Survey of Risk Types

We deal with risk issues all of the time, even if we don't think of them with that label. Here are some worth noting: - Insurable Risks: property, liability, flood, title - Property Management: taking care of a vacant home in a northern climate - Information management, especially GDPR and related issues - Computers: data security, network infrastructure - Political Risk: relocating to a country with some political instability - Economic/market/interest rate: outside forces affect your customers, capital and cash - Loss on Sale: for both the homeowner and the employer post-buyout - Maritime Risk: the inherent risk of moving HHGs on the Seven Seas and briny Oceans - Credit Risk: Can your invoices be paid in timely fashion? - Regulatory: especially in the home sale arena, but also taxation issues abound - Betty Grable Risk: legs, throwing arms, etc (OK, probably not a relocation issue per se) - Legal: are your contracts, SLAs, addenda documented, tracked and enforceable? Each requires attention, at the outset and ongoing. Quantify them where you can and apply at least an ounce of prevention and planning to minimize or avoid. Which have I missed?

Risk factors for international assignees

For certain assignments, special attention should be paid to risks of living in the region or country to which employees are sent. Cultural challenges, family issues, and living conditions are usually given a high priority.

But it is wise to brief assignees on other factors in some assignment locations: special health needs that can be handled in host country, what to do if you get arrested, risk to children to and from school, presence of paramilitary & mercenaries, risk of kidnapping or abduction, political instability.
Consult the CIA and Department of State lists of regions/nations offering danger, and be very aware of locations of US embassy and consulates in the host country.

Risk Considerations Overlap Sales Process

Periodic sales review sessions are important for any company, especially when the sales cycle is long.  A good deal of time and expense are invested in persuading corporate clients to move their relocation business.  This is true whether or not an RFP process is undertaken. 

A threshold question worth considering:  is this prospect and the business that a service relationship would generate really worth it?  Hard to know unless there are margin and expense goals that guide the decision.  And it is incumbent on the sales team to understand what a prospect will require, the support needed - service delivery, support activities, reporting, compliance - to deliver on a set of SLAs. 

During sales review sessions, there is a natural strategic tension.  Sales pros are motivated to bring new clients into the company.  Operations people want to make certain service promises can be delivered within reasonableness.  Compliance officers are alert to expectations of the client to comply with rules and regulations, especially in our GDPR world.

Leaders need to use sales review sessions to consider all of the key elements that will inform team members of what the prospect will expect.  In this way, they can understand the impact on service delivery teams and the financial resources of the company. 

RFP challenges

Avoid those pesky RFPs, and all the effort that current clients may put you through, not to mention the risk of losing the business!

1. Keep close track of contract renewal dates and service delivery results

2. Begin managing the process at least 6 months in advance of the date

3. Publish metrics which measure your performance against SLAs

4. Engage your client in a detailed process review to identify gaps

5. Restate the overall benefits of the partnership to your client

We can help ...

Are White Papers Obsolete?

In this age of 300 word blog posts and 280 character tweets, some worry that the venerable white paper is a thing of the past.  Will people take the time to read 1500 words that experts assemble into highly informative and useful documents?

Here's the thing:  it's hard to cram into the shorter posts the valuable analysis and detail which the best white papers deliver.  The accompanying charts and graphs - useful for visual learners - fit much better into a long format.  In these challenging times, we ought not limit our sources used to gain mastery in relocation management.  So here are some suggestions:

1.   Deliver white papers with a short summary of the salient points of the document.
2.   Tailor the summary to the known issues your client faces.
3.   Consider offering a webinar to present the content, and key lessons.
4.   Offer a podcast of the document for those who prefer this alternative delivery method.

To make the best use of your audience's time, present insights and new ideas, rather than going over old ground.  You have a better chance of grabbing their attention.

America’s “Rust Belt” Offers Excellent Lifestyle Options

A few words of praise about America’s older industrial cities: they sometimes receive a bad rap from the press, and unfortunately from some relocation folks. But it’s important to understand that places like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Milwaukee offer many attractive lifestyle options from downtown lofts in lively neighborhoods to leafy suburbs. There are usually excellent cultural amenities, professional sports teams, great architecture, waterfronts, park systems, interesting ethnic mix and food variety, university communities, and excellent health care institutions.

Tycoons in America’s gilded age amassed great wealth in the decades following the Civil War through the 1920s. They devoted their energies and fortunes to building institutions for their cities, whether through a sense of civic pride or to earn the praise of citizens and government entities. They funded fine buildings and concert music halls, and invested in artwork that was gifted to local museums and institutes. Almost every city of the great industrial age boasts a quality symphony orchestra, with Cleveland’s orchestra ranked among the world’s best, on a par with renowned New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia symphonies.

