Posts Tagged ‘Corporate Relocation’

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Corporate Relocations within the U.S.

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

When people think of corporate relocation they often think of companies moving their operations overseas. While this is a common practice amongst many U.S manufacturing operations, companies often relocate their white collar centers and headquarters within the borders of the United States. They do this to take advantage of lower taxes and costs while still retaining the skills of the highly educated American workforce. Popular states to move to include Texas, Arizona and many other warm weather states that are attempting to attract more businesses.

Businesses can have a lot of difficulties relocating their headquarters even if they foresee drastic reductions in costs and increased profits. Many workers will decide to move wherever their jobs move to, but depending on the incentives offered for relocating, many will choose not to. This means that these companies should expect to have to hire and retrain a significant portion of their white collar workforce. With unemployment as high as it is, this may not be as bad a position to be in as it might be in a normal economy.

Many companies are moving to locations where they feel there is more of a friendly business atmosphere for their operations. They are also trying to take advantage of higher educated work forces in places where there are well regarded colleges and universities. Corporations are also attracted to places with general lower costs of living as it allows them to pay their employees less without affecting their lives negatively.

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Reasons Corporations Relocate Operations Overseas

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Corporate outsourcing to international countries has been a popular topic amongst the public and politicians through the past decade. A lot of people may be confused about why companies might relocate their operations overseas. Below is a short list of common reasons given for corporate relocations.

Labor Costs – most workers in international countries will work for less money than their U.S counterparts. This is because cost of living is typically much less expensive overseas and the labor force is not used to increased standards of living.

Taxes – many countries attempt to attract businesses by offering them low tax rates and a generally friendly business environment. Many countries even offer themselves out as sort of a tax haven where corporations can park their money without being chipped away at by the federal government.

Regulations – many companies claim that they move their operations overseas because the regulations are more reasonable in other countries. Manufacturing practices that would not be allowed or that would be penalized in the U.S are allowed to take place without restrictions in some countries.

Talent Pools – a lot of businesses complain that there are simply not enough qualified applicants for open positions within the United States. Whether this is true or not is difficult to measure statistically, but companies will often move to China or India to harness a high tech workforce.

Focus on Core Business – moving manufacturing overseas can allow a company to focus most of its attention on core business aspects like sales and marketing in order to increase revenue and profits.

Reduced Costs – corporate relocations ultimately come down to reducing costs and making more profit, as that is the primary motivator of all for-profit businesses. Relocating overseas has that benefit for many corporations, and they will continue to do so until that benefit expires.

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Corporate Relocations to Mexico

Sunday, September 18th, 2011

United States owned factories in Mexican border towns, or maquiladoras, are nothing new. Large corporations such as major electronics manufacturers and automotive manufacturers have been operating plants in places like Mexicali and Tijuana for decades now. The reason for locating to these locations is cheaper labor relative to U.S. Wages and the ease of crossing goods over the border due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While American owned factories existed in border towns before the agreement was signed, the agreement paved the way for many more companies to open manufacturing centers there.

NAFTA allows relatively free movement of goods into and out of Mexico. Goods are being transported across the Mexican/U.S border in record numbers every year. U.S. goods imports from Canada and Mexico grew from $151 billion in 1993 to $500.7 billion in 2006, an increase of 231%. Examples of the types of industry that have moved to Mexico include textiles, consumer electronics, medical supply, chemical processing, high tech equipment and biotechnology. Many Americans have found themselves relocating to border towns in order to fill positions that could not be filled by the local labor force.

Relocating components of a company from the U.S to Mexico can range in difficulty depending on the location of the current plant and the size of its operations. Major manufacturing that requires large machinery and highly technical skills can require a lot of coordination and training. A global relocation company that offers corporate relocation can be an invaluable resource to businesses looking to transport some of their operations to Mexico. They can help coordinate and arrange the transport of business supplies and machinery so that company personal can concentrate on getting things up and running once everything is moved.

