Ask relocating employees 38 questions, from the offer to settling in
An employee relocation survey asks the person who moved how each part of it went, from the offer to feeling at home. The core 12 goes out about a month after arrival and takes four minutes. Add the needs check before the offer is final, the settling-in set a few months later, or the office relocation set when a whole site moves.
- 38questions
- 12post-move core
- 4 minfor the core
- 3moments to send
By Michael Hodge, BSc Psychology Updated September 2026
The relocation question bank, set by set
The post-move core starts ticked. Each optional set is labelled with who answers it and at which stage of the move. Beneath every question: its answer choices, then a note on what HR learns from the replies.
The post-move core 1212 questions
Eight statements on the parts of a move people remember, three counted questions and one open change. Send it about a month after arrival.
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I knew what my package covered before I said yes.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeClarity at the offer. A low score means people learned the rules as they went, which is when disputes start.
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My relocation contact answered questions quickly.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeResponsiveness is what movers remember. Read it beside the open answers to see which stage went quiet.
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My belongings arrived on time and undamaged.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe household goods move in one line. A low score is a mover problem to raise at the next contract review.
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Finding a home in the new area went smoothly.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeHousing at the new location is one of the top reasons employees turn a move down, so track it on every move.1
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Money for the move arrived when I needed it.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeWorks for lump sums and reimbursements alike. People who paid up front and waited to be repaid say so here.
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I knew which parts of my package would be taxed.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeMoving expense reimbursements count as taxable pay for most US employees. A surprise on the pay slip undoes a lot of goodwill.6
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The support fitted my household, not just me.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreePartners, children, older relatives and pets change what a good move looks like. A low score points to the household set.
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I feel settled enough to do my best work here.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe outcome the program exists for. Adjustment after a move goes with job satisfaction, performance and the intent to stay.4
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Overall, how satisfied are you with your relocation?
Very satisfiedSatisfiedNeutralDissatisfiedVery dissatisfiedThe headline figure, and the one most companies already track as a rating. Report the top two answers together.1
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How long did you have between saying yes and your start date?
30 days or less1 to 2 months2 to 3 monthsOver 3 monthsCounted rather than rated, in the same bands as a published survey of 1,000 job movers, so you can set your totals beside it.5
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Which part of relocating was hardest for you?
Finding a homeSettling inDoctors, utilitiesMaking friendsSomething elseThe same five answers Allied Van Lines offered in its job mover survey, so your results line up with theirs.5
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What one change would have made your move easier?
Open answerOne change per person gives you a short fix list, in movers' own words, before the next transferee packs.
At the offer: needs check4 questions
The employee answers these when the move is offered or just accepted, while support can still be added. They cover the worries that most often make people say no.
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Who is moving with you?
Just mePartnerChildrenOlder relativePetsTick all that applySizes the household before anything is booked. Housing, schools, flights and pet transport all follow from it.
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What will your partner do for work after the move?
Look for a jobWork remotelyNot workingNo partnerA spouse's willingness was the strongest single predictor of an employee's willingness to relocate. Ask early and offer career help where needed.2
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What worries you most about this move?
Current homeFinding a homeSchoolsPartner jobCostsLeaving familyTick all that applyThe same worries top the list of reasons employees decline a move. Each tick is a conversation to have before the offer is final.1
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Which help would make the biggest difference?
Home searchTemporary homeSchool searchPartner careerArea tourCashTick all that applySpend the budget on what this household will use. Employers rank family support and flexible funds just behind total value.1
The move itself: services and paperwork4 questions
Add these to the core when you want a score for each supplier. Movers skip any service they did not use.
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The pre-move survey gave a fair estimate.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe movers' visit to list and size the shipment is what the quote rests on. A poor estimate can mean a surprise bill or a second truck.
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Temporary housing suited my needs.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeLocation, size and length of stay. A low score beside a long house hunt suggests the stay was too short.
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The house-hunting help fitted my budget.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeHome-finding trips are a common offer to owners and renters alike, so check they point people at homes they can afford.1
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Claiming or spending the money was simple.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe paperwork side. Complicated claim forms and slow approvals show up here before they reach the open answers.
Your household4 questions
For moves with a partner, children or other family. The employee answers about the whole household.
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My partner has the support they need to settle.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeA partner's adjustment is closely tied to the employee's own adjustment and to the intent to stay.3
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The school or childcare search had enough help.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeMoving children to a new school entered the top five reasons for declining a move the first year employers were asked about it.1
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How is your partner's job search going?
Found workStill lookingNot lookingWorks remotelyNo partnerFewer than a third of companies help partners find work. Count the "still looking" answers and decide whether to add career help.1
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How is your household settling in overall?
Very wellFairly wellNot very wellNot at all wellOne line on the whole family. Read the two "not" answers first: those are the moves most at risk.
Three to six months on: settling in5 questions
Send these a few months after the move, when the boxes are gone and the real adjustment is under way.
