MobilityMatters Blog
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Global Mobility: Travelling—still a headache!
03-06-2022
To say that travel has been complicated over the past two years is no understatement! And now that people are feeling more comfortable with the idea of travel, the industry is having to ramp up while dealing with the same issues most other employers are facing: Covid protocols, staffing problems and the unpredictability of the…
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Global Mobility: High fuel prices mean surcharges and more
05-04-2022
In 2014 and again in early 2020, we posted blogs on the impact of falling fuel prices on global mobility programs. Well, the tables have turned, and we find ourselves reflecting on the impact of rising fuel prices on programs already feeling the weight of high inflation and creeping interest rates. The following table[i] illustrates…
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Global Mobility: Revitalized policies help in tight labour markets
14-03-2022
According to a survey by Randstad Sourceright* of more than 900 human capital and C-suite leaders across 18 markets, two thirds of Canadian employers plan to hire extensively over the next 12 months. This recruitment push will be undertaken in an environment of a labour shortage and a shift in power to employees as they…
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Global Mobility: Post-pandemic—back to January 2020 or is it a new dawn
22-02-2022
We’re starting to feel hopeful … again. With two years of pandemic disruption, hopefully behind us soon, are we expecting global mobility in the post-pandemic era to go back to what it was before the crisis started? The work environment has experienced dramatic change since then. Will it have a lasting effect? If so, will…
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Celebrating a Quarter Century in Global Mobility!
13-01-2022
Our new logo! We’ve been providing independent advice to organizations big and small since 1996, and we are deeply grateful to everyone with whom we’ve worked and shared over the years. The vision behind the founding of the firm was to offer relocation consulting and management services free of bias or influence. At the time,…
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Global Mobility: Inflation is here, Higher Interest Rates are Coming
22-11-2021
With the worst of the pandemic easing around the increasingly vaccinated world, many countries are now experiencing rising inflation rates, including Canada. The Bank of Canada has signalled that interest-rate increases will likely start sometime in early 2022 to help bring inflation back to the 2% target rate near the end the year. Though the…
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Global Mobility: Moving Partner Pulse Check
02-11-2021
We recently contacted six major corporate moving companies to hear first-hand about their journey through 2020/21, as well as how they see their operations evolving in the wake of the pandemic. The survey’s purpose was to gain knowledge to assist both corporations and movers in planning for future relocation needs. As promised in our last…
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Global Mobility: Reining in the Rising Cost of Moving and Storage
13-10-2021
The cost of moving household goods has skyrocketed since the onset of the pandemic. Josh Morales, CEO of International Van Lines, in an interview last August with Forbes Advisor Home, explained after Covid-19 hit the United States, manufacturing across relevant sectors slowed and gas prices increased. “Everything from [the cost of] packing supplies to trucks…
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That Exceptional Global Mobility Advisor …
03-09-2021
Global Mobility Advisors (GMA) play a critical role in the relocation process. Their responsibilities include providing information and guidance to transferees, but also ensuring that the terms of the relocation program are respected, and related costs are contained. To use a circus act analogy, it’s a combination of getting the right types of plates up…
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Global Mobility: What’s the Deal with Replacement Value Protection?
06-08-2021
It is not unusual to hear about unpleasant moves; damage or loss is par for the course. Not to worry though, the moving industry has your back… sort of. In Canada, the loss/damage protection included in the price of shipping is generally limited to a minimum legislated amount set under provincial conditions of carriage regulations.…
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Global Mobility: Weight versus fair pricing in shipping of household goods
08-07-2021
Weight is the determining factor in pricing the transportation of goods. Unfortunately, it is rarely accurate and often results in unfair pricing. Could a more precise and transparent method to be used? My father recently died at the age of 91, having had a rich life. He was with the Canadian army overseas after WWII…
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Global Mobility: Positioning on the Spectrum of Exceptions Management
08-06-2021
Policy design is a tricky business. Creating a relocation policy that addresses every individual or family situation or anticipates the wide range of hiccups that invariably occur during a move is impossible. Having to deal with exception requests will always feature into the administration of a mobility program; the challenge is how best to deal…
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Global Mobility: Trusting your supplier’s word
20-05-2021
Whether used as a noun or verb, the word “trust” implies truth, reliability, ability, and strength. To say “Trust is earned” is certainly appropriate in many circumstances. In business, though, a partnership must begin from a position of trust if it has any chance to succeed. Why then do so many partnerships dissolve because the…
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Global Mobility: What’s a principal place of residence these days?
