Relocation Help

Jon Gilbertson, GMS, of SIRVA, Inc. and Susan Dawson of Genworth Financial discussed principles and techniques to apply to any RFP, contract or service relationship.

When developing an RF, there are many things that need to be considered during the process. Gilbertson and Dawson highlighted that for each program in your relocation policy you should have at least three questions related to the most critical service delivery process steps.

Specifications

The specifications in an RFP for commodities convey the style, appearance and quality of the product. The goal for specification of a service is to solicit information for you to understand how the specific service’s delivery steps will be satisfied. Be sure you are clear whether defining more specifications and expectation does not result in higher costs and higher management fees.

Evaluating

When evaluating RFPs, it is important to identify the importance of each service criteria by weighting or rating them on a scorecard. This can be done by your evaluation team scoring the comments and evidence that the supplier has provided. Gilbertson and Dawson give two ways to evaluate the RFP – the Business Process Review (BRP) or the Conference Room Pilot.

Business Process Review

The BRP is a walkthrough of the process to gain a better understanding of the clarifying comments by reviewing the process from beginning to end, clarifying gaps or questions in the process, asses any changes required and validating the potential supplier process.

Conference Room Pilot

The CRP approach is a more robust validation technique that validates real life scenarios by conducting an exercise with a team that would support your business. This can be done by role playing to assess answers and questions. This will help the team identify the gaps, review the process and make changes to the procedures.

However, the supplier assessment process doesn’t end at the RFP! Gilbertson and Dawson outlined 4 key categories to ensure the success of your service provider – Quality, performance, cost and continuous improvement. The process is continuous and clients should consistently change their policies and expectations. Equally important to keeping your expectations consistent, it is important to be aware and track the total cost when managing and assessing a supplier. Hidden fees can easily be lost and should be critical to consider in all relocation-related expenses.

To learn more about the RFP process, check out our other sessions at www.sirvauniversity.com.

Home sales are complicated right now. Sellers must find a way for their home to stand out in the crowded listing space that exists today. One tool SIRVA Mortgage utilizes, to make their SIRVA Relocation listings stand out, are mortgage financing incentives. A listing with “SPECIAL FINANCING OPTIONS” in the MLS jumps out to prospective buyers. However, it must be the right incentive to work.  And that is why…

Finding the right financing incentives to sell a house is in many ways just like courting a lady. It is more art than science and several things must take place in the right combination to be successful.

You must:

• Show interest
• Attract attention and curiosity
• Fit in with their interests
• Invite her friends
• Impress the parents

First, showing interest is critical whether getting a women’s attention or selling a house. Just as important is the speed at which you do it. Incentives should be put on as soon as the house is listed. The longer it takes to put an incentive on the more likely you have missed a buyer—the sooner the better.

Second, you will need to do something significant to attract attention. Cheap out and lose out. Significant does not mean expensive, it means quality attention getter. Being creative will add value and impress more than something commonplace.

Incentives should fit the interests of those you are seeking. Each home has a unique market that will attract buyers with certain needs. For example, maybe consider offering reduced closing costs for lower priced homes, lower interest rates for middle priced homes, temporary interest rate buydowns for higher-end homes or home improvement gift cards for the fixer-upper. Finding the right incentive can do wonders when trying to drive traffic into the home.Next, you should invite friends and all interested parties. Along with the transferee, the relocation counselor and realtor play a key role in making sure the home is listed correctly and with the right incentives. When everyone is involved, good things happen.Finally, you should impress the parents. The corporate client and the client contact are like the parents. By selling the home quickly, the costs of temporary housing, travel, duplicate housing and the possibility of going to a costly buyout are reduced. Additionally, the opportunity to earn a home sale bonus, if one is offered, increases along with the likelihood of a successful relocation. With the parents on board, success follows.

If you have questions on financing incentives please e-mail us at MortgageFacilitators@sirva.com , we would be happy to help. 

