So you’re in talks with a potential relocating employee. You’re hoping this first-choice candidate accepts the international assignment. But, in a world where employees have a plethora of employment options and companies are scrambling to hire/retain talent, what can you do to ensure she accepts the position?
71% of Employers Experience Relocation Offer Declines
According to the Atlas Momentum Survey 2020, 71% of large companies (more than 5,00 employees) had employees that declined a relocation opportunity. Before you offer the relocating employee a truckload of cash or a corner office, you might want to investigate why talent might reject the offer.
Why Do First-Choice Candidates Say “No” to Relocation
For years, surveys conducted by various relocation management companies have revealed consistent feedback. Employees are clear about the issues that keep them from accepting a move: It’s the family and significant others.
According to the Brookfield Global Mobility Mobility Trends Survey, 2015, the top two reasons for refusal are family concerns (ranked #1 by 46% of respondents) and the spouse/partner’s employment (ranked #2 by 33% of respondents.) Family issues are certainly prominent as a relocating employee. These include everything from education and special needs resources for kids to elder care for aging parents.
The second reason – spouse/partner employment – is no surprise either. Finding a job is difficult in your home country, let alone in a foreign city. Add in a cultural or language barrier, and the job seeker is downright overwhelmed. Often the unknowns of a global move have people declining an offer without exploring it in depth. Fear can take over and drive their decision more than anything. This makes needs assessments crucial during the initial stages of the offer.
According to the Brookfield Global Mobility Study, 69% of organizations believe spouse/partner career issues will become more important to their company’s ability to attract employees for assignments. Proactively address these issues during the decision stage of the relocation. Making it clear what relocation support is provided during the assignment can affect the answer you receive from your potential employee.
Will Your Relocating Employee Say Yes? Points to Ponder
Years of experience teach us that comprehensive relocation benefits are crucial to employee – and company – success. They increase acceptance rates and enable employees to focus on their job faster, knowing their growing to-do lists are being managed during the stressful transition.
Create the best-case scenario for the possible relocating employee. Address the two barriers mentioned. A career and integration coach can provide much-needed answers to prepare the spouse/partner for launching a successful job search in a new country while also addressing the family’s needs to successfully integrate into the new culture.
Eliminate uncertainty and fears that drive candidates to hesitate about an international or domestic assignment. Keep issues from creeping up after the relocation honeymoon phase is over. Watch our webinar on key ways to increase your candidate pool for additional information on securing top talent for international assignments!