03-05-2021
An interesting trend stemming from the pandemic is the increased time spent at second residences, for those lucky enough to have one. The “work from home” directive put in place last year was quickly interpreted as “work from anywhere.” So, why not live and work from the cottage? The result is that the line between…
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Global Mobility: What to do about all those pandemic pets!
12-04-2021
For quite a while now, we’ve been hearing that pet ownership has “boomed” during the pandemic. The benefits of pet ownership are well documented. Our furry friends give us unconditional love and companionship, which generally contributes to greater well-being. In these difficult times where we are having little or no social interaction and have been…
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Mobility: And you thought Millennials were a handful!! (no offence intended if you are one 😉)
24-03-2021
Relocation benefit provisions have historically been designed based on the traditional family with a couple of children, a house and one or two cars. Millennials, or Generation Y, have brought some disruption to this template, as evidenced by the increased prevalence of core/flex and lump sum plans. This cohort is now well into adulthood, with…
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Mobility Program Review (COVID or not!) – Part 2: Don’t Forget to Include ‘Duty of Care’
05-01-2021
In our previous blog we remarked how well-managed organizations, with the benefit of the better part of a year’s experience in with COVID, are stepping back into their continuous program planning and evaluation cycle. We have been helping by conducting supplier audits as a means of assessing the service delivery model. But companies are not…
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Mobility Program Review (COVID or not!) – Part 1: Checking on your Service Providers
23-11-2020
The pandemic has been all consuming for most of 2020. With the benefit of a clearer understanding of the current environment, well-managed organizations are simply stepping back into their continuous program planning and evaluation cycle, a process designed to address the ever-changing global environment when required and on a timely basis. Over the course of…
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Mobility: Struggling with the “High” in High-Touch Service
28-10-2020
Wearing face coverings, handwashing and keeping our distances are critically important features of our current reality. This presents a real challenge for employers as finding the right balance between employee self-sufficiency and valued high-touch service has been a long-standing struggle for most. While “high-touch” does not necessarily mean face-to-face meetings, it does mean a high…
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Mobility: Is teleworking really the future?
27-08-2020
Last March, as COVID-19 was surging in Europe and spreading into North America, the percentage of Canadian teleworkers surged almost overnight from less than 15% to around 40%, according to Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, a researcher with the Université TELUQ*. For many employees, teleworking was a completely new way of working, and one they had to balance…
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Mobility: Starting to emerge … carefully and differently
31-07-2020
As many countries move to less restrictive stages of their pandemic management strategies, businesses are focussing on their recovery from the effects of the outbreak. This will likely mean evaluating the recent past, rethinking priorities and embracing operational change. At the same time, everyone must remain vigilant in adhering to safety protocols whether it be…
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Mobility—Grateful for small mercies with low fuel costs
21-07-2020
This is a difficult time for all, and the crashing oil prices are but one of our country’s concerns. While low oil prices will never be good news for our oil and gas friends in Alberta and elsewhere, there are some financial upsides for other organizations, especially those who purchase transportation services. This applies to…
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Global Mobility after COVID-19: what will be the new normal?
