How to Land the Best Talent in a Workforce that is Unwilling to Relocate
Workers are less interested in moving for work opportunities thanks to the rise of hybrid work, according to a 2023 report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The number of job seekers relocating for new jobs fell to the lowest level ever recorded by the firm in the first quarter of 2023. In Q1 2023, only 1.6% of job seekers moved for a new job, down from 4.6% in the same quarter last year. The previous high for relocations was in Q4 2018, at 7.7%. The drop is likely due to a combination of remote work options making job seekers unwilling to move for work and rising interest rates making buying homes far less attractive, the firm said.
At The Chatham Group, we have seen the evidence of this trend first-hand and have created a list of ways your firm can overcome these challenges and land the best talent the marketplace has to offer:
- Competitive Compensation – at or above the median – is more important than ever. In a time of relatively low unemployment, very few of the 1.6% of candidates who are open to relocation will do so while making a lateral move or taking a pay-cut.
- Keep in mind that younger candidates – who often have young families – are much less likely to consider uprooting them with relocation for their job. Especially with major competitors in your industry offering highly competitive parental leave. Empty nesters and single renters tend to be much more flexible.
- Offering anything less than a full relocation package (including moving of household goods, mileage, allowances for candidates and their domestic partners to come to visit and check out housing options, temporary housing, incidental costs, and/or realtor/title/closing fees, etc.) is not very enticing. New employees want to make sure they’ve made the right decision, not be concerned about how much this move will cost them or where they’ll live in the meantime while they find a place to get settled.
- Candidates who require work-visa sponsorship tend to be far more open to relocation.
- Be flexible about your hiring requirements. Make a deliberate distinction between true requirements and the “nice to haves.”
- Nothing will help you recruit candidates with very specific/rare skills or profiles more than allowing fully remote work. Think of the HUGE impact that has on the size of the available talent pool. Check out this Indeed article on the benefits of allowing remote work: