POLICY
Relocation policy design and review
To ensure that they have the right people in the right place at the right time, organisations that move individuals or groups of employees need to address how to provide cost-effective yet motivating benefits packages. Underpinning this is the need to develop a relocation policy that provides consistency and fairness such that employees and their families are willing to move to the locations required by their employers, work productively and demonstrate engagement. Dr Sue Shortland explains the role of relocation policy design in achieving these objectives.
enables the attraction, deployment and retention of key personnel, then it is essential to introduce or redesign organisational policy to ensure that individuals and their families can be moved effectively. Companies may also need to review their policy to address a
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number of other pertinent issues. These include, for example: to respond to organisational change such as mergers and acquisitions and the introduction of joint ventures; to address cost savings and compliance issues; and to support the development of talent locally, regionally or globally. It is important to ensure that policies – whether they are designed
afresh or reviewed – reflect the motivations that individuals express for moving and, balanced against this, organisational requirements. Every organisation is different, having its own challenges and
its own culture. Because of this, there can be no single solution or ‘magic answer’ in policy design. That said, a number of basic principles underpin relocation policy design and implementation which are worthy of note.
elocation policy design is a crucial aspect of the mobility and HR functions. If the organisation has no relocation policy currently, or if the policy that is in place no longer
Strategy, culture and structure The first policy design or review step typically involves gaining a detailed understanding of the organisation's strategy, culture and structure and its key drivers for relocating employees. For example, the organisation may be planning a group move when an operation is to be closed or scaled down in one location and the existing employees moved to a different part of the same country or abroad. The company may be in a period of expansion, acquiring other
businesses domestically or internationally. It may be setting up operations in new environments or places where it already has existing units. New projects are also a common driver of mobility. Besides requiring a policy to address organisational activities,
mobility policy design and review may also be required to meet the needs of individual employee relocations. Typically, employers need to ensure that skills gaps are filled, that projects are staffed and managed effectively, and that talent development initiatives provide exposure to different environments in order to build up the competencies of staff. International assignments develop a global mindset, and they are increasingly expected by the younger generation, who see
42 | Re:locate | Autumn 2016
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