Relocating can be a major life change, and it can be challenging to convince top talent to relocate for work. Companies often have a lot at stake, and it can be critical to attract the best talent to regional offices and operations to achieve long-term success. Fortunately, there are several strategies that employers can use to convince their top talent to make the move. This article will provide insights into the tried and tested methods that have successfully ensured that top talent relocates with more ease and motivation.
To incentivise your specialists and managerial employees to relocate, you’ll need to highlight all the benefits of the relocation. These might include an increase in career opportunities, a better quality of life, an increased salary, or a chance to work in a new and exciting environment. Be specific when highlighting these benefits. Create a package that is personalised to each employee’s individual interests and aspirations, such as any leisure or outdoor activities the new location offers, educational opportunities, and any other incentives you may feel relevant to their lifestyle and personality type.
The thing that puts many people off relocating for their career is the expense of an international move, as well as the sheer enormity of the task. To help with the financial and administrative burden of relocating, provide your employees with generous financial support for the relocation, as well as helpful advice and support dealing with the practicalities of their move. This may include covering moving expenses, offering temporary housing, or paying for travel expenses to visit the new location before the move.
There’s a lot more involved with an international move than the financial side, and many people don’t even know where to begin making the arrangements, especially if they have families, pets, and established commitments and friendship groups here in the UK. As their employer, you can be a strong resource and helping hand at every stage of the move. Help your employee find a suitable home in a nice area, network with local colleagues and expatriates, find good schools for their children, and help them locate other essential resources in their new location including supermarkets, doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, and leisure facilities. This extra layer of handholding helps employees to feel taken care of and happier to make the move.
Seamless and crystal-clear communication between your business and your employee is vital when it comes to relocating your top talent. Remember that however resilient and capable they are at work, they are still human beings with normal anxiety and stress responses, and an international relocation can easily become overwhelming.
Help your employees manage their stress levels by keeping them informed throughout the relocation process, providing regular updates, and answering any questions that they may have. This can help mitigate anxiety and build trust. Furthermore, make sure your employees have enough breathing space from their day-to-day work responsibilities to successfully manage their move and any responsibilities they have at home during and after the move – this will hopefully avoid any sense of burnout and overwhelm that could impact their work performance.
It is a lonely business leaving an established workplace and community for a completely new environment where you don’t know anybody and may not even speak the local language. This can foster a sense of alienation and stress that may damage employee retention, so help your employees forge a personal connection to their new location by introducing them to colleagues, organising social events, and providing opportunities to explore the area. This will help your employees put down roots and become more familiar with their new city or town, as well as make new friends and social contacts.
The best way to encourage employees to consider relocating to a new location for work is by putting in place a support network to help facilitate their move and alleviate their anxieties and concerns. At Galleon International, we help businesses relocate employees between the UK, Europe, the USA, and other global locations. To find out more, please get in touch today.
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