Category: Domestic Relocation

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Global Mobility Global Relocation Relocation Management

Global Mobility Solutions Celebrates 30 Years of Relocation Success

A scene from Downtown Scottsdale at dusk with a canal and reflections in the foreground. Scottsdale is part of the Phoenix Metropolitan area.

Founded in 1987, Global Mobility Solutions (GMS) has been providing companies around the world with an array of innovative domestic and global relocation services. In the past thirty years, GMS has helped nearly 240,000 transferees for many companies in a variety of industries.

GMS has always been a leader in the relocation industry. From being the first to pioneer and perfect pre-decision programs to developing cutting edge online relocation tools, GMS is continually recognized for its breadth of solutions and world-class customer service by both clients and independent entities. GMS has been named to HRO Today’s “Baker’s Dozen” as one of relocation companies in satisfaction, quality and breadth of services for four years in a row. GMS has also recently been recognized as a 2017 LEAD Award winner for being both a top 10 company in the “Best Sales Leadership Program” category and a top 20 company in the “Best Global Leadership Program” category.

While GMS has been growing steadily since 1987, the company still places a high priority on giving back to the community. Working with its main charity, Move for Hunger, GMS helps donate food and money to local charities. GMS and its service partners donated have donated over 7,000,000 pounds of food, delivered to food banks across North America.

Categories
Domestic Relocation Global Mobility Global Relocation Relocation Best Practices Relocation Management

Global Mobility Solutions Recognized as a Leader

Singapore business district skyline panorama over Marina Bay

Leader Recognition – For the past 34 years, the LEAD Awards have identified and recognized organizations with the top leadership programs, strategies, and solutions with regard to global leadership development. These prestigious leadership awards salute the world’s top leadership practitioners and programs and highlight their roles in developing their most important asset – their people.

Global Mobility Solutions (GMS) was recognized as a leader for its excellence in leadership training and education. GMS placed in the top 10 of 100 companies for Best Sales Leadership Program and Top 18 of 200 for the Best Global Leadership Program.

 

Global Mobility Solutions a winner of Best Sales Leadership Program

Global Mobility Solutions a winner of Best Global Leadership Program

 

The competition was strong as GMS went up against such household names as 3M, Boston Scientific, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, and many others. In fact, the other winners have a combined average annual revenue 453% larger than GMS and an average of 383% more employees. It is an honor and accomplishment to be recognized amongst such giants of industry.

 

Learn how GMS can help your transferees become leaders in their new destinations

Is your relocation program the best it can be? Receive your free relocation policy review.

 

About LEAD2017 LEAD2017 is a 2-day leadership forum, February 7th and 8th, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Music City Center. Designed to inspire leadership in people from all walks of life in person at the conference as well as live simulcast to hundreds of remote host sites internationally. The event brings together top thought leaders and the world’s best leadership practices that can be shared by attendees to develop leadership programs in their own organizations and communities http://www.lead2017.com/ February 8th will be broadcasted globally with the goal of touching 1 million lives to choose leadership.

About HR.com and the LEAD Awards HR.com, the largest global social networking and resource site for HR Professionals is committed to providing a deeper understanding of the HR function for over 290,000+ members by offering an annual global leadership annual event – LEAD, the LEAD Awards, HR Certification Exam Prep Courses, certification programs, a personal development app, monthly themed HR e-publications, 4,500+ webcasts, 1,200+ eLearning credits, 230+ virtual conferences, blogs, community networks, industry news and advisory boards. See www.hr.com for more information.

Categories
Corporate Relocation Corporate relocation tips Domestic Relocation Domestic Relocation Challenges Domestic Relocation Tips Global Mobility Global Relocation Global Relocation Challenges Global Relocation Tips Relocation Best Practices Relocation Challenges Relocation Management

Managing Mobility Costs

Businesspeople in a meeting

Department heads all over the globe are constantly asked to identify cost-saving opportunities within their departments. Human resources, employee mobility, talent acquisition, and procurement are no exceptions. As you scrutinize your budget, try utilizing these three steps to help better manage and ultimately reduce your relocation expenses:

Cost Estimates

Managing mobility costs starts with understanding what those expenses are. First estimate what costs should be involved with your vision of a successful mobility program. A cost estimate will provide you with a clear picture of the potential costs of individual relocation assignments. You can then use these cost estimates to correctly establish a budget prior to initiating any relocations.

One effective way to determine your cost estimates is by utilizing cost estimate technology. There are many software programs that by using the latest upgrades will help you:

  • Save time
  • Reduce human error
  • Ensure compliance

Policy Reviews

By reviewing your relocation policies, either internally or with an outside relocation management company (RMC), you will be able to identify cost-saving opportunities and eliminate expensive exceptions. When reviewing your mobility management policies, you should:

  • Do so in conjunction with cost
  • Benchmark against other companies within your industry
  • Leverage technology for key services (i.e. Virtual destination tours, online school reports, etc.)

Example:

Using online language tools can reduce relocation costs by roughly $5,000 - $20,000.

Tracking and Reporting

Lastly, you want to ensure that you are continuously tracking all expenses and reporting any overages or savings. Get a detailed account of how your cost estimates match up with your actual spending. Then the whole process repeats itself. Once you have your data:

  • Take action – Make any necessary adjustments to your budget, policy, or both
  • Review – Go over the detailed reports to identify more cost-saving opportunities
  • Incorporate technology – Save time and money by offering key services online

Global Mobility Solutions (GMS) is an award-winning RMC and, since 1987, has been helping companies save time and money with regard to their corporate relocations. As a courtesy service, GMS will review your current relocation policies and provide expert feedback to ensure that your policies are competitive within your industry and to identify any cost-saving opportunities, so you can focus on managing mobility costs.

Click here for your free relocation policy review

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Domestic Relocation Tips

Best Places for Business in the U.S.

A close  look at “The Best Places for Business in the U.S.”

Why should you be interested in the best places for business in the United States? On January 3, 2017, Mark Fields, CEO of Ford Motor Company, talked about how Ford was scrapping plans to build a $1.6 billion manufacturing plant in Mexico and instead was going to be investing $700 million into a facility in Detroit. The move would not only save existing jobs in Michigan, but add 700 new ones. Fields stated, “This is a vote of confidence for President-Elect Trump and some of the policies he may be pursuing.” This could also be interpreted as, “We better keep our operations in the U.S. or we will be heavily fined by the new administration.”

Deciding which state may make the most sense, many companies logically look for less expensive, more business-friendly locations to relocate all or parts of their operations. However, if crossing the border is no longer an option due to penalties and political backlash, to which states should companies look when setting up satellite facilities? What are the best places for business in the United States?

In the article “America’s Top States for Business in 2016,” Scott Cohn, Special Correspondent for CNBC, identified ten metrics and weighted them to determine state rankings. These are:

·         Workforce (400 points)

·         Cost of Doing Business (350 points)

·         Infrastructure (350 points)

·         Economy (340 points)

·         Quality of Life (325 points)

·         Technology & Innovation (250 points)

·         Education (200 points)

·         Business Friendliness (160 points)

·         Cost of Living (75 points)

·         Access to Capital (50 points)

By using these metrics, Mr. Cohn was able to compile an ordered list of the top states in which to do business. The top 10 overall rankings for 2016 are:

1.       Utah

2.       Texas

3.       Colorado

4.       Minnesota

5.       North Carolina

6.       Washington

7.       Michigan

8.       Georgia

9.       Iowa

10.   Florida

To view the full list of all 50 states, as well as the scores for each individual metric, visit the CNBC article page.

Should your company be planning a move to a more business-friendly state, be sure to utilize an experienced relocation management company to make the most informed decision and to facilitate your mobile workforce. Global Mobility Solutions (GMS) has been a leader in relocation management since 1987, continuously delivering innovative programs and relocation technology along with award-winning customer service.

Before you move – or even develop your relocation policies – contact GMS for your complimentary benchmark study.

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Domestic Relocation Tips Domestic Relocation Trends Global Mobility Global Relocation Global Relocation Tips Global Relocation Trends Relocation Best Practices

Pre-Decision and Best Practices for Global Mobility

Singapore business district skyline panorama over Marina Bay

Pre-decision Best Practices: Why do many companies have a 50% rate for assignment rejection? It is primarily because the potential transferees do not have a clear understanding of the destination location and the support available for their families.

The top 3 reasons cited for rejecting relocation assignments are housing/mortgage concerns, trailing spouse/partner employment concerns, and overall family concerns. Pre-Decision Best Practices

Assignment rejection and failure can be very costly to a company. Firms spend an average of half a year’s salary in recruiting and training when onboarding a new employee. For high-level executives, the expense can be six to nine months of their salaries. However, according to the ERC, it can be as high as three-times an annual salary for international executives. If assignments are rejected, or fail after a move – which adds much more to the financial loss – companies must go through the expense of onboarding and training new staff.

 

How can companies ensure that they get the right people in the right place at the right time and for the right price?

The answer is to use pre-decision programs. Global Mobility Solutions (GMS) is the pre-decision pioneer and we continue to develop new, innovative features for pre-decision programs.

Although the number is growing, currently only 22 percent of companies around the world are utilizing pre-decision programs. However, when working with an RMC, nearly 60 percent choose to incorporate pre-decision into their mobility management solutions.

Employees decline relocation assignments due to housing, family, and spousal/partner employment concerns. Many firms had a 50% rate for assignment rejection. 32% housing/mortgage, 55% spouse/partner employment, 69% family issues. By using pre-decision, companies increase assignment acceptance, reduce failed relocations, save money, and project a progressive and employee-friendly image.

Going back to the reasons cited for assignment rejection, let’s see how the in-depth questioning and available services of pre-decision can address each of those concerns.

 

Housing

Candidates are interviewed to learn about community and lifestyle preferences. Candidates are presented with destination spotlights that highlight the cost of living and attractions of the assignment location. Area tours are arranged. Candidates are pre-approved by participating mortgage lenders. Candidates are provided with home selling and home buying assistance.

Spouse/Partner Employment

The pre-decision interview includes an employee’s spouse or partner. Pre-decision best practices programs offer a career assessment to develop an action plan that will help the spouse or partner adjust to the new location. This can include resume services, aggressive job searching, and more.

Family

Through the pre-decision interview process, the specific needs of the family are determined. To help candidates better understand the new location before moving, they are presented with school reports and detailed community information. Community tours are arranged so that transferees and their families can see schools, hospitals, and centers of culture and entertainment prior to moving.

 

The talent acquisition program manager of a large healthcare company said, “By using pre-decision to initiate relocations prior to the face-to-face interview, we know that transferees have arrived more quickly, have settled better, and stayed longer.”

Benefits of utilizing pre-decision programs include reduced time to acceptance, reduced overall costs to the company, an increased acceptance rate, and an increase in successful assignments.

Because of how it engages relocation candidates and their families, increases assignment acceptance and success, and saves companies time and money, pre-decision best practices should be utilized when it comes to mobility management.

Learn more about how pre-decision programs can benefit both you and your transferees.

 

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Domestic Relocation Tips Domestic Relocation Trends Global Mobility Global Relocation Global Relocation Tips Global Relocation Trends Relocation Best Practices

Why Benchmark?

Thai family using technology in their everyday live.

Relocations can generate a lot of excitement as companies eye the potential for increased revenue, organizational growth, and the development of their employees. It is important for those managing workforce mobility to know if their company’s relocation policies make sense in today’s evolving, global business environment. It is critical for all the stakeholders in employee relocation – talent acquisition, human resources, procurement, finance, legal, etc. – to fully understand the best practices to ensure that their policies are competitive, compliant, and effective.

Here are the top 5 reasons you should be reviewing your relocation program and policies:

  • To ensure competitiveness within your industry in order to attract and retain the best talent
  • To identify enhancement and cost-saving opportunities (i.e. process, service cost, exception reduction, etc.)
  • To maintain alignment with your overall mobility objectives across key disciplines
  • To educate internal stakeholders on current best practices and trends
  • To learn about innovative ideas for managing a changing workforce mobility environment

Policy Benchmarking Options

A best practice across all industries is to conduct program and policy reviews every 12 to 18 months, depending on an individual company’s relocation volume, size, and scale of programming. You can receive expert guidance and award-winning service by submitting a request for contact.

Categories
Corporate Relocation Corporate relocation tips Domestic Relocation Domestic Relocation Challenges Domestic Relocation Tips Global Mobility Global Relocation Global Relocation Challenges Relocation Challenges

5 Steps to a Successful Year-End Process

Business coworkers working together at office

While most people are happily preparing for the holidays, you’re scrambling through the year-end reconciliation of all of your relocation expenses. Well, even though it’s only November, here is a gift that will help you not only navigate this year, but help you to have a successful year-end process for years to come.

Though many relocation managers might prefer battling crazed Black Friday crowds to year-end reporting, the process tends to go more smoothly when run by the relocation department. To maximize efficiency, be sure to utilize these five steps:

  1. Create a year-end checklist. A detailed checklist will help identify all of the information you need to accurately report year-end compensation. Your checklist should include due dates, responsible individuals and departments. Establishing the responsibility for reporting all of the relevant compensation data is an important component, and can include wages, imputed income, benefits, equity, taxes, and more. This year-end checklist will help you identify all the resources you will need to create a complete and accurate report. Your itemized checklist needs to include items such as early cutoff dates and all employees who will receive the tax filing services (employees on the tax eligibility list), as well as provide for the time needed for verification, approval and processing. A well-developed checklist will also set firm deadlines for the reporting and tax filings.
  1. Set up a year-end preparation call. When setting due dates, be cognizant of the vacation times made mandatory by some countries around the end of December. During the call, review your year-end checklist with all involved parties to ensure that they are aware of their role and due dates. Use this call as an opportunity to build understanding and develop relationships that will make year-end reporting easier in the future. If you have not already held a year-end preparation call, schedule one as soon as you finish reading the rest of this article!
  1. Verify all of your data! Accuracy is vital, especially when it comes to compensation reporting. Data such as addresses and tax ID numbers/Social Security numbers should be confirmed, as well as wages, benefits, sick and vacation time. Double-checking data prevents backtracking and costly errors down the line.
  1. Finalize your data. Make sure that the final payroll reports of the year have been included, plus any end-of-the-year benefits. Be sure to back up the program data again and be sure to save it in a secure location should it need to be referenced in the future.
  1. Get ready to submit your report. Double-check the deadlines for all the countries on your list and be prepared to provide specific data for each. Tax providers may ask for data for different assignee/transferee populations. Be sure to adhere to your year-end deadlines and, whenever possible, send the data ahead of time. Some international locations may have very tight turnaround times to make that final tax payment of the year.

As with anything, practice makes perfect. The more you follow these five steps, the easier year-end reporting will become for you and you can be confident of a successful year-end process.

Learn more about how to save time and money while managing your corporate relocations.

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Domestic Relocation Tips

Reduce Relocation Expenses by Eliminating Gross-Ups

BVO Savings

The Buyer Value Option (BVO) program avoids the costly process of “grossing up” dollars used to pay for the commissions and closing costs on the sale of a transferee’s home, enabling a company to reduce relocation expenses.

Typically, the commissions and closing costs associated with the sale of a transferee’s home represent the majority of the total costs incurred during a relocation. Reimbursement to a transferee of these expenses is considered taxable compensation by federal and state authorities.

Most corporations use a form of tax assistance, known as gross-up, to help offset the tax impact felt by the transferee receiving reimbursement. The gross-up expense can add substantial costs.

Example:

A transferee in the 40% tax bracket receiving a $24,000 home sale expense reimbursement will require around $39,900 in order to approximately cover the impact of income taxes being withheld and still net the $24,000 needed to cover the actual expenses.

Typical home sale with gross-up

Home sale with BVO cost savings

Total Savings:                           $11,400

*Commissions and closing costs shown reflect a 6% commission and 2% closing costs. Actual costs, including BVO fee, may vary.

Once a transferee receives a valid offer to purchase from a 3rd party buyer, and after the relocation management company (RMC) has been able to verify that all contractual terms are customary, the transferee turns the sale of the home over to the RMC.

The RMC then purchases the home from the transferee and subsequently transfers the home to the 3rd party purchaser. All closing costs and realtor commissions are paid by the RMC and billed directly to the employer. Since the transferee never incurs any home sale expense, normal reimbursement of these expenses is not required.

Fast, Easy, and Economical

Once the origin home is turned over to the RMC, the transferee relinquishes all obligations including attending the actual closing. The RMC manages the entire sale and closing process on behalf of the transferee. The BVO program allows the transferee to move quickly, and focus on his or her new job and community. This is one more way of reducing both the stress and expenses associated with workforce mobility.

To learn more about BVOs or other relocation programs, please visit our contact page and an experienced Global Mobility Solutions relocation consultant will answer all of your questions.

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Global Relocation Relocation Challenges

Top Things to Consider to Ensure a Smooth Group Move

Singapore business district skyline panorama over Marina Bay

Smooth Group Move – Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that “Planning is everything.” The initial blueprints for the 1944 invasion of Normandy, in which the general moved over 132,000 ground troops across the English Channel, were first presented in July of 1943. Even though your group move will not be of D-Day proportions, it will still require advanced planning and ongoing support to accomplish your mission.

Group move success is not just measured in how many people you move from point A to point B. You need to ensure that your business goals are met. These may include the retention of talent, meeting budget guidelines, minimizing disruptions, and guaranteeing the happiness of the transferees and their families.