08-04-2020
We are facing a crisis of historic proportions; one which will surely change the lens through which we view the world going forward. While we can’t yet predict how the socioeconomic landscape will look post COVID-19, we can start thinking on a smaller scale; for example, how will global mobility evolve from this point on? From…
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Mobility and Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Update
24-03-2020
Our February 19th blog listed a number of mobility issues likely to arise as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Since then, the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a pandemic. Aside from the isolation requirements for the vulnerable, healthy people are told to stay home as much as possible and to practice social…
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Formalizing Employee Mobility
09-03-2020
Not all companies relocate employees or even have operations that involve business travel. Those that do, either deal with each situation on a case-by-case basis or offer a set of benefits based on a formal employee mobility policy. The non-structured approach may be sufficient when relocations are few in number, but when the frequency grows,…
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Coronavirus COVID-19 and Global Mobility
19-02-2020
With the coronavirus epidemic in China continuing to escalate and spread beyond its borders, it goes without saying that global organizations are having to focus their attention on international relocation and business travel activities. Both employers and employees having to travel are feeling uneasy in the face of the uncertainties surrounding the illness versus ongoing…
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Mobility: The Do’s and Don’ts of Data Protection in RFPs – Part 2: What do you need to know?
29-01-2020
In our last blog, we discussed the importance of including the privacy and security team from the very beginning of the RFP process. Despite having a data security expert at the table, it is critical for the entire RFP team to understand the significance of drafting questions that will garner meaningful information about the bidders’…
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Mobility: The Do’s and Don’ts of Data Protection in RFPs!
10-01-2020
We live in a digital world and there is no turning back! Our reliance on data is unquestionable and ever more complex. The warp speed evolution of technology means that there are huge risks related to data privacy and security. Most countries have privacy laws that govern how businesses collect, store and use their data.…
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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Evolution of Relocation Management
27-11-2019
It’s always exciting to be involved in implementing positive change, you have a clear objective with a detailed plan outlining how it will be reached and you’re ready to go. We know from experience, however, that the well-known proverb “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”, or at least its message, must…
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Claiming relocation loss or damage: Does it have to be so hard?
15-10-2019
If there is one aspect of relocating that’s messy, it’s the physical move and its aftermath. Families want to settle into their new home as quickly as possible so they can get on with their new reality and all that it encompasses. In all the whirlwind of receiving their furnishings and unpacking, they may find…
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Employee Mobility: Peak season… after the storm
30-09-2019
With the summer peak season ending, you may be dusting off the last of the craziness of the past few months: exception requests, truck and driver shortages, limited suitable accommodation, more exception requests, and many long days working on solutions for out of the blue problems never anticipated. A healthy economy, active housing markets, a…
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Employee Mobility: What do employee satisfaction surveys tell us?
16-07-2019
One of our most read blogs shared some of the irritants communicated to us by transferees via satisfaction surveys we administer for a number of our clients. These custom designed on-line surveys provide a one-stop venue for transferees to provide feedback on their relocation experience. The surveys supply the employer with critical data about what…
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Employee Mobility: Yes, there are stupid RFP questions!
26-06-2019
In addition to providing the requested information, preparing a proposal in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) is about making a good impression and, hopefully, a connection with the prospective client. The development of that impression starts before reading the proposal. In fact, we can easily judge bidders by the clarifications asked in the…
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Employee Mobility: What are exception requests telling you?
31-05-2019
In the world of employee mobility, requests for exceptions to policy remind us that transferees and their families are unique, each with their own needs and priorities. A response to these requests can be “Yes”, “No”, “Maybe”, “Let’s see” or “I will need to obtain approval”. Employers may approach exceptions management in various ways but,…
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Employee Mobility: Fending off the dragons of peak moving season
29-04-2019
Anyone implicated in the moving business knows seasonal peaks are a fact of life, and, with a nod to Games of Thrones fans: “SUMMER IS COMING.” These peaks can be chaotic for everyone in mobility, increasing the risks for relocation nightmares! Managing a seasonally volatile business is certainly a challenge, but a well-run company should…
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Relocating Millennials – What’s a company to do?
