Respecting the elders: moving an employee to another city may affect three generations.

Moving an employee with school-age children to a new city is difficult enough; adding an elderly parent to the equation makes relocation geometrically more complicated. One-quarter of employees caring for elderly relatives say they have passed up a transfer or relocation because of elder care

This is a growing problem for companies, because transferees tend to be valuable employees who are difficult to replace.

"Relocating employees is very expensive, and, in recent years, employee transfer volumes have really declined," says Cris Collie, executive vice president for the Employee Relocation Council (ERC) in Washington, D.C. "Those who are asked to move tend to be critical players in the company's strategic plan, so issues that might make them immobile are starting to be addressed more vigorously."

Increasingly, one of those issues is elder care, he says. ERC's most recent research among its employer-members, published in the 2001 Family Issues Report, shows that the number of companies that provide elder care assistance for relocating employees has doubled since 1997. Then, only one in five employers formally offered one or more elder care provisions, but, today, almost half do. Another 21 percent offer such assistance on a case-by-case basis. Only 31 percent of employers do not offer any type of assistance, but included among them are 4 percent that are considering elder care assistance.

Elder care relocation assistance could mean moving the relative from an assisted living facility in one community to another, moving a relative from the family home into a facility in the new city, arranging day care or transportation for a home-based relative, finding new geriatric medical resources or helping employees make arrangements to leave a relative behind.

Companies' responses to elder care relocation issues are as varied as their respective cultures, says Joy Loverde, director of Silvercare Productions, a Chicago-based elder care consulting firm, and author of The Complete Eldercare Planner (Times Books, 2000). "It always comes down to how family-friendly a company is," she notes.

Most employers are sympathetic and will help any way they can, but the sheer variety of help individuals need, and the vast and changing resources available make it almost impossible for HR to get deeply involved in logistics, Loverde says. "All they can do themselves is to provide a general list of places employees can go to get information." It's pointless for HR to develop and maintain lists of specific resources, because they will be out of date tomorrow, she says. "Everyone is stretched. It's up to the employee to be as proactive as possible, while the employer should provide the support and tools to help!' (For pointers on what HR can do, see "Elder Care Relocation Checklist," right.)

More specialty elder care relocation services are popping up all over the nation. "The help is out there' Loverde says. That's good news, because the demand for such services is likely to increase as the population ages.

Meeting a Growing Need

According to the New York-based Families and Work Institute, 40 percent of workers expect to be responsible for their aging parents within the next five years. According to the most recent data, from ERG'S 1997 Family Issues Report, 63 percent of companies polled said the availability of elder care services is a concern for their relocating employees. About half said employees are concerned about the quality and affordability of elder care in the new location; 56 percent said employees worry about the impact of moving an elderly relative away from family and friends.

Employers typically help transferring employees find the best schools and programs for their children, but HR managers may not know how to assist workers who are sole caregivers for aging parents. "The biggest help HR can give is also the easiest;' says Collie. 'And that's to understand the issues and be willing to address individual employees' needs."

The 2001 Family Issues Report found that 48 percent of employers have formal elder care relocation policies, i.e., there is a written policy describing how elder care issues will be addressed when an employee is relocated. "The other 28 percent who said they handle these issues on a case-by-case basis will typically wait for the employee to request specific help;' Collie says.

Most commonly, formal assistance includes paying to move an elderly relative who resides with the family, providing a list of local elder care facilities or programs, offering informational workshops, and providing a pre-tax benefit to cover elder care costs. Rarely, companies will pay to relocate an elderly relative from one facility to another one closer to the relocating family or will cover elder care costs for a limited period.

Third Parties Can Finesse the Details

Twice in the past year, Elizabeth Amato, vice president of human resources at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, Conn., has had transferred employees express concerns about dependent, aging parents. In one particularly difficult case, an employee was troubled about leaving behind his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, to be cared for by other siblings.

"It came out that the employee was feeling excluded from the planning process and was worried that he couldn't be around to monitor her care;' she says. Amato realized that this conflict could impact the employee's productivity and satisfaction with the new position.

Amato referred the employee to Work/Life Innovations of Wethersfield, Conn., which offers work/life resources and referrals, integrated employee assistance program (EAP) services and relocation resources to major companies such as McDonalds, BankOne, First USA and United Technologies, Sikorsky's parent company. EAPs and work/life providers can handle both the logistical and emotional aspects of an elder care relocation.

Work/Life Innovations is increasingly called on to ease the transition of an elderly relative during an employee relocation, CEO Mary-Ellen Rogers says. "Many of our relocation contracts entail moving an elder, and we help the family with every aspect of that," she says.

Moving to another state can raise complex legal issues surrounding Medicaid and private insurance, and the housing and care options can overwhelm families. "Senior resources and housing are spotty in many parts of the country," she notes. "It is often challenging to find the high quality of care the family wants at a price they can afford."

