Have You Checked the Couch Cushions in Your Relocation Program?
11 November 2025
Sticker shock is rewriting relocation practices faster than thoughtfully considered planning ever did.
Sticker shock is rewriting relocation practices faster than thoughtfully considered planning ever did.
Relocation has long been treated as an expense line — a necessary cost to move talent where it’s needed. But when measured properly, relocation produces returns that Finance can quantify and executives can respect.
Credibility alone doesn’t move budgets or policy. To earn real influence, mobility needs to translate credible data into executive currency.
The intent is noble. Mobility wants a seat at the table. But the math often leans on variables we don’t control – performance scores, market share, or innovation pipelines we’ll never have sightlines into.
Every relocation tells two stories: one about getting talent where it’s needed, and another about what it costs the planet to make that happen.
At a recent conference, I attended a session on Measuring ROI in Global Mobility. The title promised substance. Instead, I got a parade of phrases built to impress an executive’s ear: revenue risk, million-dollar launches, speed to market.
For years now, it’s been getting harder to convince employees to take U.S. assignments. The reasons aren’t just cost or logistics; they’re deeper and more human.
Why Housing Differential Subsidies Save More Than Just Money
When companies relocate employees between cities, there’s a dirty little secret…
It’s September, the laptops are back open, and relocation isn’t happening in a vacuum—it’s happening inside two very different housing markets. Relocation is only as smooth as the market allows—and right now, it’s anything but smooth.
Even when employees receive a Miscellaneous Allowance, they still ask for exceptions.
“Can I expense the cost of licensing my vehicle in the new province?”
“What about the hook-up fee for internet?”
“Can you cover the dismantling of my home gym?”
These aren’t strange questions. They’re reasonable ones. But they create friction—case-by-case exceptions, follow-up approvals, and ambiguity for everyone involved.