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Management

Top Four Ways To Retain Talent During Business Relocation

Better amenities, talent pools, tax breaks, affordable real estate and increased odds of success are just a few of the reason’s businesses choose to relocate. A new address has the potential to improve profitability, provide access to new markets, increase employee happiness and even lower the overall costs of doing business.

However, in addition to logistics, moving costs and operational disruption, a lack of an effective relocation strategy can also increase the risk of losing valuable employees. Backed up with research, Lucinda Pullinger, Global Head of HR at Instant Offices gives a breakdown on how employers can retain their most valuable talent during their plans to relocate.

The topic of relocation can be polarizing in the workplace as one report by CRG Global revealed nearly two-thirds of employees declined relocation in 2017, with family ties and partner job commitments ranking top two on the list of reasons for reluctance.

However, when asked which relocation assistance perks are most valuable, research by Topia shows 57 percent of US employees ranked a relocation allowance as their top choice, followed by housing assistance at 53 percent.  A survey by Robert Half shows the top factors influencing employees to move include better pay and perks, with 44 percent saying these are major decision swayers.

Geography also plays a major role in the willingness of talent to relocate, with more workers likely to move to a location if it is relatively close, according to a study by YouGov.

When it comes to crossing borders, Sourcing Focus, one of the largest relocation surveys covered 28,000 employers across 27 countries. The survey revealed that 78 percent of people are willing to relocate within their national borders or abroad for increased pay, to advance their careers or to learn another language. US currently tops as the number one work destination for people to consider relocating for a new job as the table below shows:

Top 10 Work Destinations

United StatesUnited Arab Emirates
UKFrance
IndiaItaly
CanadaGermany
AustraliaArgentina

Retaining Talent During a Relocation

Finding and keeping top talent is crucial for business success, so whether moving one city away or setting off abroad, there are ways to retain your top workers during a big move.

  • Offer a Relocation Package

Replacing an employee can cost up to six times their salary, on average, in recruiting and training expenses, and impact morale and overall productivity, according to research by Accounts and Legal. If aiming to retain talent, relocation packages can be negotiated and may include things like assistance with moving costs, legal fees, travel costs or temporary accommodation.

  • Support the Transition

Whether by helping financially or curating a list of resources to assist with a stress-free move, ease the concerns of your talent by providing a clear, step-by-step road map of what the move entails, what it means for their career and how the business is willing to assist.

  • Encourage Flexibility

Support employees who have loose ends to tie up and agree on a realistic time frame for moving. By introducing flexible hours and providing an agile work environment, employees can ease into a job in a new location while balancing the act of settling into a new environment.

  • Consider Remote Work

With the growth of technology and the increase in flexible office space and co-working options in major cities around the world, your workforce can connect from anywhere.

Founded in 1999, The Instant Group is a workspace innovation company that rethinks workspace on behalf of its clients injecting flexibility, reducing cost and driving enterprise performance. Instant places more than 7,000 companies a year in flexible workspace such as serviced, managed or co-working offices including Sky, Network Rail, Capita, Serco, Teleperformance, Worldpay is making it the market leader in the flexible workspace.

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