3 Benefits of Outsourcing Your Mobility Program to an Integrated Relocation and Moving Company

In the world of mobility, the role of a relocation management company (RMC) is shifting from that of a service provider to a fully strategic partner. The reasons are numerous, from internal mobility teams being overstretched in their day-to-day duties to HR professionals needing valuable expertise on ever-changing legal, tax and intercultural issues that vary greatly from country to country. The benefits of working with an RMC are equally numerous, particularly when partnering with an integrated relocation and moving company. Such partnerships maximize a company’s efficiency, increase its return on investment (ROI), and improve the overall experience and success of its employees.

There are 3 key benefits to outsourcing mobility by partnering with an integrated relocation and moving company, all of which accomplish the above:

1.  Priority Service - Even During Peak Seasons

There’s no question that relocations happen most often during certain times of year, typically revolving around warmer weather and the school cycles of relocating employees’ children. During these busier times, the local provisions of moving and destination service providers (DSPs) are in high demand, resulting in limited availability. When an RMC owns its own moving and destination service providers, its operations teams are fully aware of where the company’s resources are at all times, globally. An integrated relocation and moving company can then prioritize those resources, guaranteeing its clients priority handling during peak seasons and maximizing the loads of its movers. This drastically reduces the wait times associated with scheduling the packing, shipping and storing of household goods. Both companies and their employees benefit greatly from this advantage, in addition to the many other services being managed by a skilled RMC. Whether navigating visa and immigration processes, facilitating home and school searches, or conducting destination orientations, each aspect is handled with a high level of expertise, both efficiently and quickly. 

2.  Cost Efficiency 

When an RMC implements tens of thousands of relocations, annually, not only is a great deal of knowledge and expertise developed on everything from cultural training and immigration law to regional taxes, so is the ability to manage these processes more efficiently. Additionally, expansive global networks translate into greater scalability and flexibility when it comes to pricing strategies.  An integrated relocation and moving management company takes this concept even further. When all services associated with a relocation are provided under one roof, companies save a tremendous amount of time by dealing with one contact who handles all aspects of the relocation rather than multiple representatives of varying vendors. The integrated RMC can also bundle services and avoid the mark-ups associated with subcontracted or outsourced providers since no third parties are involved. All of this global expertise combined with an expanded, in-house network translates to an average cost savings of $500 – 1000 per move, which is a significant savings for any company, particularly when moving multiple employees in a given year.   

3.  Superior Quality

RMCs are able to closely monitor the quality of the entire relocation process, knowing when actions are required and managing each of those many actions at the right time to minimize transferee involvement and stress. In addition to having a finger on the pulse of multiple aspects of relocation, extensive experience guides the RMC in spotting challenges and potential issues. An integrated relocation and moving company takes this ability even further since every aspect of a relocation, end-to-end, is managed under one roof. At any point during the move, an account manager can monitor the status and manage service ratings for EVERY member of a move team, down to individual packing crew members, in real time.  If a client or assignee has a question or concern at any point during a relocation it can be addressed immediately, without the need to wait for involvement by a third party. Additionally, all divisions and employees involved with a move, from initiation to completion, are held to the same standards of quality. This even includes data security since a single source of accountability involves utilizing a closed network rather than employee data being passed around from vendor to vendor.

Put simply, due to shorter managerial processes between the start of a relocation and arrival at a new home, an integrated relocation and moving company provides more efficient and controlled solutions to its clients. This translates to a better experience for both the company and its employees. Rather than going it alone, partnering with this type of integrated RMC provides companies with higher visibility of the relocation process and proactive control of challenges before they happen, rather than reactive management of problems after they occur.

The complexities and demands of global mobility can be a significant burden on a company’s financial and HR resources. Mistakes made during this process due to inexperience or a lack of resources can further add to that burden. With an RMC the collection of data across the entire platform and the use and distribution of that data to the contracted client drives efficiency and program benefits through the use of that data. Increasingly, astute business managers and HR professionals are recognizing this, along with many other advantages of utilizing relocation services that are managed under one roof.  In addition to simplifying processes and improving communications, partnering with a skilled, integrated relocation and moving company provides businesses with global expertise and a wealth of resources that wouldn’t otherwise be available. By becoming a valuable extension of a company’s HR and mobility management teams, the integrated relocation and moving company saves valuable time and resources for companies in every industry, worldwide.

As Senior Vice President, Moving Services, Mike is responsible for SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving’s international moving sales strategy and the continued development of innovative products in the international moving services space. He can be reached at +1 4697744199 or at Mike.Smith@sirva.com.