insideMOBILITY® Hits the Road – Lessons Shared by Industry Insiders in Miami

By Bill Graebel, CEO, Graebel Companies

Graebel’s insideMOBILITY events are a terrific way to stay laser-focused on the latest in the Mobility industry and hear what’s on the minds of Mobility leaders around the globe. Our recent event in Miami was no exception. It was our 13^th annual insideMOBILITY event in the US – I remember when we kicked this program off with a handful of clients in our HQ boardroom!

Fast-forward to today and more than 90 Mobility professionals representing 73 companies traveled from 25 states and 5 countries to join us in Miami.

Mobility Topics for Everyone

As with most insideMOBILITY events, the agenda was built around facilitated breakout sessions. There were topics for everyone, including strategic explorations into:

• The best use of Mobility technology tools
• How data can inform Mobility programs
• The benefits of and strategies for engaging with internal stakeholders
• How to operate strategically within an organization

There also were some “nuts and bolts” sessions on designing Core-Flex programs and building Group Move strategies. We had discussions about forward-looking topics like Mobility career development and what the ideal transferee experience will look like in 2025.

Enhancing Mobility Programs

From the sessions I sat in on, and from the notes our Graebel team captured, a few trends and best practices really resonated with me, including:

• Internal Engagement. In addition to identifying the right internal stakeholders, it’s important to educate them about how Mobility affects their functions and programs. This should be an ongoing service, not a one-time briefing. Many Mobility professionals organize these interactions on a country-by-country or regional basis.
• Managing Data. Paring down a myriad of data to manageable, meaningful goals based on a story is an effective approach to figuring out the Return on Mobility. Participants discussed how to work with the business and other stakeholders to define the goal of each assignment and then create a unique measure for it. This information is tracked and presented right alongside other assignment related data like cost and duration.
• Optimizing Transferee and Assignee Experience. Attendees prioritized the features they felt would enhance their employees’ relocation experiences. The top four responses were:
  • Transparent policies
  • Access to a consultant
  • Ability to track details
  • Flexibility to accommodate personal situations
• Mobility Technology. Participants also ranked their priorities for Mobility program technology. The features that ended up in the top tier were:
  • Reporting
  • Functionality
  • Integration with HR systems
  • Dashboard design
  • Program tracking

It was good to see that our technology platform, Graebel GlobalConnect®, matches up well with this wish list.

One question we began tracking at the last few events is how Mobility practitioners actually spend their time compared to how they want to spend their time. Once again, we saw that Mobility professionals clearly want to better balance their day-to-day transactional focus with a more strategic approach.

Polling Highlights

To help evaluate the state of Mobility, we polled the participants on a range of topics using our event mobile app. Here are some of those key findings:

• Future of Mobility – The Top Two Changes in Programs Looking Five Years Out
  • 35% – Structure of policies
  • 11% – Mobility staffing levels
• Mergers & Acquisitions – Mobility Contingency Plans in Place
  • 42% – Yes
  • 57% – No
• Mobility Budgeting – Trends Over the Past Three Years
  • 43% – Increased
  • 22% – Decreased
  • 22% – Roughly the same
  • 13% – Unsure

insideMOBILITY is You

According to attendee feedback, the event hit the mark. 98% of the respondents rated the event as excellent or above average. 100% said they would recommend an insideMOBILITY event to a colleague in the Mobility industry.

I credit the event’s success to the participants themselves. This and other facilitated insideMOBILITY events would fall flat if it weren’t for fresh insights from people just entering the industry and the experienced Mobility leaders (attendees had an average of 10 years in the industry) who share their knowledge and experiences. People like you raise the bar for everyone in the Mobility industry.

Finally, I’d also like to thank the Graebel service provider partners who helped sponsor the event: ABODA by RESIDE, Beltmann Relocation Group, Budd Van Lines, Cort, CWS, Dwellworks, Harry Norman, Fragomen, Home Sweet Home, HSBC, Impact Group, Morreale Real Estate Services, PrimeLending, PorchLight Real Estate Group, Quicken Loans, ReloOlogy, Shyft, and V-Suites. These are quality companies and we’re proud to be associated with them.

The insideMOBILITY Tour Continues

Looking ahead, if you’re based in the EMEA or APAC regions (or have colleagues there), I hope you’ll join us at an insideMOBILITY event near you. You’ll explore the unique regional perspectives on some of these same topics as well as dive into important local issues. We’ve set the dates for insideMOBILITY events this year in Geneva, Beijing and Singapore.

But for now, I’ll close by saying it was a pleasure to see so many long-time friends in Miami and meet some wonderful new friends as well!