Mobile Relocation has recently welcomed ex- international recruiter Yvette Knight to our team in a national business development role. It has been so valuable to have her fresh perspectives on the value of relocation and resettlement support, so we asked Yvette to provide a guest blog sharing her insights on this topic.
I’ve been a recruiter for 20 years and have managed numerous international candidate relocations. I sometimes wondered if there was a better way to support our international hires - but what I was doing worked on the surface. Since joining Mobile Relocation, I’ve discovered the difference a well-designed and managed relocation programme can make - not only for the candidate, but for the employer too.
Recruiters live for the moment when the candidate we have nurtured through a recruitment process, accepts our offer. When hiring international talent, that’s not the end of the process. Next there is relocation to juggle while recruiting a busy portfolio of vacancies.
I needed an easy-to-administer solution, which typically involved arranging the visa and providing a budget towards relocation. What I hadn’t appreciated was how much more there is to relocation than logistics, and the positive impact successful resettlement can have on early-stage productivity, employer brand, candidate experience, and ultimately, retention.
Here are four things I wish I’d understood earlier about international candidate relocation and the solutions we offer at Mobile Relocation
#1 Leaky Lump Sum Payments & Expense Claim Chaos
As a recruiter, I offered international candidates a lump-sum payment towards their relocation costs. Most organisations take the same approach I did. It’s clean for the budget, takes the relocation workload off stretched People teams, and empowers candidates to make their own decisions.
What I didn’t realise was the impact of lump-sum payments from a tax perspective. When organisations provide a lump-sum for relocation, it’s effectively a cash benefit. If a company pays $10K for relocation, the employee isn't receiving $10K in value - they are receiving a net figure that is considerably lower. It’s essentially a "leaky" benefit which can leave people feeling short-changed at tax return time.
Some organisations take a different approach, offering employees a set value to claim against for relocation expenses. While this model avoids the tax leak, not all relocation expenses are tax-exempt and candidates may not realise this as they incur costs. We find that many relocation policies are murky when defining which expenses can be claimed. On arrival in New Zealand, your new hire needs to then navigate your organisation’s expense claim process, often waiting months for reimbursement - not an ideal employee experience.
Mobile Relocation partners with employers to re-structure their approach to relocation policy and expense claim management to avoid these situations. We can help to optimise your relocation investment and enhance your employee experience.
#2 The Hidden Cost of Convenience
I hear the same feedback from recruiters: “but a lump sum or expense claim is just so convenient.”
And I get it - I’ve been there. When we’re managing international candidate relocations on top of our core role, a lump-sum or expense claim requires minimal coordination.
But are we trading a candidate’s early-stage productivity and long-term retention for our own short-term admin ease? We all know an international hire is expensive. So what is the true cost of lost productivity - or worse, a hire that doesn’t make it through the first 12 months?
When a candidate is left to manage their own relocation - navigating a foreign rental market, setting up utilities, figuring out the school system, opening bank accounts, working out where to buy groceries - they’re not, for those first few weeks, focused on your business. They’re focused on surviving in their new environment. It’s daunting, overwhelming and stressful.
Mobile Relocation provides a seamless relocation experience before and upon arrival, with a local Resettlement Advisor supporting your candidate every step of the way. When you partner with us, your candidate can walk through the door ready to deliver, rather than distracted by everything they need to sort out at home. Think of relocation support as buying back your candidate’s mental bandwidth!
If your organisation is hiring offshore talent, the candidate experience you’ve worked so hard to create throughout the recruitment process shouldn’t stop when they accept the offer. A supported and settled candidate is in a much stronger position to succeed, stay, and become your biggest cheerleader.
#3 Moving Your Stuff vs. Moving Your Life
For many candidates relocating for a new role, this may be the first time they have moved city, let alone country. There is so much to organise, so many decisions to make, and so many competing priorities. If you haven’t made a major life move before, you don’t know what you don’t know.
When we give candidates a relocation budget, we trust they will use it to optimise their transition to life in New Zealand. But faced with an international move, most people focus on closing out the life they’re leaving behind. Packing up their house, shipping their furniture, selling their car. Sure, these are necessary tasks, but they don't necessarily help them build a life in their new home.
What the candidate doesn't know to prioritise are the decisions that will make a difference to settling in. They don't know the suburb that will suit their lifestyle, the local rental market, daycare waitlists, school zoning, or the cultural nuances of their new neighbourhood.
You’ve moved the person. You’ve moved their stuff. But you haven’t necessarily helped them resettle. And that can put your investment in an international hire at risk.
When someone feels unsupported and unsettled, they can start questioning their decisions:
Did I make the right career move?
Is this the right organisation for me?
Is New Zealand the right place for my family?
Mobile Relocation acts as the bridge between moving stuff and moving a life. Before arrival, our Resettlement Advisors help candidates navigate the practical decisions that make a difference to settling in. And once they arrive, we’re there on the ground to help turn a new city into a new home.
#4 Happy home, happy hire
As a recruiter, I’ve experienced first-hand how an international hire can unravel when we overlook the human element of relocation.
I once approached an overseas candidate about an executive opportunity, coached them through an intensive recruitment process, and managed the logistics of their move to New Zealand. From the outset, their spouse and children were unsettled and within six months, they made the decision to leave.
And that came at a significant cost. There were the obvious costs - flights, visas, shipping, accommodation. But there were also the hidden costs - time invested by TA, HR and hiring managers. Disruption to the wider team. Missed opportunities while the role was vacant (twice). The negative impact on customers and projects.
We had invested heavily in recruiting the right person, moving them from A to B, and setting them up for success at work. But we hadn’t invested enough in helping their family build a home here.
Adjusting to life in a new country is challenging. You’ve left behind your neighbourhood, your family and friends, your routines, and your professional network. The education system is different. The climate is different. Even supermarket shopping can be an adjustment.
When a family feels isolated or unsettled, it can quickly affect how they feel about their decision to relocate — and ultimately, their decision to stay. Research consistently highlights that family adjustment is a critical driver in the success of an international hire. Family issues are cited as a key contributor in up to 37% of international relocation failures.
When we treat relocation as a logistical task, we miss the human element. A relocation payment can’t comfort a spouse who feels isolated. It can’t help a child integrate into a new school. It can't explain the social and cultural nuances of a new country.
At Mobile Relocation, we believe successful resettlement is about more than getting people here, it’s about helping them feel at home. Our nationwide team of Resettlement Advisors provide practical and personal support to new employees and their families as they settle into life in New Zealand.
Re-thinking relocation
Next time you’re hiring offshore talent, or reviewing your relocation policy, pause and ask:
Are we supporting the logistics of the move, or are we supporting this person’s success?
International recruitment is a significant investment. The relocation experience can influence how quickly someone becomes productive, how their family settles, how they feel about their decision - and ultimately, whether they stay.
At Mobile Relocation, we offer a complimentary review of relocation policy to help your organisation optimise their investment and set international hires up for success - at work and at home.
Kia ora and welcome to New Zealand!
Mobile Relocation connects you with what you need to thrive in New Zealand. Contact us today to talk about how we can carry your relocation burden.
If you are a recruiter or HR Professional bringing international talent to NZ Mobile Relocation has a range of settlement support services to suit your candidates and your business - from baseline support to meet Immigration New Zealand’s AEWV Accreditation requirements (Kiwi Launch Pad) through to personalised programmes to support your most valued international employees.