Financial Times is reporting that 75% of corporations are expecting Global Mobility to be more important over the next 3 to 5 years. However, 40% of corporations believe that their Global Mobility functions are ill prepared for this influx of employees going on international assignment saying that the programs need to be radically changed to meet this demand. While the relocation industry has been steadily establishing itself within the HR departments of many global companies over the last 30 years it seems that there are areas that still need growth as part of a number of corporations continue to develop their presence in emerging markets. In addition the article references that Global Mobility departments are structured in a way that is often reactionary.

Perhaps the recent movement of Global Mobility integrating into an overall corporate Talent Management strategy will offer opportunities to be less reactive and more proactive. Here are some ways that Global Mobility can be more proactive:

1. Better integration of technologies – Talent Management, HRIS and third-party relocation information systems need to speak to each other so that Global Mobility can optimize the talent already within an organization. This might offer opportunities to proactively recommend candidates to go on assignment within an organization.

2. Pre-Decision Consulting/Relocation Cost Estimates – Having a robust Pre-Decision program as part of a relocation program helps sort out who is the best candidate for an international assignment based on a number of factors including cost. In addition, using this process before a candidate is chosen significantly lowers the amount of failed assignments which end earlier than expected which raises the return-on-investment.

3. Logical/Flexible Program Design – For Global Mobility programs to be less reactionary they need to build relocation programs that fit the needs of the global organization as a whole but also be built to address the very specific needs of each family that is going on assignment. One-size-fits-all relocation programs are no longer the norm, and can’t adapt quickly enough for changing dynamics on the ground. In addition, needs assessments within the general guidelines of a relocation program can help contain cost and provide a greater level of satisfaction for employees relocating.

What are some other things Global Mobility departments can do to be more proactive (rather than reactive) in the coming years? Let us know on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter!

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Paragon is excited to announce a value-added feature of our websites. We are posting top industry news stories that have an impact on your relocation and mortgage programs. To support our reputation for providing “The Best Thinking in Relocation,” we have created news pages to keep our clients up-to-date on everything related to the mobility industry.

Check out our news pages for relocation and mortgage and let us know your thoughts! The news site for immigration is underway and is expected to launch by the end
of July.

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The global economic picture is causing a great degree of uncertainty. The debt crisis in Europe will play out in 2012 and 2013 and could have a major impact on the Euro Zone, the Euro and companies doing business in Europe, including Paragon. Growth in the U.S. and China is slowing down as unemployment in the U.S. remains high. The United States government is facing two crucial issues in the latter half of the year: decisions related to the end of the Bush Tax Cuts and increasing the National Debt Ceiling. At the same time, we are in the middle of a hotly contested election year. Due to all of these factors, businesses large and small around the world to some degree are in a holding pattern until we all see the outcome from government actions concerning these critical issues.

Even so, at least at Paragon, business life goes on. We are still relocating our client’s employees. Volume from some clients is up, while it is down from other clients. We are very focused on our mission statement, which is to provide extraordinary customer service, one family at a time. We are working on putting more Paragon boots on the ground in China, Singapore, India, Brazil, Norway and Portugal. We have devised a new sales, marketing, service and account management strategy aimed at Middle Market companies with $10 million to $1 billion in revenues. Our mortgage and immigration activity are both up. A major effort is underway to improve our Client Accounting function allowing us to better process both employee relocation benefits for our customers and supplier payments for our clients around the world in multiple currencies. In addition, we are in the process of improving and enhancing our Business Alliance function to provide better management of our suppliers.

At the same time, we will roll out the first phase of services for senior citizens in the United States under our PGR Home Caregivers banner. This new business will focus on providing both real estate and home care services for the 75 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. that began turning 65 years old last January at the rate of 10,000 a day. If you think about it, many of these people may have been our relocation customers in the last 25 years and we now will follow them into retirement as a natural extension of our service business. Whatever happens in the economy, or with factors beyond our control, it is never boring at Paragon. We are very focused on providing outstanding services to foster the growth and development of all of our subsidiaries around the world. Though change is inevitable, our mission will never change.

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Paragon Relocation will be attending a Southern California Relocation Council event in San Diego tomorrow (6/14). This event is for Southern California relocation company professionals and corporate professionals who deal with relocation (ie. HR, Talent Management, and Procurement professionals, etc). Please join us if you are available! Details are below.

Summer SCRC Meeting

“New Ideas for Talent Management and Social Media”

When: Thursday June, 14 from 11:00am – 2:00pm

Where: University Club San Diego atop Symphony Towers – 750 B Street Suite 3400 San Diego, CA 92101

Panel includes:

Neal Schaeffer, Windmill Networking Neal Schaeffer – author of 2 books on Social Media and Maximizing LinkedIn. A ForbesTop 30 Social Media Power Influencer and creator of the AdAge Top 100 Global Marketing Blog Windmill Networking, Neal is an international social media conference speaker who is also known for his two award-winning and critically acclaimed social media books: “Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing” and “Windmill Networking: Maximizing LinkedIn” As a leading social media strategist, Neal has created social media strategies and coached implementation for companies ranging from a Fortune 50 software company to a Grammy award-winning musician.   Neal’s work has been recognized by the media and he has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business Week, Forbes, Yahoo!, and the American Express Open Forum. He has also spoken at leading social media conferences such as iStrategy Global Digital Media Conference, Online Marketing Summit, Gravity Summit, and LavaCon. A graduate of Amherst College, Neal is also fluent in Chinese and Japanese and currently resides in Irvine, California, where he proudly serves on the marketing committee for the United Way of Orange County.

Margery Marsall, President – Vandover As president of Vandover, Margery Marshall leads strategic initiatives to partner with major employers worldwide and effectively manage services for employees and families in transition. Her extensive experience includes senior executive positions with Prudential Financial and Cartus, including leadership in global organizations to establish services and offices around the globe. She has been published in Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Human Resource Executive, Crains, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, HRO Today, Workforce Management, International Herald Tribune, Business Week, and the St. Louis Business Journal. Margery currently serves on the Worldwide ERC® Industry Advisory Council, is a board member for the Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS)

Cost:
Members: $50
Non-member: $75
Corporate: Free

Click here: Register for SCRC Summer Meeting in San Diego

Note: Attendees to this meeting are eligible to receive 2 CRP Credits from ERC.

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On this blog we have talked many times about cross cultural training. Recently Atlantic magazine examined what foreign travel guidebooks said about the United States, the publisher’s own country. Among other things, the guidebooks made sweeping generalizations about Americans such as: being on time was always important, American’s like their personal space and that the public transportation is unreliable. In addition, one Japanese guidebook that was translated into English even said that the bill you receive at restaurants is not the “real price” until you add a 20% tip. While these things certainly can be true, anyone who has lived here or traveled much within the United States knows that it is not quite this simple. For example, there are many American’s who aren’t always on time, there are some who are very affectionate, and many people who use public transportation everyday successfully. Reviewing the norms of a different culture before you arrive there can certainly help with assimilation but we should be reminded often times the information that we read is also just a generalization and not always true. Guidebooks should be used to provide clues of how to act and be in a different culture other than our own but they shouldn’t be used a rule books which need to be strictly followed.

What are some generalizations about your culture that seem to be often over emphasized? Let’s us know on facebook, twitter and linkedin!

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