In modern life, sometimes an employee needs to relocate for personal reasons. They may be moving to live with family, following a military spouse, or returning to their home country after several years of working abroad. However, with the rise of remote work, relocating doesn’t have to mean resignation. With the right retention policies and business infrastructure in place, you can ensure that employees moving out of the country don’t feel like they have to leave their jobs, as well.
With relocation policies comes the ability to retain your top talent no matter where they live. In this article, we will discuss how to build your ideal relocation and retention processes and how to convey these policies to your employees so they know what options are available.
The Importance of Relocation and Retention Policies
A modern company is no longer limited to a commutable range around its headquarters or office locations. With remote teams, you gain the ability to hire outside of your geographic area. You also gain the ability to support employees when they relocate for personal reasons. Employees who will be moving away from your office range can become all-virtual members of the team.
Conducting work through online tools and attending virtual meetings is not so different from many in-office workflows today. This means that when a valued employee has moving plans, your company’s relocation and retention policies will play a major role.
If your company is prepared to provide support and transform an employee’s role to a remote position, you can keep your best talent and retain all of the time already invested in each team member.
This can be true even when employees will be moving out of the country.
What You Need for International Relocation Retention
When an employee moves, keeping them in a remote role requires more than just going virtual. You will need to pay and support each international employee according to the laws of their new residential nation. This can add some complication to your business, but some partners and toolkits will make this process easier for everyone.
Here is a comprehensive outline of the infrastructure you will need to hold onto great employees when they move out of the country.
Cloud-Based Work Platforms and Collaboration Tools
First, you will need the capacity to go virtual with each employee’s role. This means managing your company workflows using cloud-based business platforms and collaboration tools. Fortunately, most companies have migrated to the cloud for the simple benefit of being on the cutting edge of flexible and accessible business technology.
If your company is already on the cloud, you can be far more confident in offering any of your employees or new hires a remote role. They will still be able to access their work materials no matter where they live, provided they have reliable internet access.
Regular Virtual and Hybrid Meetings
You can conduct meetings through a video call platform. There are so many available both inside and outside business networks today. You’re sure to find a virtual meeting platform that works for your business. Experiment with different options if you don’t have a favorite. Also, create a hybrid meeting protocol that works for all your remote and hybrid team members.
From there, you can keep in touch with your out-of-country employees more easily by scheduling virtual meetings whenever they are available. Don’t forget to consider any difference in time zone that their move may create.
Partner With an Employer of Record in the Employee’s Resident Country
There are typically three options for legally employing someone who lives in another country. The first is to hire them as a contractor. This is likely non-ideal if someone is already a valued full-time employee. The second is to register your business in the new country. This is also not often the chosen course because you may not be ready for the investment of international expansion in that way.
The third and most popular option is to use an EOR or Employer of Record. EORs are a unique type of staffing business that serves as the legal employer for professionals who officially work for an out-of-country company. In other words, the EOR will be the legal, registered, and compliant local employer for your employee. However, you will still be in charge of task assignments, compensation, and everything that matters.
Provide Equivalent and Compliant Compensation
Compensation can also get tricky when your employees move out of the country. Will you pay them in your currency or their new local currency? Can you find an equivalent health insurance provider and other benefits programs based in their new home country? You will want to create a new employee package that is equivalent – if not identical – to their previous package. Your employment policies will also need to be compliant with the laws of your employee’s new home country. Your EOR can help with matters of compliance, as this is part of their specialty and service.
Communicating Relocation and Retention Policies to Employees
Once you have built the framework for your relocation and retention policies, it’s time to inform the troops. The best way to prevent your top talent from resigning when they have a move coming up is to make sure they are aware of their options to relocate without leaving the team.
Print Remote Retention Policies in the Employee Handbook
First, make sure your policies are printed in the employee handbook. The employee handbook establishes everything employees need to know about working at your company, from the dress code to your remote work policies. Outline how relocation and retention will work and the options available to employees who have a move in their future – both inside and outside national borders.
Announce Relocation Policies to the General Staff
You will also want to announce any new policies or changes in policy. Few people re-read the employee handbook after they are hired. Announcements through email, all-hands meetings, and bulletin board postings let everyone know that your company is newly equipped to accommodate anyone who may need to move away in the future.
Keeping Top Talent When They Need to Move Away
What do you do when one of your best employees submits a letter of resignation because they must move out of the country? If you want to retain them, you can offer to refuse the letter. Provide them with a remote job opportunity as an international employee instead.
- Offer to Maintain Their Role as a Remote Position
- Provide Relocation Assistance
- Connect the Employee with Your EOR Partner
- Grant Relocation Leave for Moving Time
- Rebuild the Employee’s Workflow for Their New Circumstances
Through these methods, you can keep your top talent and prepare your business to successfully expand across national borders. With BrightR, you gain an EOR partner throughout the Canadian provinces. If you have an employee moving to Canada, we can help you keep them on the team with a rewarding and comprehensive remote employee position. Contact us today to learn more.
