As a company that moves employees frequently, you know intimately there’s a lot more to relocating than calling a moving van. From house-hunting to policy consulting to dealing with rental agreements, there are many elements to consider when constructing a domestic or international relocation program. And while some might say that the perfect relocation process doesn’t exist, everyone at WHR Group would disagree (a lot). We know that while every move is unique to the individual, there are best practices and processes that make every relocation program truly perfect for your organization and culture. Here are a few examples of how you can create a successful program based on your needs and capacity, and how to execute.
A Tiered Policy Approach
The benefit of a set, tiered approach is simplicity. We create policy tiers during implementation that match the organization and transferee’s needs, leaving little to no administration work when a relocation is initiated. For example, all director level homeowners would receive the same tier and benefits. There is no guesswork and the tiered approach promotes consistency and fairness.
A Core Flex Approach
While a traditional tiered approach can be a bit rigid for some cultures, you can add a level of flexibility by creating a tiered core flex program. An example would be that every employee would receive the same “core” benefits, such as a household goods move and tax and immigration assistance. Then, depending on the tier, the transferee would be able to select from a list of ancillary benefits like temporary housing, spousal assistance, or storage. Tier 1 might get to choose 2 additional benefits while Tier 2 might only get one. This not only promotes flexibility but puts an eye on cost containment as well.
In this way, your relocation program will not only provide consistent and positive results, it will align with your company’s talent management targets for long-term business growth and hiring objectives. While a relocation program may differ based on a company’s budget, resources, and business goals; it should always get a transferee where they need to be in a way that makes them happy.
In doing so, they can focus completely on their new job without a lot of hassle, and you can feel great knowing that the entire process was financially viable and stress-free as possible.
Creative and Flexible Programs
In order to service every demographic and age group, you may need to offer even more flexibility within your relocation program. Many transferring employees now prefer to handle their relocation without the one-on-one assistance of a relocation counselor. We at WHR provide a technology-driven, self-move tool where transferees who are receiving a simple lump sum can access our independent supplier network and discounts themselves. Through our transferee portal and mobile app, your employees can select which suppliers they receive bids from, set up their own dates, and pay their own bills. Our portal and app do include an instant messaging feature should they need a question answered.
Another great program that offers superior flexibility, but more support, is a managed lump sum program. As compared to the simple lump sum program, the managed lump sum option contains an added layer of service with a dedicated counselor at their disposal from start to finish. Whether it’s gathering bids, setting up direct pay options from employer to supplier, opting to use Airbnb as a relocation tool, or just needing expert advice; this option allows you as the organization the control to create restrictions around how budgets are used.
Of course, similar to the tale of Goldilocks, you’re seldom providing a lump sum amount that’s just right. Because we understand that some relocation programs don’t serve the whole of a transferee’s needs, if an employee with a family desires many house-hunting trips, or they want to ship the family pet, we can also create an a la carte program that’s customizable to those specific requirements. Each transferee may get a tailored program detailed to their move. While this option does take additional administrative time and can be difficult to forecast from a budget standpoint, it ensures your employees receive the exact assistance they need throughout the entire relocation process. Be sure to steer clear of any semblance of discrimination.
24/7 Communication and Support
It goes without saying that poor communication can lead to stress, performance issues, high turnover rates, and negative watercooler conversations. The last thing any company needs is a previously transferred employee encouraging another who is considering a move NOT to go through with it because the experience was so bad. This is why we put such a high emphasis and value on proactive workflows and concrete results.
Moves are all about the people and our processes start with our people. Our empathetic counselors are hand-selected and highly trained on what makes a perfect relocation process—and every client receives a two-person team who will reach out to help explain, manage, and discuss all services and support impacting the policy before questions even arise. From there, our workflows are designed to identify pain points before they become problems. From setting appointments and finding temporary housing, to ensuring consistent and timely updates on each service along the way; we are constantly looking for potential complications so we can proactively identify solutions before the issue ever arises. Layered into every experience is our amazing technology, including our mobile chat app where transferees can get policy guidance, benefit updates, and access to all timelines.
Our relocation process is specific, purposeful—and it works. It’s the reason our clients trust us with the critically important job of relocating their most valuable employees. At the end of the day, it’s not a relocation company’s size that’s at the heart of their success, but the forethought they put into their processes and the conviction they have in constantly pursuing even better ways to care for their clients.
