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Relocation, relocation, relocation . . .
Relocation packages for Antipodean candidates
As competition for the best Australian and New Zealand corporate & finance candidates hots up, firms are asking what they can do to secure the candidates they want.
One thing that is often seized upon by firms is relocation package - if we change our relocation package will it make a difference? Well, the answer is, in some cases, yes. Moving to a new country is not only tough but also expensive - especially when your hard-earned savings are divided by 2.5 the minute you touch down. There are airfares, rent and deposit to be paid in advance and the cost of relocating personal effects. Then there is the nuisance factor, packing up and finding someone to move your goods, a place to stay, a bank account, national insurance number etc.
Firms that can respond to the various issues facing lawyers making the move are at a distinct advantage. A good relocation package shows the candidate that the firm welcomes foreign-qualifieds and is attuned to their needs, and makes the overall package much more appealing.
Dissent in the city
Firms don't like it. The HR director at one major UK firm grumbles: 'Personally I think it's ludicrous that we are expected to contribute to relocation costs for Australian candidates, but it's just a sign of the times, it's completely demand-driven. They should look at it as investing in their careers, and salaries over here are higher anyway.'
But like it or not, it's the way of the world. As one Australian lawyer who had multiple offers puts it:
'When I made the move from Australia to London, I considered it essential in view of the relatively high cost of rent and other living expenses in London compared with Australia. It also makes you feel like your employer appreciates the significance of the move across and is supporting you through that process.'
So while candidates have the whip-hand, it's a necessary evil, but is there a market-standard for relocation packages?
Magic Circle and Top Ten
As is to be expected, the Magic Circle firms are leading the way when it comes to relocation packages. One Magic Circle firm recently revised its package to bring it more in line with the others, recognising the need to provide a competitive package on all fronts. That firm is now offering flights for the new joiner and partner, a taxi pick-up at the airport, three weeks' serviced accommodation and a £3,000 lump sum payable on the day they join.
One competitor, meanwhile, will pay an economy flight to London for the candidiate and his/her dependants, a £3,000 shipping allowance, 28 nights temporary accommodation, a two day home search assistance programme, and a £3,000 net miscellaneous expense allowance (paid with first salary).
Not taxing
An element that grabs many candidates is the tax-free relocation payment. Sometimes people have somewhere to stay when they arrive in the UK already and won't use the shipping allowance - for these people the only thing they get is the flights and miscellaneous allowance. That is where one Top Ten firm is ahead of the rest by paying one month's salary, which usually works out as more than £3,000 even after tax. The firm will also pay flights and reimburse the cost of shipping personal effects; £3,000 seems to be the magic figure when talking about relocation packages.
Some packages may turn out to be no more than flights even though they look good on paper. Another Top Ten firm will pay up to £2,500 for relocation expenses inclusive of flights but these expenses do not include first month's rent or deposit. While the offer also includes the right to use of a company flat for three weeks, which is generous, if a candidate already has something arranged then the package ends up just being flights and the candidate is left trying to find money for deposit.
Keeping pace
Whatever you do, make sure you're keeping pace with your rivals. One Top Ten firm stated that it will provide one month's accommodation in a company flat but won't even pay for flights, out of step with similar firms in the market not to say a candidate's expectations of a top firm. A firm will only get away with this approach when the candidate has no other offers, but even then it may put some candidates off entirely. In fact, this particular firm changed its tune and provided flights when requested to do so by a candidate who had indicated that he expected to have flights paid, but if your intake of Australians and New Zealanders is significant, it's perhaps best not to deal with this on an ad hoc basis, particularly as these things have a habit of becoming common knowledge...
Firms outside the Top Ten have a less proscribed approach to the issue of relocation packages. It seems that firms will take a pragmatic approach and do what needs to be done to match the main competition, but this still ranges from the bare minimum needed to secure an individual candidate, to paying for flights in every case and matching the Magic Circle where necessary. This seems to be a sensible approach where a firm's recruitment of Antipodeans is sporadic. As the market continues to pick up and mid-tier firms recognise the value of securing Antipodeans from top-tier practices, they may find it easier to have a set relocation package.
Does it make a difference?
Clearly, the re-emergence of relocation packages in the market reflects enhanced demand for Antipodeans, given the short supply of home-grown candidates. But do the nuts and bolts of the package really affect a candidate's decision?
We have found that candidates are impressed by a generous relocation package not only because it makes the move financially viable but because they see it as a reflection of the ethos of the firm and whether it is 'Antipodean-friendly'.
One candidate who accepted an offer at a Magic Circle firm concurs, but has words of comfort for those firms concerned by the rising cost of offering relocation packages.
'The relocation package would definitely be something that I would take into consideration - £3,000 goes along way to furniture and settling in. However, even if the firm did not have a relocation package, its reputation would have been strong enough to get me there without it'. Even where multiple offers are the order of the day, reputation, it seems, is stronger than any other factor.
'If you have the luxury of choosing between two or more firms, then whether each offers a relocation package would definitely impact my decision-making,' says one candidate who received three offers. 'You like to move cities without too much of a financial impact and limited stress when you arrive, which a relocation package allows. So any offer accompanying such a package is automatically more attractive.'
However, that candidate accepted a job at a Magic Circle firm with a very good relocation package, but not as attractive as the package offered by the other two firms which had also offered. He was convinced by other factors that the firm he chose was the best fit for him. The reality seems to be that provided a candidate's minimum expectations as to relocation are met (flights, shipping of goods and some initial accommodation allowance) they are more likely to make a decision based on their experience of the firm during the interview process, speaking to assistants who currently work in that group and the firm's reputation. Firms of every size will be breathing a sigh of relief!
By Louise Leecy, Legal Recruitment Consultant, First Counsel +61282208167 or
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