Tips for Managing Employee Relocation Expenses

by | Jun 2, 2021 | Resources

expense management

Relocation expense management can be a complicated and stressful process for a transferring employee. Relocating employees might have a dozen expense reports to submit over the course of their relocation, and that can be difficult for a transferee to self-fund. Having a seamless, efficient relocation expense management process is critical. Here are five simple tips:

Tip 1: Fast Reimbursement Processing
Through WHR Groups’s intricate survey process, we’ve found that there’s a direct correlation between the timeliness of reimbursement and employee satisfaction. We cannot stress enough the importance of quick fund turnaround. Communicate with relocating employees what the timeline is, since this can help them plan accordingly and know when to expect the reimbursement. Hopefully, your Relocation Management Company (RMC) processes expense reimbursements in 3 days from receipt.

Tip 2: Ensure Accuracy with a Dual Review
Accuracy is critical in expense report review, so having more than one set of eyes review is a must before reimbursing. At WHR, one review is completed by the policy expert and another by an accounting team member. This ensures compliance and accuracy.

Tip 3: Provide an Easy and Accessible Employee Interface Tool
Deploy an online expense submission system that can be accessed anywhere, 24/7/365. Give employees the ability to upload receipts via a mobile app or web portal in any currency. This saves time and the hassle of scanning in countless receipts. This is also helpful while employees are traveling.

Tip 4: Utilize Custom Expense Reports
To streamline expense report review, build custom reports for each relocation policy. This ensures employees stay compliant with policy benefits and it also helps your organization during the internal review. If you’re using an online technology, be sure the system has your policy parameters built into it. WHR can customize reports on over 3,000 different data points, at no additional charge.

Tip 5: Ensure Security of Payment Information
Make sure your RMC utilizes technology that implements security measures:

  • Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and other private data encrypted and masked within the technology when the user is not updating those fields.
  • Each personal data field is masked with ********** until the user selects a specific field to view. If the user has access based on his or her role, the data can be viewed and updated only when the field is selected.
  • Firewalls are in place to isolate website traffic from the internal network and security has been implemented to control client/server communications from the web portals.
  • Protection is used on all internal workstations and servers for anti-virus, spyware, and zero-day threats. Web content is filtered by an on-site application to protect users from accessing risky websites.

Take a hard look at your current expense management process and see if these tips are being followed. A well-run relocation expense management process can make or break the relocation. If you’d like additional help managing your expense reimbursement process or your relocation program, contact WHR Group.

WHR Group Releases Employee Relocation Benchmark Results

by | May 25, 2021 | Press Release

MILWAUKEE, Wis., May 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – WHR Group, Inc. (WHR), a leader in the global employee relocation industry, conducted a Global Mobility Benchmark study surveying some of the largest U.S. companies from a variety of industries. Findings shed light on how companies have changed their employee relocation policies, even during 2020 and a pandemic. Respondents included corporate staff working in HR, mobility management, talent management and benefits/compensation departments. Some findings include the following:

 

  • Relocation benefits are still going strong even with the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 85% of companies offer some type of home sale benefit to transferees.
  • 67% of respondents have experienced a talent shortage but include their mobility program in candidate recruitment strategies.
  • Lump sum benefits are trending but often used as a complement to basic relocation benefits versus a standalone benefit package.
Over 57% surveyed have an international relocation program, and 88% have expatriate or international permanent transfer policies. Over 50% found immigration laws to be the most challenging part of international relocations with Africa and Asia reported as the most challenging. For Africa, immigration laws and political climate were reported as creating the greatest challenges. For Asia, immigration laws and language barrier created the greatest challenges. Temporary housing; destination services and settling in; household goods; Visa and immigration assistance; and tax assistance are considered core benefits for international transfers and assignments.
Of the 68.5% offering destination closing costs, 76.5% don’t cap this benefit, even though capping the support is a way to control organizational costs. Most companies reported creating benefit packages based on the average transferee, not always considering individual cultures and family dynamics. This can lead to policy exception requests by employees.

 

Download WHR’s Complete Benchmark Report

About WHR Group, Inc.

WHR is a privately owned, client-driven global employee relocation management company distinguished by best-in-class service delivery and cutting-edge, proprietary technology. WHR has offices in Milwaukee, Wis., Switzerland, and Singapore. With its 100% client retention rate for the past decade, WHR continues to position itself as the trusted provider in global employee relocation. https://whrg.com,  LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

 

Media Contact: Mindy Stroiman, Corporate Writer
262-523-7510

In Memory of FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger

by | May 20, 2021 | Press Release

In 2014, WHR Group, Inc. (WHR) began working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an employee relocation provider. One of the very first transferees we assisted was Special Agent Daniel Alfin.

The world was saddened to hear that FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were killed in the line of duty on February 2, 2021, during a raid in Sunrise, Florida, while serving a federal search warrant in a crime against children investigation. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many tragic events like this in our country.

At WHR, we are reminded daily that we are all just humans helping humans. We truly believe that random acts of kindness, big or small, can have a huge impact on the world. WHR is honored to make a donation to the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) in memory of Special Agents Alfin and Schwartzenberger. The FBIAA advances & safeguards the careers, economic interests, conditions of employment and welfare of FBI Agents & retired FBI Agents by providing services through the Memorial College Fund and the Membership Assistance Fund including:

  • Internal advocacy within the Bureau
  • Legal representation
  • Legislative advocacy
  • Financial support to members

Our donation also honors the sacrifices made by so many FBI Agents around the world to protect and serve our nation.

About WHR Group, Inc.

WHR Group Inc. (WHR) is a privately owned, client-driven global relocation management company distinguished by its best-in-class service delivery and cutting-edge, proprietary technology. WHR has offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Switzerland, and Singapore. With its 100% client retention rate for the past decade, WHR continues to position itself as the trusted provider in global employee relocation. To learn more about WHR, visit https://whrg.com, or follow @WHRGroup on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

WHR GROUP, INC. NAMED TOP WORKPLACE FOR THE EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

by | May 19, 2021 | Press Release

For the eighth consecutive year, WHR Group, Inc. (WHR) was named a Top Workplace by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. WHR’s passion and founding principle supports Advancing Lives Forward. This passion dictates how we treat our clients and employees. We believe in challenging, engaging, and empowering our employees to grow their careers and be successful. We want our employees to enjoy coming to work and take pride in their work. WHR is proud of this eight-time recognition and our talented team!

Top Workplace awards are based solely on the results of employee survey feedback administered by Energage, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. What makes this award so special, and humbling, is that WHR’s employees provided the survey feedback.

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Colorado Rockies to the Swiss Alps – it’s all coming together

by | May 7, 2021 | News

By Jenny Elsby

Its been a couple of weeks since my last post, and its been a busy period!

I managed to move out of my temporary housing, and into my long term house on the outskirts of Basel. Its lovely to no longer hear boy racers, in their BMW’s driving past my window at 1am in the morning with their music blaring, and of course to be living in an area bigger than 30sqm! There are of course down sides too, namely the fact that I now have a 45 minute commute, albeit an easy one with one direct tram, but namely the fact that my apartment is huuuuge, and its empty! When my husband and I decided to move back to Europe, we decided not to ship any of our furniture; knowing that our American size furniture would likely not suit a European apartment. Whilst it has been liberating to sell or donate everything, it is now the reason why I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor (waiting for my husband to arrive to build the bed), and that an IKEA sofa is the only piece of furniture in my living room. Curtains, TV’s, Dining Tables, and other pieces of furniture are all on the shopping list and are going to be assigned to my husband as a “to do” once he arrives.

Speaking of arriving, this is the other exciting part. After 3 long months, the Swiss Authorities finally granted my husband his Swiss visa. The canton where I lived sent me approval my email, which I then sent to my husband. He sent this together with his passport to the Swiss Consulate in San Francisco, and they issued his visa, hurray!!!!

We have only been apart 3 months but it has felt like a very long time, and although we have been preparing for the move for a year, now it’s starting to get real! Until this point for him, it was always something that would happen in the future, and now with his visa in hand, it has started to dawn on him that this is happening! Cue that he needs to start emptying our house, and getting this, and our car ready for sale. This also means getting the logistics finalized for importing our animals; which has always been our priority! Time to follow up with our banks, insurance companies, pet relocation companies, realtor in the US, and more to finalize the move.

On the Swiss end, because of the quarantine requirements for Americans entering the country, I have been stocking up on the food and other items needed to sustain the family for 10 days. Knowing that like many European fridges, my freezer is just about large enough to hold two pizzas and not much else, that does somewhat limit our options. But regardless, I throw myself into stocking up on supplies, to include lots of pasta! I even venture out to the Asian stores in the vicinity of of our offices, where not only do they do a great selection of hot Indian food, but they also sell a good selections of spices, which will make my seasoning loving Louisiana husband very happy.

Time to book my flight, and of course my PCR test!