What to Look for in a Relocation Provider

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Relocation is not stressful just for employees but can be a struggle also for global mobility managers. If you’re an HR manager helping skilled employees relocate, you need to think about international compliance issues, visas and immigration, as well as the stress it puts on your valued employees (and their families). Here are 5 things to consider when choosing a relocation provider.

Why HR managers can benefit from a relocation provider

As an HR manager, you may have assisted with plenty of international relocations for your staff. Or you might be new to arranging international transfers and are thinking about the best way to approach workforce mobility at your company.

Entrusting the relocation process to someone else would allow you to focus on the daily business operations while being assured that your employees would have a smooth and stress-free transition.

The key to finding the right relocation company to work with is to know what expertise you need and where to find it.

Keep reading to learn what to look for in a relocation provider — and why it matters.

1. Local market expertise

When you are looking for companies that provide relocation assistance, local expertise should be number one on your priority list. There are plenty of companies that offer to relocate your transferees from country to country. However, many of them simply coordinate from afar. Without local knowledge and a real local presence, they’re actually not providing the kind of service that is really helpful to your employees.

Relocating is so much more than just moving boxes. Being a new expat can be hard, and new arrivals struggle to adjust to the new language and culture, while trying to fit in, make friends, and figure out where their children should be educated.

The right relocation provider will be on the ground in that new country, have access to local networks, have optimized processes designed to help expats, and can guarantee that your new hires will have an easy transition and get settled in quickly. That means your staff can show up to work relaxed, comfortable, and ready to focus on their new job.

2 . Customer service enhanced by technology

The best relocation companies use technology to make the transfer as smooth as possible for all stakeholders. Bespoke software lets HR and Global Mobility teams oversee multiple relocations through every step of the process.

Why is this kind of technology important when you are relocating employees? It allows HR managers to have complete access to the status of their employees’ relocation, tracking expenses incurred and utilizing advanced reporting features to support decision-making throughout the entire process.

In these secure online platforms, HR can store and track key dates, approve costs in advance, and manage communications with suppliers. Essentially, everything that HR and Global Mobility teams need when managing multiple relocations is securely located in one place, making the relocation experience much simpler for everyone, including your employees and their families.

HR can be as hands-on or as hands-off as they want with the entire process. Either way, when advanced HR collaboration technologies such as relocation platforms are in place, you can enjoy peace of mind that everyone involved benefits from a greatly enhanced customer service experience throughout the entire relocation.

3. Cost-effective solutions

In the past, relocation and home-finding services were often very expensive. Costs could be unpredictable. Consequently, relocation support was often only offered to a company’s senior management.

In today’s more mobile society, relocation support is affordable for all staff. Forward-thinking relocation companies offer pre-determined and fair pricing that includes all the services employees need for a smooth transfer.

At today’s best relocation service providers, highly flexible service ranges are available to fit all budgets. Companies enjoy budgeting certainty and can extend relocation services to all staff levels.

Trailblazing providers offer full price transparency from the start, offering instant pricing for all services on their websites, including for international household goods moves. This trend towards instant, transparent pricing combined with cost-effective, yet tailored relocation packages carries many benefits for companies and their transferee population.

4. High customer satisfaction rates

When investing in any new product or service, it is vital to read reviews from other customers. HR managers should ask a potential relocation provider if they can see data on customer satisfaction rates, as this can help you learn if a provider is worthwhile.

Top companies will also have received industry awards, which is a great indicator that they offer a high-quality service. Ask also about a company’s experience — how many high or low volume corporate relocations have they done? Do they have enough human resources on the ground to assist at the destination in question?

Leading relocation companies should also be affiliated with the European Relocation Association, EuRA, which sets the industry standard for international relocations which in turn has a strong positive impact on high customer satisfaction. Further valuable indicators to look for when assessing the quality of a provider are hard-to-get international standards such as ISO certifications for quality or data security.

5. Flexibility to adapt

Not all employee relocations are the same – some only involve moving household belongings but in other cases transferees bring along their families, cars and pets. The best thing is to look for a relocation company that offers the flexibility to tailor each relocation to the needs of both the company and the transferees.

Leading companies can provide a bespoke moving experience that gets your staff moved as quickly as possible, taking each individual situation into account. Whether it is time constraints, relocation budget, particular family situations, unusual pets, or vehicles, relocation providers get it relocated safely.

Your relocation partner should be able to deliver on this promise at all levels, meaning personalized, highly local relocation services, even when they are managing multiple relocations at the same time. This is what is needed when it comes to perfectly handling group moves (where an entire team, department or even company is moving from one location to another).

Contact us to discuss your relocation needs

If you are looking for a relocation provider for your company, use the tips above to ensure you find the right business for the task. Relocation can be a tedious process and it’s worth taking the time to get it right.

When it comes to tailored relocation services, Packimpex can help. We specialize in international relocations to or from the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands and Italy, with a focus on quality, sustainability and innovation.

With nearly 45 years of experience moving people from all over the world, we know what it takes to manage and execute relocations for companies and individuals.

To learn more about the flexible, competitively priced relocation services offered by Packimpex, schedule a Guidance Call with a relocation specialist. You will receive an accurate, bespoke quote within minutes, helping you and your HR team to budget for your upcoming relocation. The team at Packimpex will be glad to discuss all services and options with you.