Does your company have a relocation policy? You should, 87 percent of companies do. But when was the last time you looked at it? Costs and employees’ needs change, so it’s important to make sure the data your relocation policy is based on is as up to date as possible. The consequence of not doing so could be spending too much on certain costs, or conversely, not providing your employees enough, shouldering them with an unfair burden during their relocation.

Here’s a guide to some of the data points you should be capturing and how to review them when it comes time to update your relocation policy:

• Average distance of your moves: Knowing the distance of your employees’ moves helps determine what’s appropriate to offer in your policy to help them and their belongings get from Point A to Point B, such as the transport of an automobile. Some companies may move one vehicle for moves over 500 miles, two vehicles for moves over 1,000 miles, etc. Another example is with house-finding trips. Is your average distance appropriate for a day trip? If so, you might not need to make as many allowances for those trips.

• Common exception requests: Most policies have certain restrictions on what is and is not covered to keep costs down, with exceptions granted on a case-by-case basis. But if you’re finding everyone is asking for a certain exception, it might be time to update your policy. For example, front-load washers and dryers require a specific service to move that is not always covered by a company’s relocation policy. Companies might consider this an exception to their policy. As they have become more common, many companies now have appliance servicing included with their policy.

• Average move spend: It’s always good to know how much your employees’ moves cost versus what you’re offering them. It’s understandable to not cover all their relocation expenses, but if you’re seeing a rising difference between the average relocation cost and what you offer, you should consider raising the allowance cap. Otherwise, it could eventually have an adverse effect on your ability to recruit and retain top candidates.

• Top five moving expenses: In addition to knowing the average move spend, you also should be capturing the top five relocation expenses. More often than not, these are transportation, packing, storage, third-party services (such as crating antique and delicate items), and accessorial services (shuttle, misc. charges), in that order. Some costs like transportation are dependent on outside factors like cost of fuel, but things like storage can be an area to make budget adjustments if necessary. For example, if you provide 60 days of storage, reducing that to 30 days can be a way to update your relocation policy to reflect your current budget and business needs.

If you don’t remember the last time you reviewed your relocation policy, it might be time to look it over.  These are just a handful of factors you should consider, so if you need help with a comprehensive review of your relocation policy, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Our national account employees specialize in assisting companies review and fine tune their relocation policies to meet the needs of their organization and employees.

Onie Girton Author