Corporate Relocation Programs Benefit Employers and Employees
As job candidates are weighing their options for employment, a lot of factors come into play. What is the company culture, what are the growth opportunities available here, what is the earning potential, what benefits come with the role, will I need to relocate?
If the final question comes into play, it’s important that your organization is prepared to make that transition as seamless as possible for new hires or internal transfers.
A well thought out relocation program will focus on alleviating a variety of stressors and variables from a process that can often throw a chink in the chain of a smooth transition between jobs.
If your company currently offers relocation packages, or you’re considering building them out to create solutions that streamline the process for your internal recruiters and HR professionals, as well as your job candidates, we’ve pulled together a few resources and are sharing our answers to some of those corporate relocation FAQs that often arise.
Talent Acquisition and Relocation
In today’s job market, high-quality candidates have the upper hand. Many hiring managers are finding that there are more opportunities than there are qualified candidates to fill those roles and a recent article from Glassdoor cited that 71% of job-seekers receive 2 or more offers at once.
According to Fortune, more than 3 million Americans relocate for job opportunities each year and, as a result 40% of employers planned to increase their relocation budgets in 2019 in hopes of attracting more out-of-town talent and being able to select candidates from a wider pool of applicants.
For recruiters, especially those searching outside their local job market, a variety of factors come into play when candidates are weighing their options; from company culture and mission to job-fit, competitive salaries, benefits, and more, candidates are considering more than just dollars and cents when it comes to choosing their next role.
If you’re one of those employers searching for applicants regionally, nationally, or internationally, having a system in place to help those employees relocate for their new role will be crucial. In a competitive job market, many high-caliber candidates will be weighing a variety of offers and if you’re company isn’t willing to help cushion some of the cost of the relocation and help them manage the process throughout the transition, they will likely find an organization that will.
A Snapshot of the Corporate Relocation Process
If you’re the person responsible for employee transfers and relocations within your organization, it’s important to know what that process actually looks like.
When you’re planning a relocation, regardless of the reason, there are a variety of moving parts that have to be considered. For many families or individuals that might be relocating due to job changes, the relocation involves more than just packing, loading the truck and arriving at a new home.
As you’re building out relocation solutions it’s important to consider the other tasks that your employees will have to complete throughout the process. These include things like
- Preparing to list their home (possibly before they were prepared to do so)
- Buying out a rental agreement
- Selling their home
- Packing and preparing belongings for moving day
- Navigating a home purchase in a new (and possibly unfamiliar) area
- Finding services and service providers in a new area
- Finding new healthcare providers
- Finding schools or childcare options for kids
- And more.
For a comprehensive timeline of the typical relocation, check out our moving timeline and to-do list.
It’s important that your relocation programs connect your new hires and transferees with as many resources as possible to ease the burden of the relocation so that they can focus on preparing for their new role.
Enrolled Employee Transfers
Sometimes qualified candidates exist “within the walls” of our current organizations. If your ideal candidate is a current enrolled employee who would transfer to a new location to fill a role, having a streamlined process in place to manage the transition will alleviate a variety of stress factors for them throughout the process.
Voluntary vs. Involuntary Employee Transfers
For internal employee transfers the relocation may be voluntary or involuntary, and it is important that you have policies defined for both situations if the benefits would differ between groups.
This doesn’t mean that your company needs to maintain a variety of policies, however, it’s important to recognize that every move is different and your policies and relocation options should have a degree of flexibility to account for these variations.
Transferee vs. New Hire Relocation
Preparing a relocation plan for a transferee might look very different than one for a new hire. There will likely be differences in downtime for the relocation, different requirements for on-boarding and training, and possibly less flexibility in start dates, based on the circumstances of the hire or transfer.
Again, it’s important to consider these variations as you’re developing relocation policies and agreements to ensure that your employees have the flexibility they need to meet the requirements of their new position and the hiring process.
How the Corporate Relocation Process Works
For an inside look at “both sides of the coin” we talked to a local HR professional who relocated to the Augusta, GA area from out of state to take a position at a new company.
She sheds light on her personal relocation experience as an employee and talks with us about how offering all-in-one solutions to new hires and transferees gives them a boost in the talent acquisition process.
You can read the full interview here.
What are corporate relocation services?
Corporate Relocation Services offer a variety of relocation packages to employers to help manage the relocation needs of their new and existing employees. Through our partnership with United Van Lines, ADSI Moving Systems is able to offer a variety of corporate relocation services and packages to fit the needs of any business, whether you are relocating your employees across the state, across the country, or around the world.
