You might think that relocation services are just about finding a new home in your desired country for your employee. On the contrary, global relocation services help the employer, employee, and HR have a smoother transition.
In this article, we will tell you what global relocation is, what services exist, and layout a comprehensive global relocation guide. Remember that most companies have a relocation policy, which their HR and management put together. So, before you create your relocation strategy, make sure to read through this article.
What Is Global Relocation?
Global relocation is a term used to describe when a company moves its employee, or entire sector, to another location.
Every day companies are moving around the world, to broaden their horizons, minimize taxes, or take advantage of a shifting economy. That is why global relocation services have become so popular. It’s a sizable chunk of work for a family to move across town. Imagine how much work would an international move include.
What Are Global Relocation Services?
Since hours of planning and even more hours for acting on the plan are needed, when international relocation is in question, most companies search for a global relocation service. These are entirely different companies, which propose help throughout the global mobility process.
Global relocation services include operational, planning, taxing, and strategic undertaking of the relocation policy, strategy, or plan. They help companies of all sizes reach their final destination as smoothly as possible.
When moving, the company needs to reimburse or fund in advance several expenses for their employee, like rewards, immigration, taxes, compensation, transportation, travel, and payroll.
Why Is Global Relocation so Popular?
Global relocation aims to put the most qualified personnel in the right position. Move management services help to accomplish that. With a skill-based work market, it’s important to be globally mobile.
Relocation Guide: What Do Global Relocation Services Entail?
Research shows that around 10% of all moves in the U.S. relate to work, and after the pandemic, this number is surely going to move upwards.
Research the Culture
When moving to another part of the globe, any information you can share with your relocating team members is priceless to your personnel. Try to accommodate your employees to the new workspace even before they start their journey. Information like weather, culture, and food is key in understanding their new environment.
Also, encourage your employees to do their research too. Ask them if they have any special medication they need or hobbies they want to take part in when relocated. Acknowledge all their needs!
Transporting Furniture, Supplies, and Equipment
When planning transportation, you need to take into consideration what your employee can’t work without. Is it their computer or their favorite office chair? You can start by simplifying this task as much as possible and then moving up in the size and complexity of the items.
Decide how you will transport the goods, by mail, international movers, truck rental, or will the employee handle this themselves?
Planning Ahead
These relocation guides and tasks are pointless without a steady plan. This is where the company’s human resources department and the rest of the management need to collaborate. In fact, a global mobility plan is the core of any global relocation, regardless of whether one is moving one person, an entire department, or the whole office.
A relocation strategy will help you with transitioning your employees into a new country. This is a very complex process and varies from company to company. The human resources, management, and finance departments need to collaborate and develop this strategy together.
Budgeting
As most things are in a company, costs play a crucial role in planning and performance. Checking shipping costs is crucial when determining if it’s cheaper to buy something new or have it shipped.
This is just the start of this list. It goes on, extending on real estate ownership, legal matters, and travel expenses.
Researching Legal, Tax, and Immigration Requirements
Before global relocation, a company needs to understand the legal and tax requirements in demand. Different legal systems, taxation, and foreign policies can limit factors in international mobility. Therefore, we recommend doing thorough research on these requirements.
Longer stays overseas require regulatory obligations. If a company does nothing, they can be fined, or they will have to pay income tax in both countries. Therefore, taxation, legal, and immigration requirements are all met or acknowledged, before deciding on global relocation.
Real Estate
The most obvious of all global relocation services are real estate purchases or rentals. Most companies believe that buying a house and setting employees on their way is everything global relocation is.
It’s much more complex. In the example of real estate, it also depends on whether the employee was a homeowner or renter, new hire, or old associate. Some companies offer a “guaranteed buyout” program as part of their benefits package. A solid move management services provider can help accomplish this.
Employee Satisfaction
In the end, all that matters is your employee’s satisfaction. You want to make it as easy of a transition as possible, to make sure you keep our associates as long as possible.
On the other hand, if things don’t run smoothly, you could experience the employee leaving the company even before the relocation, or as soon as the transition period is finished.
FAQ
Q: What is global relocation?
A: As opposed to domestic relocation, international relocation or global relocation means relocating your employees on an international scale. This includes planning, regulations, and actions done to legally transition the employee, but also finding a new home, transportation of household goods, and travel plans.
Q: What does a global relocation service do?
A: A relocation service offers an array of global relocation services, from the transportation of goods and real estate purchase to planning and maintaining. These businesses specialize in moving from one country or region to another.
Conclusion
The key to a successful global relocation is to plan ahead and keep the employee in mind. Set out an adequate method by using this relocation guide and compensate for their time invested. In the long run, the company benefits from thoughtful, well-executed move management.
Now that you know how much planning is included in a global move, you see how much work it is for one HR department to handle.
If you are looking for a global relocation services company that can help you make the process run as smoothly as possible, we can help. Contact us to learn more about our business and make your relocation process easier!