Imagine that you are just leaving a meeting where you were told that your employer has decided to relocate a group of people from one location to another. The CEO told you that you are expected to manage the move. He/she stresses to you that the success of this group move is critical to the future of the company and everyone is counting on you to, "make it happen." Any number of business scenarios could lead to this decision.

Even though this may be your first experience in managing a group move, you may have heard stories about the stress group moves can bring to an organization and the people who are working on the relocation. You may recall hearing how a group move does not always turn out as planned, and that a lot can change between the time the plan is initiated and the last employee is in place at the new location.

Whatever you do, you need to be prepared for the responsibility of:

  • Business disruption
  • Talent loss
  • Low employee morale
  • Cost overruns
  • Having your plan for the move challenged by others

You may not be able to eliminate all of the issues, but if you can bring an effective plan to the project and assemble the right team to execute the plan, the odds that the move will be a success and that you will survive the group move will be greatly  improved. The intent of our "How to Effectively Plan for a Group Move" white paper is to provide you with a proven approach to effective group move management.

How to effectively plan for a group move white paper View white paper

If you would like more information about corporate relocation services including group move management consulting, contact us.



There are a variety of training techniques that prepare people for long distance foreign work assignments. They range from documentary programs that merely expose people to new culture through materials about the country's socio-political history, geography, economics, language and cultural institutions, to intense interpersonal experience training, in which individuals participate in role-playing exercises, simulated social settings and similar experiences in order to "feel" the difference in a new culture.

Although generic programs exist, cross-cultural training is most effective when it's tailored to the specific needs of the expatriate and the host country. Because learning about a new culture requires an understanding of one's own cultural biases and behavioral traits, companies that use customized, cross-cultural training typically receive better results. Successful cross-cultural programs can include the following:
  • Host country information. Basic information about the assignee's host country, including its history, common religions, political structure and recent events, so employees can understand citizens' values and beliefs.
  • Behavior adaptation. Although people have a hard time challenging their cultural understanding, they can learn to alter their behavior to adapt to a new culture. In this phase of cross-cultural training, expatriates examine the way that they currently handle a situation and what is required in the new culture.
  • Local business etiquette. Even the most veteran and prolific employee can have difficulty without an understanding of business etiquette in other cultures. For example, the U.S. tendency to "get down to business" is regarded as rude in Japan, where business transactions often have a greater personal relationship component. An employee who appears impatient with Japanese traditions designed to establish friendship and trust will have little success in business negotiations.
  • Communication techniques. A manager going to live in a foreign country for the first time might not realize how communication styles differ around the world. For example, U.S. employees tend to use "low context" communication, which is direct and task-oriented. Many other cultures have "high context" communication, in which messages are more indirect, like in the Middle East.

For more information about components that make cross-cultural programs successful, view our white paper, "Importance of Cross-Cultural Awareness."


In the past, employers offering corporate relocation services had to assure that a home buyout price paid to the employee was a fair market value, no more and no less. The use of broker market analyses to help establish an appropriate listing price and independent appraisals to establish the buyout price was an attempt to assure that the home buyout price represented a fair market price.

Due to the rapidly declining real estate market, a questionable trend has reared its ugly head—employers who are desperate to find a way to increase a transferee’s home buyout offer, without triggering a “direct offer” scenario, are now asking for relocation appraisals without forecasting. A directed offer requires the IRS to treat the buyout amount paid to the employee, in excess of the home’s fair market value, as income to the employee.

Standard corporate relocation practice calls for appraisals that attempt to determine a home’s anticipated sale price taking into account current marketing conditions (known as a forecasting adjustment). Forecasting in a declining market results in lower appraised values than those without forecasting adjustments—ignoring a forecasting adjustment will likely result in the appraised value being inflated.

The result is that the employer pays an amount to the employee that is higher than fair market value while having appraisals that appear to support the value by not using the forecasting adjustment process.