A corporate relocation provider can also assist in the development of relocation policies for your organization to ensure the seamless transition for transferees. There is no “one-size-fits-all” relocation policy, so we will work with you to create a policy that is custom-suited to the unique needs of your company, based upon our knowledge and vast experience in servicing our corporate clients.
As a corporate relocation services provider, our goal is to create a mutually beneficial partnership that combines ease of use with professional and high-quality relocation services so that your employees can transition between roles with fewer headaches and roadblocks.
The cost of Employee Relocations
Employee relocation packages can vary greatly depending on the scope of services included, the distance of the relocation, and more. UrbanBound found that the average relocation costs incurred by companies can range from $15,000 to $100,000, and can cover a vast variety of expenses, from hiring movers and packers, all the way to househunting and orientation trips to their new destination.
Every corporate move is different and requires attention and accommodations that are specific to the needs of your employees. With so many details to sort through, many organizations outsource this task to a third-party organization, like a corporate relocation partner. This allows employers to build unique relocation solutions for their employees, ensuring a more streamlined and professional relocation experience.
Lump-Sum Relocation Allowance vs. Relocation Packages
For many employees, a “relocation package” often looks like their new employer offering them a flat fee to cover their relocation expenses. While that lump sum allowance can be enticing, especially for young job seekers, it leaves all the additional planning and organizing of the move in your hands.
A corporate relocation package often includes a variety of services outside of the transportation of your household goods. When you build relocation solutions with a corporate relocation partner, like ADSI Moving Systems, your are able to truly customize the policies and plans to meet the needs of your employees. This includes mixing and matching from a selection of moving services including
- Full and partial packing
- Unpacking
- Temporary & Longterm Storage solutions
- Debris Pickup and Removal
- Move protection options
- Locally-based convenience services in partnership with our CityPointe program.
How does having a relocation partner benefit my company?
For many employers, having a relocation partner means someone to have your back. Especially for those organizations relocating groups of employees on a regular basis, it can be hard to manage all the moving parts and pieces. Having experts to help manage the process takes those tasks off the plate of your hiring and recruiting teams.
In addition to developing process controls and ensuring you and your employees have the appropriate resources and information needed ahead of the relocation, an ongoing partnership means we are able to offer added benefits.
Guaranteed Pricing
Your rates are set as a part of your agreement with your corporate relocation partner and will not vary based on seasonality or other shipment variations.
Policy Management
You will have an account manager that works alongside your organization to help develop a relocation policy specific to your needs. In addition, they help you manage adherence to that policy, as it relates to your relocation partner.
Valuation options
As a part of your contract, you have a variety of valuation coverage options to offer your employees as a part of their relocation package.
How does having a relocation partner benefit my employees?
Relocation solutions and policies are developed with your employees and transferees in mind. Since they are the most active participants in the relocation process, we want it to be as seamless and stress-free as possible, from their perspective.
When you choose ADSI Moving Systems as your corporate relocation partner, we are able to guarantee the following benefits that make managing the moving process easier for your employees.
No Negotiations
No extra negotiations are needed to schedule moves. All employees moving as a part of your corporate relocation program receive the same contract terms and discounted rates and will know exactly what to expect.
No Blackout Dates
During peak season, it can be hard to schedule moves last minute, but through a corporate relocation partnership, your relocation is not susceptible to blackout dates.
Relocation Coordinator
Your employee will have access to a relocation coordinator who will help them with paperwork, scheduling and a variety of other tasks throughout the process, taking this burden off your HR representatives.
Why Trust ADSI Moving Systems as your Corporate Relocation Partner?
When selecting a partner to manage your corporate relocation programs, it’s important to understand the unique benefits they are able to offer and how the steps they take to create a customized solution for you, your employees and your new hires.
Agency Network
We are an agent for United Van Lines which gives us an exclusive network of national and international relocation partners we can work with to ensure we can relocate your employees from coast to coast or around the globe.
Tools & Resources
We have access to a variety of tools and resources that we pool together to make moving as simple and stress-free as possible by connecting you with other service providers, convenience services and more.
Experience
Ellefson Transportation Group has over 50 years of relocation experience with household goods and residential relocations. Our drivers and crew members are trained, uniformed, and insured, and work to ensure a customer focused, quality driven experience for each customer we serve.
Learn more about corporate relocation partnerships
We recognize the importance of being able to have your workforce where you need them which is why we pool the resources of our United Van Lines agency network to get your employees and their belongings where they need to be as seamlessly as possible.
If your organization is interested in learning more about our corporate relocation partnerships OR is looking at alternate service providers in the coming months, we would love to talk with you in further detail. Contact us today at 706.793.0186.