Question:
We seem to be approving more exceptions to our relocation policy. Is that normal, or is it a sign that we need to change the policy?
MoveCenter Expert:
Some exceptions are normal. Repeated exceptions are information.
No relocation policy can anticipate every circumstance. Housing markets change, closing dates move, family situations vary, and occasionally an employee has a legitimate need that simply doesn’t fit within the policy.
But when HR begins seeing the same requests repeatedly, it is worth asking a different question: Why do our employees keep needing something our policy doesn’t provide?
The answer may point to a policy that needs updating, a process that isn’t working as intended, or a workforce whose relocation needs have changed.
Look Beyond the Exception
Suppose employees routinely request additional temporary housing. You can continue deciding whether to approve another week or month each time, but that only addresses the immediate request.
The more valuable question is why employees keep needing it.
Perhaps they aren’t receiving enough time or support to secure permanent housing before they relocate. Maybe the limit was established when housing conditions were different, or employees are relocating to markets where finding and securing a home takes longer.
The solution might be more temporary housing. It could also be an earlier home-finding trip, better destination support, or better coordination of the move.
The exception tells you where to look. It doesn’t necessarily tell you what to change.
What Are Employees Asking for That Isn’t in the Policy?
Some of the most useful exception trends involve benefits that aren’t in the policy at all.
Pet relocation is one we increasingly see requested. For an employee moving across the country with a dog or cat, getting that pet safely to the new home is part of the relocation. If multiple employees are asking for assistance with pet transportation, that is useful feedback about what today’s relocating employees value and where the existing policy may no longer reflect their needs.
Shipping a second vehicle is another request we see. A policy may provide transportation for one vehicle, but a two-driver household may own and need two vehicles at destination. When requests to ship an additional vehicle begin recurring, it may be time to evaluate whether the benefit still fits the households the company is relocating.
That doesn’t mean every popular request should become a benefit. Pet transportation and additional vehicle shipping both cost money, and adding either should be an intentional decision.
But repeatedly approving the same request as an exception can effectively create a benefit anyway—just without the strategy, consistency, or budgeting that would come with formally evaluating it.
Your Exceptions May Be Telling You Your Workforce Changed
Relocation policies can become outdated quietly.
A policy may have been designed when the organization recruited different types of employees, hired primarily from different markets, or competed for talent under very different conditions.
Today, you may be relocating more homeowners, families, employees with pets, or dual-driver households. You may be recruiting nationally for positions that were once filled locally or asking employees to move into housing markets where the economics of relocation have changed considerably.
The policy hasn’t necessarily become a bad policy. The people and circumstances it was designed around may simply have changed.
Exception activity can be an early indication that it is time to take another look.
Don’t Confuse Fewer Exceptions With a Better Policy
The goal isn’t necessarily to eliminate exceptions.
A policy broad enough to cover every conceivable situation would be difficult to administer and expensive to maintain. HR needs discretion to respond to legitimate individual circumstances.
The better measure is whether exceptions are intentional rather than habitual.
When an exception is truly unusual, evaluate it on its merits. When the same request keeps appearing, look at the pattern. Determine what is driving it, how much it is costing, which employees are requesting it, whether competitors are addressing the need, and whether changing the policy would better support recruiting, retention, employee experience, or cost objectives.
Sometimes the answer will be to add or modify a benefit. Sometimes it will be to fix a process. And sometimes the right answer will still be no.
Treat Exceptions as Feedback on Your Relocation Program
At MoveCenter, we don’t view exception management as simply approving or denying requests. We use exception activity as one of the ways to evaluate how a relocation policy is performing in the real world.
We look at what employees are requesting, why they are requesting it, whether patterns are developing, how those requests affect costs, and whether the policy continues to support the organization’s workforce and talent objectives.
Your relocation policy tells employees what the company intends to provide. Your exceptions tell you what happens when that policy meets real life.
Pay attention to both.