As was pointed out by Pete Scott, Worldwide ERC Tax Counsel, in the tax and legal update session at the San Antonio Worldwide ERC Conference, risks of ignoring the forecasting component include a rejection by the IRS of the appraisal as good evidence of fair market value; the appearance of a directed offer; a departure from standard policy that could result in a purchase price substantially higher than the sales price and income that is taxable as wages and subject to withholding/payroll taxes. There was substantial agreement among the members of the ERC Public Policy Committee in San Antonio as well as among appraisers attending the meeting that the practice should be discouraged.

This strange reversal of practice is driven by the need for employers to do whatever is possible to encourage employees to accept their corporate relocations, while not creating additional income to the employee. Employers, however, should not abandon standard practices or depart from their own former policies regarding appraiser instructions by ignoring forecasting.

http://blog.sirva.com/blog/sirva-inc/0/0/c/n


  • Tie benefits to desired behavior: Companies have every right to require transferees to follow established home sale processes. The process to be followed should be clearly stated in the company's corporate relocation policy along with the benefits to the transferee.  Reasonable expectations include complying with the company code of conduct and following the corporate relocation service providers' recommendations which are based on the company's policy. Penalties for not complying with the terms of the policy, as well as any home sale incentives that are to be offered, should also be clearly outlined.

  • Require full property disclosure and educate transferees on ineligible properties: Accurate assessments of property history, condition and initial ownership risk when a home is sold limits future risk potential and protects both the company and transferees. Transferees should understand that purchasing ineligible properties may cancel future home sale benefits.

  • Require active transferee marketing participation:  Home marketing needs to be well planned, supported and implemented properly by all parties involved. Because the real estate market is changing rapidly, marketing strategies must be adjusted quickly, and prices need to be reduced in shorter intervals. Failure to adequately react can extend marketing time, increase corporate relocation program costs, push homes into inventory, decrease the pool of potential buyers, and reduce the final price transferees receive on the home sale.

  • Evaluate all offers: Every appraisal should be thoroughly reviewed before giving it to the transferee in order to ensure they properly recognize the current market conditions. Do not hesitate to negotiate down to 95 percent of the appraised value. This also minimizes the emotional reaction to perceived "low" offers and the potential loss of an offer that would have been acceptable to the company.

  • Require mandatory home-finding assistance:  Home-finding assistance reduces home loss-on-sale risk for those transferees (such as new hires) who are future relocation candidates and ensures employees don't purchase ineligible properties. It also helps mitigate the challenges of current market conditions, such as selecting a qualified agent, planning home-finding trips, evaluating financing options and reviewing contracts.

  • Develop home sales programs that fit your company's risk profile:  Home sale programs vary in risk based on several factors. These include program type, number of controls in place, current market conditions, locations where homes are sold or purchased, past company practices and company culture. It is critical that companies are aware of the risks involved and create a home sale program that meets the company's overall service, cost and risk objectives.

For assistance incorporating these real estate best practices into your corporate relocation program or to learn more about how to mitigate real estate risks via a home sale program, visit David Barlow's blog.


According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), 2007 home sales were down 12.7 percent from 2006. And, excluding new construction, home prices in 2007 slipped 0.7 percent from 2006—marking the first nationwide decline since the Great Depression.

The sub-prime disaster led financial institutions to more closely evaluate borrowers, and as a result, those individuals that could previously secure a mortgage may not be eligible today. This drop in qualified buyers has meant an increase in housing inventories and the number of days homes are on the market across the country.

While the current real estate market means greater selection and reasonable prices for fewer qualified buyers, it’s especially tough on sellers. Loss-on-sale (LOS) assistance programs are typically used to partially protect home sellers from taking a loss on their home when relocating for business. LOS programs are typically employed when home market values depreciate at a faster pace than would be covered from having lived in the home long enough to break-even.

At SIRVA University, David Barlow, SCRP GMS, senior vice president of client support services at SIRVA Relocation, discussed best practices when developing
or revising a corporate relocation LOS assistance program. He discussed program management definitions, sample formulas, up-to-date facts, and eligibility requirements. He also discussed common pitfalls and how they can be avoided.