Some companies have very sophisticated well-thought-through global mobility programs that have been tried and tested for many years. Others are stepping into the global arena for the first time. Either way it doesn’t hurt to check the health of your global mobility program and consider what I would believe to be the 10 best practices to ensure your global relocation program is a successful one.

10 Best Practices to Ensure a Successful Global Relocation

1. Policy
   1. Make sure you have a formal global policy in place that has been reviewed by your global relocation provider for competitiveness and efficiency and bench-marked against industry standards.Candidate Selection 
2. Candidate Selection
   1. Utilize pre-decision surveys or interviews to ensure that your candidate is flexible, adaptable and ready to take on the challenge of an international assignment.
3. Benchmark
   1. Keep up-to-date as situations change, trends develop, and new products come to market.
4. Cost Estimates
   1. In today’s economic environment it’s prudent to have a cost estimate completed before sending someone on an assignment so you have an idea how much it is going to cost.
5. Cost Analysis
   1. Know what you’re spending and what policy changes or exceptions are costing or saving money. There are many examples of companies focusing on elements that are inexpensive and denying them, while allowing exceptions for other elements that are very expensive.
6. Track Exceptions
   1. Be sure to always track any policy exception that was made or declined and the cost of that exception. This will help you be consistent in how you treat other exception requests in the future.
7. Use Proven Providers
   1. Proven providers can give you good advice on all elements of a global relocation and can make the process easier for you.
8. Don’t Cut Corners to Reduce Costs
   1. There is usually a good reason to do something well.
9. Create a Repatriation and Reintegration Plan Well Before the Assignment Ends!
   1. If you don’t, you may risk losing a valuable employee. Statistics show that up to 70 percent of repatriated assignees leave their employer within two years, usually to join a competitor.

For more information on the above global mobility program components and services, please contact SIRVA Relocation for a consultation.

 

In today’s precarious economy, many employers are considering giving relocation loans to employees. Several of these employers may not have provided relocation loans to employees before, but are now looking for ways to increase the opportunity to make such loans available.  .

A relocation loan that is done correctly can be offered to the employee interest-free and without exposure to creating imputed interest to the employee which would be treated by the Internal Revenue Service as compensation income.

The following information concerning below market rate loans is an excerpt from an article published by the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council® (ERC) in its Tax and Legal MasterSource:

A. Types of relocation loans

1. Mortgage loans

A mortgage loan is extended by the employer to the employee with the understanding that the employee will use the proceeds of the loan to purchase a new principal residence. Such loan may be a demand or term loan, and is conditioned on the future performance of substantial services for the employer. The loan may have a market interest rate, a below market interest rate, or no interest at all.

2. Equity bridge loans

A loan may be offered to an employee in order to enable the employee to receive the equity out of an old unsold residence to make the down payment on a new residence. The terms of the loan may require that the proceeds be repaid within a short time after the sale of the former residence. The loan may have a market interest rate, or a below market interest rate, or no interest at all.

B. Imputation of interest on a loan transaction

1. Explanation of imputed interest

When a loan is made at a below market interest rate, or with no interest at all, the Internal Revenue Code may impute interest to the loan even though the lender and borrower never did. If imputed interest rules apply to an employee relocation loan, the amount by which a market rate of interest exceeds the loan’s actual rate of interest is considered income to the employee borrower. (The market rate used is the "applicable federal rate," which is computed by the IRS under a formula in the Internal Revenue Code and periodically adjusted.) This income is considered to be derived from the employer-lender, because the employer-lender is considered to have paid interest on the loan to itself on behalf of the employee-borrower.

2. An example of imputed interest

An example of imputed interest may be helpful in understanding this complex area. Assume that the employer has made an interest-free bridge loan to the employee. The market rate of interest on the loan would be $100 per month if interest were charged by the employer-lender. No interest is paid by the employee-borrower or received by the employer-lender. However, the tax law considers the employee-borrower to have owed $100 of interest, and since the employee’s obligation to pay this $100 was satisfied by the employer-lender, the transaction is treated as though the employer-lender paid $100 per month to the employee-borrower, who then repaid it to the employer-lender. This characterization of the transaction gives rise to $100 per month of compensation income to the employee-borrower.

