If you don’t outsource relocation services, you probably think you’re saving money by keeping the work in-house. Unfortunately, that’s a myth. True, you’re not paying any consulting or license fees, but you are indeed incurring costs—and sneaky ones at that.
Lost talent you missed out on because your competitors’ relocation program appeared more impressive.
The added cost of paying full price for services instead of reaping the benefits of discounted rates.
When you keep your relocation program fully in-house...you’re likely leaking money all over the place. You just don’t know where or how much.
But that’s about to end. Prepare to be enlightened (and perhaps a little horrified), as we pull back the curtain on hidden costs that accrue when companies don’t offload relocation services.
In many companies, managing mobility isn’t a core function. So when companies don’t outsource relocation, it’s the HR and talent acquisition professionals who must somehow find time to pick up the slack.
If that includes your organization, your lost opportunity cost is the sum of all the productive activities you could accomplish if you didn’t have relocation on your plate.
Consider the projects you must abandon when there’s a complicated relocation to manage (and aren’t they all?). Even if you spend an average of just one to two hours per day on relocation, that adds up to five to ten hours a week. Imagine what you could accomplish with that precious time. You could:
When you offload relocation, you have more bandwidth to get more done. It better positions your entire HR & recruiting teams to support your organization—without adding to HR’s payroll or headcount.
Imagine: if you were to outsource relocation services, you could even devote a portion of that newly-regained time to advance your own skill sets and update your certifications. After all, very few people have been promoted for handling relocation minutia. (If you have, that’s a story we’d love to tell!)
Most in-house mobility programs simply can’t offer the breadth and depth of outsourced relocation services. How can even the most meticulous HR pro stay abreast of relocation trends and laws, given the many hats he or she wears?
How many are comfortable explaining the tax ramifications of relocation benefits? How many are available at all times to answer a relocating employees’ pressing questions, like “Do I need a car?” or “what neighborhood has the best schools?” or “when will my stuff arrive?”
If you’re dueling with a competitor to land a highly-talented candidate, who is that candidate more likely to choose: the employer offering homespun relocation benefits and a part-time resource, or the employer that cares enough to outsource relocation to a polished, full-time expert?