One of the most challenging facets of employee mobility management is the reduction of home inventory. Heineck says that by partnering with the right real estate agent, there is no reason why a property cannot be sold within 90 days.
Buy outs can be avoided, straight up. We know that employers offer buy outs as incentives to top talent and/or new hires to move, but also to retain them in their roles thereafter. So why not take good measure to minimize carry costs while potentially eliminating taking a property into inventory altogether? There is no reason, regardless of the market, why a property cannot be sold and closed inside of 90 days when paired with the right agent-partner.
According to most industry data, the number one policy element most useful in these endeavors is the homesale assistance program. And, when companies are spending upwards of $68,000 for an average transfer, it seems that it would a required part of the process to take the time to screen and evaluate real estate partners in each of your markets carefully, as they typically are first to come into contact with the transferee and, in large part, the ones who make or break the transferees’ workforce mobility experience.
A Strong Supplier Network
“I can’t think of an another industry where the supplier network is such an integral part of [successful] service delivery,” said Viktor Reznicek, executive director of Excellerate HRO’s, Plano, Texas, relocation and assignment services. “We take measurement [of our suppliers and our consultants] very seriously.”
To that point, consider how many moves fail because of transferee dissatisfaction with his or her mobility experience. Consider the dollars lost if only 10 percent of transfers fail. That is not to mention additional acquisition dollars spent in some cases to find the candidate. Most employers now are looking at $150,000 on average, between acquisition and workforce mobility expenditures, for one transfer.
“Most clients understand and appreciate a strong supplier network and realize that it does not take more than one bad experience with a poor partner to damage an entire relocation experience,” said Reznicek. “We recognize that the Realtor® has a very material impact on the timeliness of the sale, and the ultimate value for which the property is sold. This is a puzzle that has many pieces; the Realtor®, of course, is not the only piece.”
Can you see now why it is vital to take the time on the front end to interview, evaluate, and ultimately credential your real estate partners in each of your markets? Gone are the days when warm bodies with an active real estate license are sufficient. Gone are the days of relying on relocation directors inside real estate agencies to qualify the agents within their organizations to bring out the uniquely qualified “relocation specialists.”
Due Diligence
As a corporation retaining a relocation management company (RMC), and as an RMC partnering with real estate professionals to service the clients, you owe it not only to the business of your organization, but also to your clients (internal or external) to interview and credential these people just as a hiring manager interviews and qualifies candidates. And, in the same vein, if during the first 90 days the candidate is not the right match, then the candidate is let go. The same must happen with your real estate partners.
Agent-partners who make the coveted preferred list at Graebel Relocation Services Worldwide, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, have specific criteria they must meet to receive business. “They have to be familiar with relocation; and they must be a full-time professional Realtor®, with at least five-plus years of experience. They also must be open and honest in communication with our team and the transferee,” says Bill Nemer, CRP, GMS, vice president of client services for Graebel. “We are constantly looking at performance. We see a lot of good ‘marketers,’ but not a lot of great navigators. [There is a] special skill set required to close the deal.”
Most employers and RMCs have not audited their real estate rolodexes in decades, and have become lackadaisical in the agent selection process. Corporate clients rely heavily on their workforce mobility consultant account teams for strong supplier selection, yet many are referred to neighbors, spouses, or anyone with an active real estate license.
According to Pat Pinardo, vice president compensation benefits HR services and labor, Macy’s, New York, New York, “The selection process of finding agents is important.” [The agents] need to work with each individual closely, helping to guide, while understanding that person’s family life and work life. They are helping to find the right neighborhoods, while really staying with the person from the homesearch all the way to the closing.” This is why the agent selection process is so critical to business success.
And, of course, there is another layer in all of this. In the case of an RMC “retaining” a real estate company to handle all of or some portion of their workforce mobility business, most workforce mobility departments have had the same agents on the “relo list” for decades and do not have accountability processes in place. Nor is there a proper credentialing program in place. Nor is there a matching of agent to transferee. This is a recipe for a disastrous workforce mobility experience for the candidate, in addition to the domino effect of poor service results by the agency and the RMC.
Did you know that the number one complaint among transferring employees about the assigned agent was that they did not listen? Matching the right agent with the transferee’s demographic, needs, and situation is critical not only to a successful transfer, but also to the corporate client’s execution of their employee value proposition, or the employee’s value of the total experience. This is an opportunity for RMCs and real estate agents alike to wow the client and position themselves for long-term working relationships.
Many RMCs are working toward repairing the disconnect that lies between the RMC and the agent partners. At Excellerate, the workforce mobility consultants view the agents as valued partners and a key piece to their service success. “Realtors® are the eyes and ears on the ground, understand the needs of the transferee, the property, and that is irreplaceable. Without them, we are dead in the water,” said Reznicek.
Nemer agrees. “There are three major components: a strong policy, a great agent, and good relocation consultants as the quarterbacks in the transaction,” he said. “If one piece does not work, the entire process does not work.”
Jill Heineck is founder of The Agent Advisory, Atlanta, Georgia. She can be reached at +1 404 531 3208, or jill@agentadvisoryllc.com.