They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Which is why, as the healthcare talent war rages on, hospitals are actively seeking inventive recruiting solutions. Well, guess what? Relocation benefits are essential to healthcare recruiting—and in the last decade, the relocation world has been transformed by innovation. Specifically, technological innovation.
Ironically, a good chunk of the healthcare industry has yet to take advantage of these technological advancements, despite the fact that they offer employers a distinct competitive edge. Although most healthcare organizations do offer relocation benefits, many continue to do it the old-school way. That is, slowly. Laboriously. Manually. Expensively.
In other words, a field that prides itself on its amazing, life-saving technological developments has been surprisingly slow to embrace advances in relocation technology. If your healthcare organization is among the holdouts, here’s what you need to know—and why there’s never been a better time to make the leap.
What Is Tech-Based Relocation, Exactly?
Up until about the last 15 years, healthcare employers had three relocation options:
- Offer relocating new hires a lump sum to move, and leave it up to them to figure it out themselves—an incredibly stressful (sometimes unsuccessful) experience for employees.
- Hire a relocation management company to help employees make their moving arrangements, working one-in-one with relocation consultants—an expensive, intensive process.
- Provide in-house relocation support—another labor-intensive undertaking that created headaches and liability for healthcare employers that already have plenty of that to deal with.
Then, the first tech-based relocation solution burst on the scene. Instead of drowning relocating employees in a deluge of files, binders, voicemails and endless, back-and-forth conversations with relocation consultants, new hires could easily plan and manage their relocation online—guided step-by-step through via a personalized relocation portal.
Of course, live specialists were (and are) available to help out whenever needed—which is just how relocating employees like it. After all, as digital natives, most professionals prefer to do things electronically, on their own terms, rather than be dependent on someone else.
That’s why tech-based relocation providers earn consistently high satisfaction scores from the employees—and employers—who use their platforms.
And that’s just the beginning.
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How Technology Changes the Healthcare Worker’s Relocation Experience
In addition to shifting the bulk of relocation planning online, tech-based relocation solutions offer employees a number of innovative services and shortcuts that simplify the move and speed acclimation, including:
- Access to a network of preferred suppliers, including movers and realtors with proven track records of success. Employees can obtain quotes and book their moves through the platform, too.
- Checklists and how-to information that guide employees through the relocation process.
- Specific, curated information about their new city, from neighborhoods and housing to commuting options.
- Tips and insights from about-to-be coworkers on where to live, eat, work out and more
- Real-time tracking of their expenses against their relocation allowance, to keep them in budget.
Relocation Innovations for Employers
Tech-based relocation platforms benefit healthcare employers, too, by offering a new level of visibility and control over their relocation program. For example, employers are now able to:
- Monitor the progress of each employee’s move
- Track individual and aggregate spend in real-time
- Create, export and even schedule standard and custom reports
In other words, employers can easily access and analyze their data—something impossible under traditional relocation arrangements—allowing them to continuously manage and improve their program.
Finally, how’s this for an innovation: when healthcare employers switch from a traditional relocation company to a modern, tech-based relocation provider, they can expect to save a whopping 66%.
How is this possible? In addition to leveraging the cost efficiencies of technology, employers are freed from the markups traditional relocations impose on every aspect of their services, from moving costs to tax gross-ups.
At a time when healthcare organizations are spending more on salaries and looking for ways to economize, isn’t this reason alone to explore making a change?
Why Wait to Innovate?
Whether your hospital is looking for a recruiting edge or a way to save money without compromising services, now is the time to take advantage of state-of-the-art relocation technologies.
After all, you want to be known as an innovative healthcare provider—to the world, throughout the industry and especially to prospective job candidates. So, why wouldn’t you reflect that in every aspect of your operation and brand, including your employee relocation program?
