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An interesting point made by the Employee Relocation Council is that
in 1995, it cost an average of $35,902 to relocate a home-owning new hire
and $8,948 to relocate a renting new hire. Temporary living counts for
about 51% of this cost, shipping household goods 49%. (They say it does not
add to 100% because of multiple responses).
With these high and increasing costs in mind, it makes sense for companies to do all
they can to ensure they have chosen the best possible candidate and someone
who will enjoy this community and not leave them quickly. This is where
I come in. The best foundation has to be set for them, right from the very
beginning. I can help.
Susan Wilson
I am a business woman of 30 years experience, and I have been my own
HR department. I know what it is to run a business and take care of
a staff and
their personal needs. I understand the needs of the head person,
President, CEO, whomever, from personal experience with 60 employees of my
own at one point in England, 30 in France and 20 here, including 4 imported
from Europe. It is not easy!
I have lived in many countries myself and relocated to the US with 2 children.
I know the difficulties from personal experience, the immediate, short-term
ones and the ones that set in after certain periods of time. I have worked with people transferring from all over the world and the USA, from Columbia, Hong Kong, Chile, France, England, Singapore. They all had their special needs --- children, elderly relatives, language problems, cultural differences --- so many things.
What I See & Where I am Trying to Help
In the business world, I see corporate down-sizing and
re-organization constantly going on. Because of this, on a national level I see
small companies, especially those related to the computer industry, bringing
new people into various communities, one here, one there, not so much large scale
hiring by any particular company. This is a growth industry world wide that
I have heard referred to as being in an explosive growth stage in some regions
at present!
Service to Small Companies
These small businesses that are in such a fast changing and growing industry
need help. They are not like major corporations with large H.R. departments.
With the small firm, the CEO, CFO or President IS the HR department in
many cases. This person not only has to screen applicants for new positions,
but he/she also has to interview them, decide who to hire, introduce them
to the area and sell them on it as a great place to live, assist them with
the moving process and then, once they are here, there is the question of
making sure the employee and his/her family is happy in the new environment,
making friends, getting involved in various activities. An impossible job
for one person who also has the prime job of running the company!
Again,this is where I come in, along with the help of my partners all over the country. We can be part of the interview process, the area tour guide and advocate for Greater Charlotte. We arrange the sight-seeing, the personal research program, taking the people out and about personally. We also supply them with a video about the area to take home to their family.
We also can help with the moving arrangements, organize short- or long-term
accommodations -- to rent or buy -- arrange financing for a home if that is
what they want. Particularly important to people transferring in from abroad
is that we have sources of finance for non US citizens -- difficult to
obtain sometimes unless you know where to go.
We take transferees to see schools (the children love this and it settles
many fears). We arrange appointments at churches, synagogues, take the family
to see ski slopes, lakes, golf courses, shops and housing developments.
We find out about any areas of special interest to them, for examnple a wrestling program for one family's son, craft groups for one transferees wife. We can even
introduce the children to potential friends of similar ages and interests
if they arrive here during school vacation time, a period when it is tough
for them to develop a circle for themselves.
After the move, we follow up to ensure they are settling in well. We try
to help them through any area of difficulty. If they need a family doctor,
an electrician, a friend, we try to supply the need. If the spouse needs
a job, we can help through our network of HR people and placement agencies.
All very important to the hiring company when you consider how much it costs
to bring a new hire into the area. And it is not just the financial cost
I refer to, it is the time and concern, not to mention stress involved for
everyone, company and employee.
Large Firms
All this is not to say we do not help large firms. We do, and it is a
big chunk of our business. Even though they have large HR departments and
often a national relocation company helping them, that help mainly affects
people transferring out of the area. Incomers for large firms need exactly
what we supply. They need a local Relocation Specialist to take a real human
interest in their transferees' personal needs.
Reimbursement/Fees
There are no fees to either employer or employee. Our focus is on the
people involved and in establishing long term relationships with them. With
this focus, we know that we will earn compensation in the form of commissions
from people selling houses. We also know every family we work with will not
necessarily result in immediate monetary gain, but, over the long term, the
service we give will be fairly rewarded.
Relocation Packages
A comprehensive package is given to transferees which includes a video,
color magazines about the area and information about schools, medical services,
sports---everything you can imagine. In addition to this, these packages
are customized for the individual needs once we have established what those
needs are.
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