Another legacy of cities’ prime years of industrial might is good schools – including private, parochial, and special schools such as high schools for the arts. Commutes by automobile are not nearly as challenging as places like LA and Washington DC, and frequently they offer good public transportation. Most of all, they offer good real estate value – for both home purchasers and renters. Costs are far lower than coastal cities or mega-metros, and often the renter enjoys lots of space and the charms of vintage buildings, from traditional Greek revival to striking early modernist structures. So if you’re destined for an assignment in America’s “rust belt” you can look forward to a quality lifestyle with a variety of options.

GDPR insurance review

In a recent presentation, the need to be sure your general liability insurance matches GDPR risks was emphasized.  There is no standard form or model for the industry that informs those who write commercial coverage.  That is likely to come as we advance into the world of GDPR, and of its spread throughout the world.

In the meantime, ask your insurance gurus to carefully review the exclusions in your current liability coverage for cyber events.  In addition, confirm if there is coverage in place for these matters:  privacy regulator actions, privacy breaches, violations of privacy laws and regulations, fines & penalties, the necessary $ limits. 

Coverage will likely also affect and promote certain processes and activities.  Think of these as underwriting strictures that allow the insurer to judge the risk according to how much diligence is being applied to GDPR risk related activities.  For example, DPIA results and actions to cure shortcomings.

A good time to call your insurance broker and complete this step in GDPR management.

The Prodigal Assignee

Imagine you have sent your talented Gen Y to a new city with a tidy lump sum check in their pocket (or on a prepaid VISA card, please!)  Maybe their only other move in life was back and forth to college with Dad and Mom’s help.  Now they are loosed on the world with important tasks to complete to get to their great new role on the golden career ladder.

But they aren’t sure where to turn for help, for services.  How do they get oriented to the new city?  What are the rental practices they need to understand?  Furniture? New driver’s license? Etc etc

Too often these future masters of the universe run out of money, and come back to their employer with hand out.  Do they get another stipend or are they really on their own?

Give them the tools at the front-end.  Complete analysis of reputable service providers.  Use your leverage to get them a better deal.  Remember, they are moving to help your company succeed.  

Compliance - keeping our promises

Much energy has been devoted to GDPR compliance; we have all learned that it’s now a GDPR world.  While we’re all exhaling a bit after the sprint to May 25, let’s not forget the day-day mundane need for contract management.  We promise in our agreements to comply with all laws, and so we should. Our clients - employers, relocation mgmt companies, suppliers - all expect promises to be kept.  Therefore, we need to keep a sharp eye on program activity and performance and align it with the promises made.

New customers with special needs, customer-specific pricing, customized services all are part and parcel of the flexible nature of relocation.  In each case we need to document and track as time goes by.  This is particularly true of agreements with “most favored pricing” clauses.  And don’t forget those regulatory changes that hit you know where!

Contract management is part of client service management.  Look often, be alert to impending renewal dates and added services that were promised at a client review.  Remember too that evergreen contracts are not always a good idea.

Diagnostics to Identify and Cure Risk

A periodic review of program home sale management may be useful.  Taking a selection of closed transactions through the process in place, compared to the process actually followed turns stones over into the sunlight.  For example, on a group of 100 files, find out how often brokers outside of standard were used and compare to inventory results. 

What if on the 100 files, 25% were outside of standard, resulting in 20% increase in home sale loss and  carry cost?  The aggregate result would lead to, once corrected, a substantial refinement in service results and program performance.

The exercise will likely reveal risk mitigation opportunities, whether due to process errors or changes in needs.  Process changes may be needed, systems or forms or reports may be added, policy changes may be identified, insurance coverage issues uncovered.  (inspections, CLUE, etc)  We can help.

All kinds of risk to manage

Relocation industry pros must manage many kinds of risk in handling mobility.  The newest issue on the list is GDPR and the proliferation of state rules - like the recent California law.

Here are a few other matters which require attention and process foundation to fully serve corporate clients: loss on sale from real estate, tax and expense management, computer, regulatory, property management, IT and business continuity, and insurable risk covered via liability insurance.

In today's rumbling world, we need to be very mindful of the risks presented by assignments in foreign countries.  We need to help employers profile candidates to see if they match the location.  Political risk - from unstable societies or internal conflict - requires special attention.  Also disease and epidemics and the ability of the host country to provide medical care. 

Take a wide view of the risks associated with mobility management.  A failed move may lead to loss of a key executive, an expensive proposition in any case