Employee relocations are a huge undertaking for any company, whether the relocation is international or domestic and conducted using your in-house workforce or outsourced. Many companies which have been relocating employees tend to stick to the mechanisms they know work for them – but in current times where innovation can happen overnight with the advancement of tech and AI, it is worth stepping off that beaten track to explore more efficient options out there. 

This article provides a breakdown of things to consider when choosing a provider as well as a list of some of the different types of corporate relocation providers.

What is Corporate Relocation 

Corporate relocation is a standard business practice, which allows employers to diversify and optimise their workforce. In other words, it’s a global talent acquisition. The goal for the employer is to move the employee, their family and their belongings from Location A to Location B quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. 

As it is quite a challenging process, the majority of companies involved in international hire and employee relocation outsource the bulk of the relocation process to providers specialising in this type of services – such as Repit.

On top of the work involved in relocating an employee, the costs can quickly mount up if the employer does everything themselves. It is therefore more cost-efficient, quicker and more productive to have the relocation outsourced to external service providers. 

Cost vs Quality 

Whilst it is tempting to outsource your corporate relocation needs to the least expensive service provider, it is worth recognising the importance of quality service, and creating a program that shows relocating employees that they are valued, and places companies searching for new talent in a more attractive light, thanks to their impressive relocation benefit package.

An experienced corporate relocation provider leads the process based on their expertise and know-how. They can then unload the weight off the shoulders of your HR, Talent Acquisition and Global Mobility teams. Having a third party specialist conducting the relocation, the HR can shift their focus and prioritise quality onboarding together with an appropriate level of support to make the employee feel welcome in the new location. 

As a result, this has a direct impact on employee morale and satisfaction, which then leads to improved employee retention rates and promotes the goodwill of the company – which then ultimately leads to the growth of the company and often increasing their revenue. 

Discounted supplier rates 

Another benefit of outsourcing corporate relocation to a specialist provider is that in order to exist and do their job seamlessly, they have strong relationships with suppliers such as moving companies, rental market specialists (or like Repit, are experts in both rental market and corporate relocation), mortgage companies, real estate agents, immigration and visa specialists – the list goes on. 

The main takeaway is that the moment the company decides to outsource their corporate relocation to a provider, they gain access to those discounted rates which make the process cheaper overall, speed it up and increase the quality of the process. Those things then have a direct impact on the employee’s lowered stress levels and increased productivity during their first few months post relocation.

When partnering with a relocation specialist, your company can expect a streamlined, effective employee relocation programme that includes hands-on support from a team of dedicated professionals, as well as little to no paperwork, no supplier selection, and no burnt-out employees trying to manage the entire relocation process on their own.

The cost of corporate relocation

Our research indicates the following cost are typical when it comes to relocation: 

‍Legal fees: depending on the visa requirements and the original location, it can range between £500 to £2,000 per person. 

‍Removal service: depending on the current location and the new destination, the prices start at £300 for domestic UK relocation and can go up to even £10,000 for long-distance international relocation.

‍Property search: depending on the employee needs and what the property market is like in the new location, it can be as high as £1,200. 

‍General destination guidance and support: this cost is usually within the £150 to £450 bracket. 

The contract of employment will usually specify who bears the relocation costs and the level of support provided by the employer. If those costs are split between the employee and the employer, the contract will also detail the split to ensure clarity of obligations between the parties. 

There are three main ways the relocation costs are usually dealt with. 

‍Option 1: The employer chooses the relocation provider and bears all of the relocation costs. 

‍Option 2: The employer gives an employee a set amount of money to cover the relocation expenses but it’s up to the employee to arrange the process. The employee can choose services and providers. 

‍Option 3: The employer gives an employee the money to cover their relocation expenses, together with a list of services the money is meant to cover. The employee must report back to the employer to show they are sticking to the list. 

Furthermore, when a foreign national comes to the UK for employment, they may be eligible to get their travelling costs in addition to £8,000 of removal expenses tax-free. 

What are your corporate relocation needs?

Before we go on to different types of providers and the services they offer, here’s a list we compiled that is a good starting point to assess your corporate relocation needs.

• Type of relocation – is it domestic, global or a mix of both? 
• Number of people – are you relocating just the employee or also their family? 
• Frequency – do you relocate employees on a regular basis or more as a one-off?
• Costs – how are the costs going to be divided between the company and the employee? 
• Budget – what are the financial limits for relocation?
• Level of involvement – would you expect to outsource the whole process or get involved at some point, for example with the acclimatisation support?

It all depends on your company and the plan in place to relocate employees. With the right specialist at your side, the process should pose no worry no matter what your needs are!

Examples of corporate relocation providers in the UK

Relocation to suit all your needs: Repit 

Providing comprehensive and cost-efficient destination support, tailored to your corporate relocation needs. The particular services offered include long-term accommodation search and paperwork support, settling-in support, temporary accommodation search and a school search. Through its extensive partner network, Repit also offers discounted rates for visas and immigration advice. 

With Repit, you gain one window for all services, with easy-to-monitor progress, guidance on every step for the employee from our professional team as well as you, as the company, can choose your level of involvement at any time. 

What’s Repit’s unique selling point? Although Repit is new to the market, aside from being a corporate relocation provider, our second branch deals exclusively with rental search – assisting tenants with property search, viewings, negotiations and paperwork. Effectively – choosing Repit makes you get a 2-in-1 deal! 

General relocation services: HCR

HCR covers both domestic and international relocations of either individual employees or a whole team at once. Out of services they offer other than relocation, one is temporary accommodation search. Another one is quite unique – namely HCR offers ‘Onsite Resourcing’ for some of their bigger partners whereby they base one of their relocation professionals at their corporate client’s premises to provide ongoing support with relocation of the employees. 

International relocation: Relocation Support Services

One of the market leaders, RSS deals mainly with international relocation and has been around for over 20 years, making them one of the most experienced providers in the field. RSS are members of a wide range of industry associations, making them constantly re-evaluate their processes to create seamless relocation packages. 

Domestic Relocation: Executive Relocation +

Providing domestic corporate relocation of both employees and their families, Executive Relocation + is focused on the south of the UK – London, Bristol, Bath, the Cotswolds making them a very specific area expert and definitely an asset when those particular areas match your needs. They also offer support with buying as well as renting accommodation in those areas. 

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As you can see, the possibilities for corporate relocation are quite broad and so is the number of specialists in the field. However, with the right specialist at your side it is possible to streamline the process to keep the costs to minimum whilst retaining high quality of service to meet your needs. Repit offers corporate relocation packages tailored to your needs at an affordable price – get in touch today.