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Economic Recovery Propelling Rising Prices and Higher Average Relocation Costs

| May 14, 2021

rising average relocation costsShaking off the pandemic-driven slowdown, the country’s GDP grew 1.6 percent in the first quarter. The Fed is expecting 6.5 percent growth for the year—the fastest increase since 1984.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index rose 0.8 percent in April after increasing 0.6 percent in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, the index is up 4.2 percent year over year, the most significant 12-month increase since 2008. More robust demand for goods and services—everything from gasoline to food to building supplies, appliances and vehicles—boosts prices across the board.

According to Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, “We are seeing very substantial inflation. It’s very interesting. We are raising prices. People are raising prices to us, and it’s being accepted. We’ve got nine homebuilders in addition to our manufactured housing operation, which is the largest in the country. So we really do a lot of housing. The costs are just up, up, up. Steel costs, you know, just every day they’re going up.” Berkshire owns Clayton Homes, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, and other housing-related companies, such as Benjamin Moore paints and Shaw flooring. Read More

From Remote Workers to Digital Nomads

| April 29, 2021

digital nomads visasThe pandemic suddenly turned tens of millions of Americans into remote workers, without those workers having an opportunity to plan their new work environment. A lucky minority had existing home office setups. Most toiled at seldom-used dining room tables, in semi-finished basements, on their laps in the family room or maybe on the patio, if it was a nice day. Those in small, city apartments were especially challenged—particularly if their new “office” also included a significant other on videoconferences and children attending Zoom school.

When it became clear they weren’t going to return to the office in weeks or even months, some workers started to rethink their “temporary” work location. Urban singles retreated to their parents’ spacious suburban homes, folks with vacation houses decided to decamp there indefinitely, and some more daring types took home shares in other domestic locations. Read More

Employee Ownership Culture Shines—Even During a Pandemic

| April 16, 2021

employee ownership cultureWhen you select a service provider, in any industry, not just in global mobility, you’re also buying a culture. And cultural compatibility can be a critical part of a successful business relationship. While culture is usually a longstanding part of a company’s identity, it can be tested and changed by dramatic outside events—like a global pandemic.

Beyond health considerations, the pandemic upended most companies’ day-to-day operations, reducing the office-based workforce by 90% by some estimates. Organizations with office-based cultures and little experience with a dispersed workforce had to figure out the nuts and bolts of universal remote work: laptops, phones, videoconferencing technology, home office setups and protocols, security considerations, tech support and much more. Read More

Work from the Office? Work from Home? Work from Anywhere?

| April 6, 2021

remote work policyThe remote work trend was supercharged by the pandemic when even more conservative companies were forced to experiment with a dispersed workforce and implement a remote work policy. Most companies are still sorting out what their post-Covid work environment will look like, including whether and how they will permanently incorporate remote work, whether they will maintain their current office space and locations, and how they will configure these offices. Read More

Tips for Moving Employees to Another Location in a Competitive Real Estate Market

| March 30, 2021

relocation home sale assistance moving employees to another locationRelocating employees don’t need any more stress in their lives, but today’s competitive real estate market is dialing up the pressure. The good news: more employees will be able to sell their homes quickly, at or above their asking price. The bad news: they’ll likely face a competitive home buying process at the destination. Read More

Working Remotely in a Different State Could Mean Tax Headaches

| March 19, 2021

working remotely in a different stateAt the beginning of the Covid pandemic, just five percent of American white collar workers worked remotely full time. By the end of 2020, it was two out of three! With an open-ended break from the office, some opted to work remotely from a different state—often one that was warmer, cheaper or closer to family.

While traveling to another country became all but impossible, taking off for another state seemed simple enough. Few employees gave any thought to tax considerations and many saw no need to tell their employer about their plans. Read More

TRC Global Mobility Announces Management Promotions: Stacy Hough, VP, Client Services and Jodi Bischoff, VP, Finance

| March 8, 2021

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (March 8, 2021) – TRC Global Mobility, Inc. (TRC) is pleased to announce that Stacy Hough, CRP has been promoted to Vice President, Client Services and Jodi Bischoff, CPA has been promoted to Vice President, Finance, effective immediately. Both join TRC’s executive team.

Stacy Hough will work to ensure that TRC delivers an outstanding customer experience, building strong client partnerships while helping to plan department strategy and goals. She will also ensure that new TRC clients are implemented effectively and efficiently and serve as an executive-level liaison to TRC clients. Read More

How to Become a Relocation Expert in Four Easy Steps…or Just Look Like One!

| February 12, 2021

employee-relocation-experts-toolkitMany companies today lack in-house relocation experts and little or no experience with corporate relocation. They identify the perfect candidate for a position—but she lives on the other side of the world. Or they need to move a current employee to a different company location as soon as practical, but they don’t know where to begin. Forced to make decisions quickly, and with limited knowledge, they can easily over or undershoot the relocation benefits package, incur unnecessary taxes, run afoul of immigration laws or incur a host of other problems.

Though the employment market has been disrupted by the COVID pandemic, the long-term trend of talent shortages continues unabated. Employee relocation can be a powerful tool to help your company recruit and retain talent—but where do you begin? It is far better to have at least a basic relocation policy and program ready for use when needed than to risk losing a prized candidate or delaying the start of a project. Read More

C-Suite Executives Weigh Company Relocation, Remote Work, and Vaccinations

| January 28, 2021
Expat global spouse assistance overseasThis article was originally published by Worldwide ERC on January 21, 2020. Click here to review the original article.

Survey research shows that C-suite executives are considering moving their companies to cheaper locales, while also weighing their options for remote work, vaccinations, and more.

In a survey of 150 C-Suite executives, consulting firm West Monroe found that more than a quarter of respondents are considering moving their operations to another cheaper location. This is one of the major implications of the overall shift to remote work, a key strategy to keep employees safe as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. However, for some companies, this shift away from the office has proven difficult. Respondents’ reasoning for considering a big move included high costs of talent and living in their respective locations, as well as taxes, real estate, and regulations. Read More

International Corporate Relocation Services Best Practices: Compensation & Benefits

| January 16, 2021

American Dollar Bills

For all the value they can bring to an organization, traditional international assignments come with a daunting price tag. In response, companies have been trimming relocation benefits and costs for several years, making the packages less generous for assignees and less costly for employers. Certainly, there is much more variation in the assistance offered to assignees than in the past.

Employees today are more likely to see an international assignment less as a hardship and more as a career- and life-enhancing experience—and they are more likely to seek out these experiences with fewer incentives. Of course, benefits vary depending on the company’s policies, culture and competitive environment, the employee’s seniority and the assignment location. The goal is to deliver the support needed without providing a windfall. Read More

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