3. Reporting requirements for imputed interest

The employee-borrower must report imputed income on his/her tax return, even though the employee never received it, but then may be entitled to a corresponding deduction for the interest theoretically paid on the employee’s behalf by the employer-lender.

4. Negative tax consequences of imputed interest

If interest is imputed to loans it has negative tax consequences for the employer-lender and may have for the employee-borrower. The employer-lender must pay payroll taxes (FICA, RRTA, and FUTA) on the amounts imputed as interest income to the employee-borrower. (The employer-lender, however, does not have to withhold federal income taxes on the imputed interest income.) The employee-borrower may or may not be eligible for a deduction of the imputed interest. The interest on a mortgage or bridge loan may be deductible as "qualified residence interest" under the general rules applicable to homeowners. However, there may be situations in which interest income is imputed to the employee, but the employee is unable to take a corresponding interest deduction. For example, there is a $100,000 limit on the amount of home equity debt upon which interest is deductible.

C. Avoidance of imputed interest

1. De minimis exception

If the total principal amount of the employer’s mortgage loan, bridge loan, or both outstanding to the employee does not exceed $10,000 during the year, the loans are ex-empted from the imputed interest rules due to their small size. No interest will be imputed in this situation.

2. Exemption for employee relocation loans under regulation 1.7872-5T

Under a temporary regulation, imputed interest will not apply to compensation-related mortgage or bridge loans if the following requirements are met:

      a. Exemption for mortgage loans

          The loan agreement must require the following provisions:

i. The proceeds of the loan must be used only to purchase the new residence.

ii. Such loans must be secured by a mortgage on the new principal residence acquired in connection with the relocation of the employee to a new principal place of work.

iii. The loan must be a demand or term loan.

iv. The benefits of the interest arrangements must not be transferable.

v. The below market interest rate (or the lack of interest) must be conditioned on the future performance of substantial services by the employee.

vi. The employee must certify to the employer that the employee reasonably expects to itemize deductions for each year the loan is outstanding.

     b. Exemption for bridge loans

The terms of the bridge loan must meet all the requirements for the mortgage loan as stated above except for the security requirement. Note, however, that any interest actually charged on a bridge loan will not be deductible by the transferee unless the loan is secured by either the old or new residence. In addition, the bridge loan agreement must provide that the loan is payable in full within 15 days after the sale of the employee’s immediately former principal residence. The aggregate of the principal amount of all outstanding bridge loans must not be greater than the employer’s reasonable estimate of the equity in the former residence. The former residence must not be converted to business or investment use.

     c. An unresolved issue

One issue that remains unresolved under the temporary regulation is whether the exemption applies in situations where imputed interest would not be deductible under the general rules applicable to home mortgage loan interest deductions. This problem is particularly acute for bridge loans, which are often unsecured by either the old or new residence, and, even if secured by the old residence may be considered home equity loans, and therefore limited to $100,000 of principal on which interest would be deductible. Although the IRS has not spoken to this issue, it is arguable that the 1986 Tax Reform Act, which imposed the current limitations on deductibility of interest, would be held to modify the exemption contained in the temporary regulation. However, in the absence of any IRS statement of position, it should be assumed that the regulation may still be relied upon. The IRS continues to follow the regulation, and has shown no interest in revisiting it.

We all know that real estate is local. However-in our current real estate situation-we are seeing more markets continue to see a slip in home sales with only a few who are reporting an increase. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports areas such as Colorado Springs, Colo., Sacramento, Calif. and Spartanburg, S.C. are experiencing double-digit pending sales gains compared to a year ago with a significant percentage of these sales attributed to investors who are buying foreclosed properties. So while some markets have seen tremendous growth in home sales compared to last year, others have seen contract signings slashed by as much as 50 percent.

