globalCONNECTIONS Blog

Debbie Balli, President, SIRVA Relocation, Pam Milani, VP Corporate Real Estate, and Julian Yates, VP Global Client Services at SIRVA were given the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council (ERC) Service Award at the Annual Awards & Recognition Luncheon last week in San Antonio, Texas.

Balli, Milani and Yates each achieved this prestigious award through Worldwide ERC’s accreditation system in which service points are awarded to ERC Volunteers. Once award candidates reach a high number of service...

Technology devices continue to become faster and more capable of amazing things.  The recent release of the 3^rd generation iPad is just one example of a flood of computing devices that provide a tremendous amount of information. 

The options and capabilities seem to be endless. 

However, when you ask an iPad, Amazon Fire, or other tablet or smart phone user what features they actually use, the list is much shorter.  Similarly, only about 10% to 15% of sports utility vehicle owners actually take...

On the 14 May 2012, SIRVA will be attending and sponsoring the much anticipated Forum for Expatriate Management’s (FEM) Totally Expat Show to be held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London.

Visit us at booth E17 and enter to win an iPod!

We will be providing attendees with information about our relocation solutions, and how our global compensation and payroll administration service could ease your administrative workload.

The Show also includes a supporting seminar programme with...

There have been so many conflicting reports on the status of the real estate market, so Pam Milani, SIRVA's VP Corporate Real Estate, is sharing the facts.

• The unemployment rate has in fact dropped in 45 states for the first quarter of this year (Source Article).
• Some regions of the country are actually showing definite signs of improvement (Source Article for list below).
  • Home prices in Phoenix and Tampa appear to have bottomed out, and are expected to see some slight gains throughout 2012. 
  • The...

Recently, SIRVA's VP Global Compensation and Payroll Services, Sue Wines, led a virtual conference regarding payroll administration for international assignments at Worldwide ERC. The live virtual conference took place in April, and is now available in the archives on Worldwide ERC's website.

Click here to view the handouts and listen to the recording of the session.

Session Summary:

If you administer assignments around the world, you know how challenging global payroll processing can be. To...

Are you attending the 97th Annual International Supply Management Conference next week in Baltimore?

We are!
Stop by and see SIRVA in the Exhibit Hall at Booth 200 to play SIRVA Slots for a chance to win a Kindle Fire, and join us at our session on supplier management!

Also, join us as we discuss a topic that is becoming increasingly important to the success of global relocation programs – managing suppliers. Supplier management plays a key role in providing an exceptional customer...

Brian Richards, VP Client Technologies for SIRVA Relocation, will be speaking at the International Human Resource Information Management Conference next week.

How can HR professionals utilize and leverage business intelligence to increase efficiencies and improve performance?

What are the key concepts around data warehousing, data marts, and semantic layers?

How can HR professionals better articulate their analytical needs and objectives to IT professionals and increase efficient collaboration...

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are fast approaching, and whilst we are not on the home straight yet, SIRVA will continue to provide you with updates and further information to keep you up to speed.

As we get closer to the games, the various committees, organisations and agencies helping to ensure the games run smoothly continue to release further information to help individuals and businesses plan for the impact of the Games. The latest information in our second Olympic update should be...

SIRVA  launched MyMoveConnection®, an online portal that simplifies the mobility experience for relocating employees.

 “At SIRVA, we innovate to deliver simplicity for our customers. MyMoveConnection® is another testament to this,” said Matthew Dickerson, SIRVA Relocation’s Chief Information Officer. “The platform delivers unmatched visibility into a relocation and allows employees to collaborate in an asynchronous fashion with their relocation counselor and other constituents within the supply...

SIRVA Worldwide, Inc. has been shortlisted for the Technological Innovation in Relocation award, presented by Re:locate magazine. The award celebrates those relocation organizations and human resource teams that have created business and employee benefits through the effective use of technology.

SIRVA was shortlisted for developing MyMoveConnection, an online portal that creates more successful relocations by simplifying the mobility experience and helping employees better prepare for their new...

Splitting payroll delivery for international assignments is a tactic used in payroll administration that allows for a portion of pay to be delivered from the home country payroll system and a portion from the host country payroll system.  Why do companies choose to administer these arrangements?  What are the benefits?

For employees:

• Offers exchange rate protection
• Facilitates personal cash flow management while on assignment, especially in host countries where the transfer of funds outside the...

When describing your company’s relocation policy, it is important to remember that regardless of the circumstances, agreeing to relocate will bring increased opportunities for employees – but can also begin a stressful and sometimes life-changing process.

In order to set the right tone in a relocation policy, there are a number of key points to keep in mind:

Optimistic Empathy

• Recognize what your company is asking employees to do and acknowledge what they may realistically face during the process.
• Po...

SIRVA recently released an Issue of Policy Matters, our e-newsletter featuring expert insight and analysis on emerging relocation products, policies, and services that can provide immediate benefit to your organization.

Subscribe to Policy Matters here.

The issue discusses that companies relocating employees into and across Australia face a dilemma. While they are challenged by the supply and demand issues and the rising cost of housing, they also need to ensure that their relocation policies are...

When choosing a global moving services provider for your company, there are many options to think about. To help you understand the decisions that are to be made, SIRVA’s Global Moving Services team is sharing the facts regarding the types of providers, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and some things to consider when evaluating providers for your company.

Types of Global Providers

With the growing emphasis on cost containment over the last decade, many companies have begun to outsource in...

The SIRVA Affinity program has had tremendous growth the past few years in terms of client & employee participation.  The customer survey feedback we have received indicates that employees are pleased with the savings, service, and  resources available when in the market to buy, sell, or refinance their home.  Here are the top five things you may want to know about our Affinity program if you are considering adding additional benefits for your employees this year:

1. It’s free! It’s true, the SIRVA...

Thank you for joining us in our live blog of SIRVA University 2012. We were proud to share such important and interesting information with our attendees and blog readers.

We look forward to sharing videos of each presentation with you, so that you are able to see the full sessions -- and receive ERC and ISM credits for viewing. We will post an update when access to our Virtual Knowledge Center is open with the presentations.

For more information on SIRVA University, contact us.

Matthew Dickerson, CIO at SIRVA, talked this morning about technology, and how it can be used in the relocation process. He opened his talk with this:

"A lot can happen in five years.

That is about how long it has taken for the world to be completely transformed by the power of social networking, mobile technologies, and cloud computing.  If we think about our everyday lives, it is easy to see how tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and smart phones have enriched our personal lives.  However, their...

One of the breakout sessions this morning explored the importance of Talent Management. Kathryn Cassidy (VP, Global Assignment Services) and Julian Yates (VP, Global Client Services) discussed how excellent global mobility practices can facilitate a best class Talent Management program and improve return on investment (ROI) with tips for retaining talent and developing future organization leaders more strategically and effectively.

Cassidy and Yates explained that the war on talent has...

Rounding out the breakout sessions this morning was a presentation about managing suppliers, given by Tracey Gatlin, Manager, Global Supply Chain at SIRVA.

Her discussion began by discussing supplier relationship management:

“SRM, or supplier relationship management, has been an emerging trend in the supply chain industry since the 1990’s. It has since been embraced by organizations large and small around the world. However, the meaning of SRM varies widely; the definition is really in the eye of...