Fortunately for transferees, many employers are willing to consider the costs of housing a relocated relative when designing the employee's new compensation package. "Often, when HR professionals are in the salary negotiating process, they will come to us to learn what it will take to get the employee and his or her family settled in the new city, and they build that into the compensation package," says Lou Sanzaro, president of Work/Life Innovations.

But cost is only one aspect of the transition. Worries about displacement frequently cast a shadow over the family's move. "Sometimes this is huge and can be a relocation deal-breaker," says Rogers. For this reason, EAP and relocation consultants can field an array of geriatric social workers and counselors to work directly with the family--including the employee's adult siblings. These professionals can help determine the best housing and caregiving options, find key resources in the new city and, sometimes, help the elderly relative stay behind if a move is not in his or her best interest.

In the case of Amato's employee, Work/Life Innovations' providers moderated family discussions about his mother's care and constructed an acceptable care plan.

Each relocating family presents a unique situation that needs to be handled creatively and sensitively, says Sheila Purdy, a geriatric social worker at Springwell, a Boston-based social services agency that provides comprehensive elder care consultation to corporate clients of Comprehensive EAP in Lexington, Mass. "The hardest thing about such a move is balancing the needs of all the family members, including the adult siblings," she says. "What might be a great move for the employee could be impossibly restrictive for the elderly relative, who must sever all non-family connections--friends, physicians, church. The move will often place them in a more dependent position."

Purdy counsels immediate and extended family members to help find the best option. "Sometimes we find that means not moving the elder. Then we work on hooking her up with resources like a geriatric care manager who can act as a long-distance, on-call surrogate for the family."

HR should make EAP-type services available when relocating employees with elder care needs, Purdy says. "There are legal issues, custodial issues, financial planning issues--it's too much for an employee to take on alone."

Work/Life Innovations charges $200 to $400 to assist a relocating family, Rogers says.

Companies should continue any elder care-related benefits that the employee used before the move, such as a flexible schedule or pre-tax benefits for caregiving, Collie says. "Like any other benefit, once it's offered, it's not advisable to take it away."

No Room for Failure

When companies fail to provide easily accessible, practical help, or when they attempt to throw money at the problem with a lump sum payment, the relocation may not stick. There is little data on retention after relocation, but, certainly, a failed move is an expense companies should avoid.

"A company may need to spend $60,000 or $70,000 moving an employee, but if [the employee is] going to open a new market or introduce a new production process, the return on investment can be far greater than that," says Collie. A company that shows its willingness to accommodate the employee at every step--such as by paying for a home-hunting trip for the elderly relative, allowing employees to delay a move until elder care has been secured, providing geriatric counseling services, etc.--tells employees that the company cares about its people and wants them to succeed, Collie says.

Types of Elder Care Assistance Offered

(Percent of Organizations Surveyed)

                                        Formal policy *  Case-by-case **

 Pay to move elderly relative residing        34%              21%
                           with family

List of elder care facilities/programs        20%              16%

     Provide written material on elder        18%               9%
                            care needs

  Provide a pre-tax benefit program to        17%               1%
                      cover elder care

   Offer workshops on elder care needs         5%               1%

       Provide lump sum for elder care         2%               0%

      Pay to move elderly relative not
     living with the relocating family         2%              16%

     Cover cost of elder care services         1%               3%
                  for a limited period

* Based on all organizations that provide at least one provision as part
of a formal policy.

** Based on all organizations that provide at least one provision on an
informal case-by-case basis.

Source: Employee Relocation Council, 2001

RELATED ARTICLE: Elder Care Relocation Checklist

HR and the transferred employee should involve an affected elderly relative in every aspect of the decision-making process if he or she is capable, says Joy Loverde, author of The Complete Eldercare Planner (Times Books, 2000).

In her book, Loverde offers a relocation checklist for HR and employees with elderly relatives:

* Consider hiring the services of a moving company that specializes in seniors. The elderly person may have many belongings to sort through and discard before the move.

* Assess long-term housing and assisted-living needs. Will the relative live with the employee, or is senior housing more desirable?

* Find out whether in-home assisted-living services are readily available.

* Determine how the elderly relative will get around town while the employee is at work. Does he or she drive? Is public transportation accessible?

* Discuss health care issues, how to find new doctors and hospitals, and insurance coverage.

* Determine whether the elderly relative can afford the cost of living in the new location.

* Explore whether the new neighborhood offers ample social, spiritual and physical activities for the elderly relative.

* Find out whether the climate and altitude are suitable year-round.

* Have a back-up plan in case the relative decides the move will not work.

MARTHA FRASE-BLUNT IS A FREELANCE WRITER BASED IN SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.VA.