 

Key considerations for a smooth group move should include and are not limited to:

  • A proven methodology and customized solutions
  • Risk avoidance and compliance
  • Decision-making support to maximize acceptances
  • Robust tools and resources that ensure efficient communication
  • Total management of the relocation process

 

Although there are specific steps that can be taken in each unique phase of an employee relocation, there is some overall planning that must be considered to ensure a successful group move.

 

Inclusion and Alignment

It is important to start with developing customized resources for you and your employee population considering the move. This approach allows for stakeholders to fully understand the relocation programs available, the process and host location insights for decision making.

Your RMC needs to work with you to create and implement a strategy and project plan tailored to your business needs, organizational culture and employee demographics. Service options should include:

  • Employee surveys to assess the needs of your transferees prior to program development.
  • The design, development, and implementation of corporate relocation policies that focus on competitiveness, cost efficiencies and alignment with goals and objectives.
  • Budget development and oversight that identify and quantify mobility cost with other best practice group move programs, as well as provide savings and containment recommendations.
  • Site surveys of the new location with special attention to schools, housing, cost of living, etc.
  • Announcements and communications templates to ensure that transferees are properly informed every step of the move.

 

Pre-Decision

You want to make sure that you move the right talent to the right place at the right price. It can save a lot of time, money and heartache to ensure that this happens before you actually relocate an employee. Your RMC should support your pre-decision efforts by providing:

  • In-person, group policy overview and briefings
  • Customized web-based resources specific to the destination location
  • Live resource centers at both the origin and destination locations
  • Group area orientations that include housing tours, school visits, etc.
  • Assignment/relocation offer letter coordination
  • A summary and debrief of all pre-decision activity, findings, and recommendations

 

Pre-Move Planning

Once you determine which employees are participating in the group move, your Relocation Management Company (RMC) should help you and your transferees understand what is involved with the process of getting to the destination location. Services should include:

  • Household goods shipment surveys to take into account all of a transferee’s personal belongs to be shipped and deliver an inspection-based cost summary to be used for budgeting, accruals, and cost impact analysis.
  • Global relocation analysis reports include a comparable analysis of consumables, transportation, goods and services, housing costs, etc. in order to provide realistic expectations of the cost of living in the destination location versus the origin location.
  • Educational assessments offer comprehensive consultations with the relocating families and follow-up discussions about schools and education concerns the families may have.

 

Putting the Planning into Action

  • Policy counseling and needs analysis is conducted with every smooth group move. During this initial conversation, your RMC should conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and provide a detailed review benefits and procedures, as well as identify any special needs that will need to be addressed. They should also discuss any concerns that the employee may have about relocating so that the RMC is best prepared to help along the way.
  • Global Expense Management to manage and track your relocating workforce. By managing the expense submission and payment process, you should be able to track and report on 100% of mobility expenses for your company, including payment to vendors and local agencies.Key Benefits:
    – Easy to use platform for client and employee
    – Online submission of relocation expense reports
    – Expenses audit to policy and/or assignment letter
    – Auditing and payment of all vendor invoices
    – Timely (within 2-3 business days) payments
    – Single payment source, eliminates your administrative burdens
  • Home Disposition can provide your employees with global home sale and property management assistance services.
  • Destination Services ease transition to countries worldwide, freeing up the employee to concentrate on the business mission. Your RMC should deliver a comprehensive and worldwide array of global relocation services including area tour/orientation, home finding, school search and settling in.
  • Global Travel Services allow your RMC to coordinate global travel services with client or network partners, including: airport transportation, rental car, airline travel and hotel.
  • Meet and Greets arranged at the destination airport provide pick-up and accompanied transfer to the residence. Includes: Ground transportation for relocating employee and/or family to a hotel, temporary housing, permanent residence or other destination per instructions. This service can be provided as part of a bundled area tours, home-finding or settling-in program, or provided à la carte.
  • Area tours and orientations provide an overview of the new community and local amenities to assist in deciding about the assignment. This could include any of the following: Welcome packet and information on assignment location, tours of neighborhoods and typical housing, school tours and information (if applicable), locating grocery stores, medical facilities, places of worship, etc., security briefing.
  • Home finding assistance with finding suitable housing in accordance with personal preference and policy, facilitate the preparation and signature of an appropriate lease and manage all move-in formalities. This could include any of the following: Needs analysis, pre-screening properties (within budget), accompanied property viewings, lease negotiations, utility connections, walk-through support, and furniture rental assistance (if needed).
  • Auto leasing/purchasing service programs and long term rental solutions provide assignees with car leasing/purchasing of new/used vehicles, any make or model. In many cases, local credit scores, or even driver’s licenses, are not required.
  • Schooling searches will help assess the suitability and availability of local area public or private schooling and to assist with registration and entry requirements. This could include a briefing on different school systems, organizing appointments with administrators, assisting with enrollment, etc.
  • Global transportation services provide multiple estimates to drive competiveness without compromising quality.
  • Global temporary housing coordination assists the relocating employee in selecting and securing temporary accommodations within policy. Based on your relocation policy, accommodations may include hotel, extended stay and corporate housing at different facilities around the world.

