Professional relocation
services can take the headache out of moving |
For an overseas assignment to be effective,
the actual relocation of the assignee and his or her
family needs to be a success. If this fails, a company’s
strategic planning may fall off the rails.
Choosing a professional relocation company to assist
in the process makes sense, as an expert is more likely
to point out the major pitfalls than an HR professional
working half a world away. It is the strategic preparation
and planning of these assignments that determine its
ultimate success or failure, which is why outsourcing
to an Association of Relocation Professionals (ARP)
member is a wise investment.
US companies relocating a single employee or an entire
department/company will know the level of time and attention
to detail planning a relocation demands. Some assignments
can take up to three years to plan and cost over $1m.
So, planning international assignments requires expert
handling at the best of times, but with current world
events, companies and individuals need the reassurance
of highly organised and informed relocation providers.
They need someone who can search for a property, find
the right school, advise on professionals and also offer
help on more mundane matters like finding a plumber
and hiring temporary furniture – everything needed
for a smooth move and its aftermath. With over 200 members
throughout the UK, the ARP provides a cross-country
network of expertise.
However, relocating to the UK raises one list of requirements,
but should a company wish to further relocate their
employee from the UK into Europe this, naturally, raises
different, and more complex, requirements and potential
reasons for an employee to turn down the assignment.
As the General Secretary of the European Relocation
Association (EuRA), with members throughout Europe and
worldwide, I know the level of care these issues demand.
It is always essential to remember that when a company
relocates its employees, it wants them to be focused
on their job and not on the hassle of moving. However,
one of the first things a company should find out is
if the employees are ready for an international assignment.
We have members who, among many services, can offer
personality profiles and cross-cultural testing to see
if people really are suited for this.
It is this level of attention that makes professional
relocation services essential. Relocation agents save
time and money. They take the headache out of moving
and know that, just as each country is different, so
is every relocation and they are trained to help people
assimilate smoothly into a different culture. The Association
of Relocation Professionals (formally the Association
of Relocation Agents) was founded in 1986 (EuRA in 1998)
in response to the increasing need for an organisation
to coordinate the activities of a growing industry in
the UK. The membership, both in the UK and Europe, is
growing annually and it includes organisations as diverse
as Destination Service Providers, Relocation Management
Companies and Business Relocation Specialists.
The ARP members offer best-practice standards to ease
the process of relocation into the UK. It is the aim
of ARP to promote standards of excellence among its
members. Often, company decision-makers do not realise
how important the details of relocating are and the
need for specialised relocation agents. ARP vets its
members thoroughly and its charter requires new members
to adhere to strict rules of excellence.
HR departments in most major companies have attempted
over the past few years to streamline the process with
varying degrees of success. Sometimes the HR department
gets things just right, but at other times they are
caught off balance. As stated earlier, the relocation
of a senior executive can cost up to $1m and can take
up to three years to plan properly. Given these facts,
this is a subject that heads of HR departments and their
superiors need to take very seriously. When they do
get it right, a successful relocation can mean increased
efficiencies and a boost in the bottom line. Outsourcing
to a seasoned relocation agent can tip the balance in
favour of the employee – and the company in question.
However, HR departments often underestimate the potential
for chaos and conflict when there is a lack of proper
relocation planning. The planning and execution of a
successful relocation takes into account many agendas.
These could be grouped loosely as:
Assignee satisfaction: Will
the partner of the assignee agree to the move? This
is a common factor in the refusal by employees to transfer
to another location. An adjunct to this is that the
partner may not be able to take up their chosen profession
in the new location and this is another reason for refusal.
Strategic planning through an expert relocation agent
can alleviate this, because the agent’s job is
to look at the minutiae of detailed requirements an
assignee will have. It’s the personal hassle-free
service that pleases both the company and the employee
equally.
Some assignees also fear being “out of the loop”.
Being relocated away from their home country for, in
some cases, years, makes them suspect that when they
eventually move back they will have been forgotten about
and/or overlooked for promotion or even possibly made
redundant.
