Relocator Stories: Returning to Global Mobility First Principles

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As global mobility leaders, things can get so busy delivering those deliverables, coordinating employee relocations and managing vendors that it’s easy to become somewhat detached from the real-life experience that employees go through.

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We regularly dedicate time to connect with our completed relocators to understand exactly what their experience was like - what was going through their mind, what they enjoyed, and what wasn’t so great.

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Feedback like this is so important to ensure a high quality of service, understand the market, and make improvements. So we wanted to share an example!

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Read on to discover one relocator’s thoughts on his move to Germany, and why it’s so important to listen to employee feedback on their relocation experience!

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Moving to Germany - one relocator’s thoughts

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Here’s what one PerchPeek relocator had to say on his experience moving to Germany:

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How did you feel about relocating, before you got started?

I was anxious, to say the least! I was so happy to get a great job and fulfil my dream of moving to Germany, but was very worried about finding accommodation in such a crazy rental market. I’d heard a lot about housing scams in the developed world due to the lack of available housing. Also, the fact that I couldn’t speak German made me nervous. 

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Did anything surprise you about the experience, or wasn’t what you had expected?

Though I knew it was a very competitive rental market, it was still a shock to experience the extent of it first hand! It was a big help to have support to speak to the landlords and help me convert my short-term accommodation to a long-term arrangement by negotiating on my behalf. 

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What do you think could’ve made your relocation experience better?

Overall, it was a great experience but a desktop app for PerchPeek support would have helped, rather than just the mobile app. [Note: the PerchPeek web app recently went live thanks to feedback like this!] Also, I'd suggest a one-year ImmoScout24 subscription (Germany’s most popular property platform), for long-term clients like me.

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What advice would you give to someone relocating to Germany?

Relocating is a very courageous thing to do, and lets you open your mind to new experiences and perspectives. The process itself can be difficult due to immigration obstacles, but Germany is a great country to emigrate to. You’ll just need some help to overcome the language barrier, to navigate tricky German bureaucracy!

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The importance of employee feedback

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Without going through a relocation yourself, it can be tricky to discover employees’ pain points, biggest wants and needs, and chances to improve the experience.

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The best thing is to go straight to the source! By listening to employee feedback, you’ll tap into a wealth of valuable data, both qualitative and quantitative.

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By collecting feedback and using data to improve your relocation strategy, you’ll not only identify cost efficiencies but also massively improve employee satisfaction and avoid delays, productivity dips and employee attrition. Everyone’s a winner!

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Feedback methods

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• Pulse surveys - Taking regular pulse surveys during a relocation means you find out quickly if an employee is unhappy, and can jump on it and course-correct. That way, you nip any minor frustrations in the bud quickly, preventing escalations from occurring later. 
• Post-move surveys - Taking on board comprehensive feedback from employees once they’ve completed their move is invaluable. You’ll find out directly what they do and do not want, where the budget is being wasted, and how the experience could be improved. 
• Meetups* 😀 - You could even lend a caring ear over a drink, as our CEO Paul did recently with one of our movers to Dublin!

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* Caveat: we don’t manage to take every mover out for a pint once they’ve completed their move - but how great would it be if we could?!

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Other great ways to keep relocators front and centre

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It’s a good idea for People teams to continually iterate on relocation solutions, as it means you can prioritise solving other pain points that can occur in relocation support, such as:

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• Needing relocation data to be able to make decisions on budget and strategy
• Not knowing about employees’ bad experiences, and dealing with escalations
• Finding it difficult to stay on top of important market trends and updates

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A feature we’ve worked on is a suite of reporting tools providing a 360° view of relocation progress and the latest trend analysis. Using such tools can make it easier to resolve pain points, from data needs to preventing escalations.

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Check it out