Relocating for work can be stressful and puts an incredible amount of pressure on employees and their families. By offering comprehensive resources, you can make corporate relocations more appealing for everyone involved. The right guidelines and policies can also help you improve employee retention and attract top talent.
Not sure where to get started? Here's how you can build a competitive employee move policy.
A corporate relocation policy is a set of rules, guidelines, and resources employees can use for business-related moves. Corporate relocation policies are designed to support employees, ensuring they have the resources necessary for a hassle-free corporate move.
Many employees may feel hesitant to take on a new job that requires them to uproot their lives. However, many will feel inclined to do so with the right financial support and resources. With a competitive relocation policy, you can make moving for a new job more attractive for employees and their families. It can also make job offers more appealing to the right talent.
When developing an employee move policy, be strategic with your offering to ensure the policy has clearly defined resources that provide value to your employees. Here are the eight core components to include:
Eligibility criteria should be clearly outlined, so employees know which resources and support they qualify for. Consider creating a tiered system, based employee’s position level in the company. on seniority or tenure.
Relocation benefits and the coverage your business is offering should be clearly defined for the employee. You should also include processes for utilizing benefits.
The financial limits or relocation benefits of the policy should be clearly outlined in your employee relocation policy. The most popular policy structures for corporate moves include: Lump Sum, managed cap, and direct reimbursement. Lump Sum provides more flexibility and freedom but does not provide support to your employee during the relocation and gives your corporation less control over how the money is allocated. If you prefer greater employee support, and oversight of expenses, consider a managed cap or reimbursement style.
You'll want to include a list of non-reimbursable expenses and your employee’s tax responsibilities as a result of an employer-paid move-in your policy. This should be clearly explained at the beginning of the process to avoid any confusion.
Support services should be clearly summarized so that the employee can easily take advantage of them. This will include resources such as childcare, temporary housing stipends, and home marketing assistance.
A payback clause protects your business if the employee decides to voluntarily quit after relocating. You'll want to outline exactly how long the employee will need to stay with your company to avoid the payback clause.
Best Practices for Building a Competitive Policy
When it comes to building a competitive policy, the package you offer should be beneficial to the company while providing value to the employee. Here are some best practices to consider:
The policy should be cost-effective, while also providing value to your employees' relocation journey. In many cases, less is more. Instead of offering a suite of services and resources, consider fine-tuning your offering to focus on helping employees through the challenges and pain points of a relocation.
Consider creating tiered relocation packages for executive, manager, and entry-level employees. For example, for an entry-level position, you may offer a Lump Sum allowance. For executives and the C-suite, you can enhance your offering by full-service moving packages, temporary housing, and sponsored job search support.
Employees should have a point of contact they can rely on through every phase of the relocation process. This will ensure that any challenges that may arise are addressed promptly.
Transparency is key to the employee experience. Reimbursement processes and support services should be easy to understand. If the reimbursement rules or processes are too complicated, it will impact the employee experience.
You'll also want to include policies and services for international moves. Depending on how often you're relocating employees outside the country, you may want to create a separate policy for these moves.
Once you've developed a comprehensive policy for corporate moves, you'll want to turn these guidelines into actionable services and resources. To ensure you're offering the same quality of services to every employee, consider standardizing your services by working with service provides and relocation providers, such as Allied Van Lines.
We'll work with you to create a functional workflow for moving services, ensuring your employees' needs are handled at every phase of the process. With our tailored moving services and your well-thought-out employee relocation policy, you can attract and retain talent for years to come. Contact us today for more information.
Developing a competitive corporate move policy? Review our frequently asked questions below before you get started:
A corporate relocation policy is a set of rules, guidelines, and resources employees can use for business-related moves.
Competitive relocation policies are tools that help attract top talent and improve employee retention. The right support services and financial offerings can make moving for work more attractive.
A competitive relocation policy should include benefits, financial coverage, and employee support services. You'll also want to include a payback clause to protect your business if the employee decides to leave the position.
The best way to determine the appropriate level of benefits for a policy is to base your offerings on the employee’s position in the company.
Yes, a relocation policy should provide resources that benefit the specific type of relocation. If you’re moving employees internationally, consider developing a tailored policy for these types of moves.
