6-20-2014
Remember in the old days, when it was a given that if you wanted to grow in your career, you needed to relocate to move up the ladder? One simply uprooted the family and often moved numerous times as their positions grew within a company or joined new ones.
Today it is much more difficult to find candidates willing to relocate. That doesn?t help you when you are in need of a new manager, on-air talent, PD, or any other department head. Between employees demanding a better work/life balance and wanting to be near family (which sometimes can work to your advantage), dual-spouse careers and being rooted in a community, they just won?t move.
What are your options or solutions to this? You can try to up the ante and make huge concessions, higher compensation, and creative benefits to lure them to your market, but chances of them staying are not great. If you are OK with a few years and then more turnover, this could be a solution for you. Most companies aren?t willing to spend the money to bring in someone for the short term.
When you have exhausted your search locally, what can you do to attract and keep those candidates that match your qualifications but live elsewhere? Here are some tips that we find useful when we are relocating candidates to our open positions:
? Have a solid relocation plan ? include trips back and forth until family is settled. It is OK to include a clause that if they leave within a pre-designated time period that a prorated portion of their move will be deducted from last pay period. Temporary housing for up to 90 days is a good amount of time to locate more permanent housing.
? Interview the family ? find out what is important to them, do they like certain activities, such as sports, wine, theater, etc. that are available in your area? Do they have family in the area? Are there better schools or medical facilities in your community? What career opportunities are available in your community for the spouse? Is this a place where they could see themselves living for several years if not until retirement?
? Be prepared to sell your opportunity to the family! Invite them all for a visit and have activities planned such as meetings with realtors, information from the Chamber of Commerce on key facts such as cost of living and average cost of home. Invite them to dine at popular restaurants, offer tickets to events or attractions. Set up school visits. Have them meet key staff members who can show them around. If necessary, have some informational interviews set up for their spouse.
? Review the position and think about the possibility of having someone either work flex-time in the market while commuting or working virtually. If you are in need of a local manager or seller, this probably is not the best solution for you as you really need the commitment to the community. If it is a regional position where the person is traveling most of the time, or if it is a behind-the-scenes position, then this could work for you.
Remember, not only is a new job exciting, it?s also intimidating and overwhelming when relocating. When it is done with an entire family, it is in the company?s best interest to help them all make the transition. The sooner they are settled and happy, the better your new hire will be able to flourish.
Laurie Kahn is Founder and President of Media Staffing Network and can be reached at 480-306-8930 or via e-mail at laurie@mediastaffingnetwork.com. Visit the Media Staffing Website www.mediastaffingnetwork.com
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