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I have people nearby I can call on.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeSocial ties take longest to rebuild. Making friends was the hardest part for about one job mover in six.5
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My manager helped me find my feet here.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe work side of adjustment. A smooth move can still stall if nobody introduces the newcomer.
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Would you relocate for this company again?
YesProbablyNot sureNoThe verdict on the whole program. Just over half of companies say they lost good people partly because of a relocation policy.1
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Do you expect to be working here in two years?
YesProbablyNot sureNoIntent to stay. Adjustment feeds thoughts of leaving, so a low settling score beside a "no" here is a risk to act on now.4
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What do you wish you had known before the move?
Open answerTurns this year's lessons into next year's welcome pack.
About you and your move (optional)4 questions
Use these to compare kinds of move. With only a few movers a year, report them as yearly totals.
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What kind of move was this?
New hireTransferPromotionInternationalNew hires arrive with no network at the company. Compare their settling scores with transfers.
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How far did you move?
Under 100 miles100 to 500 milesOver 500 milesAbroadDistance changes which services matter: a short move needs little temporary housing, a long one needs a house-hunting trip.
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Before the move, did you own or rent your home?
OwnedRentedOtherOwners need help selling or letting; renters need help ending a lease. Compare your mix with the Atlas figure below.1
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How was your move paid for?
Company paid allCompany paid partLump sumI paidLets you compare satisfaction by funding type, and your funding mix with the Atlas figures below.1
When the office relocates (all staff answer)5 questions
For a site that is moving, not a person. Everyone who works there answers, before the new address is final and again a month after opening.
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How long is your trip to work now, door to door?
Under 15 min15 to 29 min30 to 44 min45 to 59 min60+ minThe baseline. Ask before the new site is announced, so the before and after totals can be compared.
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How will the new site change your trip?
Much shorterA bit shorterSameA bit longerMuch longerLonger commutes go with lower job satisfaction, more strain and less satisfaction with free time. The "much longer" group needs a plan.7
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I know enough about the new site to plan my days.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeInformation fills the gap between announcement and opening day. Low scores call for a site visit or a transport map.
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Could the new location change your plans to stay?
No changeMore likelyLess likelyNot sureNames the flight risk while there is still time to offer later starts, shuttles or a home-working day.
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What would make the new location work for you?
Open answerFixes in staff words: shuttle times, parking, a later start or a remote day.
Three short surveys across one move
A relocation survey is really three short surveys sent at different points in the move, plus a separate set for when the workplace itself relocates.
| When | Who answers | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| The move is offered | The employee who may move | Needs check, questions 13 to 16 |
| About a month after arrival | The employee who moved | The core 12, plus the services set |
| Three to six months on | The same employee | Household and settling-in sets, with statements 7 and 8 repeated |
| Before and after a site relocation | Everyone at the site | Office relocation set, questions 34 to 38 |
Most employee moves happen one at a time, so set the survey up once and send the matching link as each move reaches a milestone. Repeating statements 7 and 8 at six months shows whether the household and the work settled together.
Relocation is one stop in the employee lifecycle. The employee survey question library has sets for the stages before and after it, from orientation to pay reviews.
Build the survey around the whole move
A relocation starts with an offer and ends months after the boxes are unpacked. Four choices keep the survey on the parts that decide whether a move works.
Ask about the household, not only the employee
The person on the payroll rarely moves alone. In a study of 827 employees at 20 Fortune 500 companies, the strongest single predictor of willingness to relocate was the spouse's willingness.2 After the move, a partner's adjustment tracks the employee's own closely, and both go with the intent to stay.3 Statement 7 checks whether support fitted the household; the household set follows up on partners, schools and childcare.
Top reasons employees declined a relocation in 2025
Catch the deal-breakers at the offer
In 2025, 59% of companies had at least one employee turn a relocation down, and family ties, housing at the new location and the home left behind were the top three reasons.1 The needs check asks about exactly these while the offer can still grow to include a house-hunting trip, a school search or career help for a partner.
Survey at one month, then again at six
A month after arrival, the details are fresh: the movers, temporary housing, the money. Adjustment takes longer, and it is adjustment that feeds job satisfaction, performance and thoughts of leaving, according to a meta-analysis of 8,474 expatriates across 66 studies.4 So the core goes out at about a month and the settling-in set at three to six months.
Tell movers which parts are taxed
Moving expense reimbursements now count as taxable pay for most US employees. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the loss of the tax exclusion permanent, keeping it only for active-duty military moving under orders and intelligence community employees.6 Whether or not your policy grosses up those payments, statement 6 shows whether movers understood the position before it reached their pay slip.
Hosting a welcome lunch for this year's new arrivals? Put the hardest-part question on screen and start a quick live poll. Everyone sees they were not the only one hunting for a dentist. The poll sharing walkthrough covers sharing it in a team chat or during a video meeting.
Build your relocation survey report
Enter how many movers chose each point for the eight core statements. Agreeing always means that part of the move went well, so the shortest bars show what to fix first.
