving their friends and families behind. Relocated employees start their lives all over again.
Besides being an incentive to pull in top talent, supporting your employees through the process is essential. Here are 5 things companies should include in their relocation packages.
Covered Relocation Costs
No employee will leave their home for their employer unless they’re offered a benefit. As an employer, you’ll need to acknowledge that employees won’t want to pay to relocate.
That doesn’t mean you have to cover the entire relocation cost if you can’t. However, you will need to decide how much you can spare for the move. Some commonly covered expenses are:
- Transportation
- House-Hunting or House-Hunting Tips
- Packing and/or unpacking and moving
- Permanent or temporary storage
- Short or long-term housing
- Automobile shipments
- Closing costs of a home sale
- Schools, drivers license, cleaning
- Cancellation fees for breaking a lease
Instead of figuring this out yourself, get some advice from a reputable company. A relocation specialist can provide a lump sum relocation package covering your employee’s move costs. These packages are beneficial for companies that don’t have an HR team.
Relocation and Raise Package Tiers
Instead of offering one package for the whole company, consider offering package tiers depending on performance, employee level, or time spent with the business.
If the relocated employee is getting a promotion to fill a role, offer them the tier they would have received if they were already at that level. You should also consider offering raises based on a tiered system, as well, because executives may need more cash flow overseas.
Offer The Ability to Negotiate
Your employees don’t want to be locked in on a relocation package because it might not suit their needs. A candidate may avoid applying altogether if they don’t have a say in the process.
Human capital is worth investing in, but there’s a fine line between support and being taken advantage of. Still, you should pay attention to what they’re saying before ignoring their request.
Fully Covered Administration Packages
How you administer your package can make or break what you’re offering. As a rule, you’ll want to make the relocation process as easy as possible for your employees, so opt for a fully covered admin option. With full coverage, you book services on behalf of your employee.
There’s also the option of offering an “X” amount of cash per employee, which they can spend on anything they want. Cash-only policies can be beneficial if your employees are organized. If not, that kind of flexibility could cause them to overspend on one area and forget the rest.
Finally, a capped allowance or managed budget option puts a ceiling on how much of a service you’re willing to cover. For example, you’ll cover $20,000 on household goods shipments.
But at the end of the day, fully covered packages are easier to supply and manage.
Provide Personal Support
70% of employee relocations fail because families can’t settle into their new location.
Offer avenues of personal support to both the employee and their family to provide a smooth transition. While school location and integration assistance are essential to invest in, you should put most of your money towards spousal employment assistance to mitigate risks.
Three-fifths of American couples are dual-income, so it’s likely your candidates will have a family with one or more children. Even if you pay your employee well, the other spouse may want to get a job to make friends, avoid gaps in their resume, or understand the culture.
