Why You Should Offer Short-Term Housing | Corporate Relocation Inc.
September 7, 2019

Paying For an Employee's Relocation? Why You Should Offer Short-Term Housing
You've found the perfect employee. But there's one catch: they live out of state. You can always offer to relocate the employee. But before you just pay for moving trucks and a plane ticket, consider also offering short-term housing. If you offer short-term housing to an employee when they relocate, you will find a few advantages.
If you don't offer short-term housing during relocation, your employee will need to make additional arrangements. They will have to spend time to sell their existing home and look at apartments or houses in your area. If you need someone right away, it makes sense to offer short-term housing.
With short-term housing, your employee can move over practically right away. Most of the arrangements they need to make can be handled when they're in short-term housing, and they won't have to worry about paying rent alongside a mortgage.
Rather than a need to worry about the practical issues of a move, your employee can instead immediately begin to live and work in your location. They will be able to acclimate to the area before they commit to a lease or to the purchase a home, which affords them the opportunity to make better decisions about their living situation.
Moving is hectic. Anything you can do to ease the path for your employee will eventually lead to better work product.
Many employees are hesitant to take a job offer that requires them to move. They know that moving is difficult, and they don't want to commit to it. But if the employee knows that you will handle their immediate, short-term needs, they will be more likely to accept the offer.
If you're in a competitive market, talent bonuses such as short-term housing are important. These types of soft bonuses will improve your chance to secure the best talent. They also begin a working relationship based on loyalty to the employee. And not all employees may accept the offer; some may want to handle their move on their own.
An employee who has to suddenly pay for a move, apartment, deposit, and sale of their old home won’t be the most financially stable employee. Even if you paid for the relocation itself, they still need to find a new place and furnish it.
When you allow your employee time in a furnished, short-term apartment or house, you allow them time to get settled financially. An employee who is stressed about finances won’t absorb training well and won’t feel as though they excel in their new role.
Often, employees who relocate are better to rent rather than buy since they aren't familiar with the area. If you give your employees more time with short-term housing, however, you increase their chances of purchasing a home. In turn, this increases the chance that they will stay with the company longer term.
Employees who use short-term housing will have a better picture of the local markets and will feel more confident to either buy a house or sign a longer lease in the area. Employees who are just dropped into the city may not even know where the grocery stores and transit lines are.