- 1Few companies move enough people in a month to report on, so pool every form returned over the last twelve months before you count.
- 2For each statement, divide the number of 4 and 5 answers by the number of movers who rated it. The panel handles the maths while you enter counts.
- 3Statements 3 to 6 cover things you buy or set in policy: the movers, housing help, the money and tax advice. A short bar there is a supplier or policy fix.
- 4Statements 7 and 8 are about people. When they come out lowest, add the household and settling-in sets to next year's survey.
Relocation survey results
Set your answers beside published relocation figures
Questions 10 and 11 and two of the About you questions share answer bands with two published relocation surveys. Even a company that relocates a handful of people a year gets a yardstick.
| Question here | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10: time between yes and start date | 33% of job movers had 30 days or less; 34% had 1 to 2 months | 1,000 people who moved for a job5 |
| 11: hardest part of the move | Finding a home 31%, settling into the community 26%, doctors and utilities 18%, making friends 17% | The same survey5 |
| 32: owned or rented before | Companies classed 55% of relocating employees as renters and 45% as homeowners | 549 relocation decision-makers1 |
| 33: how the move was paid for | 47% fully reimbursed, 23% partly, 19% lump sum, 12% not reimbursed | The same survey1 |
A worked example
Fourteen people relocated this year and six answered "30 days or less" to question 10. Six of fourteen is 43%, ten points above the 33% in the Allied survey.5 Now read statements 4 and 5 for those six movers alone. If their housing and money scores sit well below everyone else's, the fix is a longer lead time in the offer letter, not a new supplier.
Both surveys worded their questions a little differently, so read a gap under five points as noise and act on gaps of ten or more.
The one-month call: five things to ask
Not every mover needs a form. HR or the relocation consultant can ask these five on a ten-minute call: home, money, household, work and one change.
- 01Finding a home in the new area went smoothly.
- 02Money for the move arrived when I needed it.
- 03The support fitted my household, not just me.
- 04I feel settled enough to do my best work here.
- 05What one change would have made your move easier?
A copy for the welcome pack
A paper copy fits a welcome pack or a relocation consultant's folder. Movers fill it in at the kitchen table in the new home, or answer the same questions online.
Add a return envelope addressed to HR when the form goes into a welcome pack.
Relocation questionnaire
Page one carries the post-move core 12 as tick boxes. The needs check, services, household, settling-in and office sets follow.
Download PDF
Relocation results worksheet
Pool a year of paper forms, tally every statement, turn the agree answers into a percentage and pick the two areas to fix before the next move.
Download PDFWhere relocation questions go vague
Four ways a relocation question goes vague, each paired with a sharper version from this set. Our survey question examples and tips show these traps on other topics too.
Were you satisfied with the relocation process and support?
My relocation contact answered questions quickly.
My belongings arrived on time and undamaged.
"The relocation" covers a dozen suppliers, and process and support are two different things. Name one part of the move per question.
Did you receive adequate relocation assistance?
Which help would make the biggest difference? (asked at the offer)
"Adequate" means something different to a single renter and to a homeowner with three children. Ask what this household needs before the budget is spent.
How was your move?
Which part of relocating was hardest for you? (Finding a home, Settling in, Doctors and utilities, Making friends, Something else)
An open "how was it" gets "fine". Fixed answers you can count show where the program needs work.
Would you recommend our relocation program to others?
Would you relocate for this company again?
Few employees ever get to recommend a relocation to anyone. Moving again is a choice they can picture, and it is the answer that matters for retention.
Relocation survey questions HR teams ask
Short answers for the person who runs the relocation program.
What is a relocation survey?
In HR, it is a questionnaire for employees who move for work: before the move to plan support, and afterwards to rate the move and check how people have settled. Land surveyors use the same words for re-marking property boundaries, and movers call their estimate visit a pre-move survey. This page covers the HR kind.
When should you send an employee relocation survey?
At up to three points: the needs check when the move is offered, the core about a month after arrival, and the settling-in set three to six months on. For a site relocation, ask the commute questions before the new address is final and again a month after opening.
Can a relocation survey be anonymous?
Rarely. Most companies move a few people at a time, and the new location gives each one away. Promise confidentiality instead: HR or your relocation company collects the forms, the mover's manager sees only combined results, and each report covers a whole year of moves.
How do you measure relocation success?
In the 2026 Atlas survey, 50% of companies measured moves finished on time, 43% moves within budget and 68% the employee's own rating of the experience.1 Add two retention signals from this page: whether people would relocate again and whether they expect to be here in two years.
What should you ask employees before an office relocation?
Their trip to work today, how the new site changes it, what they need to know to plan their days and whether the change affects their plans to stay. The office relocation set holds those questions. For the new floor itself (desks, rooms and noise), use the office space survey.
Make the next move smoother
Load the post-move core, ready for your next transferee's first month in the new city, or print the questionnaire for their welcome pack.
