To put it succinctly, virtually any company or industry can benefit from outsourcing global mobility services. As a relocation management company (RMC), we will let you in on a secret: mobility is probably one of the most cumbersome of all benefits to attempt to administer in house.
A typical domestic relocation might include counseling, expense administration, tax gross-up, home selling assistance, household goods transportation, temporary housing and home finding assistance. Many third parties are part of this process, bringing further complexity, as a company must source, vet and manage each of their services.
A global relocation becomes much more involved, with immigration services, tax equalization, global destination services, school search, cultural and language training and more added to the typical domestic relocation package.
Lack of In-house Employee Relocation Expertise
Smaller and newer companies often have little or no experience with mobility, and almost certainly, no in-house mobility expertise. As a benefit, mobility usually becomes one of many responsibilities of the company’s HR department. Sometimes that “department” is a lone individual or even just part of another manager’s time. These companies simply do not have the time or resources to research employee relocation best practices, write relocation polices, source suppliers and manage a mobility program.
The irony is that smaller and newer companies might benefit the most from mobility as a strategic talent management tool. As they compete for talent, having the ability to offer a competitive relocation package can give them a competitive edge and boost their business.
Busy Human Resource Departments
Today most larger companies have already outsourced their relocation programs. They have bigger staffs and sometimes in-house relocation expertise, but the HR department still has quite a few competing demands for its time and attention. Often in this case, the in-house professionals act as program managers while the relocation management company manages the logistics, suppliers, relocation technology and reporting.
This can be a very successful, symbiotic relationship, bringing together the expertise and capabilities of each side for the client’s benefit. The internal program manager brings an expert knowledge of the company’s business needs, culture and mobility experience and the RMC brings big-picture experience and knowledge of best practices and industry benchmarking data. The company can leverage this data to become even more competitive in the marketplace.
Managing the Complexities of Global Mobility
Companies with global programs will almost certainly want to outsource their relocation programs due to the complexity discussed earlier. Managing an intricate global program of significant size would require a robust in-house mobility department—and even at that, many functions would likely be outsourced, such as visa and immigration and destination services.
Support for Program Administration
Even companies with simple, lump sum programs are opting to outsource their program administration. Many companies choose this program model for its simplicity because they do not want to be bogged down in a complex mobility program. These companies can initiate a relocation with a few simple clicks of the relocation company’s technology and largely be done with the process. The RMC manages program administration and provides detailed reporting. Depending on the program, the RMC can also assist the relocating employees directly, helping them to spend their allowance most effectively and offering provider recommendations and discounts.
Global mobility is one of the simplest HR services to outsource and one of the most complex to manage in house. No matter what type of program your company has—or even if you have no employee relocation program just yet, it can be worthwhile for you to consider outsourcing global mobility services.
Outsourcing Relocation Services: Is it Right for Your Organization?
Download this white paper to learn:
1. The benefits of outsourcing domestic and international relocation administration;
2. Considerations when deciding if outsourcing executive relocation and corporate relocation is right for you; and
3. Best practices in selecting a relocation service provider.