 

Continued Support Once Your Transferees Reach the Beach

After the transferees involved with your smooth group move reach their destination, your RMC should continue providing value-added programs to ensure that they and their families thrive in their new location.

  • Settling-in assistance can provide an orientation to the new community, local amenities, utilities and government registrations. This could include bank account set up, driver’s license and vehicle registration, public transportation assistance, smart phone transfers, telephone and utility setups, registration of public utilities, assistance with sourcing local services, expatriate networking association assistance, and more.
  • Trailing spouse/partner family assistance addresses concerns about the job market for the accompanying partner, finances, children’s education, family healthcare, eldercare, and much more. At the same time, your company needs the right talent to fill critical positions and achieve business objectives. Understanding your employee’s concerns can help them make the right mobility decision. The right decision means better return on investment for your organization’s mobility program and a smoother transition for the employee and family.Programs include, but are not limited to, the following:
    – Spousal/Partner Career Assistance
    – Career Continuation Assistance
    – Job Search Strategy
    – Career Continuation Assistance
    – Entrepreneur Support
    – Locating Community Networks, Services, and Activities
  • Cultural and language training can be offered through instructor-led sessions or self-paced, web-based learning. This allows transferees and their families to understand the cultural nuances of the destination location and effectively communicate with the people there.

 

Planning is the Key to Victory

You might think that this looks like a lot of planning to pull off a successful and smooth group move. You’re right. However, a world-class RMC with award-winning breadth of programs and customer service can easily guide you through every step of your move – whether relocating one employee across state lines or moving a small army of talent across the English Channel, to ensure a smooth group move.

 

For information about how Global Mobility Solutions can make your smooth group move easy and stress-free for you and your employees, please contact us today.

Categories
Corporate Relocation Domestic Relocation Global Relocation

3 Ways to Save with Global Mobility Programs

Amazing London skyline with Tower Bridge during sunset

Save With Global Mobility Programs – The saying goes that it takes money to make money, and global mobility is no exception. Even though you understand that the talent you on-board or relocate will help your organization grow and prosper, getting the transferees from their origin to their destination locations can be expensive. Don’t be discouraged, there are several ways to save when creating your global mobility policies.

 

Use a tiered approach

Not all employees are equal, therefore their relocation compensation shouldn’t be the same. It would make sense to pay the recent college graduate new hire substantially less than the amount awarded to a seasoned, executive-level employee. Additionally, not everyone requires the same amount of time to complete his or her move. Services can be tiered with regard to what they offer. For example, home-finding tours can be broken into half-day, one-day, or two-day options, then offered accordingly per your mobility policy. Tiered categories can be sorted by homeowners versus renters, or by how many school-age children a transferee has. Allowances for the shipping of household goods and vehicles can also be tiered based on the transferee’s position and distance to the destination location. It is very important to clearly state the various tiers in the company’s relocation policies. Tiered policies have been proven to reduce costs versus standard lump sum programs.

Below is an example of a tiered relocation policy based on position seniority:

 

Tiered-Policy-Sample global mobility programs

 

 

Bundle your services

As a company builds a relocation policy, it has many different services from which to choose – Pre-decision alone has over 30. By bundling various services together, such as home sale, household goods shipping, community tours, mortgage assistance, etc., companies can see significant savings. Typically, bundling can save companies up to 20% of what the services would cost individually.

 

Outsourcing

Lastly, by outsourcing mobility management needs to trusted, experienced, relocation experts, HR personnel can remain focused on department-specific tasks, such as enforcing company policies, finding new talent, and administering benefits and compensation. When expert mobility coaches guide transferees and their families through the relocation process, less calls are made to or by the human resources representatives. Generally, when working with a mobility management company, transferees arrive at their destinations happier, less stressed, and ready to work. In short, it saves sanity.

 

To learn more about the benefits of incorporating a mobility management company into your global mobility programs, please read Domestic Relocation Services and Global Relocation Services. You may also contact a GMS mobility specialist to get program details customized for your company’s specific needs.

Accessibility by WAH

Looking for something?