According to a recent benchmarking study by Best Practices, LLC the average administrative cost per domestic relocation is $513 and the average administrative cost per international relocation is $8,668.

Why are the costs of employee relocations and assignments becoming more important to Fortune 500 companies? Over the last year, the global economy has seen a high level of M&A activity in the market. As companies expand or consolidate their operations, knowledge management through human capital will be a significant issue. For example, how will employees at a newly acquired Asian manufacturing facility learn from employees at an already owned European facility, and vice versa? How executives understand more about the new challenges the company faces as it expands its role in the global market?

Oftentimes, these are the questions and knowledge issues that cannot be solved by a conference call or lengthy PowerPoint presentation. Sharing knowledge across business units often requires a key employee to go on assignment or relocation to a new city or even to a new country where they will live and work with new colleagues, sharing what they know and learning about the unique operating environment of their host location.