In this pandemic-affected atmosphere of work, there is much discussion about suburbanization, the desire of workers and families to move from urban areas to suburban, or even rural, locales. The focus on family, quality of life outside of office hours and increasing concern about comfortable working/teaching/living spaces is a noteworthy by-product of what we are all living through. With the increase of many companies’ comfort with a remote work strategy, there is greater flexibility around where and how people work. While some companies are working hard toward normalizing and returning to the usual business model, there have been some distinct changes around how frequently some employees might need to be in a physical office, their home office or even a company’s headquarters. While we don’t anticipate this to be an overwhelming trend affecting global mobility, we do think it is smart to have it as part of your holistic, talent mobility strategy for appropriate scenarios.

While companies have not traditionally offered financial support around volunteer relocations, there is some notable movement to supporting the logistical concerns of moving at an employee’s request. If employee goodwill, retention of hard-to-find talent and geographic disbursement of the workforce are integral parts of the talent strategy, a company might take a look at cost neutral, innovative ways to meet the needs of the Employee Requested Relocation through the relationship you have already established with a relocation management provider.

What services, similar to what is currently offered in company-requested relocation, are available to help support these employee-driven requests? What support, if any, will the company offer toward an Employee Requested Relocation? Is an affinity portal a good, strategic move for the company for self-initiated and self-directed moves?

By utilizing your current corporate discounts and the variety of products available, you may be able to offer a self-move scenario to employees that benefits them (and your company) in many ways. The employee who has requested the move can still access the discounts you already enjoy for your relocation program, and can pay out of pocket for the services while accessing the managed supply chain of well-vetted suppliers. Plus, having access to a relocation management company will streamline their process and avoid the loss of productivity that can come when they’re on their own. Your program becomes their program.

We can advise on the type of services a company might want to consider supporting for Employee Requested Moves, and policy development should you determine this is part of your longer-term talent management strategy. Some considerations include: equitable decisioning around employee support for ERMs, state tax compliance with relocating employees, strategies for mitigation of employee productivity loss, transferable traditional policy benefits, Cost of Living analyses, and more.

Feel free to contact us for more information or to start a conversation regarding your program for Employee Requested Relocations.