As an international employer, offering a comprehensive relocation package is a key component to attracting top talent to your company. In today's competitive job market, an effective relocation package can make the difference between convincing an employee to accept a job offer or not, especially if the move involves a significant distance or a major lifestyle change.
If you haven’t rethought your relocation package lately, it’s probably past time to do so. Read on to find out the top things employees are looking for in relocation packages, broken out by must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Relocation Package Must-Haves
- Legal assistance - If you want your new employee to have a successful and timely move to their new country of residence, it is critical that you provide them with support in obtaining the necessary visas, residence permits and other legal requirements they may encounter.
- Moving expenses - this includes everything from packing, shipping, and storage of belongings to travel costs for the employee and their family to arrive at their new destination.
- Temporary housing - Moving is stressful, so remove some of that burden by giving your new employee the gift of time to find their new housing. Providing temporary housing assistance as part of a relocation package can range from a short-term housing stipend for a location of their choice (make sure it’s enough to cover hotels and long-term rentals) to providing a fully furnished apartment for a set amount of time.
Relocation Package Nice-to-haves
- Family support - Relocating can be especially challenging for families, as it often involves finding new schools, childcare, and other resources for multiple people. Take these additional needs into consideration when creating a relocation package and consider providing support such as school search assistance or visa support for the family.
- Long-term housing support - Moving to a new country can be overwhelming, especially for someone unfamiliar with the area. Providing assistance with the home-finding process, such as connections with a real estate agent or a home-finding trip, will help the employee feel settled faster.
- Cultural integration - Providing resources and support to assist the employee with integrating into their new home can go a long way towards improving employee satisfaction. Consider offering language courses, cultural orientation programs, or even just a welcome packet and buddy system with basic information they need to know.
- Career development - Many employees are interested in relocation for the opportunities it provides them to advance their career. Encourage this by ensuring your relocation package provides access to training programs and networking opportunities - these resources will help both you and your employee in the long run.
While these elements will help create a more robust relocation package, it’s important to keep in mind that flexibility is key. Not all employees value the same things in a relocation package, making it impossible to create a one-size fits all solution. Instead, consider creating multiple packages that employees can choose from or providing cash alternatives to options they don’t need.
In practice, this can look like offering to pay for the first 3 months of temporary housing for a relocating employee or providing a one-time stipend for them to use however they want, if they are not in need of temporary housing.
Overall, it’s important to keep both the needs of the business and your employees in mind when creating a relocation package. It can help to set a budget for each package type and work backwards from there to fill in the details of what will be offered.
In conclusion, the best relocation packages are comprehensive, flexible, and tailored to the unique needs of your employees. By providing support with the practicalities of moving, you can make the relocation process a more positive and successful experience for your new employee, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity.