Frequently Asked Questions

Start by creating a moving checklist and decluttering your home to simplify packing. Gather supplies, pack smartly, and arrange for a moving service while notifying important parties of your new address. Prepare an essentials box, handle valuables carefully, and ensure your new home is ready for your arrival.

On moving day, expect a busy schedule with movers arriving to load your belongings onto the truck. Make sure to keep your essentials box and important documents with you, and do a final walkthrough to ensure nothing is left behind.

Keep your pets calm and secure on moving day by placing them in a quiet room or with a trusted person away from the commotion. Prepare a travel kit with their essentials, including food, water, medications, and familiar items like toys or blankets. Once at the new home, gradually introduce them to the new environment, maintaining their routine as much as possible to reduce stress.

1. Confirm All Moving Details: Double-check the arrival time with your movers and ensure you have contact information handy.
2. Secure Pets and Children: Arrange for a safe, quiet place for pets and children, or have someone look after them during the move.
3. Take Meter Readings: Record final utility meter readings (gas, electricity, water) to avoid any disputes later.
4. Do a Final Walkthrough: Check all rooms, closets, cupboards, and storage areas to ensure nothing is left behind.
5. Ensure Utilities are Set Up: Before the movers arrive, verify that electricity, water, gas, and internet are working in your new home.

You should contact a mover at least 6 to 8 weeks before your moving date. This allows enough time to compare quotes, check availability, and secure your preferred date, especially during peak moving seasons. If you’re moving internationally or during a busy time of year, consider contacting a mover even earlier, around 10 to 12 weeks in advance.

Here are some tips for a seamless transition when moving to a new city:

1. Research Your New City: Learn about the neighborhoods, public transportation, local amenities, and community events to familiarize yourself with the area.
2. Visit Before You Move: If possible, visit your new city to explore neighborhoods, meet people, and get a feel for the environment.
3. Organize Your Move Efficiently: Plan ahead by hiring a reputable moving company, decluttering your belongings, and packing early to reduce stress.
4. Transfer Utilities and Update Address: Set up utilities (electricity, water, internet) in advance and update your address with banks, subscriptions, and other important entities.
5. Join Local Groups and Networks: Connect with local groups, attend community events, or use social media to meet new people and make friends.
6. Create a Routine Quickly: Establish a new routine, such as visiting local coffee shops, and parks, or joining a gym, to help you feel settled and comfortable.
7. Explore Your New Surroundings: Take time to explore your new city, visit local attractions, and try new restaurants to make it feel like home.
8. Be Patient and Positive: Allow yourself time to adjust, and keep an open mind about new experiences and challenges.

The best time to move is typically during the late spring or early fall, specifically between April and June or September and October. These months offer milder weather, avoiding the extreme heat of summer and the cold of winter, making the moving process more comfortable. Additionally, moving outside of the peak summer season (June to August) can help you find more availability with moving companies and potentially lower rates.

When preparing for a senior move, start by sorting and downsizing belongings, focusing on what’s most meaningful and necessary. Arrange for specialized moving services that cater to the needs of seniors, ensuring the move is as smooth and stress-free as possible. Lastly, help with the transition by setting up the new living space to be familiar and comfortable, and provide support during the adjustment period.

For those in charge of handling the intricacies of their company’s employee relocation program, ensuring you have all your bases covered can seem overwhelming at times. After all, a lot of thought and planning goes into moving people, establishing relocation policies, setting budgets, and ensuring that relocating employees are in good hands. For those HR professionals who partner with a relocation company, there are other considerations as well such as their company’s overall satisfaction with the services rendered, how well budgets were met, and how employees felt about their moving experiences. When taken together, it can be challenging for some to gauge how well their relocation program and policies both fit their needs and stack up to industry best practices. 

That’s why at A-Turner and northAmerican® we offer a variety of policy reviews at no charge to any company with no strings attached. To get a better understanding of the different types of policy reviews offered, see the Q&A below.

​A Policy Review allows companies to see how their benefits compare with industry best practices and to make sure their policy aligns with their company’s goals and culture.  An annual review is an ideal opportunity to review any new programs that may be available and to optimize exception management.​

A Relocation Policy outlines the benefits provided in a given Relocation Program.

1. Tell us About the Household Goods (HHG) Relocation Policy review:

In this type of review, we focus only on the Household Goods Matrix or the services that are provided in the actual household goods move. For example, we look at days of storage, crating, auto shipment, and other services to compare their current policy to industry best practices.

2. How Does That Differ From a Relocation Policy Review?

The relocation policy review is more focused on uncovering potential cost savings, improving employee experience, and identifying opportunities to become more competitive in talent recruitment.

3. What Can Someone Expect From a Household Goods Pricing Review?

The household goods pricing review's main purpose is to provide transparency into what the household goods moves are actually costing them and to make sure their pricing is competitive in today's market. This means that companies who receive a household goods pricing review can make sure they aren't currently overpaying for their employees' household goods moves.

​The first step is a short discussion to understand what the company's goals are for their policy. I try to find out what they are looking for. Usually, it's about understanding if they are more focused on finding cost savings or if they want suggestions on how to make their policy more employee-friendly or more competitive in the market. From there, I engage our Global Advisory team to perform the review and make recommendations. It's really simple and easy for the company requesting the review.​

​It's a valuable service that can help improve their Relocation Program with absolutely no strings attached.​

Honestly, there have been several instances over the years where we have uncovered literally thousands of dollars in savings for companies. Some occurred by identifying hidden or unrecognizable charges while performing a Household Goods pricing review. Other times, we have reviewed policies that haven't been looked at in years and uncovered potential cost savings. By updating the policies to be more in line with current best practices, we were able to save the companies significant sums of money.

In addition to policy reviews, northAmerican® offers free invoice reviews with accompanying analysis and comparison reports. These are great for companies that may have questions or concerns about what they’ve already paid to their providers and want to see how they stack up against the competition. The wonderful thing about this service is we compare pricing by line items, not just the overall cost. That way, if companies are paying too much, they can find out which services or line items were specifically inflated on their last invoice and learn which provider can offer the same services at a lesser cost.

The most common mistakes we see are:

1. Companies pull the relocation trigger before thinking through whether they really need to relocate someone.
2. Not having a policy around relocation components leads to misinterpretation, wrong execution, and a lack of understanding of costs: home trips, travel, temporary living, household goods moving, and other facets of relocation.
3. A general lack of visibility into the expected moving costs.
4. Not fully understanding the relocation timeline and how long it will take for the employee to move.
   

Absolutely! And as I mentioned earlier, there are no strings attached. I truly believe that having a relocation policy that reflects the company’s values while providing a great employee experience makes the entire relocation process easier for everyone involved and makes for a much happier employee.

Do you think your company may benefit from a free policy review and invoice review? Want to make sure your relocation programs are competitive and cost-effective? Now is a great time to take advantage of these free, no-strings-attached services. Email Corey Turner directly at cturner@a-turnermoving.com to get started today and request a copy of our Sample Relocation Policy guide.