Moving for a new job is hard, especially if the move is to a new country and even more so if the family is moving too. It can be so challenging in fact, that just under half (42%) of international assignments fail, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

That’s why, experts say, being well-prepared and informed is critical to setting an international transferee up for a successful relocation. “If you compare the cost of a failed relocation to the cost of supporting a relocating assignee with professional support services, the case is crystal clear,” notes a London-based relocation agent. “As a business, the more assistance you provide, the more you will reduce the organization’s overall cost and the assignee’s risk of failure.”

Pre-decision counseling is a win-win. It helps the employer ensure that the transferee is a good fit for the assignment destination before investing significant resources in their move. And, it helps the individuals moving to be better prepared for their relocation journey and better engaged from day one.

Why Offer Policy and Benefits Counseling

International moves are far more complex than domestic relocations. When employees move within their home country, they already understand the language, culture, and legal system. However, relocating internationally introduces new challenges, such as language barriers, different social norms, and unfamiliar communities. To ease this transition, CapRelo’s pre-hire candidate policy consultations help lay the groundwork for a smooth move.

For example, imagine your company selects a U.S.-based candidate for a role in Brazil. Before finalizing the offer, pre-decision counseling provides an in-depth assessment to determine whether the employee is a good fit for the location.

This counseling process highlights cultural differences, language expectations, and community dynamics. Employees and their families gain insight into daily life, work culture, and potential challenges. Key financial considerations, such as real estate costs, healthcare, and taxes, are also reviewed. If major concerns arise, the company can assess whether the assignment is likely to succeed.

Consider the fictitious Brazil transferee above. If she accepts the assignment without pre-move counseling, she may encounter unexpected challenges. For instance, after relocating, she realizes that local schools do not accommodate her child’s food allergies. Frustrated and unable to find a solution, she ends the assignment prematurely. As a result, the organization faces lost time and significant expenses.

Had the employer engaged a relocation management consultant before the move, the outcome could have been different. A pre-decision consultation would have uncovered her child’s healthcare needs early. She might have declined the assignment or prepared a plan to ensure her child’s well-being. This proactive approach minimizes risk and sets the employee up for success.

International Transferees’ Common Concerns

Pre-decision support services are a way for employers to make the move easier and help ensure high levels of employee engagement from day one. Because every individual and every move is unique, your relocation management company’s pre-decision counseling should be tailored to their needs. Some common areas of concern include:

Impact to Family

The most common questions our relocation management experts hear revolve around the family. First, those moving with children want information on the quality and accessibility of schools and extracurricular activities important to their kids. Second are concerns around how the move may impact the spouse’s ability to work. Often in international relocations, the spouse can’t work at all or may have a very hard time finding a job in their field. Engineers moving into Canada, for example, must undergo local training to bring their standards to Canadian standards.

Real Estate

Our home is generally our biggest financial asset. Selling it and buying a new one as part of a relocation are decisions that need to be made with care, and the help of experts. A pre-decision policy consultation will address the transferee’s questions about real estate values, the market, how long it will take to sell, what the company pays if there is a loss on sale, and what real estate support is included in their relocation policy.

Cost of Living

In advance of a relocation, transferees must factor in cost-of-living comparisons to know if such a move makes financial sense.  As our recent blog noted, property in many large European cities is becoming increasingly expensive. In addition to housing cost variations, some transfers can result in significant differences in insurance, food, utility and education costs. A pre-decision policy and benefits counselor will explain what to expect from their employer to offset cost-of-living variations.

Community Resources

There’s nothing like the culture shock that can result from moving to a new destination, ill-equipped to navigate it both physically and socially. International relocation policies typically include some benefits, either core or flex, to help the transferee adapt to their new environment. The pre-decision counseling session walks the employee through the benefits they will receive to help navigate and settle in more quickly.

Eliminating surprises is the ultimate goal of pre-relocation policy and benefits consulting. Your employees enter into a transfer assignment with a strong understanding of the personal, financial and social implications of the move. And, employers gain confidence that they are making sound investments in the individuals tapped for relocations.

The Value of CapRelo in Pre-Move Consulting

Given the time and deep knowledge required, there’s value in engaging a seasoned relocation management consultant to handle pre-decision policy and benefits consulting. CapRelo’s consultants have years of experience managing thousands of moves for firms around the globe. That translates to unmatched volume pricing with service providers that means cost savings for our clients.

In addition, behind the relocation counselor are multiple teams handling virtually aspect of the move: an expense management team, household goods shipment team, and real estate team managing home sales behind the scenes. And because we track mobility trends globally, we are continually benchmarking data and policies to keep our clients on the leading edge of best practices.

Learn More

CapRelo’s tailored policy and benefits counseling helps enhance your transferees’ relocation experience. From optimizing policies to explaining approved benefits, we make the mobility journey seamless.