The current real estate market for the typical residential home is still very much a buyer's market. Attractive interest rates, large inventories of homes for sale and lower-than-average sale prices make it a great time to buy. Sellers aren't so fortunate. In fact, some areas have seen home values drop so low that typically willing transferees are hesitant to take a corporate relocation because of loss-on-sale concerns or owing more on their properties than the current market value sales price.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Worldwide ERC®, the number one reason employees are reluctant to relocate is a direct effect of the troubled real estate market. The survey indicated that more than 95 percent of respondents reported "slowed real estate appreciation at the old location," as the reason their employees are averse to moving. This is a stark contrast from last year when only 16 percent cited the real estate market as the reason for their reluctance. Instead, high housing costs, high cost-of-living and family resistance to move, were top concerns.

"Today, it's an unfortunate fact that those true soldiers that have faithfully relocated every two to three years are cooling to the idea because of the economy and the fear that they will take a considerable home loss-on-sale," says David Barlow, SIRVA's senior consultant. 

Barlow advises companies that have not done so to consider implementing a loss-on-sale policy to remain competitive and to help their transferees with the reality of falling home values and sale prices. He also advises companies that already have a loss-on-sale policy to re-evaluate the loss-on-sale limit or cap to ensure it is sufficient in today's difficult real estate market.

It's no secret that the current real estate market has had a significant impact on the relocation industry. Companies have had to reevaluate and update their corporate relocation policies to overcome the challenges of the current market.

Barlow doesn't wager a guess on when the market will turn, but he expects companies will be working through the challenges of the current real estate market for some time to come.
 

The U.S. housing market is continuing to slow, and most economists and housing professionals predict the housing slump will linger longer than previously forecasted.

A downturn in real estate markets creates several challenges for employers' relocating transferees, the most significant of which is the growing number of homes that end up in inventory. This rise in home inventory leads to higher overall relocation costs and increased property management duties for employers.

Total home sale costs also become less predictable in sluggish real estate markets, and unpredictable home sale costs translate into unpredictable total relocation costs.

Relocation service providers (RSPs) offer several home sale programs, each with varying levels of risk, to help corporate relocation transferees. Employers should consider the advantages and disadvantages of each program to determine the level of risk involved, and those employers who want a predictable and low-risk home sale program should consider a fixed-fee program.

Learn more about the fixed-fee program.

On December 5, 2008, SIRVA announced the appointment of David Byers as the Company’s new chief commercial officer. Byers brings more than two decades of operations, marketing, sales and brand management experience from H&R Block and Foote, Cone&Belding Inc. to SIRVA.

“David’s deep knowledge base in financial products and services, and his experience in developing and managing brands will help drive our relocation services business,” said SIRVA President and Chief Executive Wes Lucas. “Similarly, his background working with distribution networks will bring tremendous value to our moving business.”

Byers was with H&R Block for eight years and progressed quickly through the ranks, from senior vice president and global chief marketing officer to senior vice president of U.S. operations, and most recently, chief operating officer of retail tax services. In these roles, he was responsible for H&R Block’s U.S. operations, sales and business development functions, which comprised more than 13,000 retail locations and 100,000 employees. Prior to H&R Block, Byers’ career included working for global advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding Inc., Del Monte Corporation, and most recently, he served as chief executive officer of The Mutual Fund Store.

See Press Release
 

While globalization has opened many opportunities for business, it has created some significant challenges. One leading challenge for global managers is learning to understand and appreciate cultural values, practices, and various nuances in different parts of the world. Experts in international business agree that to succeed in global business, managers should be open to others’ ideas and opinions and have the flexibility to respond positively and effectively to practices and values that are oftentimes drastically different from what they are accustomed to. Cultural training has been shown to improve an individual’s relationships with host nationals and allows expatriates to adjust more rapidly to a new culture and an international relocation.

There are a variety of training techniques that prepare people for foreign work assignments. They range from documentary programs that merely expose people to a new culture through materials about the country’s sociopolitical 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 differences in new culture. Successful cross-cultural programs can include the following:

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.