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New Corporate Relocation Issues

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

The housing bubble and recession of the last few years have had profound impacts on corporate relocation issues. Companies are looking at different ways to deal with issues concerning new hires and people they transfer to facilities out of the country. Moving to a new place for a job is no longer just about pleasing family and the desirability of a new location, but has become increasingly about the inability of people to sell their existing homes. Many employees find themselves unable to accept new jobs across the country or overseas because they cannot deal with the financial burden of their existing home. Some companies alleviate this problem by purchasing the existing home from the transferred employee, but many don’t.

The current recession has also affected the reasoning used by corporations to relocate their operations. While the bottom line cost used to be the driving force, more and more companies are claiming that they relocate in order to take advantage of increased talent pools in new areas. This means that, instead of transferring old employees to new locations, companies will hire more new workers who are local to the companies new location. They will also hire those who are willing to pay for their own relocation costs. High unemployment has allowed companies to do this when they may have not been able to before.

Renting instead of buying housing has also become a more attractive option to workers trying to adapt to corporate relocations. Much of the time a worker will only be at a single location a year or less. Buying a home at each new place can be a huge headache and have very high financial costs. Many corporations who shuffle their employees around find that encouraging employees to rent can save them money and increase their productivity.

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Corporate Relocation Issues: Training

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Many companies have found that relocating certain parts of their operations to international locations is good for the bottom line. Reduced labor, tax and land costs can reduce overall expenses and increase profit margins. Labor, however, often does not transfer perfectly to new locations. Many businesses may find subtle differences in culture, language, and ethics that make transferring operations more complicated than a simple move. Training new employees before the move can prevent a disaster from occurring when operations are suddenly put back online at their new home.

Depending on the type of business that is being relocated, training can occur at the new or old site. If manufacturing operations that require large and expensive equipment are being relocated, it is usually best if the new employees travel to the original site to train. This will allow for a seamless transition of operations that mitigates down time when the equipment is set up in its new location. For relocation of equipment that is cheap and easily duplicated, training can occur at the new site before all operations are fully relocated.

Special training may need to take place for any technological deficiencies that may exist in the new work force. Many workers and managers take things like phone and computer use for granted, but may find that employees in a new location lack the necessary experience to utilize these tools. Simple training on computers, phones and fax machines before the full relocation will allow for a minimum amount of down time when the relocation is finished. These things, along with using a comprehensive global relocation service, can make corporate relocation a success.

 

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Top Company Concerns for Relocating Employees over the Next Decade

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

According to a new report from Brookfield Global Relocation Services published in RISMedia concludes that the coming decade will be a critical one for companies with international workforces, as they grapple with several key issues, including the changing nature of temporary assignments, so-called “cross-border” commuters and emerging markets.

Titled “Employee Mobility in the New Decade,” the research report was released at the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) annual conference in San Diego. During the first quarter of this year, Brookfield Global Relocation Services surveyed senior mobility managers from multinational firms to determine their top concerns over the next five to 10 years.

“Our report is the first of its kind to take a detailed look at what challenges global relocation companies will be facing with their international mobility strategies during the next decade,” said Scott Sullivan, executive vice president of Brookfield Global Relocation Services. “This report validates research from our 2010 Global Relocation Trends Report, which found that emerging markets such as China, India and Russia, pose huge challenges to both expatriates and human resources executives.”

Specifically, mobility leaders point to challenges involving:Linking Talent Management and Employee Mobility:

Topping nearly every company’s list of challenges was linking talent management and employee mobility, in one form or another. The report points out that, as the nature of temporary assignments continues to evolve, it is causing companies and employees alike to take a measured look at the perceived benefits of the assignments. For their part, companies–faced with significant investments of money and time required for successful expatriate activities–are asking why, in fact, they are sending employees on international assignments and are increasingly attempting to quantify the returns on investment.

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Survey spots more Global Relocation Trends…

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

The latest global relocation trends survey report from Brookfield GRS makes interesting reading for those managing assignees in Brazil, China, India or Russia. The following extracts are taken from it.

