The most common relocation packages have some basic perks in common. Each perk adds more expense to your relocation package. Below is a list of some of those perks. Your human resources team can review each piece to decide whether to include it in your relocation package. Be prepared: even if you don’t include a certain perk, employees and new hires may try to negotiate for it anyway.

What to Look for in A Relocation Package

1. A fair salary adjustment if the cost of living in the new location is higher then the old.
2. Reimbursement for a trip to a new location to introduce the family to the new neighborhood, find a house, and determine whether the employee or new hire will like the new area.
3. Paid time off for the trip to the new neighborhood.
4. Travel expenses for the trip to the new neighborhood.
5. Hiring a professional relocation firm to work with your company and the employee to manage the many details of relocation.
6. Reimbursement for moving expenses. This will include packing, materials, insurance, transportation, and possibly storage of household items.
7. Loss-on-sale reimbursement or other assistance in selling the old home. This may include making mortgage payments until the home is sold, or even buying the home if it fails to sell within a specified time. In today’s depressed real estate market, your company must be cautious when offering assistance in the sale of the employee’s old home.
8. Temporary quarters in the new location if necessary.
9. Assistance in purchasing a new home. This may include making the down payment, or even offering the home loan to the new employee or hire.
10. Informational brochure about the new location including schools, hospitals, employment agencies for spouses, DMV locations and so on.

Your employee or new hire will be scrutinizing the financial disadvantages versus advantages just as rigorously as your company. Make the relocation negotiations a positive experience for both of you by being thorough and generous.

As you might guess, each perk creates a lot of new stuff to manage. Hiring a professional relocation firm to help with logistics is a good idea that saves headaches for you and your employee or new hire.