Cultural biases. International relocation assignees should always examine the way their own culture affects their perceptions of right and wrong, good and bad manners, values, dress, and other customs. Cultural training can improve understanding of the cultural forces that affect their own behaviors and help assignees learn how to adapt to new cultural demands and the international relocation.

Customized training. Additional training can include special modules to help the employee and his or her family with their own individual concerns. For example, if the assignee’s children will be attending local schools, modules and resources on education etiquette would be appropriate.

To learn more, please visit our resource library

Last month I posted a story about Mr. Jones who worked through a short sale situation.  This month we highlight Mr. Johnson who lives a few doors down from Mr. Jones.

Mr. Johnson has had his house listed for 120 days. Home values continue to decline and there are few buyers in the market. Mr. Johnson has received considerable pressure from his new manager to get moved and settled into his destination city. Mr. Johnson isn’t sure what he should do or what solutions may be available to him.

This relocation situation has become more common in today's market. With the tightening of qualifying guidelines, available options have become limited in the past year. The current solutions include:

• Qualify with both the existing home and the new home mortgage payments
• Rent the existing home
• Hold off from buying until the existing home is sold

Qualifying with both house payments
If a current residence is under contract for sale but has not yet closed, and a transferee is purchasing in the destination city, both the current and the proposed payments must be used in qualifying for the new mortgage loan. In addition, loan underwriting guidelines will require:

• Minimum cash reserves of six months principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) for both properties if the equity in the existing residence is less than 30 percent
• Minimum cash reserves of two months principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) for both properties if the equity in the existing residence is 30 percent or more

Underwriting guidelines will not require the PITI of the existing home to be counted against the transferee if:

• The above cash reserve requirement is met
• The current residence is under an executed sales contract
• There is confirmation that any financing contingency has been cleared**
  
  ** Guaranteed purchase offer agreements can be used to replace executed
  contracts with outside buyers in the case of a relocation loan. The purchase offer must be guaranteed and agreement must be in force.

Renting the existing home
Lending underwriting guidelines allow up to 75 percent of the rental income to be used to offset the current mortgage payment for qualifying purposes if all of the following requirements are met:

• There is documented equity of at least 30 percent in the current property (derived from an appraisal, AVM or BPO less all outstanding liens)
• There is a fully executed 12 month lease agreement
• There is a copy of the security deposit from the tenant and confirmation of deposit into the borrower’s account

If the 30 percent equity in the property cannot be documented, the rental income may not be used to offset the mortgage payment. Both the current and the proposed payments must be used to qualify for the new transaction and six months of PITI for both properties would need to be in cash reserves.

Hold off buying until your existing home sells
This is the option we see most transferees accept. Unfortunately, with the decline in the real estate market and decrease in home sales—we see relocation fatigue, an increase in temporary living costs and cancelled moves. Staying consistent with your communication messages to transferees is important during the listing period. Encouraging aggressive marketing tactics and active involvement with the listing agent will help the transferee through this time. See David Barlow’s blog on Navigating the Real Estate Market for more information.

After reviewing his options Mr. Johnson’s next concern is his down payment. We will look at the possible solutions for a down payment next month and see how Mr. Johnson is progressing with his move.

There has been a lot of news on the government bailout of financial institutions that are burdened with bad debt. Although difficult to comprehend how we got here, a non-partisan explanation and impact on relocation may be helpful.

First, let’s understand what the bailout is and is not. The official name is the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and is the largest financial assistance since the great depression. It is intended to reduce non-performing assets (loans) of financial institutions. The most common non-performing loans are those which have been foreclosed upon or where the owner is struggling to pay the mortgage payment. By the government buying troubled assets from these institutions, the market can regain confidence in the institutions and the credit markets and begin to improve the credit flow that has been restricted recently due to weakened balance sheets. If left unaddressed the flow of credit and liquidity to the market will be shut off collapsing the free flow of capital—creating world wide business failures and an economic depression.

The function of TARP would be to clean up and renegotiate payments for struggling home owners as well as dispose of failing assets for financial institutions. Any asset that was sold under this program would be considered income and offset the money advanced for this program. We should expect two or more years of this activity to clean up those assets.

