Mobility budgets continue to tighten. How does this negatively affect the employee experience?
Organizations often forget the personal side of their employee’s relocation to instead place strong emphasis on getting them from Point A to Point B. If first-choice candidates don’t receive adequate support for their personal and professional needs, companies are likely to see an increase in declines and failure. It’s time to reconsider your relocation policy.
The family deserves more attention than the furniture.
Research proves productivity, engagement, and overall happiness significantly increase1 when policies take care of more than packing the employee’s furniture. Relocation policies that acknowledge the needs of the entire family best set up employees up for success in the new location.
With 61% of US couples2 and 75% of European couples3 being dual-income, recouping that second income is a huge concern for relocating families – and has a huge impact on the quality of the relocation experience. A recent IMPACT Group report reveals the average salary of a spouse/partner is $71,000 USD1. Missing that paycheck can have a dramatic effect on the family.
Ami is a great example of this. She and her husband relocated to Toronto early in 2018. Three months after moving, her husband – who was not receiving job search support – was still struggling to find a new position. Not only was it a demotivating time for the couple, but it was also affecting their economic situation. “We expected he would have found a job by then,” Ami comments. “He’s sent his résumé everywhere and only received one interview.” She reached out to her employer to see if job search services were available for her husband through her relocation policy. Luckily, her company saw the value in spouse job search assistance and added it to her benefit.
Despite job seekers’ best efforts, stalls like this are common when the professional doesn’t receive expert coaching on networking, identifying hiring managers, leveraging the passive job market, and strengthening their social media presence. Research shows that job seekers are 2.67x more likely to find a job when they partner with a career coach.4 This means the length of their job search can be cut in half. Considering the average salary mentioned above, families have the potential of saving of $20,624 when they land a job in half the time.
A small investment in relocation policy support saves thousands.
Looking at the total cost of a relocation, the small investment for spousal job search support is barely a blip on the radar. When it has the potential to put thousands of dollars back in the family’s pocket, relieve stress, and improve the employee relocation experience, it deserves to be a core benefit for all employees.
1 People Perspective on Relocation Report, IMPACT Group
2 Employment Characteristics of Families, Bureau of Labor Statistics
3 Emerging trends in earnings structure of couples in Europe, European Commission
4 Effectiveness of Job Search Interventions, Harvard Business Review
