How to negotiate relocation

Are you taking up a new job at a new place? If yes, you will incur significant expenses. Do you want your employer to bear some of the expenses? Following tips show you the way to fruitful negotiations.

Think of your interests

The entire process of negotiations rests on your real needs. Before you commit on a figure or items of expenditure, know what you want. Think broadly and do not limit yourself to financial expenses. Some of the following areas may help you to be on the right track:

• Assistance for childcare including payment to a nanny
• A higher cost of living
• A higher mortgage cost allowance
• A bridge loan – you might not have sold your house before relocating yourself
• Assistance to put your child in a good school

Once you have calculated the expenses you incur, you can negotiate for a package that meets your needs.

Typical assistance

Your negotiation plan should take into consideration every aspect of your relocation. The following points may help you get a hang of what you have to negotiate for:

• Know whether the new company has any relocation policy or it offers any standard benefits.
• Get in touch with those who recently moved to the company and find out what they received.
• Find out what your friends or other contacts in similar firms had experienced when they moved or ask for their companies’ policies.
• Tell your recruiter, if you are using one, what you want.

Know your company’s policies. Relocation offers differ from company to company. Big companies have standardized policies. As such compensation packages depend on the industry, city or the position in the company’s hierarchy (executives get more).

Expenses like moving costs, temporary lodging costs, traveling costs back home if you relocate before your family moves, job search assistance for your spouse, including job search reimbursements, referrals to a recruiter and arranging for interviews inside the company, and assistance in disposing of your house.

See that both sides are benefited

Many companies are amenable to negotiating packages that meet the genuine needs of the employees. Your employer may accept your ideas if they benefit the company and as such offer ideas that suit both you and your company. You many convince your potential owner that you will be able to work for longer hours if you get some important issues settled. You can even suggest to your employer that you don’t want to set a precedent of deviating from its policy and suggest that you don’t mind settling for a signing bonus.

Once you and the potential employer agree on a compensation package for your relocation expenses, get it written. A simple letter detailing what you would be getting is fair enough.