When asked to identify the three countries that were emerging as new assignment locations, 15% of respondents ranked China as the most common new destination, followed by India (13%), and Russia (6%). These three countries also were the top three destinations in last year’s report. Furthermore, with only one exception in the history of this survey (when it was ranked in second place), China always has been the most commonly cited emerging destination.
When asked which three countries produced the greatest assignment difficulties for international assignment programme managers, China was cited by 23% of respondents, followed by India (15%), Russia (10%), the US (6%), and Brazil (5%). China, India, Brazil and the US have been among the top six destinations that presented the greatest challenges to program managers since the 2003/4 report, and China has always been cited as the most challenging.
When asked which three countries produced the greatest assignment difficulties for expatriates, China was cited by 20% of respondents, followed by India (15%), Russia (9%), Brazil (4%), and the US (3%). For the fourth consecutive year, the US has appeared on this listing as a leading ‘challenge’ destination, a designation it never held before the 2003/4 report. China, India, and Japan always have been among the top seven destinations that presented the greatest assignment challenges. Finally, with one exception (when it was ranked in second place), China has always been cited as the most challenging destination for expatriates).

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The Expert Relocater

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Is the prospect of international relocation something that fills you with excitement and intrigue or do you find yourself becoming bogged down by the anxieties that naturally come with the prospect of moving yourself, your family, and your possessions to a foreign country?

Quality matters…

If you are moving abroad then you need to be able to entrust your international relocation to a caring and responsible international moving company whom you can rely upon for providing you with cutting edge moving and relocation services that are an essential part of the smooth transition from A to B.

No half measures…

When caught up in the stresses which are traditionally associated with international relocation one can be easily taken in by moving companies offering gimmicks or cheap rates when the true key to stress-free international relocation is a quality and personalised service with an effective and uncompromising delivery. A worthy moving company will have perfected the fine balance between experience and adaptability, which will demonstrate itself in the tailor-made services they provide to you. Prioritising your needs as an individual is essential and allows you to exert a comfortable level of control and trusted dependency over your international relocation.

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Quality Management and International Relocation

Monday, June 20th, 2011

On an international scale, factors which effect service delivery and the ability to measure it, are magnified. International Relocation demands rigid, thorough and effective systems of Quality Control in place. Service quality is dependent on expectations of the client, limitations on what can be achieved (customs, housing market, school availability etc) and a seamless service delivery from suppliers and contractors. Coupled with this, the corporate relocation sector demands top block service delivery for extremely high value clients. Operating in this area means that Unipack Global Relocation has applied this ethos throughout the company meaning service quality is consistently exceptional.

To maintain a high level of quality, Unipack Global Relocation has a dedicated Quality Management Team (QMT), reporting directly to the CEO and Managing Director.

The team compliments service offering by measuring and monitoring service delivery at every stage with the assistance of a dedicated and internally developed system. The QMT monitors all factors which effect service quality from the complex relationships with suppliers, partners and agents, to individual assignee satisfaction grading.

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A Relocating Check-list! Make One!

Friday, April 15th, 2011

After you have decided to relocate to a new country for whatever reason the first thing you need to do is get a checklist ready of the things to do starting with the most important thing first. This will make your moving out a lit bit smooth and less stressful. As it is not less than a challenge to start your life in a hitherto unfamiliar surroundings amongst unknown people you cannot afford to be reckless.

The foremost thing to add to the list of what you will have to do for moving overseas is that write the things you will need daily in your new location like your clothes and personal belongings without which you cannot carry out your daily chores. Of course in the future you will have to buy them in the new country you have decided to make your home presently.

The list should include the things to pack from the furniture and other things in your house which you may be attached emotionally. And you can proceed with their packing or take the services of an expert to do it for you so that they do not get damaged on their way to the new destination. The list of things done you can proceed to add the things you need to do.

Primarily you have to inform your near and dear ones who will not be accompanying you about your relocation. They might be helpful in many ways like lending a hand with your packing or looking after your precious belongings which you cannot take but would want to have once you return. You may own some property then in your absence it would need taking care. Who other than these would do this better for you and have a trust on.

Another point under consideration is to know about the country and the place you are relocating to. A lot of research done on it will enable you to know about it to some extent and this is going to be pretty much useful in the starting days when you may not be familiar with the local language, habits, etc.

The last and the most important task is to get all your documents updated and do not forget to carry them with you. The documents may include your tickets, passport, etc. and other personal ones like the certificates, and so on.  Thus when this checklist is ready you can proceed with the practical task and make your moving overseas less complicated.

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