Employee relocation policy changes in the works

An advisory board made up of government and private industry representatives is preparing a report that could recommend major changes to policies regarding employee relocation.

The federal government's relocation policies have come under fire in Congress in the past decade, after reports showed that some employee moves were costing more than $100,000. Members of Congress are frustrated that the agencies haven't been able to report exactly how much they spend transferring workers.

About 40,000 nonmilitary federal workers relocate each year. The Governmentwide Relocation Advisory Board is chartered under the General Services Administration to review the relocation rules contained in the Federal Travel Regulation.

The 11-member board, chartered by Congress on July 9, has met publicly twice, and most recently heard public comments Wednesday on three proposals:

• Merging two GSA-sponsored household goods/move management programs under the Federal Supply Schedule.
• Outsourcing the management of transferring employees to third-party companies.
• Increasing benefits to federal workers who are asked to relocate. That could include broadening the number of workers who can receive benefits, allowing for additional housing-search visits and providing mortgage counseling services.

Ed Davis, a program analyst in GSA's Office of Transportation and Personal Property, said at the board's Sept. 29 public meeting that private industry relocation standards should be the guiding principles for the board. He urged members to focus on speeding the process of getting workers into permanent housing, so agencies don't have to spend as much on per diems for employees in temporary housing.

Aligning the government's relocation policies with those of the private sector will likely require legislation. Some board members said that until they have completed the fact-finding portion of their work, they don't want to speculate on exactly what type of changes are needed.

Adlore Chaudier, co-chairman of the advisory board, said he expects five subcommittees set up by the panel to make recommendations in July 2005 for improvements in their areas of focus: residence transactions; administration and management; budget tracking and data; transportation and storage; and relocation reimbursement.

Chaudier, a program analyst in the Travel Management Policy Division in GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy, said he's not sure whether the board will recommend changes that would encourage greater competition for the government's relocation services.

"I think, in general, competition is good and it makes everybody better," Chaudier said. "I think that the agencies might have the opportunity to add services to what they currently provide to their transferees."

Linda Rothleder, president of Rothleder Associates, a federal travel relocation consulting company, made the case at Wednesday's public meeting for outsourcing relocation management.

"We are not even sure what we actually spend on all the allowances and entitlements on an annual basis," Rothleder said. "Moving is a noncore function of any agency's mission. It should be outsourced and managed by professionals whose success depends on managing the cost of relocation services."

The board's final report is expected in July 2005. Its next public meeting is Dec. 1 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Crystal City in Arlington, Va.