Corporate relocation programs involve moving an employee to a different and far-off branch of the company. Corporate relocation companies help employees move to the location that the company specifies.

During the employee relocation process, a worker relocation team can provide you with a slew of helpful services. Not only can it help introduce the employee to the new job, but can also help with the housing and vehicle needs. An employer can benefit from these services to save time and energy setting up the employee in the new location.

1. Get employee relocation information. Find out how the industry works and who can benefit from the services.

2. Determine the employee relocation services that you require. A company may provide assistance with job placement, moving goods, finding housing that fits your budget and vehicle rentals or ownership.

3. Get employee relocation assistance. Hire an employment relocation firm to help with all aspects of the move.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Research relocation services for employees

Employee relocation can involve a company that decides to relocate an employee to another branch or an employee that wishes to find a new position in a different area. If a company has decided to move an employee, it is expected that the company will have to cover the costs of the move.

I recommend: Yahoo Hotjobs provides some helpful information on relocating and what type of services a company can offer during the employee relocation process. BNET gives some tips on how to manage employee’s relocation and how to make things go smoothly for all parties.

Investigate employee relocation programs and services

Once you learn the employee relocation basics, you can take advantage of the many services offered by different companies. These companies address many pertinent issues, such as home selling/buying, moving household items, review of relocation policies, information on area neighborhoods and more.

I recommend: HRTOOLS presents ways to introduce effective employee relocation strategies and how to avoid losing an important member of your staff. The article discusses some basic and advanced corporate relocation services as well. Just for Tips looks at the expected role of the human resource department in making the most of corporate relocation.

Hire corporate relocation companies

If you need assistance relocating employees, contact a company and inquire about the cost of an employee relocation program. Outsourcing the relocation work to another company can help relieve your human resources department from spending valuable time on the process.

I recommend: Quantum Relocation Services will manage all aspects of an employee’s move to a new area. A coordinator will help with the sale of current housing, locating new housing and making sure the physical move goes smoothly. Contact Ace Relocation Systems for a free consultation. The company will put together a proposal in order to get the employee relocated successfully with a reduced cost to the company.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  International employee relocation will involve many more expenses than a domestic relocation. Additional services required will include international shipping of goods, vehicle shipping, customs clearance and alien registration.

Employee relocation from one office to another is likely to be a necessity at some point, given ever-changing market conditions. Whether you are relocating employees to staff up a new office, or moving your entire operation to be closer to your suppliers or customers, employee relocation is a gesture of confidence in your workforce. When you value employees enough to relocate them instead of simply hiring new ones, you want to make the relocation as painless as possible.

There are a number of employee relocation services available, depending on your geographic location. When it comes to your valued employees, corporate relocation companies are helpful, but you will want to oversee the relocation process to be sure your people get the best care.

In addition to buying and selling houses, renting temporary quarters and moving household goods, employee relocation also involves changes to contracts and benefit packages. Here are some things to consider before undertaking an employee relocation:

1. Cost of living differential between locations.
2. Seamless health insurance coverage during a corporate relocation.
3. Transferring union and professional association affiliations.

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The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Help your employees sell an old house and buy a new one

Regardless of the current housing market, when you are doing an employee relocation you want the processes of selling the old house and buying a new one to go quickly and smoothly.

I recommend: Unless you are in the real estate business, your best bet is to contact a corporate relocation specialist like ERA to help your relocating employees sell their current home and purchase one in the new location.

Find temporary housing for employee relocation

Of course, it is important to keep your relocating employees comfortable during the transition, and employees who are moving with families will have additional accommodation needs like pet-friendly apartments and access to schools.

I recommend: Using a large corporate housing provider, such as Bridge Street World Wide can cut down on your stress by making several choices available to the employees you are relocating.

Coordinate a moving service for household goods

Many corporate relocation companies contract out for moving services. If you want a more reliable and less expensive alternative, hire a moving company yourself. You'll want to stick with a large and reputable mover, one that specializes in corporate relocation.

I recommend: Moving Explorer provides online tools and makes it easy to get quotes and compare rates on moving services.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When engaging employee relocation services, keep your relocating employees in mind. Moving is stressful, even in the most positive circumstances. Your employees not only have to be concerned with a new office, co-workers and job duties, but they also may be responsible to a spouse and children.
• •  Market the new location to your employees who face relocation. Get all the information you can on schools, neighborhoods, employment opportunities for spouses and social outlets. By being a positive resource for helpful information, you can ease the transition for your employees and maintain a larger percentage of their productivity during the transition.

