Making a major life changing decision is not easy, especially when it involves moving across the country or globe! Even the most excited employees may have concerns about the relocation process. Frequent communication is paramount to a successful relocation for both the employee and your organization. By anticipating and recognizing employee concerns, you’ll be prepared to alleviate their worries and keep relocations moving smoothly. Below are some common employee relocation concerns and how you can help.
Concerns About Finding a Place to Live in the Destination
With U.S. home inventory currently well below demand, it’s not unusual for double-digit offers, many well over asking price on the same or next day after the home hits the market! There’s a chance your employee could sell their home so quickly and then not have a new home to move into at the new location. It’s important to give your employees the time and resources they need to find a new home and complete the move.
- Your Relocation Management Company (RMC) should provide qualified real estate agents that understand the relocation process and the timelines associated with such moves.
- If you need your employee in the new location immediately, offer them temporary corporate housing so they’ll rest assured while they continue their new home search.
Concerns About Their Family & Acclimating to the New Location
Family can be a top reason that employees decline a relocation. Employees and their families may have obligations they must fulfill before moving. They might want their children to finish out the school year, have an ill family member or have a partner with their own career pursuits. Moving is stressful, but not knowing anyone in the new location makes it even more challenging. Kids especially find it difficult to move from friends, family and school. Your employee and their family have built a well-established network – from their favorite grocery store to their gym, and it’s difficult to leave all that behind. Your employee cannot 100% focus on their new position when they are preoccupied with their family’s needs.
When you take the family’s needs into consideration, you are showing your employee you truly care about making this a positive experience for them. Anything that you can do to show that you care about their personal life will go a long way to ease their stress and concerns.
- It’s essential that you communicate timelines and expectations with the employee. By regularly discussing organizational needs and understanding each individual employee’s circumstances, you greatly increase the chances of retaining your top employees.
Destination Services are Crucial to a Successful Move
- Provide the transferee and family with settling-in services including information on the new city, neighborhoods, medical options, shopping, transportation, utility connections, schools and more.
- Set up an area orientation to help them get familiarized with their new surroundings.
- Provide language and cultural training. Help with passports, Visas, work permits and immigration assistance. All especially important for global moves.
- Offer spousal/partner career assistance to help their significant other find a job in the new location.
- If the family needs to stay in the old location longer than anticipated, offer the employee temporary housing.
- Pay for travel expenses to and from the new location.
Concerns About Affording to Live in the New Neighborhood
Packing up and moving from rural Iowa to Manhattan would be a shock to anyone. The cost of living can be drastically different depending on where your employee is moving from and to. The cost of homes, taxes, even groceries may be significantly more than what your employees are used to.
- Offer your employee a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) that helps ease your employees into the cost of the new location. Many companies choose to taper off these benefits over the course of a few years. You can make the transition to a new city less costly and more affordable for your best employees.
A good RMC will help lesson transferee stress and concerns associated with a relocation. Need help managing employee relocations for your organization? Contact WHR Group, Inc. now.