Real Estate Assistance Becoming Key to Luring Critical New Hires By Beth McGuire
A company is only as good as the talent it can recruit and retain, and in certain business sectors, competition for the best and brightest employees remains particularly tight. So what are some of today’s HR and relocation professionals doing to make their companies more attractive to critical new hires?
With competition for the best available talent intensifying, real estate assistance has become an important benefit for landing critical new hires at some companies, according to a survey conducted by Weichert Relocation Resources Inc. (WRRI).
HR professionals in charge of relocation from 86 companies were asked if, in the wake of increased competition, they’ve implemented enhancements to their new hire relocation policies. Thirty-two percent said that they have or will be, with the most added provisions including covering a portion of employees’ home sale costs and increasing—or in some cases, adding—closing assistance for new home purchases.
When asked what relocation benefits they felt were most important to luring critical new hires, respondents cited household goods shipment, temporary housing, school-finding assistance and a lump sum amount. The benefits deemed most important, cited by more than 75% of respondents, were home-sale and home-purchase assistance.
The good news for employers is that adding benefits in this area won’t significantly increase program costs. Typically, there are three fundamental principles to keeping costs reasonable: pricing the home competitively from the outset, completing repairs and improvements prior to listing; and marketing the home while it’s still occupied. Savvy companies often include incentives within their policies that reward employees who sell their homes quickly by following these principles. This ensures that employees become part of the solution and help minimize the company’s costs by aggressively marketing their homes.
Inevitably, winning the recruitment game requires a thorough understanding of the critical talent you covet. Take the example of one WRRI client.
With competition for research and development talent increasingly intense, this client launched a recruitment mission in Michigan to attract local R&D professionals for its New Jersey office. Once a pool of desirable candidates was identified, the company made the decision to treat this effort as if it were preparing to move a group of its own employees, with its first goal being to gauge candidates’ attitudes toward the destination location. Enlisting the assistance of WRRI’s Group Move Services, the client’s HR staff identified the largest potential stumbling block: the high cost of housing in the New Jersey market.
In response, the client put this concern front and center during its pre-move information sessions. A WRRI mortgage counselor met with candidates to discuss high housing cost assistance, assuage their fears and help them identify the right kind of loans. While candidates were being interviewed, their spouses and partners were invited to luncheons where details on relocation benefits and the destination region were carefully explained.
Individual area tours were later conducted, customized to specific housing needs and price ranges, to allow candidates and spouses/partners to experience the location firsthand.
This meticulous planning paid dividends for the client, giving the company an even better chance of attracting the largest number of the most highly desired candidates. The company’s goal was to hire 30% of the candidates they brought to New Jersey. At final tally, the company expects to exceed that goal by at least 5%. |
