UrbanBound Employee Relocation Blog

Employee Relocation Costs: What to Consider | UrbanBound

Written by Abby Baumann | Aug 20, 2018 4:14:22 PM

Job relocation can be overwhelming and stressful for employees and their families, which is why many companies will provide some kind of relocation benefit. However, relocation can be costly for employers, and in many cases, relocation expenses can be hard to predict. There are a number of different moving expenses, and depending on how much a company is willing to help, the actual cost of the relocation can vary.

Major relocation expenses can include:

  • Real estate expenses – buying and selling a home
  • Moving household goods, automobiles and pets
  • Short-term housing and storage
  • Airfare, car rentals and miscellaneous travel

Not to mention the less obvious costs due to lost productivity from stress and distractions of getting settled into a new home.

 

How to Calculate Relocation Costs

While it can be difficult to predict the cost of relocation (especially since it is based on where the employee is moving to and from), having a comprehensive relocation budget can help you more accurately estimate employee relocation expenses. Your relocation budget should consider the following costs:

  • Final travel to the new location
  • Packing and moving costs
  • Moving insurance costs
  • Short-term housing
  • Temporary storage
  • Home sale and/or purchase
  • Tax gross up of benefits

Careful real-time tracking of employee moving expenses can help you stay within budget for each relocation. Surprise relocation expenses are less likely to emerge when everything is calculated in advance. When they do occur, you can look at other areas of the budget to compensate.