How Your Relocation Policies Influence Your Employer Brand

 Relocating to a new country is difficult and stressful. The positive experience that your new hire has, throughout this process, will give back to your company in multiples if you cater to their needs properly. If your new hire feels supported throughout their relocation process, there is a good chance they may be one of the faces of your employer brand for the next new hire and so on.

Here are some interesting facts about employer branding: These are the reasons you want ALL of your employees to feel honored to work for your company.

86% of workers would not apply for, or continue to work for a company that has a bad reputation with former employees, or the general public.

75 % of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying for a job.

A great employer’s brand can attract 50 % more qualified applicants.

So how do you get your employer brand out there and convince a new hire that your company is THE place to work?

Our answer is that the first step is to get your current employees to be company ambassadors. Here are some ideas on how you can nurture your current employees to be a part of the company recruitment process.

1. Ask your employees what they most like about working for the company and what they value most about the company culture. Leverage your happiest employees by conducting employee interviews or testimonials with them to share on your website.
2. Request that employees post on their social media accounts when your company does a fun giveaway or company outing.
3. Bring employees into the interview process. Ask for their feedback on new hires. Request that they talk to potential new employees about the reasons they like working for the company. Perspective employees find it helpful to speak with current employees to learn about company culture.
4. Be consistent with your company values and repeat them often in group meetings, intranet sharing information, internal newsletters, events, and activities. Get feedback from employees and communicate your findings often with top management. Work to make sure everyone agrees and promotes what makes your company great.
5. Rotate staff between global locations as a way to spread consistent values. Swedish companies very often give younger talent the possibilities of taking on expat assignments while other management cultures send top management to new locations.
6. Show respect to everyone who applies for a job. Make sure they are responded to, even if they are not a fit for an interview at that time. This is common courtesy and easy to implement with a form letter. One never knows when a prospective hire might be the right fit. It is smart to keep your reputation clean by showing respect to everyone interested in being involved with your brand in any way.
7. Define your recruitment marketing strategy. Have a strategy to weave your company values and culture into the education materials you present to a person who is considering a position with the company. “[A] recruitment marketing strategy is the approach you take to making your company’s culture visible and attractive to top talent. It’s a pull rather than push strategy,” said Wences Garcia, CEO of MarketGoo, a self-service SEO tools provider.
8. Work to make your current environment inspiring and as secure as possible. In a secure work environment, a commitment culture can flourish, fewer internal positionings and squabbles occur and employees can work toward a common goal. The companies with a commitment culture are generally faster to get to  IPOs, the fastest to go public, and have the highest profitability margins.
9. Consider offering ongoing training so skills gaps are filled as soon as possible. Employees value ongoing learning.

But, How can your Local Relocation Company help with your Employer Brand?

Your Local Relocation company is the first point of contact for your future company ambassadors! They assist your company in supporting your new hires to feel happy and valued. A relocation company guides a new hire’s settling in from the moment they have signed the employment contract, often through their first 6-12 months. A big move can be challenging for the executive at work if anyone in the family is struggling in the new environment. This is why your relocation company usually stays in close contact with the whole family during this time to help everyone in the family acclimate.

Once physically settled, a relocation specialist can help executives and their families make the transition to Sweden as smooth as possible. From questions about traffic rules, to how to find nurseries in the neighborhood, they provide the right information and guidance to help everyone successfully adjust to their new city. They are also a true partner to the HR team who already has a lot on their plate without having to translate a whole culture and lifestyle as well.

Here are just some of the services a relocation company can provide to help you have true company loyalists on your side.

1. Local Orientation: Provide executives a personal relocation consultant who plans a pre-visit tour based on their interests, needs and what matters most to them. Offer local knowledge to help the family know what to expect and what to look for as they plan their move to Sweden. Help them understand neighborhoods, areas for living, schools, recreational facilities, shopping, and anything else that may be helpful.
2. Accompanied Home Hunting: Relocation consultants find out important needs executives and their families may have when searching for a home. Provide a current guide to rent costs and help them identify possible homes based on their budget, needs and market conditions. Monitor the rental market, schedule viewings of properties, and accompany them to viewings. Negotiate terms and set up the lease agreement.
3. Property Inspection: Before move-in, conduct a superficial inspection of the property. Make sure the correct condition of the property is well documented. This helps avoid extra costs and confusion over damages when it comes time to move out.
4. Utility Survey & Set Up: Arrange for a transfer of pre-existing utilities (e.g. electricity, water, gas, sewage, TV license, internet, and residential parking if applicable.) Arrange for the best possible utilities to be functional upon arrival.
5. Civic Registration: The relocation consultant will accompany the visit the tax authority for population registry and obtaining personal identification number (PIN) number.
6. Bank Service: Consultants assist employees in obtaining a full-service bank account. Employees must qualify according to the bank’s policies.
7. International School Search: Inform the family on available options for International schools.
8. ADDITIONAL SERVICE FOR NON-EU NATIONALS is Help with the Work Permit: From a benchmark perspective, it can be well worth mentioning that 99% of all companies offer the whole family immigration assistance to keep the family whole. Someone that is separated from their family during an assignment with limited possibilities to have them visit will not be your biggest fan.

Offering a comfortable and professional relocation opportunity can be a really inexpensive way to have an ambassador in a country where you have a few (or no) contacts and additional talents will hear about your company and seek opportunities with you. Savvy recruiters know this and are helped by smooth relocation procedures.

Download your Required Documents for Work Permit to Sweden Checklist Here:

If you would like to learn more about these topics you might be interested in this Immigration Guide on our website with several articles on the subject.