It’s Time to Rethink the Way We Deliver Services to our Transferees (and What We Call Them)
The GWS WERC 2024 in National Harbor, MD, set some records for attendance.
1450 attendees
432 corporate attendees
290 corporations represented
18 government agencies
33 countries
300 first-time attendees
I suspect there are several reasons for this. The NAR Settlement and other high-profile issues, such as immigration, have brought a newfound need and desire for more collaboration. The offering of two free registrations for attendees from every corporation. Lastly, the location. The DC area is convenient to many of the corporations and government entities in attendance. Whatever the reason, I am happy about it.
It felt very much like the old days when everyone had a seat at the table. Besides the settlement and immigration talk, there was a lot of chatter about how corporations and their relocation management companies (RMC) are reevaluating what talent satisfaction looks like and what it takes to achieve it. Satisfaction rates can be closely tied to long-term retention of talent. Here is some of the information that was presented at two different sessions I attended:
Top five reasons high-performance talent leaves:
No career progression, learning, development, and opportunities
Not engaged in meaningful work/challenges
Static culture at work
Lack of confidence in management
Compensation and total rewards
Why they stay:
Purpose-driven company
Abundant growth opportunities
Meaningful rewards
Autonomy and flexibility
Collaboration and inclusion
Let’s be real. The relocation to a new location is only part of a much bigger plan for that employee. They are being moved for a reason, which usually relates to career progression, challenging opportunities, and growth. However, their satisfaction with the relocation process can set the tone for their overall perception of the job and company.
Top reasons for turning down a relocation:
Lack of spouse/partner employment assistance
Lack of spouse/partner adaptability to relocation
Lack of family support services
Separation from extended family
The first three of these issues can be solved by doing more investigative work up front to identify potential issues and then providing customized resources for them to access. Preemptive assistance versus crisis management. Using the terms ‘benefits’ and ‘rewards’ instead of ‘services’ is a good start, along with allowing the transferee more freedom to choose how to use them. But that doesn’t mean leaving them alone to figure it out.
What came across loud and clear is that corporations (particularly the large corporations that move a high volume of talent) are realizing that one policy doesn’t fit all grade levels. The evolving demographics of workers demand that policy be fluid enough to meet their specific, individualized needs. That doesn’t just mean offering up a lump sum and saying, ‘Good luck.’
Talent focused mobility.
Less:
Policy-led solutions
Exception Control
Focus on incremental costs
Late-stage recovery
Measuring tasks
Silos
More:
Talent led solutions
Inclusion
Investment mindset
Early stage benefits
Measuring outcomes
Ecosystem
We need to make the value creation argument. It’s not just about the relocation; it is a portion of the long-term retention plan. There is a huge shortage of skilled talent in some sectors and many parts of the world. With 10,000 people retiring in the US every day and 25% of workers saying they would leave their jobs in 12 months, that is even more reason to capture and hang onto the talent.
One of the sessions where a lot of this information was sourced was called ‘Got Talent? Refocusing on Getting the Right People to the Right Places at the Right Time.’ The panel pointed out that the cost of talent mobility is a fraction of the investment companies make in their people throughout their employment. We should measure the ROI on the contributions to the company, not just the cost of the relocation. How does that talent affect the company's growth, and how does their relocation experience impact their long-term retention and commitment?
It's time for a change.
If corporations and their providers get creative, listen to their audience, and become more intuitive, we can create an experience that feels customized. The challenge with customizing programs is that they can have many moving parts and variables. We need staff that can problem-solve and preemptively make decisions during a time of need. It’s easy to deliver cookie-cutter. It takes creativity to actually provide a mobility program that addresses the needs of the individual and their family before the move begins and throughout the process. Custom programs make it harder to predict budgetary needs, but how do we attach a number to employee satisfaction that leads to talent retention throughout the life of the employment?
Brokers have an opportunity here to offer localized resources that meet the changing needs of the transferees. You know your market better than anyone. People operating under lump sum benefits packages often struggle to tap into the services that are meaningful to them. It means better counseling and touch points from all parties serving the transferee. They don’t know what they don’t know. However, we have worked with enough families to identify where the landmines might be and prepare them through effective and personalized counseling.
It is a great opportunity for corporations, RMCs, and brokers to step up to deliver programs and resources that truly meet the unique needs of our changing mobility demographic.