16-04-2019
Yes, much has been written about Generation Y, or Millennials. Love ’em or hate ’em, they are set to soon become Canada’s largest working age group. This cohort (aged 23 to 38 in 2019) makes up almost 28% of Canadians and approximately 40% of the country’s pool of workers (15 to 65 years old) as…
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The important first impression … done for less than $100!
19-03-2019
It is often said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. Although they aren’t necessarily a reliable indicator of what’s to come, good first impressions will contribute to a more positive outlook. The best part is that you don’t have to spend a lot to impress. In fact, we suggest something…
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Selecting a mobility partner—make sure you see beyond the honeymoon…
06-03-2019
We like to compare the client-supplier relationship to a marriage. You start off with the anticipation of a lovely honeymoon with your partner during which you believe everything will work out as planned. When real life sets in, however, you may come to realize that it’s going to be more complicated. In retrospect, a deeper…
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Mobility programs – What’s next?
15-02-2019
As we are seeing in almost everything else, technology is shaping the future of mobility program management. Software solutions to assist with the management of these programs have been available for a while now but recent discussions and work with industry representatives have opened our eyes to major developments on the horizon. Generally, there are…
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Request for Proposals – Clear Criteria Produce Better Results
05-02-2019
Mobility RFPs are a significant cost to both corporations and their service partners. How do we ensure the RFP process provides corporations with more focussed and meaningful information on which to rely in selecting a service partner? At the annual CERC conference held in Montreal in September, Linda Ward O’Farrell, Michael Kislasko of RGA and…
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Flex your Relocation Program…Finding the Right Balance!
21-01-2019
What is the main purpose of a Core\Flex relocation program: to offer flexibility to relocating employees or to provide a tool for business units in their efforts to manage costs or attract the best candidate? It can be both, provided the corporation doesn’t lose track of the mobility program’s objective. Why a Core/Flex program The…
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International Relocations: Should pricey private schools be a “given”?
17-10-2018
When thinking about relocating to a new country, a candidate’s first thought will likely be to evaluate the possible impact on his or her family. But is it always necessary to assume the children are to go to private or independently run schools? If education assistance is provided, the impact on program costs can be…
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The Complications of Moving Wine Collections
02-10-2018
Most of us love our wine, and when it’s time to pack up and relocate, dealing with our limited number of bottles is not an issue. Generally, movers will not transfer liquids as part of a standard load so it’s either pack it in your car trunk (if driving), consume the wine before the departure…
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Fake News! – Take 2: Moving and Storage
19-09-2018
We thought we would follow up on last winter’s blog on Fake News in the relocation sphere. This time, we focus the use of misleading content, manipulated context or false connections in the business of moving of household goods. Fake News – Tariff discounts Movers that present the highest tariff discounts are offering the best…
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“Out of the Box” Series – Part 3: Would You Live in a Yurt?
21-08-2018
Yes, a yurt… a round, one room semi-permanent platform supported tent/home. With sparse furnishings, a composting toilet, hot plate, and stove for heating, it offers basic comforts, cozy surroundings and a novel way of living. Is there any reason why an employee couldn’t live in a yurt while on assignment if this is what really…
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Home Sale Expenses – Harvesting the Low Hanging Fruit
30-07-2018
Focussing on the “low hanging fruit” of your relocation policy could improve the cost-effectiveness of your program while minimally affecting the employee experience. Generally, these quick fixes can be introduced without much fanfare or disruption. Home Sale is a good place to start. This benefit represents between 25% and 30% of the total cost of…
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“Landlord markets”: Are your transferees being bullied?
