China Relocation

China Is on The Move
If you are originally from the West, you might think moving to China is a little bit too exotic for you. But perhaps once you arrived to one of China’s major metropolises you might actually find that it has many of the things which you would find at home to make you feel comfortable, including an English speaking expatriate community to form a support system. However, this may not be the case for China Tier 2 or China Tier 3 cities as specified by the Chinese government which are determined by population size and economic growth potential.[1]

For designated Tier 2 and 3 cities, many of the familiar amenities and infrastructure that could be found in the West and in the modern Chinese cities such as Beijing, and Shanghai is not available. But because businesses need to go to these Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities so do their talented employees. Therefore questions arise about how to relocate employees to these cities such as, how do companies fairly compensate employees who make the journey to the far reaches of rural China to live and work? How does an employee secure housing in more remote locations in China? This month’s Paragon Pulse survey explored these questions and more.

For the Paragon Pulse respondents 75% said that for employees moving to Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities would receive the following benefits in combination with their relocation policy: Language Training, Temporary Living, Annual Leave and Education Support. While 50% of respondents also said that transferring employees would receive Cultural Training, Property Management, Rental Payments, and Transportation. In addition to the question about how housing is handled in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities all respondents indicated that housing was paid directly to the landlord or property management firm of the home being leased. This would indicate that companies find that the best strategy is to deal with landlords and property management firms directly.

It is clear from these results that as China continues to grow its economy in these Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities talented employees will be moving there in greater numbers and therefore it is essential for companies to find the right mix of additional benefits to guarantee successful relocations within China.

[1]http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/understanding-chinese-tier-cities-for-business-469861.html

Survey Results
What additional benefits/services does your company provide to move from Chinese Tier 1 cities to Tier 2/3 cities? Choose all that apply:

How does your company currently deal with housing in China for those on assignment? Choose any that apply:

How does you company determine the type of housing that a transferee receives? Choose all that apply:

Does your company work with local governments in Tier 2/3 cities to develop infrastructure?

Survey Participation
The data represents results from corporate relocation professionals from organizations of the following size: