Corporate Relocation is an investment. It is an investment of time, money and human capital. When an employee is tapped to take a corporate relocation their company is ready to make a big investment in that person to share their expertise and knowledge with another office. The reasons to relocate an employee is often twofold, 1) the company needs to use that person as a resource in the new location and 2) it gives an opportunity for a deserving employee to bolster their experience with a relocation, which as we noted in the past is becoming an essential quality of corporate leadership.

The cost of the relocation is often the number one factor used to decide which candidate is right for the job. Understanding what benefits are needed to relocate an employee and their family prior to a move will significantly help to determine if the employee is a good fit for a relocation. Often times, companies rush into choosing a candidate for a relocation and then it turns out they weren’t the best choice in the first place which leads to frustration, excessive costs and even a failed relocation. This is why Paragon’s standalone service, Pre-Decision Consulting, is so popular. Pre-Decision avoids the mistakes before they happen significantly increasing the return-on-investment of a relocation.

To determine how much a relocation will cost it is important to understand the employee’s family and housing situation because this will dictate the amount of benefits they will need to successfully relocate to the new location. For example, relocating a Senior Executive with a family of five with a large home is going be a much larger investment than relocating a single new hire recent grad who lives in a one bedroom apartment.

What are the Average Relocation Costs?

In a recent Mobility Magazine, they published the Worldwide ERC 2011 US Transfer Volume & Cost Survey which included the below data on the average corporate relocation costs by move type.

Breaking Down Relocation Costs by Move Type

• How much does it cost to relocate a homeowner? – On average it costs $90,081 to move an existing employee who is a homeowner. An existing employee homeowner relocation costs more because it relates to the size of their home. Existing employee homeowners typically have larger homes which increases the costs of relocation benefits that relate to real estate and because their home is larger they also often have more stuff to ship using a household goods company which increases the price of the overall relocation as well.




• How much does it cost to relocate a new hire homeowner? – On average it costs $69,020 to move a new hire employee who is a homeowner. Similar to an existing employee homeowner relocation, a new hire homeowner relocation costs more than a renter relocation because it relates to the size of their home. The new hire homeowner may not always need the full array of benefits that an existing employee homeowner needs on a relocation and the costs to relocate these employees is less.




• How much does it cost to relocate a renter? – On average it costs $23,497 to move an existing employee who is a renter. An existing employee renter relocation typically costs considerably less than a homeowner relocation because benefits related to real estate are not needed for these employees and because often times renters have less household goods to be moved which results in smaller moving costs.




• How much does it cost to relocate a new hire renter? – On average it costs $20,168 to move a new hire employee who is a renter. A new hire employee renter relocation very closely resembles an existing employee renter relocation but with a little bit narrower scope of benefits.

Paragon Relocation uses complete transparency in pricing and reporting to show our clients the true costs of each relocation. We bring the average costs of relocation down with smart relocation program design that aligns our client’s relocation budget goals with their corporate talent goals. Relocating an employee is a big investment for any company to make, and while relocation management fees are a very small part of those costs, Paragon is always thinking of new ways to save its client’s money. In terms of reducing overall costs, the inclusion of the Pre-Decision Consulting as well as other cost cutting services such as our preferred household goods provider bidding engine, Partner Select, have saved our clients well above 10% on each participating relocation. In addition with the full launch of our industry leading Relocation Information Management System, PRISM 2.0, we are also saving our client’s time touching relocation with its user friendly features and robust reporting suite.

Would you like to save time and money on relocation? Contact us today for more information on how you can save time and money on your relocation program!



For more information on how much a relocation costs, please see this previous post: How much does it cost to relocate an employee?

Filed under: ERC, The Best Thinking..., Uncategorized | No Comments »

This week Businessweek has reported that mortgage interest rates are at historic lows. The current average rate of 4.11% for a 30 year fixed loan is up from a record low from two weeks ago when the rate was at 3.98%. In addition many homeowners are using the low rates as an opportunity to refinance their homes for a lower monthly payment.

Should I refinance my home now?

Here is a tip and some tools to help you decide if refinancing your home is a good idea:

1. Is your current interest rate more than 1% more than current rates? – This is a simple indicator that you may want to talk to a mortgage lender about available loan options to lock in the currently low rates and reduce your monthly payment.
2. Refinance Interest Savings Calculator – this calculator tells you how much interest can you save if you refinance your mortgage.
3. Refinance Breakeven Calculator – How long will it take to breakeven on a mortgage refinance? That depends on a multitude of factors. These factors include your current interest rate, the new potential rate, closing costs and how long you plan to stay in your home. Use this calculator to sort through the confusion, and determine if refinancing your mortgage is a sound financial decision.

When determining if refinancing makes sense for your family it is always wise to consult your lender. Paragon’s sister company GenEquity Mortgage has been founded on over 65 years of relocation and mortgage industry experience. Today they use a proprietary mortgage pricing and product engine to secure the absolute best rates for customers thinking about buying a home or for refinancing a mortgage.

For more information on GenEquity, locking in a historically low mortgage rate, and to fill out their online mortgage application, please visit www.GenEquity.com.

Filed under: The Best Thinking... | 1 Comment »

Paragon Relocation and Paragon GeoImmigration at HRSouthwest!

Paragon Relocation and Paragon GeoImmigration will be exhibiting at the upcoming HRSouthwest Conference on Oct. 30th through Nov. 2nd in Fort Worth, Texas. The HRSouthwest Conference is the largest regional human resources Conference in the United States. The Conference offers world-renowned keynote speakers, two and a half days of educational sessions networking opportunities and exposure to the latest HR products, techniques and services.



Please stop by booths 1306 and 1308 to win special take home prizes for attendees and for a chance to win Dallas Cowboys tickets for when they take on the red hot Buffalo Bills at the world renowned Cowboys Stadium!

HRSouthwest Conference Session Topics:

• Strategic Management
• Total Rewards
• Global HR
• Workforce Planning/Employment
• Employee and Labor Relations
• Personal/Professional Growth/Development
• HR Development
• Risk Management

More information:

For more information and to register visit HRSouthwest.com.

In addition for more information about Paragon Relocation or Paragon GeoImmigration please visit their websites.

Filed under: Events, The Best Thinking... | No Comments »

Paragon Relocation has for years prided itself on excellent customer service for our customers who we relocate all over the world. Recently, on this blog and internally, we have been celebrating the comments and reviews of our customers who have given us an Excellent rating. (The positive reviews for the month always rotate at right of our blog in the sidebar) now, we also want to spread the news in form of a blog post each month about what a great job our Relocation Consultants are doing. In addition to posting these reviews here, we also post these internally on our Relocation Consultant “Wall of Fame.” Ultimately, Paragon bases our success on if our relocating customers believe we did an excellent job.

Paragon Relocation’s customer reviews:

Paragon Relocation enjoys making raving fans out of their customers. Let us know if you have any other stories where you have received great customer service from Paragon Relocation!

Related Posts:

The World’s Biggest Companies Choose Paragon Relocation – HRO Baker’s Dozen
Paragon Relocation Opens New Office in France!
Paragon Relocation Expands Operations Into the Benelux Countries
Paragon Relocation now offers billing in Chinese Renminbi

Filed under: Paragon Relocation's Customer Service | No Comments »

A harmonious work-life balance is difficult to manage even in the best of circumstances. Today many people are expected to not only satisfy the responsibilities of one role in the workplace but multiple roles and responsibilities at the same time to keep up with a competitive work environment. Because these people are successful at taking on more responsibilities they are often also selected to go on an International Assignment for their corporation. They are the type of people who might struggle with the work-life balance in their home country. Add on top of that the nuances and complexities of an International Assignment and they might be in for some tough times ahead. Once someone has decide that they are a good candidate for an International Assignment, how can they develop a good work-life balance while on an International Assignment?

In short, by planning, focus, and a good sense of boundaries you can be more productive at work and enjoy a more fuller experience outside of the office while working abroad.

The Problem With Work-Life Balance on an International Assignment

Dr. Sebastian Reiche, of the IESE Business School and author of the blog, EXPATRIATUS, recently wrote about the topic in the post titled, Expatriates have less work-life balance abroad than at home. Some evidence.
To summarize, here are the top three obstacles that get in the way of a good work-life balance abroad:

1. Achieving the goals of the assignment in a short amount of time.
2. Stress on the family due to a loss of a social support structure.
3. Difficulty assimilating with the culture, which limits options outside of the workplace.

In addition to the reasons listed above for many employees on an International Assignment the work-life balance may be off because the workplace can be used an escape from the stresses of family and assimilating to the culture. In the workplace you have opportunities to connect with things that are familiar to you so working at the office might be “less work” than your life outside of the office. This behavior however, might make developing a good work-life balance even more difficult.

How to Have a Great Work-Life Balance While on Assignment

With a little planning and effort your International Assignment can be personally fulfilling and professionally productive. Here are some tips on how to succeed at creating a good work-life balance while on International Assignment.

1. Plan on Planning: To be successful while on assignment it is essential that you develop a plan of action. The goal is to be productive as possible during your working hours so that you can set boundaries to leave the workplace behind and be freed up to have the experience of being in a different culture. Some tips to be more productive that might work for you are: only turning on email twice a day, once at the beginning of the day and once at the end of the day, for example. This helps you to be more productive because you are less distracted from the tasks at hand. Or another idea is making a list of what needs to be accomplished in the day and then prioritizing and scheduling what is important and urgent. In addition, you may want to look into productivity resources online such as posts on Lifehack.org tagged “productivity”, or by reading popular productivity books such as the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, or Getting Things Done by David Allen. The goal is to find a system that works for you so you can do more in less time and be freed up outside of the office.
2. Stick to a Schedule: If you begin your new role with a fairly well-defined schedule it will likely be respected by your superiors and co-workers with the understanding that you get what is required of you done in that time frame. Even if you need to more than 8 hours a day, having a well-defined schedule will help you stay balanced and give you an opportunity to have an “on and off” switch. An idea to help you with this is setting an alarm on your computer’s calendar program to remind you when to take a break and or when to leave the office for the day.
3. Communicate Freely with Family: The effects of an International Assignment on family can be one of the most difficult aspects of developing a good work-life balance. During the assignment it is essential that each family member is given the space to be heard – to be able to share freely the challenges of the relocation. A special emphasis should be given to family time during the first couple of months of the assignment to set the tone. Ideas to help with this could include, being intentional about scheduling family meals and family days together.
4. Get Out: Get outside of the familiar world of family and coworkers. Take up a hobby, join the local community, find a community of like-minded expats. Find a reason to not be at work so that you have a chance to clear your mind. We have written in the past about advice on assimilating into the culture in posts such as How to Deal with Culture Shock, and How to Live the Good Life While on International Assignment. These posts might help you get past specific challenges you might face on your International Assignment and they also offer some resources to help you assimilate into the local culture.
5. Sharpen the Saw: In some ways this relates to the previous point. In the 7 Habits book referenced above Stephen Covey makes the analogy that an employee is like a man sawing down a tree. As the story goes a man is sawing down a tree for five hours until another man asks him if he would take a break from sawing to sharpen his saw to which the man replies that there isn’t enough time to sharpen the saw. However the truth is that had the man who was sawing took a 20 minute break to sharpen the saw, he would have been able to saw through the tree in half the time. The principle from this analogy is that actually by taking time away from work it would have made him more productive at work. While on assignment you need this time away from the grind to be able have a clear mind for when you are on the job. Having this time away from work opens our minds to new solutions that may have been impossible to see without a little bit of perspective and time away from the workplace. How can you build in time away from the daily grind to sharpen yourself so your International Assignment is more effective? What are the things that help you feel recharged? Put those things on the calendar so that you are full of energy and ready to go to meet the goals of your International Assignment!

Please let us know YOUR tips on how to have a good work-life balance while on an International Assignment? Leave us a comment below, or on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter!

Filed under: The Best Thinking... | No Comments »

In the current real estate market selling your home for a relocation is certainly a challenge. Follow the steps below and you will definitely position your home to sell for the best possible price.

The difficulty lies in the fact that there is a large number of homes for sale in many markets today and yet the number of qualified buyers is small because of stricter mortgage approval requirements (even though mortgage rates are at an all time low). In addition, many companies are taking a “wait and see” approach to hiring new employees which would lead to more available buyers in the market.

The goal when trying to achieve the highest price for your home is to honestly acknowledge these realities and then develop a game plan for success.

What will it take to get my home sold for a good price?

1. Get Real: The quote “Home is where the heart is” resonates with a lot of us because in the home we create a lot of happy memories – truly priceless experiences. The problem is that these events (though important) don’t add value to the home for buyers. To be successful when selling your home, you need to think of it objectively as a house for sale. Ask yourself the question, “What can I do to make my home stand out above 90% of other homes on the market?”
2. Know Your Neighborhood: Discover what is working to get homes sold in your neighborhood. Make a list of the major highlights of the location of your home. Are you near a high quality middle school? Take note of that. Does your home have easy access to a local park? Note that as well. Small benefits that the location of your home has might be the difference between your home and another similar home being sold. You need to use everything to your advantage that could give your home the best chance of finding a buyer out there. If you need some help discovering what the key selling points of your neighborhood are, use some of these Neighborhood Research tools in this post to help you.
3. Stage for Success: A little bit of paint and decluttering of your home can go a long way towards getting your home sold quickly and at a higher price. Part of this includes making sure that there is a good amount of quality photos of your property up on the web for buyers to be intrigued enough to come visit. Check out how staging your home can have as much as a 586% Return-on-Investment (ROI)!
4. An Estimate is an Estimate: At our finger tips we have the ability to get access to unlimited amounts of information on the internet when researching a neighborhood for a relocation. However, the other side of the coin of having access to unlimited information is that we are often led down the path towards inaccurate information. For example popular real estate sites such as Zillow.com have the ability to show lots and lots of useful information about a home in almost any given neighborhood. As part of the information sites like this offer they give an estimation of a home’s worth, while this is helpful for users looking to buy or sell a home these estimates have been shown to be wildly off at times which can create unrealistic expectations that inevitably lead to disappointment. The solution? Use a qualified Realtor who is a local expert to partner with you to price your home according to the local inventory of homes on the market and according to your goals.
5. Plan Your Price: This is a difficult topic to discuss. For many people the home is not only where memories are made it is also a family’s biggest investment. However, with a firm grip on reality and a good pricing strategy you can sell your home for the best possible price but you need to start with a solid plan from the beginning. Evi Coghlan a Realtor with a bi-weekly column called “The Real Deal” writes “The longer your house is on the market, the less it will sell for…Price your properly correctly from the start, and you’ll net the highest sale price. Although “testing a higher price” and “leaving room for negotiation” may sound like common-sense strategies, they are unwise in the current market. Usually they just result in extended market time, whereas “pricing to sell” gets the job done quickly and profitably…A really well-priced property will generate multiple offers and sell at or above list price. Yes, even in this market.”
6. Pick a Pro: When trying to sell your home the most important aspect is picking the right Realtor for you and your goals. The right Realtor should be a local expert who has a long track record for success yet is available enough to make selling your home a priority. In addition, they are people who will be honest with you which sometimes includes telling you things you may not always want to hear. Getting referred to a Realtor is often the best way to find someone who is qualified. For employees relocated by Paragon they are invited to use Paragon Relocation’s Realtor Broker Network, which pairs relocating employees with proven local area experts who understand how to successfully get a home sold while a family is in the midst of a corporate relocation. (In addition, these Realtor’s are hand chosen based on input from our customers. Unlike our competitors, Paragon is not contractually tied to bad real estate agents which allows us to recommend the best possible local Realtor to each customer who is selling their home for a relocation.)

To get your home sold quickly timing is everything, follow the steps above from the beginning of the process and you will be set up for success. By getting your home sold quickly at a good price you can smoothly move on to your next dream home and start focusing your new life in your new location.

Filed under: Articles, The Best Thinking... | No Comments »

Paragon Relocation is very busy on the conference and event circuit this time of year. Here are the highlights from recent events and upcoming events where you will see Paragon Relocation during the month of October.

Paragon Annual Conference

Paragon Relocation hosted its 4th Annual Conference this month in Dublin, Ireland. The meeting was directed by Liam Brennan, Managing Director of Paragon Relocation. In attendance were representatives from Paragon Relocation’s Operations in France, Hong Kong, South Korea, The Netherlands, Spain and the USA.

Conference sessions addressed current trends and challenges within the global mobility industry and also provided opportunities for networking and sharing best practices with colleagues. The agenda included presentations on key growth areas, cost control approaches and best practices adopted by companies in light of today’s economy.

Paragon GeoImmigration Exhibits in London

Representatives from Paragon GeoImmigration recently exhibited at the International Bar Association’s (IBA) conference in London. Attendees took part in sessions that focused on the new immigration world after the economic crisis, employer compliance, global transfers and the future of immigration law practice.

The IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession. The association comprises over 40,000 lawyers, 80 group member law firms and over 197 bar associations and law societies across all continents.

Upcoming Events

Visit Paragon at our upcoming events:

Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium

October 12-14
Denver, CO
Booth 400 and 402

HR Southwest

October 30-November 2
Fort Worth, TX
Booth 1308 and 1306



If you are also attending one of these events, please stop by the Paragon booth to say “Hello”!

Filed under: Events, Paragon Press, annoucement | No Comments »

Paragon Relocation is pleased to congratulate the project team that is completing the PRISM 2.0 implementation for all of Paragon’s clients. PRISM 2.0 is our industry-leading relocation information management system. The implementation of this system will provide Paragon’s clients with more real time data than previous systems.

The original project team members were Sasi Kilaru, Terri Wheeler, Susan Schaetzle, Drew Krycerick, Kevin Sheehan and Stacy Bass, along with Wolfgang Hombrecher as the executive sponsor. The team began work on the PRISM project in January 2010. Along with our software partner, Equus, the team spent countless hours training on the system and configuring it to support Paragon’s business needs to fully replace five legacy relocation systems with one integrated solution. In addition, the team spent hundreds of hours mapping legacy system fields to PRISM and integrating and automating the accounting and general ledger systems. The first phase was completed at the end of June 2010. Paragon’s project team dedicated more than 7,500 hours to the initial phase of the project.

Once the project moved into the migration phase, additional team members were added including Peg Cich, Saima Azeem, Sean Ireland, Janelle Gerber, Cathy Ronayne, Jennifer Morabito, the Paragon Account Management group, as well as Craig Selders and Mary Legate participating as executive sponsors. During the migration phase, we: configured the system to support the policies and business practices of our clients; uploaded all client and internal documents; recreated internal reports and all client reporting; and migrated 42 clients with over 18,000 files and hundreds of thousands of expense transactions. In addition, Susan Schaetzle and Stacy Bass wrote all training documentation, user manuals and trained every user company-wide, as well as clients and key suppliers. The migration phase will be completed by October 15th with the final migration of all remaining clients.

For future PRISM development, a committee meets each week to review any issues and to prioritize and discuss further enhancement opportunities. This group consists of Cathy Ronayne, Kevin Sheehan, Stacy Bass, Tom True, Wolfgang Hombrecher, Susan Schaetzle, Janelle Gerber, Deborah Graham and Craig Selders.

Filed under: Paragon Press, The Best Thinking... | No Comments »

GenEquity Mortgage, a subsidiary of Paragon Global Resources, launched a new website (http://www.genequity.com) which has been redesigned with a vibrant new look and new content. The site features a number of resources and tools, including calculators to assist borrowers in determining how much they can afford, which mortgage loan options might best fit their needs and budget, and whether refinancing an existing loan might be favorable. The new GenEquity website also offers the ability to complete and submit a mortgage application online.

GenEquity Mortgage is a nationwide mortgage banker providing innovative solutions, convenience, savings and choice through a single relationship solution. Dedication to service and competitive solutions has earned GenEquity the proud reputation for providing “The Best Thinking in Home Finance™.”

Visit the new website at www.genequity.com.

Filed under: Paragon Press, The Best Thinking... | No Comments »