You’ve just made a great hire. Congratulations! You’re
excited about the contribution that this person will be making to
your department and company. But in the back of your mind,
there’s some hesitation. Will your new hire be able to sell
their house? Is the hire’s family really on board with the
relocation and will they make a successful transition? After
all your time and effort, could you really lose this candidate?
Consider this: According to the Employee Relocation Council, over 70%
of employees reported that the top reasons for their reluctance to
relocate are the housing challenge and family
resistance.
You
may even be saying to yourself, “Relocating people isn’t my
job. That’s a responsibility better left to Human Resources.”
If you’re in HR, though, you may be so focused on other activities
that being a relocation specialist doesn’t fit easily into your
day. However, I’d like to submit to you that a successful
relocation process involves both management and HR. A few
well-placed questions and steps on your behalf during the interview
process can result in a higher success rate for your new hire’s
relocation transition.
First things
first
In your initial talks with this candidate,
preferably during the first interview, ask about the relocation
difficulties the candidate thinks they might encounter. Have
they thought about selling their home? What is the market like
in their area? Have they discussed relocation with the family?
How would it impact the spouse/partner’s career? If there are
children, how would they be impacted? If the candidate hasn’t
begun to think through these issues, your questions will steer them
into researching what is involved in relocating. You’d rather
know now—before you have a lot of time invested—if the candidate is
going to back out due to relocation issues.
One of the biggest concerns candidates have in
today’s economy centers around selling their house. In an
earlier issue, we discussed “Offering Solutions to Candidates in
Today’s Housing Market.” Click here if you’d like to read
that issue. This article suggests creative solutions that you
can present to candidates during the offer stage to offset some of
the most common relocation problems.
Once you have established some interest in the
candidate, involve the spouse as soon as possible. Identify
their concerns, which will most likely include selling the house,
renting vs. buying, the spouse’s occupation, school options for the
children, sports and extra curricular activities, finding good
doctors, and any special needs the family may have.
When you know you’re
interested
You’ve talked with this person enough
to know that you’re looking at your next potential hire. You’re very
interested. The candidate is interested. You want them
to meet with the team and your boss. You’re focused on their
potential integration into your environment. Here’s where you
need to take additional steps to ensure that the family is just as
excited about the opportunity and their successful integration into
new surroundings.
- Involve a good relocation specialist. Some
realtors just sell homes, while others are also relocation
experts. The right relocation specialist/realtor can help
with this integration and answer a lot of questions the family may
have. They also possess the knowledge to help blend the
family’s interests with the community, and you want the family
invested in the community as soon as possible.
- If your budget allows, give the potential
employee an opportunity to bring the entire family to the new
city. They can visit houses, neighborhoods, parks,
restaurants, and any special sites and events your location has to
offer. According to Mickey Matteson, CRP, an Account
Executive with Recruiter Relocation in Scottsdale, AZ, bringing in
the family “sets the stage that you are an employer who is really
concerned with making sure the candidate and family find the job
and the area to be a good fit.”
- After the visit with the relocation
specialist/realtor, Matteson also suggests getting feedback from
them since they have just spent a fair amount of time with your
candidate and their family. They should have valuable
information about what the candidate and their family liked and
disliked about the area.
- If your company doesn’t have a formal process
assisting trailing spouses/partners, offer to help make
introductions to recruiters and/or networking contacts for
assistance in their job search.
- Do you have employees or employee spouses who
would make good ambassadors for the company and the city? Is
there someone in your company who has recently and happily
relocated their family? If so, set them up with the
potential employee and family during the interview process and
after the offer has been accepted. A great ambassador
can alleviate a lot of fears and hesitation.
During the
transition
The offer has been accepted and the
candidate and family are in the process of relocation. This is
probably their most stressful time, and you want to keep them
looking forward—not back. The following suggestions are easily
implemented by the hiring manager and will be appreciated by the
candidate, even if your company has an onboarding program:
- Stay in touch with the new hire during
their transition. Keep them excited and interested by
letting them know that you’ve ordered business cards and a new
computer.
- Take care of administrative details such as voice
mail, e-mail, access to the building, etc. Being pro-active
with these administrative details eliminates distractions later
on.
- Discuss job duties and expectations. Talk
with the new hire about current projects so that they’re involved
from day one.
- Congratulate and welcome the entire family. Give
them something special to look forward to. Perhaps send them
tickets to an upcoming event or attraction in the city-tickets to
a ballgame or an amusement park or a schedule of summer festivals
in their new hometown.
If you’d like additional onboarding tips, click here. If you have any
specific questions, be sure to email me at dan@consearch.com
Most of all, genuinely welcome your new
hire and let them know that you and your team are excited to have
them join the company. Involving the spouse and family might
seem like an extra step, but your chances are much better that you
will actually see your new hire on their start date.
(As always, we value your input regarding the content for our
newsletter. If you have
any ideas or suggestions for future topics, be sure to contact us
at dan@consearch.com
We look forward to hearing from you.)
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