Whether you are moving your entire business headquarters to a different state or need to move a few of your best employees to a new location, making it as easy as possible is essential. In general, employees typically aren’t thrilled to have to be relocating, let alone dealing with the entire moving process.
So, how can you help keep morale high, employees focused, and the process moving along smoothly? There are a variety of steps you can take to help make this transition as positive an experience as possible.
Use this guide on five ways you can make relocation easier on your employees as a starting point.
Offer Relocation Benefits
You might find that many of your employees are apprehensive about making the move to a new place. Not only is it going to put a strain on their personal lives, but they’re making a big sacrifice by moving away from where they’ve become established. To help incentivize employees, you may want to consider offering relocation benefits.
While one of the most common relocation benefits is cash in the form of a moving bonus, you can also get creative with other incentives. These employee benefits can include:
Paying for storage costs
Financial assistance for lease-break penalties
An all-expenses-paid house-hunting trip
Reimbursement for transportation
Compensation for relocation-related expenses like a new driver’s license
Temporary childcare
Spousal support (helping them find a new job, etc.)
Furnishing allowance
Remote Work Opportunities
Sometimes you risk losing your best employees by shutting down one office and relocating to another—this is especially true when it comes to greater distances like a different state or country. If you run the risk of losing prized employees due to the move, you may want to consider offering remote work options.
While this might not seem ideal because you’re worried about time-zone differences, productivity, and other risks of switching workers to remote roles, it could also be the easiest way to keep your best talent. As more and more of the work force seeks out work-from-home opportunities, this may also be your best bet for recruiting new employees.
If you are going to offer remote work opportunities, consider whether you’re going to make that call on a per-employee basis, only offer this option to certain teams, or if anyone within the company could take advantage of this perk. This could also just be a temporary solution while they prepare to move (for example, if they need time to sell their house).
Assist Them With Moving Household Goods
As anyone who’s ever moved knows, the worst part of the process is packing, loading, transporting, and unloading. To help ease this burden for your employees, consider connecting them with a moving company who can handle these aspects for them. There are even corporate relocation companies who specialize in these kinds of moves, so they are highly capable of making the transition as smooth as possible for your valued employees.
Cover Temporary Housing and Hotels
Not only is moving stressful and tiring, but it can be expensive. Since your employees have to find new housing, it could take a while to figure out where they want to live in relation to the office, what they can afford in the area, and when they can actually move—there may be a bit of a waiting period in especially populous areas.
To help offset these costs, offer to cover temporary housing or hotels for a certain amount of time. This will help take some pressure off the situation—after all, they’re likely going to have to come up with extra money for a deposit or down payment that they haven’t necessarily had a long time to prepare for. Surely your employees will appreciate this gesture.
Have the Office Ready Before Arrival
Getting used to a new office and potentially new coworkers is going to be an adjustment. One way to make that adjustment easier is ensuring the office is completely set up before their arrival.
From having the kitchen stocked to making sure all office equipment is set up and ready to go, having the office in perfect working condition will make their first days a lot easier. Instead of having to deal with roadblocks and a hectic workspace, they’ll be welcomed into a pristine office that’s running like a well-oiled machine. Not only will it help ease their nerves, but it will help them get back to peak productivity in no time.
In addition to these tips, keep in mind that an adjustment period is normal. You and your employees will have to have patience with one another during this transitional phase. The most important thing is offering the support your employees need in order to succeed and maintaining good office morale.