""When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them."
~ Rodney Dangerfield

Some of the biggest challenges recruiting new hires, as well as relocating or transferring existing employees, are family concerns, the cost of living and housing issues. And just as important, the unwillingness to move to an undesirable area. These concerns are up nearly 50% from 2002, according to the Employee Relocation Counsel, founded in 1964 to provide current issues and trends for the movement of employees.

Relocation Strategies for Uncertain Times
In an article from Workforce Management magazine, representatives of 45 major companies met with a leading relocation real estate company to review the factors creating volatility in the real estate markets. The meeting included discussions about how these factors might affect relocation policies and to identify strategies to prepare senior management for uncertain times ahead. The top 9 strategies they came up with include:

1. End or modify mortgage interest differential assistance. Most programs require a difference of just a few percentage points, and with rates increasing from record lows, just about everyone might soon qualify for mortgage interest differential assistance. So either delete the program before this provision can drive program costs through the roof, or establish a minimum threshold (i.e., rates must be more than 10 percent of the difference greater than 5 percent for like mortgages).


2. Add back loss-on-sale provisions. If you add this potentially expensive provision, tie eligibility to aggressive marketing requirements like maximum list price guidelines and the requirement to present all potential offers. This will increase the likelihood of a quicker sale and minimize the compounded costs of loss on sale and extensive carrying costs.


3. Decrease marketing time to 60 days. This will provide a sense of urgency to transferees and encourage them to capitalize on pricing the home right initially since they won't have the luxury of "testing the market."


4. Increase temporary living period by additional 30 days. Gives employees a little more time to market the home while it is lived in, which is when it will show best. This also may prevent exceptions.


5. Give hiring managers discretion for relocation bonuses. Take the relocation bonus out of the relocation department (if you have one). This allows the company to implement consistent policies but provides the hiring manager—who will be paying the bill—the opportunity to adjust the bonus to get the ideal candidate.


6. Offer buyer incentives, such as a mortgage buydown. Buyer incentives will help employee or candidate properties stand out from the mounting competition, draw traffic to the listing and increase the probability of a quicker sale. Mortgage buydowns are particularly effective because in addition to differentiating the home in the marketplace, they overcome affordability issues and allow those buyers who feel they may have "missed the market" to participate.


7. Consider revising incentive programs. A sliding-scale incentive may encourage employees and new hires to price right initially, when it will have the most impact (i.e., 2 percent if an outside offer is generated within 30 days, only 1 percent over the next 30 days).


8. Use a lump sum for expenses. Supported with the right level of services and counseling, a lump sum gives employees and new hires more flexibility to meet unexpected costs and stretch their allowances to cover delays, while minimizing exceptions. Highly recommended is a lump-sum credit card, which also provides valuable cost tracking and expedites the delivery of funds to the individual.


9. Add a payback provision. Payback agreements dictate that employees and new hires will be responsible for covering a portion of their relocation costs if they leave the company within a specified period of time after their move. Many companies have extended the provisions of their payback agreement to a two-year period, rather than one. Evaluate your own retention statistics so you can appreciate the real cost of relocation if you experience a higher-than-average turnover among transferees and new hires.

To get our free Relocation Guideline recommending what's "always" provided, "typically" provided, and what is "negotiable," email me at les@execsearchintl.com

In our last survey, "How do you find great (management, senior-level) people?" Referrals and retained recruiters got the most mentions, followed by networking and existing employees. Internet, newspaper ads, and contingency recruiters got the least mentions.

Hope to see you!

Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) Boston, May 21—23

Internet Retailer 2007 Conference
San Diego, June 4—7. I'll be speaking there.

If you would you like to comment about this article, or have ideas about future articles please email me at les@execsearchintl.com.

Executive Search International is a nationally recognized boutique firm providing best practice search and recruiting services for client organizations, ranging from multinational corporations to small entrepreneurial businesses.

Les Gore, founder and managing partner, is an over 20-year veteran of the "recruiting wars," and has been called "The Dean of Direct Marketing Executive Recruiters."