Location is an important consideration for new hires, now more than ever. It is becoming more important for retaining existing employees.
A changing workforce presents new challenges
It is estimated that over ten percent of the U.S. workforce in 2022 will relocate due to the recent shift in office work habits. A report on remote working trends found that twenty-eight percent of people surveyed said they are planning to move more than four hours away from their current location for work—too far away for a daily commute for most.
Human resources departments have many tools at their disposal to manage and improve productivity and employee experience. Relocation, workforce planning, and employee experience are closely intertwined. Because relocation is complex and involves many individualized considerations, a company’s relocation procedure needs to be customizable to the individual employee, ensuring a smooth transition to a new life for your talent.
A new challenge for Human Resources is providing this service in a more seamless way and making it part of your brand. Integrating a tool into your existing workplace processes that allows Human Resources and employees to feel in control of their destiny can do wonders for the often stressful and overwhelming experience of relocating. Making that a part of your company’s benefits package can boost your reputation when you’re looking for new talent as well.
Relocating has become more important to employees
A comprehensive corporate relocation survey conducted in February 2022 found the following among companies that typically relocate employees:
- 60% reported an increase in domestic relocations
- Nearly 50% reported an increase in international relocations
- 64% of companies expect a further increase in relocation activity
Reasons for relocating are personal to everyone, but they can be narrowed down to a few main categories.
Lifestyle
Employees have learned that it is possible to have the lifestyle they want and the career they want, even if the location isn’t always the same. During the recent shift in how we look at working spaces, employees and employers alike are realizing that productivity does not suffer when relocating; on the contrary, it has increased, making companies were profitable.
Cost of living
Forty-one percent relocating employees cite economic conditions as their primary motivation. The ability to have a better standard of living at a lower cost, while still maintaining current employment, can be a huge boon to dedicated employees. Whether the reason is to be closer to family, find better schools, or just a change of pace, relocating can make big difference in employees’ happiness.
Worker-driven relocations
Employees choosing to move to another corporate location is becoming more common. This is likely because the hybrid model is becoming popular, so any office may work as a home base for an employee. Retaining employees though this worker-driven relocation process provides the employee with an opportunity to continue their career development while also supporting the company’s success without interruption.
The relocation process
Complexity issues
Many complex and difficult decisions and processes go into a relocation.
- The relocating employee may need to sell a home or other property or buy a property in the destination city or country
- Schools for children and concerns about dual income households
- Care for family—the largest segment of the relocating workforce is currently the “sandwich generation” (members of Generation X and Millennials): those taking care of both children and parents.
These issues and others are some reasons that strong assistance programs and personalized attention to the relocation process, integrated into your existing employee experience platform, can help make the transition to a new location much easier for everyone.
Emotional support
There are personal challenges that employees may encounter when facing a relocation. A new employee relocating internationally may need to adjust to a new culture or learn a new language. An employee moving with their family might have children with special school requirements that introduce additional stressors.
Employee experience management and integrated relocation technology can help Human Resources work with employees as they navigate their individual challenges.
Employee productivity
Employers often need their relocated employees to start working in the new position as soon as possible. Recognizing that this places an extra burden on the employee and their accompanying family members is important.
Integrating a relocation package into your internal HR system can streamline and personalize the process, providing some reassurance to your newly relocated employee as they transition to their new location and role.
Point C bridges the gap
Relocation Management Companies (RMCs) have experience working to find solutions that suit individual needs in a timely fashion. Using an RMC to directly handle employee relocation can be beneficial when your company has the occasional worker making a move to a new location.
With the increase in number of relocating employees, branding the process with your own company and offering it as a benefit to existing workers improves the employee experience.
Give your Human Resources and benefits leaders the ability to create a smooth and comfortable relocation, with your company’s look and feel out front. Integrating with any HR system and made for companies of any size, in any location, Point C’s capabilities easily work with the systems of any RMC you already use.
The tools provided by Point C can help relocating personnel estimate expenses, find temporary living spaces, and manage other relocation experiences with personalization and a feeling of control.