Facilities available: This,
to most assignees with families, involves their children’s
educational needs; schools are obviously a priority
and the most sought-after ones are not always available
in many popular relocation centres, especially those
that teach in the native languages of the assignee and
his/her family. The relocation agent will always work
with a suitable fallback in mind. Facilities can also
include leisure, activities such as skiing or sailing,
the arts (opera and concerts, galleries and lectures)
and quality-oflife benefits, such as eating out. Many
relocation agencies are reporting that security, given
the threat of terrorism, is now seen as priority.
Property issues: Many assignee’s
own or rent property in their former locations and need
to deal with this long before they move to the new location.
A relocation agent can manage the rental of the assignee’s
house or apartment if required and even manage the sale
in their absence if necessary, all with as little trouble
to the assignee as possible. When they reach the new
location, the assignee and his/her family should be
able to look forward to a “turnkey” new
home with all the utilities taken care of by the relocation
agency.
From the relocation agents’ point of view the
project has to be undertaken with a “can do”
attitude. The psychological importance of this peace
of mind aspect of relocation cannot be underestimated
and has a direct effect on the employees’ wellbeing
and loyalty to the company. It also reflects on the
HR department’s commitment to their employees’
wellbeing and therefore the company’s. Studies
have shown that employees who feel they are treated
like “cattle” in a relocation context are
far more likely to leave the company soon after than
those who are well looked after through a well-planned,
tailor-made move.
To get positive and harmonious results, these very
sensitive issues need to be handled professionally and
reliably and it is often wise to use a well-established
relocation agency that can provide rapid and expert
assistance with access to a wide range of information
and services. Having their fingers firmly on the pulse
of UK and European relocation, the ARP and EuRA have
the advantage of up-to-the-minute knowledge on who is
moving where and why. It is advantageous for companies
to be aware of the changing direction of relocation
trends so they can plan accordingly.
Here are some recent new trends that members have
identified:
- Changes in mobility conditions within Europe in
the past 18 months
- The percentage of female expatriates is substantially
on the rise
- More companies are formalising “spousal assistance”
within expatriate policies of their HR departments
- Dual-career marriages or partnerships have increased
- Rejection of international assignments is commonly
caused by spousal or dual-career issues
- All types of spousal assistance by HR departments
have increased in pre-assignment and substantially
in the on-assignment stages. Organisations have reduced
some services pro-rata on repatriation
- Significant increase in the number of short-term
(typically, a few months to one year) assignments,
mainly it seems, to accommodate dual-career relationships
- Changes in European Law: gay rights particularly.
Since 2003, gay partners of either sex have statutory
partnership rights on a par with heterosexual couples
with regard to property, last will and testament and
children
- Easing of visa, passport and taxation issues for
multinationals is making it easier for assignments
to be mandated quicker than ever before
(Other sources: ORC – “Dual Careers and
Assignments Survey” – EEC website Brussels)
What are the business advantages of a successful relocation?
There are many reasons why companies relocate employees.
Employees are sent abroad to expand the existing business
into new markets, to start or head up new divisions,
to transfer technology, to hire and fire and to achieve
a host of other business objectives.
Today, we are seeing an increasing number of American
companies realising the business advantages of opening
operations across Europe – private equity firms,
law firms and, most recently, restructuring companies
are all over here taking advantage of Europe’s
globalising marketplace. A new trend is for US companies
to relocate an executive specially tasked to bridge
cultural divides and to be a “culture carrier”
for the company, that is, to make sure that the culture
of the company back home is carried and maintained in
the new environment. Whatever the reason behind the
short or long-term assignment, success starts with the
relocation process itself. If this is successful, business
success is more likely to follow.
Conclusion
As business across Europe becomes more streamlined and
competitive, helped along by increasingly-advanced information
and communication technologies, I believe more non-European
companies will want to be represented here and take
advantage of new vibrant markets, particularly within
those countries joining the EU in May 2004 and Russia.
The global workforce is becoming generally more fluid;
people are moving continents in the same way they used
to move villages. Children are growing up in an increasinglyinternational
environment and are exposed to many different cultures,
not least through the media. Relocation is definitely
a long-term growth industry.
EuRA has been successful in attracting quality members
and its membership continues to grow as the relocation
industry becomes increasingly relevant in today’s
and tomorrow’s world.
For more information, visit www.relocationagents.com
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