A few statements of what the bailout is not. It is not a mechanism to give unsecured cash to troubled companies. It is not giving away the asset it is trying to sell. It is not a way to give excessive executive pay. It is not funding the $700 billion up-front.

The impact on relocation will be immediate. By providing confidence in the credit markets, the real estate market will improve and stimulate additional home sale activity and reduce the fall in real estate prices. Additionally, lenders will continue to have mortgage products and the funds to lend, which will support the real estate market. Corporations will have confidence in the economy and will begin to expand, further driving growth. Without this bailout the world economy and markets could collapse in a way not seen since the 1930’s.

In my previous post, Mr. Smith completed his home sale in a tough real estate market leaving him with little equity to put down on his new home. Thankfully, he was able to use an FHA 3% down program for his home purchase.

This month we shine the spotlight on Mr. Jones, Mr. Smith’s co-worker. Mr. Jones was also able to sell his home, but it didn’t go as smoothly. His challenges began when he realized he was in a negative equity situation during the relocation home sale process. He heard about a possible solution called a short sale and asked his lender for more details on this type of solution.

A short sale is a solution that can potentially help sellers settle—with their lender—for a lower balance than is owed to payoff the mortgage. Typically a short sale can occur when the documented home value is less than the loan amount and the lender believes the real estate market condition will not improve in the foreseeable future and a costly default may be imminent. 

Sellers in a negative equity situation face several decisions at the time of settlement:

• Make-up the difference between the value and loan amount through savings or by liquidating other assets
• Start a short sale process
• Decide not to sell their home
• Walk away from their home causing default and foreclosure

In this type of situation, there are very few options—all of which propose life challenges that must be considered.

In today’s market, lenders treat short sales as a necessary evil. They thoroughly research each situation for home value and marketability, market condition, seller condition and situation, loan history and compare it to their policies and benchmarks for acceptability. This is a time consuming and information laden effort for the lender and seller as neither party wants to lose in the transaction. After the review the lender can decide to:

• Agree to an unsecured note with the seller for the short balance
• Settle the loan for less than the agreed upon balance (Note: this may or may not include the seller’s credit report reflecting the account being settled for less or written off)
• Forgive the balance and record it as paid in full

All three scenarios are happening today with transferees. In the first two scenarios, the seller has either a new debt for a lender to consider when qualifying for a loan in the destination area or a credit blemish that will need to be considered in a loan decision. Mortgage lenders look at settling a mortgage debt for less, unfavorably. 

Mr. Jones did complete his home sale. After 90 days of negotiation and stress—providing a great deal of information to the lender—he received an unsecured note loan for the remaining balance. Fortunately, he was able to qualify with this additional payment and closed on his new home on time.

Next time we will explore Mr. Jones’ neighbor Mr. Johnson. He faced a different challenge—he couldn’t sell his existing home and needed to buy a new home in his destination city.

Before you announce that a corporate group move (or relocation) is taking place, it is important to be prepared. A part of that will be identifying the resources you will need. Consider all the internal departments that need to be involved or will be impacted by the move. Evaluate if you need to bring in outside resources to assist you in managing the move. It may not always be obvious who should be on the team.

It may be that there is a “working team” and a “guidance review team.” Having a “team within a team” is an efficient way of keeping people focused and available, rather than in meetings.

Once your team or teams are selected, it is time to build your plan. The following steps can help you get started.

Create a timeline.
If possible, have your Company’s leadership team provide you with a “hard date” as to when they want the move to be completed. Test the logic behind the date. Is it feasible? Will the building be ready to occupy? Will the timing of the move disrupt business during peak months? Can everyone be moved by that date? Remember, once you agree on a date (whether you had input or not) you will be measured according to whether or not you hit the date. If it is not possible to establish a specific date, you will need to recognize that you are working against a moving target that will add complexity to the timing of the move as well as stress and anxiety for the employees moving. In addition, a group move without a hard date complicates the entire process, as there is always an implication of having “more time.” Determine your schedule for accomplishing each element of the project. You will also want to establish a timetable for acceptance once employees are invited.

