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