• Do you have a mandate to "get creative" with recruiting strategies? 
• Have you considered your relocation policy an integral part of your recruiting and retention strategy?
• Is your current relocation policy up to the challenge of supporting your recruiting goals?
• Are more sophisticated relocation benefits finding their way into competitor institutions' employment offers?

A relocation policy can take many forms.  It can be a simple document stating benefits.  It can be very specific but static, detailing expenses, reporting, tax implications, eligibility, reimbursements, lump sums, time and distance tests, and so on.

A strong policy is crafted with benefits that are integrated and interconnected; provisions that work together to attract new employees, facilitate and expedite their relocations, and ensure they will not leave employment due to a poor relocation experience.  And, it can be a contemporary policy, one that achieves goals and works within the parameters of your institution's budget.

In light of the ever-increasing focus on recruiting top talent, it may be time to rethink your relocation policy.

• Creative relocation benefits could be the deciding factor for a candidate with competing offers.
• Resistance to relocation is on the rise; "sweeten the offer" with incentives to move.
• Declining real estate markets make it more difficult for candidates to say "yes."
• "Failed" relocations are costly relocations; write "loss prevention" into your relocation policy, and protect your investment in recruiting.

The challenge is to balance costs with benefits. You're probably spending more on recruitment than ever before. A solid, comprehensive relocation program can be implemented at little or no cost. While there are relocation benefits that can be expensive, they are optional programs. Highly desirable and effective from recruiting and tax-savings perspectives, they must be evaluated carefully in light of the expense.

Relocation management companies are excellent resources for policy consultation. These professionals offer vast experience with constructing relocation policy and controlling costs. And, they have access to research, benchmarking, and best practices information that can bring strength, consistency and impact to your relocation program.