Gather data about the people who will be impacted by the move.
This will include both those who are moving as well as those who are not. For those who are moving, you need to gather a great deal of data, including:

• Current position
• Tenure with the Company
• New position
• Current salary
• New salary
• Current manager
• New manager
• Family information
• Homeowner or renter information
• Current address
• Expected move date

Review your current corporate relocation policy to evaluate whether it will support the objectives of the move. (Read more).

Here are a few things to remember when instituting a cross-cultural awareness program into your corporate relocation program. For a full account of information regarding this service visit our resource library.

Don't forget the family
Just as spouses should be involved in the assignment selection process, they should be involved in training for global assignments. Some experts estimate that nearly 80 percent of all failed global (international) assignments can be linked to the spouse's inability to adjust to the new environment. Each member of the family faces special issues in the expatriate environment that should be addressed.

Other cultural resources
Organizations should consider utilizing their returning expatriates for help with cultural awareness initiatives. Employees who have already completed similar assignments can act as subject matter experts (SMEs) to help new expatriates learn business customs and how to navigate foreign business circles. SMEs can also prove invaluable in helping new expatriates learn the hierarchy in companies with which they will be dealing. It's important to note, however, that companies should not rely solely on employees to provide guidance to new expatriates. Relying exclusively on veteran expatriates can be problematic if the guidance reinforces cultural stereotypes or results in the new expatriate adopting the predecessor's bad habits. While other international assignees have a role to play in helping newcomers adjust, they should not replace professional consultants/trainers.

Alternative views
Although cross-cultural awareness is important, some might argue that its importance is just a hyped up myth. In actuality, on average only 30 percent of American managers sent on international assignment lasting from one to five years receive any cross-cultural training. It can be argued that managing is simply "managing," so where it is done is irrelevant. Another point of view is that any type of short-term cultural training would be ineffective because people can't learn to work and live in a foreign culture after only a few days (or even a few weeks) of training. Others argue that an understanding of a country's culture is something people assimilate over many years based on personal experiences in that specific culture. Others will say that corporate culture takes precedence over country culture. For example, a local employee working for a "bullish" American firm in Thailand might show traits of aggressiveness and conflict, which are not traits normally associated with the Thai culture. These traits, however, may be common in the corporate company culture of the employee's organization, causing the Thai employee to act outside his or her normal cultural dimensions.

Nevertheless, in order to be successful, an expatriate must be comfortable with his or her staff, colleagues, clients and business atmosphere--regardless of location. Cultural specialists also agree that to be successful in dealing with people from other cultures, expatriates need knowledge about the cultural differences (and the similarities) among work locations. The global employee of today's business world can only benefit from gaining cultural awareness, either through direct training or personal experience, which would lead to greater professional effectiveness and company performance. Read more

If you would like more information about cross-cultural education and how it can be added to your international relocation package/program, please contact our corporate relocation consulting team.

SIRVA recently released a whitepaper dedicated to outlining our fixed-fee home sale program and how it can improve predictability and reduce real estate risk in a slow housing market. Below is an excerpt from this whitepaper, along with a link to the complete document.

The U.S. housing market is continuing to slow, and most economists and housing professionals predict the housing slump will linger longer than previous forecast. Total home sale costs become less predictable in sluggish real estate markets, and unpredictable home sale costs translate into unpredictable total relocation costs.

Relocation service companies offer several home sale programs, each with varying levels of risk, to help employers relocate transferees. Employers should consider the advantages of each program to determine the level of risk involved, and those employers who want a predictable and low-risk home sale program should consider a fixed-fee program.

For more information about our SIRVA’s fixed-fee program, view the complete whitepaper or contact us.

