Employee relocation services’ are defined as the internal corporate policies framed by the management to ensure smooth transfers and relocation of employees, their families and sometimes even business units or departments to newer locations. With the advancement in media and communications and a more globalized trading environment, the business dynamics have vastly changed for corporations spread across varied industries. Also, with a more practical and skill oriented education system, students are geared to take on greater challenges at the workplace.
Employees often look for transfers as a means of advancing the career ladder. Being open to new locations and job profiles brings more work satisfaction and higher incentives to employees. On-site training and development and scope for more strategic and meaningful work usually come with transfer opportunities. Corporate relocation trends such as logistical management, movers services, and goods management through advanced techniques have emerged in recent times.
When employees shift base with their families, it is often a cumbersome task to settle in new locations. Corporate relocation services aid the smooth management of this change for employees undergoing transfers and shift to newer roles at different locations. Two major types of services as per geographical location are domestic relocation services and international relocation services. Relocation management is a growing industry, due to the growth of globalized work and education, and the openness of employees to shift base for better growth and payscale opportunities.
In developing countries like India and China, there is more demand for relocation services by existing employees to developed nations like the United States and European countries. Information technology and management are two major sectors wherein employee flux is high, as a result of the incidence of transfers and work profile rotations. Immigration norms, employee willingness for transfers, work distribution, department wise breakup in an organization, job role distribution etc. are some of the many factors affecting employee rotation and relocation trends. Here are some of the major trends for the corporate relocation services industry:
-
- Logistics management: Relocation involves the management of moving and packing from one place to another for employees. Logistical operation and planning is an important factor for successful employee relocation. Business organizations often outsource the function to specialist agencies or have separate departments to handle this function in a proper manner. Employee grievance management is also an emerging trend for corporate relocation, as keeping morale high and aiding smooth settlement post-transfer is vital to prevent loss of profitability for the corporate. A satisfied employee shall be more productive than one who has unsolved grievances post-relocation.
-
- Analytics and cloud: Nowadays, analytical tools are available for enabling smooth transfers and relocation. These specialized softwares provide services such as real-time monitoring and tracking of goods, spotting glitches in service delivery and corrective action softwares. Cloud computing has enabled the corporate relocation industry to move to a more modernized and computerized gateway for operation. The analytical tools have advanced the movers and packers industry and revolutionized the business models that existed before. Employees can now undertake smoother relocation and transfers.
- Market expansion: The corporate relocation services industry is on a growth path, with markets expanding at a phenomenal rate. The market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of around 4 percent, as per recent studies. Businesses are building global footprints, and this is bringing the need for a more diverse and skilled human resource base across office locations. Also, employees are now more willing to take up transfers and relocation offers as a means of career advancement and rise in pay packages with better work opportunities. All these factors are contributing to the rise in the relocation services industry.
The future of corporate relocation as an industry is wider markets, a rise in more complex data management and further use of analytics and artificial intelligence to smoothen the process and outcome of relocation for employees. Market intelligence and database management will be the buzzwords of smooth corporate relocation in the future.