How to Move Employees to the UK - A Comprehensive Playbook for People Leaders

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Relocating is incredibly stressful, and what’s worse, 95% of people do it without support. And when it comes to your company’s most important asset - your people - you want to ensure their experience is as seamless and stress-free as possible!

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The good news is that although every relocation is different, many steps are similar for every relocator. It's great to be aware of these processes, so you can make sure you cover as many of the important bases as possible for your employees. 

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If you relocate employees to the UK, we’ve created a core Playbook of the key steps in a move, based on our own strategies for helping employees. Thanks to thousands of moves’ worth of practice, we’re well versed in how to create a 5* relocation! 😀 

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From finding a home, to shipping belongings or opening a bank account, in this guide we cover the key actions required to get your relocating employees set up for success in the UK.

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Before you get started

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Of course, you’ll be keen to get your relocating employees moved and settled in as soon as possible, so they can get up and running in their new role - and PerchPeek’s guide will make sure nothing gets missed.

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But before you get cracking, it really pays to take a step back and think carefully about your relocation policy. Having a comprehensive, defined plan will help in numerous significant ways, including:

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• Saving on costs by sticking to a defined budget and avoiding costly fee extensions
• Improving employee happiness and avoiding escalations by improving relocation experience
• Saving HR time and resources on dealing with queries, through a defined support structure

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Points to consider around policy

• Do you want to manage your employees’ budget, or give them a lump sum to spend?
• If the latter, will it be fixed on certain services, or will employees have more flexibility?
• Will the level of financial support differ based on employee seniority?
• Will the support offered cater to the employees’ family members?

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Points to consider around support

• Will you schedule an introductory call at the outset, to manage expectations (recommended!)?
• What will be your communications structure for fielding queries and concerns?
• Will you offer support out-of-hours, and if so, what will this look like?
• How will you help relocating employees connect with one another?

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While we won’t go into too much detail on these elements here (let’s get to that checklist!), they will all be very important in defining the overall picture. For more information on creating or refining your policy from a cost-efficiency perspective, we have comprehensive, expert advice in our ‘Guide: How to Build a Cost-Efficient Relocation Policy’.

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With a full rundown of policy types including Core-Flex, 12 ways to cut costs in your policy, case studies and much more, it’s the definitive guide to setting up a robust relocation policy that keeps costs low but means you can still provide comprehensive support to every employee. Check it out here!

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What not to do in a relocation

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Of course, one way of making the process very simple from an HR perspective is to provide relocating employees with a cash lump sum, and have them figure out their move all by themselves!

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However, this approach is likely to put a strain on budget, time and resources. Leaving new hires to fend for themselves throughout a complicated process puts a lot of stress on them while they’re simultaneously dealing with the challenge of starting a new role. This stress leads to mistakes, delays and escalations, which often end up giving their People team more grief further down the line.

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In every sense, it pays to offer good relocation support (and it doesn’t have to break the bank!)

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The steps of a relocation

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There’s a lot to consider when relocating - some of which you might not have considered before!

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Check it out

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Click below for your full guide on how to relocate employees to the UK, with the essential steps and guidance on how to make each move happen effectively!

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