10-07-2018
If your organization is relocating employees to major cities with very low vacancy rates, high rents and an affordable housing crisis, such as Toronto or Vancouver, are they getting enough support in dealing with the rental market? It may be increasingly necessary to ensure that they do. A recent case provides a good example of…
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Feedback: Top 3 irritants expressed by transferees
21-06-2018
Employee satisfaction is a key to an effective mobility program, so it is essential to know what are its most irritating features. One of our previous blogs (Should service providers be self-assessing their performance?) outlined how important it is to have a good handle on supplier performance and that a well-designed independently administered employee satisfaction…
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“Out of the Box” Series – Part 2: Embracing Lump Sum Mobility Programs
25-05-2018
While most of our business processes and every day work procedures seem to be getting more sophisticated, we are seeing a trend toward simpler relocation policy design. Comprehensive full service relocation programs are still the norm, however, the use of a lump sum approach seems to have taken hold. Though more common for new hires…
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“Out of the Box” Series – Part 1: Is storage necessary?
15-05-2018
Overused cliché? Not so in the moving industry. In this new series, we will share some of our “out of the box” thoughts on a number of relocation issues. Our first blog addresses the storage of household goods; expensive but also, not essential. Witnessing events surrounding a recent move prompted us to rethink the cost…
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The Growing Importance of Destination Services
02-05-2018
In the elusive quest to measure ROI for relocation assignments, mobility specialists agree that employee satisfaction, effectiveness, and retention are key. Often overlooked when developing the framework to support the employee is the impact the transition to a new location can have on the accompanying spouse and children. An unhappy family can have a significantly…
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Should service providers be self-assessing their performance?
17-04-2018
Think about it. Does it make sense to have the provider of an important relocation service report back to you on how well they are supporting your corporation or more importantly, your relocating employees? Relocation service providers measure and track their performance for operational purposes but, from the standpoint of good governance, can you, the…
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Reset to Fee for Service
29-03-2018
When we review RMC proposals, clients are often astonished at the complexity of the revenue flow for a typical relocation file and the strong reliance on referral fees. Whether you believe in referral fees or not, they are a well-established industry practice. Some, however, question their benefit to the client corporation. In this blog, we…
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Will your relocation policy survive a housing crash?
14-03-2018
Although we heard from the Bank of Canada in late 2017 that a stronger economy and good policymaking are bringing about “a gradual easing” of vulnerabilities in the housing market, many analysts feel that the risks of Canada’s precarious housing market have not gone away. Is your mobility program protected? The financial vulnerability of relocation…
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Fake News!
26-02-2018
The term Fake News, virtually unheard of a couple of years ago, is now part of our everyday language thanks to the omnipresent President Trump. With a definition of the term that would include the use of misleading content, manipulated context or false connections, we present our take on Fake News in the relocation sphere.…
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Relocation Policy Development from a Blank Slate
07-02-2018
If you were given the opportunity to design a relocation policy, where would you start? What would it look like? Some would probably replicate the design already in place while others would make minor changes, but a good number, we believe, would cherish the opportunity to start from scratch. In this blog, we will share…
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So If… Series – Part 5: Rethinking Outsourcing
17-01-2018
So, If we try, can we find a better way to improve the relocation experience and more effectively manage the cost of relocation? The more businesses can increase assignment success rates and maximize human capital ROI, the more they can promote career advancement, nurture growth and fast-tracking of top talent, all leading to increased employee engagement…
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Employee Mobility: SO IF… Series – Part 4
29-08-2017
So, If we wanted to better promote and sell relocation properties, could recognizing the efforts of real estate brokers through better rewards help? Real estate agents are generally responsible for all expenses on the sale of the properties they have listed, including advertising etc., and are only ‘paid’ if and when a transaction is completed.…
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Employee Mobility: SO IF… Series – Part 3
10-07-2017
