The Changing “Single Point of Contact”
Take a moment to picture the intricacies of the relocation process, especially for international relocations. In the era of customer choice, transferees are faced with more options than ever when it comes to moving across borders. Deloitte explains that a SPOC for the full length of a relocation “would have to be a bona fide specialist in customs, immigration, travel, equity, home sale, employment law, and tax, among others.”
We all know that relocating is one of the most stressful events of a person’s life, which is why it’s obvious for companies like WHR Group to want to streamline the relocation process and reduce as much stress as possible for transferees. But is one person truly capable of being the subject matter expert on topics ranging from real estate to immigration?
Rather than a SPOC, WHR Group and Deloitte make the case for finding the best point of contact in today’s diverse relocation environment: “The goal should not be one point of contact, but rather the best contacts at the right movements, working together toward a common end… Experience shows that no one single person can navigate this environment as effectively as a well-organized team.”
Think of it this way: Would you rather have your transferees counseled by someone who has some knowledge of many things, or a network of people each with expert knowledge on one thing? If you’re looking for higher service scores, lower risk, and happier employees, the answer is the latter. And while WHR agrees that subject matter experts (SMEs) are critical in the relocation process, it is also the relocation provider’s responsibility to be a provider that knows the best SMEs, in their respective fields, and brings them to the table in a single-coordinated fashion for the relocating employee.
The relocation service model should bring the right people, with the right skills, at the right time for the benefit of the relocating employee. We agree that not one person can be the subject matter expert for all services, and we need to recognize our limitations as a provider. So having a skilled network of providers working behind the SPOC is the value that a relocation management company brings (and without requiring the transferee to talk to multiple points of contact). An unparalleled supply chain is what differentiates one supplier over another.
There are two reasons why WHR Group is a proponent of having a network of specialists supporting a relocation, rather than just relying on one advocate:
1. Having specialists from different relocation functions to form one network for transferees helps avoid bias.
- WHR Group has separate Referral, Appraisal, Inventory, and Equity departments to make sure no one person is affecting the outcome of things like the listing process and, ultimately, the home sale.
2. It frees up the main Relocation Counselor’s time for higher attention to detail while functioning as a moderator instead of a SPOC.
- While a Relocation Associate and ancillary departments assist with relocation logistics, the Relocation Counselor is able to spend more time getting to know the transferee’s unique needs and making sure every service provided through the network of specialists is in line with those needs. This translates directly into cleaner performance and higher satisfaction.
For more information on why this “network approach” is best for your transferees, read the original article here: The Emerging Model Shift in Global Talent Mobility.
Gender inclusion is a very real issue in the workplace. And not just in the US.
