Relocation: the balance between costs and success

The exponential speed of communication mediums is increasing pressure on firms regarding the success of their mobility programmes. In parallel, many determined employees are willing to enlarge their geographical scope as a way to boost their career. Although companies and employees are looking toward the same goal, it seems that most of relocation programmes are failing.

A survey conducted for HR magazine reveals that only “18% of global mobility professionals believe their talent mobility programmes meets all of their expectations”. In the meantime, no respondents said it exceeds their expectations. The most quoted issues are high costs, compliance risks and the multiplicity of points of contact.

Indeed, a lot of contacts are involved in the relocation process inside but also outside the company, making it more complex and hard to manage. The current location managers, HR and finance services as well as their counterparts in the office of destination will be involved in the process. In addition, third party services will also be involved regarding logistics with their share of contacts: moving company, temporary residence, real estate agent … The overall project has an important cost for the company.

Fortunately, companies specialised in relocation services are more than used to and able to deal with such multiple contacts projects. The only thing to keep in mind all along the process is that there are people at the centre of the project. The relocated employee and his family need feel everything is done to help them, to satisfy their needs. The personal side in the relocation process is crucial to make the whole programme successful.

On the other hand, the balance between maximum satisfaction for all parties and cost is hard to find and time-consuming. As a result, 25% of respondents ‘identify talent mobility as the most time-consuming and complex HR function’.

Source: HC Online