Posted on Monday, April 07 2025
While the pandemic made all of us a lot more comfortable with video calls and hybrid working models, the truth is that sometimes there’s no substitute for getting teams working together in person, especially when there’s a big project on the line. This is particularly true when a key project leader or manager needs to be on-site for specific deliverables or to build local relationships with suppliers.
So how do you decide whether your team lead should travel back and forth on a regular basis, relocate on a short-term basis, or relocate for the longer term?
ADVANTAGES: • Can be an easy transition • Tends not to require significant advance planning • Scalable and flexible (2 days one week, 3 days another week, etc.)
DISADVANTAGES: • Exhausting for most people if it continues more than a few weeks • Very expensive for the company (travel, accommodation and productivity) • A lot of lost time due to travel • The employee may never really have a chance to ‘gel’ with teams in either location if they’re only there part-time
ADVANTAGES: • Less disruptive for the employee, because they don’t have to uproot their whole family • Much less costly than a full relocation (especially on • Fewer concerns about tax compliance implications for international moves • Often easier to get employee buy-in
DISADVANTAGES: • Can be stressful for the employee if the assignment is seen as open-ended and extendable • May still involve travel costs for the employee to return home or to bring family for visits
ADVANTAGES: • Allows for leadership or participation in longer-term projects, like a factory setup • Doesn’t require the employee to commit to a permanent relocation • Can be appealing in attracting or retaining top talent that wants international experience • Can bring valuable cross-cultural experience into the organization
DISADVANTAGES: • Can be expensive for the organization, involving housing purchases, family moves, language and cultural training • Can create immigration and tax challenges when the employee is considered to be a resident of the new country • Long-term assignments tend to have higher failure rates than short-term ones, if the employee or their family fails to ‘thrive’ in a foreign location
As the largest provider of corporate housing in Canada, we’ve worked with thousands of organizations around the world, providing accommodation for employees who are traveling for work or relocating for a few weeks or months. With more than 1500 furnished suites, homes and townhomes across Canada, plus a network of more than 10,000 more furnished residences, we’ve got accommodations to suit just about everyone!
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