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Spring 2009 HR Poll Results
Following its Spring Webinar on April 22, 2009, Crown released the results of its pre-Webinar Poll.
Approximately 70 mobility professionals completed the poll upon registration for Crown's "Relocation Strategies for Unprecedented Times" Webinar.
As a result of the current economic
climate, my company will relocate:
Sixty percent of the participants indicated that they will relocate fewer employees this year than they did last year. While no one responded that relocation activity has increased, 40 percent indicated that they will be relocating approximately the same number of employees.
Carmella Elletson, regional director of Global Mobility Services for Crown Relocations in North America commented, "In our experience managing domestic mobility programs, we are seeing activity similar to last year's, however, the business reasons for the relocations are changing. They are not due to the traditional need for staff to manage start-ups, etc., but instead, a result of consolidating offices due to downsizing."
The poll also asked what policy types were being impacted most. It revealed that the economic environment is impacting all move types. Tricia Stewart, director of consulting services for Crown Relocations noted, "There is not really a policy type that has escaped the impact of the current economic climate." Companies are reducing cost by shifting from long-term assignments to short-term ones and enhancing recruitment efforts to identify talent locally rather than incur the cost of relocating talent.
Stewart added, "The big story here is that we are seeing a substantial increase in domestic temporary assignments. This assignment approach is a direct response to employees' reluctance to relocate and is an option being implemented in lieu of permanent transfers. It is also a way to defer a permanent transfer until the real estate market recovers. Our consulting team is definitely seeing an increase in policy development requests for domestic temporary assignments."
When the participants were asked if they have modified their relocation policies as a result of the economy, the majority (81 percent) responded that they have not. In anticipating future plans, however, almost a third of the participants responded that they are planning to revise their policies and almost half said they are considering this option.
Participants were asked what strategies or approaches have been applied to address mobilizing talent. As expected, the most popular responses were temporary housing extensions, adding a loss on sale support provision or extending the relocation benefit eligibility period.
Stewart commented, "A small number of companies responded by saying that they are eliminating equity advances as the cost to float bridge loans is prohibitive. During this climate of extended home sale marketing periods, it is just not feasible for employers to provide this benefit any longer."
