A Strategic Guide to Employee Relocation Services: Packages, Best Practices, and More

Providing employee relocation services can be a powerful strategy for companies looking to recruit and retain top talent, develop leadership, and expand into new markets.

However, managing the process in-house—especially when you’re relocating employees internationally—can quickly become a heavy lift. Between logistical planning, legal compliance, and budget management, it’s a complex undertaking.

A professional employee relocation service company can lighten the load. Whether you’re relocating a single executive or launching a broader global mobility program, the right employee relocation partner can deliver expertise that ensures a smooth transition for your employees.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the key reasons companies invest in employee relocations, walk through common relocation packages, and discuss best practices for your relocation program, ensuring that your company gets a solid return on its investment.

The Benefits of Investing in Employee Relocation Services

Choosing to invest in employee relocation services is a strategic business decision with a number of benefits for employers, including:

In competitive hiring environments, being able to interview employees across the country (or the globe) will give you access to top talent. By paying employee relocation expenses, you’ll be able to recruit beyond your usual geographic area and, if needed, access specialized skill sets.

Additionally, offering a professional, well-executed employee relocation process can give you the edge when a candidate receives multiple offers.

An employee relocation program can also help you attract high-performing executives to your company, while retaining and developing the leaders already on your team:

• When you’re recruiting for certain top-level executive positions, covering relocation expenses may be considered standard practice. Delivering a seamless relocation experience will help you keep pace with the market so you don’t miss out on the best executive talent.

• As you develop your own internal team members, supporting employee relocations enables you to retain team members with their eyes on advancement. For example, when leadership opportunities aren’t available at the current location, a well-managed relocation to another area can help you keep high-performing team members longer. It will also show your support for their professional development, as you cultivate the next generation of leadership.

Poorly managed moves, on the other hand, can lead to employee dissatisfaction and turnover. The right employee relocation service companies offer structure, consistency, and dedicated support, enhancing employee engagement.

Finally, if your company has its eye on opening new locations, paying to relocate key personnel will help your new operation get off the ground quickly. And, in contrast to hiring a whole new team, staffing your location with veterans makes it easier to transfer key aspects of your culture and ensure continuity.

Outsourcing these relocations means your internal team can stay focused on the new operation, while your employee relocation service company can manage all the logistical details of moving staff into unfamiliar markets.

Designing an Effective Employee Relocation Program

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of investing in employee relocation services, let’s talk about the elements of a well-designed relocation policy. A solid policy ensures consistency, sets clear expectations, and can help you manage the associated costs.

Whether you’re building a policy from scratch or refining your current one, consider the following:

Choose the Right Package for Your Goals—and Budget

After executing decades of corporate relocations, we’ve worked with employers offering every type of employee relocation package, including:

• Reimbursement – The employer defines a list of covered relocation expenses, and the employee coordinates and manages their own move. After the move, the employee submits documentation for reimbursement.

• Flat-Dollar / Lump Sum Relocations: The employer offers a lump sum to cover an employee’s relocation expenses. Employees are expected to manage the move on their own.

• In-House Coordination: The employer partners with an international moving company to handle employees’ relocations. This function usually falls to the HR department, which coordinates with the moving company on covered services, budgets, etc.

• Outsourcing to a Relocation Management Company: The employer outsources their employee relocation operations to a relocation management company (RMC). The RMC handles all the moving parts, so there’s much less coordination needed in-house.

Lately, we’ve been seeing a recent trend toward lump sum relocations. These types of employee relocations mean easy administration for employers. They also make costs easier to control—and predict. Lump sum relocations also set very clear expectations for the employees who are relocating. The one downside to lump sum relocations is that they require the employee to research and coordinate their move. Having a few trusted, vetted partners to recommend to your employees can make their responsibilities easier to manage.

Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong answer when choosing your package. It all comes down to your goals—and your budget.

If you’re starting an employee relocation program from scratch, an experienced service provider can help you assemble the right package. With decades of experience, our corporate relocation team would be happy to help with cost-effective relocation solutions for your employees. Just reach out to start a conversation.

Cover Your Legal and Financial Bases

If your employee relocation program will cross international borders, calling in the experts will help your team handle the legal and financial complexities. A global mobility provider or employee relocation service company can deliver immediate expertise in:

• Immigration and Visa Support: Navigating immigration and visa rules can be challenging—and time consuming. Securing assistance with work permits, visas, and legal documentation will free up your team and help your relocating employees get to work faster.

• Tax Compliance and Financial Planning: International relocations can create complex financial situations for both employees and employers. Expert tax advice and administration can offer necessary clarity for both parties.

Consider Additional Services for Smoother Relocations

Finally, as you refine your employee relocation package, you may also want to consider the following services. These add-ons can free up your employees to hit the ground running in their new location:

Culture & Language Training

Relocation ranks among life’s most stressful events. And when an employee is moving to a place with a markedly different culture—or a new language—culture shock is always a possibility. By providing culture and language training beforehand, you may be able to better prepare your employee for the transition, increasing satisfaction and productivity at the same time.

Packing & Unpacking Services

Letting the pros handle the packing and unpacking of your employees’ belongings has a couple of benefits. First, professional packing services reduce the possibility of damage in transit, which sets the stage for a positive relocation experience. Second, knowing that they don’t have to worry about packing their belongings can help keep your employees focused on their work. Finally, packing and unpacking services can lessen the load on spouses and family members, helping your employee keep the stress level at home low.

In fact, some employers take this idea a step further.

Support for Spouses and Families

There’s no question that a move impacts your employee’s entire family, including spouses and kids. When family members are concerned or stressed, those emotions will likely trickle down to your employee, causing them stress and/or creating distractions.

To help ease the transition for family members, some employers offer benefits like job placement assistance, school research, and cultural integration support. If you’re looking for these types of services, consider an employee relocation service provider or global mobility provider that offers these services alongside logistics support for the household goods move.

Employee Relocation Best Practices for Employers

How you manage your employees’ relocation experience can have a lasting impact on employee satisfaction—and the success of your program. The following best practices can help your organization run smoother, more strategic relocations.

1. Start Planning Early—Well Before Offer Acceptance

Begin your employee relocation planning process during the recruiting phase, especially for key roles that are likely to require a move. Involve your employee relocation partner early to help with assembling an attractive relocation package that will seal the deal quickly—and assist you in expense planning.

2. Tailor Packages Based on Role and Situation

Not every employee needs the same level of support. We often see companies offer full-service packages to senior-level executives and lump sum packages to entry- or mid-level employees. A tiered approach can help you control your employee relocation expenses, while delivering competitive levels of support.

3. Track Data and Outcomes

Treat relocation like any other HR program. Track performance and use insights to improve. Consider key metrics such as:

• Days from offer acceptance to start-work date
• Cost per relocation by job tier
• Retention rates post-relocation
• Employee satisfaction with the relocation process, as measured through a post-move survey

4. Choose a Relocation Partner That Can Scale With You

Whether you’re relocating 5 or 500 employees, pick a provider that’s equipped to adapt to your growth trajectory. Look for service providers with the ability to scale their services, provide global coverage, and offer a full range of options suited to all tiers of employee.

Creating an Employee Relocation Program with Impact

Employee relocation can be a powerful strategy in an employer’s talent management playbook—when it’s done right. From attracting top candidates to expanding into new markets and supporting leadership growth, a well-managed relocation program creates lasting value for both employers and employees.

Looking for an employee relocation service company? For more than three decades, we’ve provided specialized employee relocation services to household, corporate, and military clients. We’d love to partner with you to create a simple, easy, and affordable solution for your employee relocations.

Reach out today, and one of our employee relocation experts will be in touch.