If you need to relocate one of your employees, you’ll want to learn how to make the best out of the corporate relocation process. Your goal should be to make the process go smoothly while also offering an employee relocation package that will appeal to the candidate.

Many times, hiring corporate relocation companies can help a company tremendously with the process. The company can help the employee sell and buy a new residence, provide neighborhood information and assist in the move of their household goods. Making the most of employee relocation means to:

1. Put together an attractive worker relocation program. Since an employee may resist a move at first, you’ll have to make the deal as attractive as possible while staying in budget.

2. Discover ways to help both the company and employee benefit from the relocation. Plan out how to transition the new position to the branch.

3. Hire a company that provides employee relocation services. Receive quotes and work these numbers into your budget for the employment relocation.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find employee relocation services information

Provide your employee with as much information in order to make the transition to the new position seamless as possible. Keeping the employee happy can ensure that they stay on with the company and perform their duties as expected when arriving at the new location.

I recommend: Career Catalyst has a comprehensive resource guide to employees who plan to relocate for a position. Tips include how to conduct community research and a moving advice guide. AOL Jobs in conjunction with CareerBuilder provides information for an employee who plans to relocate for a company.

Make the most out of employee relocation programs and services

Employee relocation companies can help you with the tasks involved. These companies address many pertinent issues, such as home selling/buying, moving household items, review of relocation policies, information on area neighborhoods and more. Your human resources department will also play a large role in the employee relocation program.

I recommend: HR.com presents ways to introduce effective employee relocation strategies and how to avoid losing an important member of your staff. This community driven site encourages forum discussions on worker relocation between human resource professionals. Go to the Expert looks at the expected role of the human resource department in making the most of corporate relocation and provides some general tips.

Partner with companies to help your corporate relocation program

If you frequently relocate employees to other areas of the country, you'll have to thing of long term ways to budget for their moves. You can contact different service providers to offer a partnership in order to save on relocation services for employees. Consider contacting mortgage lenders and moving companies about your relocation program.

I recommend: Temple University has partnered with several moving companies to help with the relocation of their staff. Wachovia offers special mortgages to employees that are planning to relocate for their company. They also offer direct billing options for corporations.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Another way to make the most of employee relocation is to introduce the candidate gradually to the new position, especially if it's an upper management job. Make time to schedule several telephone conferences and visits in order to ease the transition.

Employee relocation is a program used by many companies that have multiple branches throughout the United States or in other countries. The employee relocation process involves coordinating the move along with setting up the employee in his or her new position. Employee relocation can also involve the reimbursement of fees associated with relocating the employee and his or her family members. To assist the human resources department, many businesses choose to hire companies that provide employee relocation services.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Employee relocation services

Employee relocation services are a series of services provided by a company to assist with a move. This may include mortgage arrangement, car rentals, coordinating moving trucks and providing a company with cost reports.

I recommend: SIRVA has an overview of employee relocation services offered through the company.

Human resources

The human resources department will handle the tasks involved with relocating an employee to a different location. HR teams typically take on all of the roles of relocation unless the company decides to outsource to an employee relocation services company.

I recommend: Just for Tips has an article about the role of the human resources department in relation to employee relocation.

Home buying

Home buying relates to the buyout of the employee's home as well as securing the employee a new residence as part of the employee relocation package. Buyout programs can help speed up the process since the relocation will not have to be put on hold until the employee sells the home.

I recommend: HRTools.com contains information about home buying assistance that may be part of employee relocation.

Employee relocation costs

Another major key term for job relocation is employee relocation costs. Employee relocation costs are the charges associated with the process of moving the employee to the new job site. Job relocation costs can include home reimbursement, transportation costs and moving expenses.

I recommend: The United Relocation Group has a breakdown of reported employee relocation costs as well as the priciest expenses involved with the move.

Corporate housing

Instead of purchasing real estate, renting out corporate housing is another alternative. Corporate housing sites are temporary solutions, and will often have many of the same amenities as a hotel.

I recommend: BridgeStreet Worldwide breaks down the inclusions when choosing corporate housing for employee relocation.

Negotiation relocation package

An employee and employer will need to negotiate the terms of the relocation prior to finalizing the deal. The negotiation relocation package will include both compensation and reimbursement for expenses.

I recommend: The San Diego Homes 4 U has a listing of different items that are negotiated prior to a relocation settlement being reached.