You never thought you’d need to know how to ask for relocation assistance, but your employer JUST asked you to move for a new job opportunity! It’d be great for your career, but you’re justifiably concerned about the costs associated with relocating. Before speaking with your employer about how the company can help, prepare yourself with data surrounding relocating trends.
1. How Much is the Average Relocation Package?
Total expenses for a work-related relocation can range from a couple thousand dollars for renters to tens of thousands for homeowners.
Why so much? Factor in potential site visits to find a new home, a temporary housing allowance, and the cost of moving your possessions — which can cost thousands of dollars alone — and it adds up.
Even if your employer isn’t offering to cover 100% of your relocation-related expenses, having a general idea of what’s included in a relo package will help you negotiate.
2. What is a Reasonable Relocation Package?
While we can quibble about what qualifies as “reasonable,” relocation package examples often include:
- Visits to the new locale
- Temporary housing allowance
- A moving service and storage facility rental
- Moving supplies (boxes, tape, labels, etc.)
- Costs associated with breaking a lease
- Home seller assistance
- Utility deposits
- Application fees and security deposit (for renters)
When asking for relocation assistance, knowing which items to factor into your estimated costs will help you negotiate, remember, negotiating involves compromise — so decide which items are your priority and which can wait.
For instance, maybe you can stay with friends or family in the new location, but you need help with moving costs. Or perhaps you plan on renting furniture rather than hauling your old stuff to your new place and would like support in covering your intended furniture rentals instead of movers. Whatever your circumstances, there’s negotiating power in the complexity of a move.
3. How Does Job Experience Affect Your Relocation Package?
Depending on your stage of life, a relocation can be a relatively straightforward prospect for you. But it can also be one that features many moving parts and requires a good deal of effort and support. Your HR department understands this, so it’s a good idea that you do, too.
New Team Members
New hires occupy the lower end of the relocation cost spectrum. An employer may be hesitant to “pony up” much relocation support because of the employee’s relative inexperience within the company or industry.
Experienced Team Members
As opposed to recent college grades, employees with more years in their fields are often more established, having spouses, school-aged children, and homeownership to consider. Such factors may persuade employers to increase relocation assistance.
Executive Team Members
The highest on the relocation cost spectrum: executives who make a significant impact on the company’s bottom line. These executives may have concerns about homeownership and family matters, deeper personal ties, and critical professional connections within their community. That’s why they’re likely to command more generous relocation assistance.
Does this mean that young professionals are out of luck when it comes to relocation assistance? Not at all. If your employer presents a relocation opportunity for you, that means the company appreciates your work. You, in turn, can help them build their team as a promising employee. After all, employees with a positive relocation experience tend to:
- Thrive in their new positions
- Develop more robust bonds with their employers
- Achieve greater success
That’s worth something to ANY company, right?
Relocation Support by the Numbers
Now that you have some basic figures and a better understanding of how your company may rank employees, it’s a little easier to run some numbers and invest just a little research into your request.
- Calculate the costs associated with relocating (moving, moving supplies, breaking a lease, paying a Realtors’ commission on required real estate transactions).
- Determine the cost of living difference between your current location and the proposed future location. If the cost of living is higher in the new area, figure out the percentage difference and factor it into such expenses as the security deposit on a new place, storage facility rental, and two weeks’ relocation allowance.
- Position your time with the company and level of professional expertise (from #3, above) against the rough estimates gleaned from steps #1 and #2. If you’re newer to the field, understand that the total relocation support you receive may be lower. If you have more experience and well-placed industry contacts, it may be higher. Want more of a subjective approach? Take this quiz!
If your relocation support is more modest than you’d hoped, now’s the time to consider cost-saving tactics like renting furniture instead of buying it. And once your relocation is complete, follow these tips to make the most of it!
Make a Move to Affordability and Ease with CORT
As you make arrangements to move, consider renting furniture from CORT. With the broadest service area in the United States, CORT provides furniture subscription services that meet your needs, no matter where you move! Plus, when you leverage the full CORT network, you can get temporary furniture with quick delivery and setup at your ideal short-term rental of choice.
