Relocating employees is often necessary, especially for international and offshore companies. Besides bringing your most trusted staff to wherever you’re moving your business to, you may also want to expand your recruitment efforts overseas to gain access to global A-list talents.
But convincing people to relocate from where they spent most of their lives can be challenging without the right incentive.
Sure, you can give them an impressive salary offer, but do you think that’s enough? In most cases, people would still hesitate. After all, some things that make people happy are priceless.
As an entrepreneur, you should know better than to leave such matters to fate. Instead, be proactive and make an offer they cannot resist, which should include extending assistance during every step of their relocation.
Create an appealing offer with the help of an employee relocation package that includes the following six essential inclusions:
1. Moving and Hauling with Insurance
Relocation is a costly endeavour, which is why companies are offering assistance for employees that cover hauling services, moving day expenses, and relocation insurance.
The most basic employee relocation package pays for the necessary petrol, train ticket, or airfare for the day of the move.
It’s even better if the package includes transporting their belongings and covering insurance for any damaged or lost personal items, as this usually eats up the bulk of their moving budget.
According to Indeed, companies can offer moving assistance in different ways: lump-sum allowance, reimbursement, third-party relocation service, and direct billing.
Lump-sum moving allowance
As the name implies, this type of employee relocation package sets a specific amount and sends it fully to the transferee to help with the moving expenses.
This amount should cover the relocation costs, though the employee will have the last say on the best use of the money they receive.
When coming up with an appealing moving package, you should research the average rate for the essential relocation services, including moving, packing, and storage. Don’t forget insurance, area orientation, and home-hunting assistance.
This package allows employers to limit their assistance to a specific amount.
Moving cost reimbursement
The reimbursement relocation package entails the transferee paying for the cost of the move while keeping in mind your promise as their employer to return the money they spent after relocation.
Unlike lump-sum, employee relocation reimbursement packages tend to cover most – if not all – of the transferee’s moving expenses, provided that receipts are presented.
Third-party relocation service
In this type of package, the company hires a third-party mover to assist the transferee with their relocation. This usually encompasses the hauling of their belongings, moving day transportation, and storage services.
Direct billing
In most cases, direct billing is used with lump-sum or reimbursement relocation packages. Basically, this package sends all the bills for a transferee’s move to the employer, who will shoulder specific billable services such as hauling, packing, and other related services.
2. Packing and Unpacking Service
Besides the actual hauling of belongings, packing and unpacking take up most of a transferee’s time during the move. Adding this service to your employee relocation package ensures that your recruit can focus on adjusting to the new culture and settling into their new home and workplace.
3. Real Estate Assistance: Selling and Home Hunting
An excellent relocation assistance package also includes real estate matters, including home selling and hunting.
Many companies choose to cover the costs linked to selling an employee’s old home or provide practical help like buying the property to be sold for a later date or initiating a real estate advertisement.
In cases when a transferee is renting his old place, your company can offer to pay for any costs resulting from breaking his old lease contract.
In terms of hunting for a new home, you may or may not get involved in buying a property, though paying for the closing costs could be a great help to the transferee. At the very least, your company should pay for one or two house-hunting trips, which may include transportation, accommodation, food expenses, and childcare.
4. Temporary Accommodation
Sometimes, a transferring employee can’t find a new home in your company’s country in time for his start date. To help him out, you can postpone his scheduled start at work and provide free housing temporarily.
You can set a limit for the temporary accommodation period. Just make sure it is enough time for anyone to find adequate accommodation (at least 30 days should suffice).
Doing this will help save your company from paying for expensive hotel stays. You can also scout for some hostels or house-sharing programs or tap into corporate relocation providers who offer temporary accommodation as an add-on service.
5. Lifestyle and Costs of Living Adjustments
Moving somewhere new also comes with adjustments to living costs due to higher tax rates or more expensive grocery and utilities. As an employer, you can make your relocation package more appealing to recruits by offering pay adjustments or relocation bonuses to cover the difference.
Besides money matters, you can also offer language training for employee relocation. This can help them become fully prepared for working and living in another country.
After all, communication with their new colleagues and your clientele is crucial.
Without the language barrier, your employees can become fully productive at work and adjust well to the new environment. This means they will feel less stress and experience less of the adverse effects of moving abroad for work.
6. Familial Support
Finally, when recruiting people overseas, you should keep in mind that they would most likely have people who depend on them.
To boost the chances of a successful transfer, you should consider extending your settling-in assistance to that person’s family. This can come in the form of aiding your employee’s partner or spouse to find work nearby and helping them figure out the childcare and schooling situation in the area.
Familial support can also come in the form of financial assistance or covering any other cost related to the disruption in the employee’s life because of the move (e.g., school enrolment cancellation fees).
Attract Global Talent
Expanding your reach to the international workforce pool offers benefits that could make or break your company’s growth. Don’t hesitate to offer an attractive employee relocation package to get the best talent on board.