According to the
NAR, the worst may be over but the national market is not yet in a positive price territory. While there is every indication the market hasn’t yet turned the corner to nationwide home price recovery, experts are confident a correction may begin as early as the end of this year.

“From indicators we’ve seen, downward price pressure in many markets will continue, but likely at a reduced rate of decline,” said Barlow. “The number of home sale losses is likely to stay relatively high but shouldn’t increase from 2007. It will get better, but the market won’t reverse itself overnight.”

Don’t Call it a Comeback
Loss-on-sale assistance programs were developed more than 25 years ago to address similar market conditions as what we see today. The need for these programs often diminished as the market strengthened, but they were sometimes employed during very short relocation intervals or with new construction to ensure sellers didn’t take a loss on their homes. In point of fact, in normal real estate times, it was nearly always the new construction that resulted in a LOS.

In poor market conditions, the amount of time between a relocation and the break-even point changes dramatically, and transferees essentially need to stay in their homes much longer to avoid taking a loss on their property.

According to Barlow, potential transferees have every right to want to wait out a bad market to avoid a loss on their home. They also have every right to expect their company to provide greater financial incentives if they are expected to relocate in a down real estate market. In fact, transferees are increasingly resisting and turning down corporate relocations if their companies decide not to help.

Correcting a common misconception, Barlow also noted that home LOS has nothing to do with the transferee’s equity position in their home. If a person has taken out a second mortgage or an equity line of credit the LOS benefit they may receive is often not going to provide the relief they need. Companies are strongly advised to limit LOS programs to the difference between what the transferee paid for the home and the home’s selling price.

% Loss-On-Sale Facts & Figures
95% of homes sold out of inventory result in loss to the company, even in good real estate times
50% of companies offer loss-on-sale assistance benefits
89% of SIRVA client’s share loss with their employees
75% of companies do tax protect the loss-on-sale assistance amount

Is it right for your company? Find out tomorrow as we continue to blog about LOS programs. Interested in learning more about reducing real estate risk? visit David's blog.


The continued difficult housing market creates cases where some homeowner employees find themselves in personal financial situations that are not conducive to accepting a relocation. Previously, “family considerations” were often the most common reason for an employee to delay or reject a corporate relocation. In today’s housing market, however, the problem is sometimes a home cannot be sold for an amount sufficient to cover the outstanding loan(s).  

While more than half of companies have a loss-on-sale program in their corporate relocation policies, these programs correctly treat (through a wide variety of formulae) the difference between the purchase price of the home and the selling price. Where employees have taken out second mortgages and/or lines of credit, however, they may in fact be “upside down”--namely owing more on their home than it is worth. In these situations, companies are wise in not making up “negative equity.” Negative equity is often the result of financial and purchasing decisions, which were made in times when real estate was appreciating. The negative equity, however, has no bearing on the actual loss-on-sale.

Today it is critical that the BMA/BPO process—which determines the MPSP (Most Probable Sales Price)--quickly identify cases where an employee may be “upside down.” Once an employee’s “home health” is known, all parties (employee, company and relocation service provider) can assay whether the relocation should proceed, or if the best course of action is to consider an alternative candidate. Making this judgment early before corporate relocation commitments and expenditures are made is a prudent course of action.




As a kick-off to my blog, A Closer Look at Global Relocation, I wanted to introduce myself and explain what I plan to discuss over the next couple months.

As a global relocation services leader, I am in contact with a variety of global mobility customers and providers on a day-to-day basis and I’ve found that there are some topics that seem to be of interest to most professionals whenever they relocate employees—be it the U.S., China or anywhere else in the world. Since I have been able to benchmark and study these highly relevant topics, I thought it would make the most sense to start this blog with some of this information. With that said, I will be initiating a discussion on barriers to assignment acceptance and how to overcome them, then I will be covering the latest trends in relocating to and within China and the true cost of an expatriate assignment, how to measure and track—all of which I feel will instigate a solid discussion on the challenges and barriers facing global mobility programs and introduce some best practices for overcoming these obstacles.

Are there any other topics that you feel would be relevant to cover? I am open to suggestions.