I'm moving with or without my employer. How do I approach this?

April 15, 2020 4:57 PM

I mostly relocated to my current city for work, and as in my last question, I'm looking to move on soon to a place that better fits me. The potential exists for me to transfer with my existing job, but I'm really going to go even if that doesn't pan out. But I'm not really sure how to have this conversation with my bosses/HR.

I was hired 2/24, and you are eligible to transfer after six months. They are also located in the city I will be moving to. However, a transfer does hinge on there being an equivalent position open, which could take some time given that I'm in a management role.

I'm really unsure how to navigate this as I've never been through this before. I'd love to keep this job, as it's the highest paying one I've ever had and I like I do. But past experience shows that I find jobs extremely quickly, and I have plenty of savings + I'd be moving to a place with a higher COL so I'm not too worried there.

Those with experience in this, how would you suggest I handle it? My eligibility for transferring is August 24th, and I'm looking to move between July and October...depending on how this virus comes along. My first thought was that if I move in October, then I could just wait until August to bring this up...and hope everything goes perfectly with a position being available. If I left before then I think I'd just quit like normal, obvious.

Would it be reasonable to have ask HR about this instead of my managers? I did mention to my direct managers that I was looking to move with the company once my eligibility hit, and they were supportive of that and wouldn't be surprised.

I suppose I'd like to get some more information on the logistics of transferring, and what happened if I quit but then something became open pretty soon, etc. But I don't know if it'd be inappropriate to go to HR about that. I don't want to potentially bark up the wrong tree.

Thanks!

posted by signondiego to Work & Money (2 answers total)

Can you continue to work for your same manager? Or just the same company?

If you can continue with the same manager, then bring it up as soon as you're eligible (or sooner if it looks like they'll make a hire in your preferred location). As an employer, I want to keep good employees on my team. If you're not happy in your location, and we can agree to a better situation for you, then I'm all for it. Most good managers are probably going to see this as a necessary inconvenience to retain top talent. Based on your comments about finding jobs quickly, I'm guessing you're in good position to ask for what you want.

There will be a bunch of policy - which may or may not be negotiable. Can the time requirement be waived? Will they pay relo? Do you need to pay back relo? Is the first move a considered a temporary move? How would the two moves be treated for tax purposes. (That tax item can be tricky, when I've had company paid relocation my employer recommended getting professional advice.)

HR can, and should, give you company policy and will likely alert your manager that you asked. That is a-okay since you've already communicated your intention to your boss.
posted by 26.2 at 5:25 PM on April 15, 2020

In my experience, that's not what HR is for. HR isn't there to help you better your position - they're there to help the company. So I would not go to HR with this. I would wait until you're relatively sure you've got a move date, and then first approach your manager.

All that said, under no circumstances would I mention wanting to move or leave to anyone at work during the current situation. I'm not usually an overly paranoid person, but the economic and employment repercussions of COVID-19 haven't even barely begun to be felt. I expect everyone to be making cuts - why put yourself out there as someone potentially leaving anyway? Same with your ease in finding a new job. Maybe you had no problem finding jobs before, but this is not then.
posted by lyssabee at 10:51 AM on April 16, 2020