Drilling down on home disposal as part of risk management strategy … So, if employee and employer both assume responsibility for risk on disposal of difficult (normally ineligible) properties? Enforcing strict guidelines on property eligibility (i.e. mobile homes, acreage properties, etc.) has historically left some employees with little or no assistance. In an effort to…
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Employee Mobility: SO, IF…. Part 2
30-05-2017
So, if we dispense with the traditional Home Sale program as a “guaranteed safety net”, can we re-think home disposal as part of an overall risk management strategy? Imagine a Risk-Partnership model based on the establishment of a negotiated “Base Price”, and a property marketing strategy that is as risk-neutral as possible for both employee…
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SO, IF… Series – Part 1: Guaranteed Home Sale Plans
22-09-2016
Welcome to our “SO, IF” Series SO, IF I climbed a mountain. SO, IF I could see forever. SO, IF I could change the world… the world of relocation. What would I do next? Following our series: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, our “SO, IF… ” series pokes at traditional processes and provokes…
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Relocation: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Part 3
10-08-2016
The movie The Good the Bad and the Ugly has inspired us to provide our own take on the recent good, bad and ugly trends within the employee relocation industry from different perspectives: Part 1: Service providers, Part 2: Suppliers and Part 3: Policy design. Part 3: Relocation Policy Design The Good Flexible spending accounts are proving…
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Relocation: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Part 2
05-04-2016
With entertainment award season upon us, we remember one of the movie industry’s great westerns, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, inspiring us to provide our own take on the recent good, bad and ugly trends within the employee relocation industry from different perspectives: Part 1: Relocation service providers, Part 2: Suppliers and Part…
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Part 1
21-03-2016
As a tribute to the recent Academy Awards, we remember one of the biggest hit movies that failed to win an Oscar, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, with our own good, bad and ugly of 2015. Relocation Service Providers The Good * With globalization we get more choices. Canada has lost many large…
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Supplier audits: Integrity + accuracy… It all adds up
01-02-2016
“In god we trust….all others pay cash”. Cliché? We think not. It is estimated that for every 10 relocations, corporations are being over charged $10,000 to $30,000. How do you create an effective balance between trusting your suppliers and auditing their invoices? Trust them to manage your relocations to maximize your corporate mobility goals, yet…
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Simplifying Moving Tariffs – Save time, money and energy by simplifying now!
19-04-2015
Do you remember when ”they” said workweeks would be shortened from five to four days?…when computers would make our jobs easier ?…moving tariffs have also escaped simplification… until now. The role of the relocation manager has become more demanding, pressuring those involved in mobility management to reduce costs, increase satisfaction among transferring employees and simplify… -
Give your relocation program a tune-up!
17-03-2015
If your car wasn’t working properly, you wouldn’t do something like sell it. You would get a tune-up. You can do the same for your relocation program. When looking at a poorly functioning relocation program, there can be many causes. In some cases, service delivery has deteriorated to such an extent, affecting the trust and… -
Lack of transparency conceals hidden moving costs!
22-01-2015
The move of household goods represents a significant portion of your relocation costs. When was the last time you looked, really looked, at your moving costs to determine if you are receiving the best value for you and your relocating employees? The best method of reducing moving costs, without compromising service, is by having your… -
There is a silver lining in every cloud!
09-12-2014
Our newspapers are riddled with stories concerning the falling price of oil and the impact this will have on Canada as we are a nation with a certain financial dependence on this important resource we all use in one way or another. While low oil prices will never be a silver lining for our oil… -
Reducing the financial risk of Guaranteed Home Sale Plans
24-09-2014
In our first blog, we promised to ”present ways to mitigate the financial risk of certain employee mobility policy provisions, concentrating on the high cost items first”. We also said we would ”address issues that are considered irritants for employees”. Here is a two in one – Guaranteed Home Sale Plans. Although the actual cost of… -
The True Cost of Employee Mobility
22-05-2014
The structure of your relocation policy, in combination with your administration arrangements and the volume of transfers, can significantly impact the cost of employee mobility. Relocation costs are outweighed, hopefully, by the benefits of having the employee in the new position and meeting the business needs. From an employee’s perspective, career development or advancement associated…