International Corporate Relocation: Where the Heck Do I Begin

Planning an international corporate relocation can indeed feel like a huge task, but breaking it down into manageable steps can make the process simpler and ease your stress levels.

Here’s a structured approach written by our international travel expert who breaks it down for you.

• Set Clear Objectives: Understand why the relocation is necessary and break this down clearly to your entire employees workforce. Everything must be done very transparently to give employees the respect they deserve. 
• Get Excited: What a time for adventure! Now that your company will be paying to move you halfway across the world with your family, take the time to learn about your new destination and get pumped for the adventure. Not everyone gets the chance to move abroad with a full relocation package, so take advantage of your luck.
• Set Goals and Timelines: Establish specific goals for the relocation to guide decision-making. Set a realistic timeline that makes sense for the company and their employee’s families. Think about things like the start of the school year to consider when to move.

• Destination Country: Research the new countries and cities based on business needs, market trends, regulations, and cost considerations. Make sure that the new country meets your needs and is realistic for your workforce.

• Cultural and Legal Issues: Understand cultural differences and make them clear to your employees, legal requirements like visas, work permits spouse visas, and business practices in the new country. There should be a huge focus here on respect and learning the culture. You can even assign this task to an employee who will be tasked as the cultural appropriation manager. Make sure to hire local staff in your destination country.

• Budget Planning: Estimate projected costs for international moving services, storage, housing, and temporary hotels for employees, transportation, legal issues, taxes, and employee relocation costs. Factor in the unknowns as best as possible.

• Currency Exchange: Consider currency exchange rates that may impact budgeting. Make a chart of the historical trends to understand the typical rates. You can actually gain a lot of money by doing the currency exchange at times when the rate is in your favor.

• Consult Legal Team: Get legal advice from lawyers familiar with international business law to ensure compliance. There may be local laws you are unfamiliar with that will affect your teams or their personal lives.

• Visas and Permits: Ensure to help employees with visa and work permit requirements for them and their families.

• Support: Develop a relocation policy support for employees including housing assistance, language training, cultural orientation, children's activities, and more.

• Healthcare and Insurance: Arrange healthcare coverage and insurance plans for all old and new employees in the new country. Make sure they know how to activate the policy what to do and where to go when needing medical help or doctor appointments.

• Make it Worth It:  Your employees have decided to uproot their lives and stick with your company. Make them feel like the kings and queens of the world for this dedication. The costs of training a new staff and losing all the company knowledge and experience is huge in terms of opportunity costs. Take this into consideration when you are building awesome relocation packages. Include lots of bonuses such as massages, paying for going away, party stipend, and other cool ideas to get them feeling like the company does care.

• Property Search: Identify proper office space or interim facilities in the new location. Make sure a local lawyer and notary is involved in the process of signing a legal local document renting or purchasing your new office space.

• Infrastructure: Arrange for local IT infrastructure, utilities, and necessary items in the new office. Triple-check the wifi before bringing in the employees.

• Make it Comfy: Set up the new offices in a way that makes everyone feel at home with a positive work environment. Ask your employees what their dream offices have and follow these ideas as much as makes sense in the budget. Especially when relocating to countries with weaker currencies, you can allow yourself to splurge to make the office luxurious without a huge budget. Ideas could include, a workout room, a yoga area, a sleep pod area, a music instruments room, a playground for the children, a pilates room, and more. Get creative!

• Employee Communication: Keep employees informed about the relocation plans, timelines, and expectations. When things change and even go wrong they should still be kept in the loop. They are rerooting their whole lives so give them the respect to make them a part of decisions and updates.

• Questions: Address any questions employees may have about the relocation and their rights. Make things as black and white as possible especially with the timelines so they can arrange their personal lives.

• Select Moving Companies: Research and select reputable international moving companies to handle logistics. You will likely ship your items and have a 6-8 week gap before arrival. Employees should be compensated for this time and allowed to work remotely. You could also allow them to take this time as partially paid leave and allow them to travel with their families while they await their home goods to move in.

• Inventory and Packing: Coordinate inventory management and delegate it as a task to an employee so you will have a list of all items that are supposed to arrive. Build packing schedules to minimize disruption and outsource as much of the work as possible.

• Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks (political instability, economic issues, terror attacks or natural disasters) and develop plans of action to make your employees feel that their employer cares for their safety.

• Progress Tracking: Monitor progress in terms of your predetermined timelines and budget to ensure milestones are met on time or adjustments are made as needed.

• Feedback: Gather feedback from employees to improve as you move on with the process.

• Local Partnerships: Establish relationships with local vendors, service providers, and businesses in the new country. Local employees will be the key to your company's integration.

By following all of these steps, systematically and well-planned, you can navigate the complexities of this international corporate relocation. You can do it! Yes, there are lots of things to think about and prepare, but it is an accomplishable task. You have professional relocation consultants, legal advisory firms, and more that will help you to streamline the process and ensure a successful transition. Best of luck with your international relocation from iMoving!