Relocating is often a stressful and confusing event in anyone’s life and career, especially if the transferee is going through his/her first relocation. Lack of role clarity (who does what) and inadequate information throughout the process will not only amplify a transferee’s stress, but will also directly impact the outcome of the corporate relocation. There are a number of measures that can be taken to make the relocation process easier. One key action is to include a section in the relocation policy that defines specific roles and responsibilities of all transferee resources.

When defining roles and responsibilities during the relocation process, there are a number of key points to remember. We are going to outline a few of them here, but encourage you to view the complete article in our Resource Library.

Internal and external resources
Include internal and external resources when defining roles. In many cases, the transferee is starting a new position with the organization and may not immediately understand where to go for support. Identifying internal resources early in the relocation process will enable the transferee to assimilate into the new organization quicker, he/she will feel more comfortable, and will also feel more in control of the relocation.

Setting transferee expectations
Clearly lay out the company’s expectations for the transferee during the relocation. This will help prevent the employee from straying outside the policy and limit the need for exceptions. Decreasing exceptions goes a long way toward alleviating the dissatisfaction that can result if a transferee finds out they were treated differently than others at their same salary or grade level. More and more companies have placed wording in their policies that clearly outlines that exceptions are not expected, and if requested, will be escalated to a senior-level executive for approval. It should be noted in policy that the transferee is a visible representation of your company and needs to act and behave in accordance with your company’s code of conduct.

View more points to keep in mind when defining roles and responsibilities for corporate relocations.

There is no such thing as a small relocation, but some companies don't require the large-scale support needed by those relocating hundreds or even thousands of employees annually. For these companies, SIRVA Advantage might be the answer. SIRVA Advantage is a program developed specifically for companies that relocate fewer than 30 employees per year. Currently, 120 companies participate in the program.

Through the program, companies have access to a dedicated service delivery team with specialized experience in small-volume relocations. Users don't have to be experts in relocation because all the details are handled for them. SIRVA can get a relocation program up and running quickly, and because they manage every aspect of the program, companies don't have to worry about the details. Transferees receive the full benefits of having a corporate relocation provider manage their transfer without the large corporate relocation budget.

"Companies that relocate a small number of employees have different needs than those of their large-volume counterparts," said Tim Callahan, senior vice president of sales and marketing SIRVA, Inc. "These companies may not be as familiar with the process or the complexities involved in different domestic or international relocation scenarios because they simply don't relocate employees as often."

Using SIRVA Advantage, companies can choose their services á la carte, which offers them the flexibility to develop a cost-effective custom program to fit their needs. SIRVA Advantage provides companies with guidance and assistance on a range of relocation issues, including:

• Domestic and international support
• Fixed-fee or traditional home sale programs
• Home marketing services
• Home finding and new home purchase services
• Home rental and temporary housing services
• Mortgage services
• Move management
• Tax and legal services
• Vendor contracts
• Online relocation tracking and reporting

One-on-one attention and interactive tools
The Advantage process starts with a consultation between our client and SIRVA Advantage's Business Development Manager, Jane Yanosko, to coordinate services tailored for each transferee - with this program a corporate relocation policy is not needed, SIRVA's abbreviated contract serves as the purchase order for all services authorized by the client. Once services are determined and the transfer process is initiated, the client and the transferee receive dedicated support from relocation counselors and associates focused on serving clients with fewer than 30 relocations annually.

In addition, transferees have access to MoveOurHome.com, a Web portal designed to help them take an active part in their move. MoveOurHome.com has up-to-the-minute relocation information configured on a per-client basis. On the site, transferees can view company-specific policy information and transferee-specific relocation program information.

"Transferees can submit, view and check the status of expense reports, communicate with their relocation counselor, and specify home and area preferences," continues Callahan. "They also have access to an online move organizer and essential destination information such as weather, crime statistics, school reports, population figures and other community information."* SIRVA Advantage was developed based on input from current customers and internal service teams, and is designed to provide a company will a small or no relocation program a high level of service on a more flexible, on-demand basis.

To learn more about SIRVA Advantage, contact Jane Yanosko, SIRVA Advantage business development manager, at 800.531.3840 or jane.yanosko@sirva.com.