RELOCATION TRENDS & CHALLENGES PULSE SURVEY: GERMANY

Transcription

1 TRENDS & CHALLENGES PULSE SURVEY: GERMANY In spring/summer 206, Cartus surveyed leading German based companies to understand their employee relocation trends, issues and challenges. 26 companies responded to the online survey including well-known names like Allianz, AREVA, BMW, Volkswagen and Siemens. The results provide invaluable insights into what markets German based companies are relocating people to and why; how they manage their relocation programs, what support they outsource to specialist providers, and the challenges they face in ensuring international assignment success. With the cost of relocation continuing to rise and the key reason for failure cited as family adjustment, relocation is a highly visible expense that is often critical to companies achieving their business plans. We would like to thank the 26 companies that took the time to share their valuable insights and experiences with us. These findings are largely the result of their hard work and collaboration. The following charts and information cover this pulse survey s areas of content: WHO, WHY AND WHERE? What is your company s approximate relocation volume? Over,000 Do you expect the number of assignments to increase, decrease or remain the same in 206? 25-,000 VOLUME 50% -50 Remain the same 5 NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS Increase Decrease Why do you relocate employees?* Secondments 3% 9% Career moves Business growth/ expansion 3 WHY RELOCATE? 3 Skill transfer answers included engineering projects abroad and project assignments PAGE OF 5

2 What are your top five destination countries for international assignments? China =5 United Arab Emirates 2 USA Russia 3 Germany Brazil 4 UK Mexico =5 Singapore France BIGGEST CHALLENGES & ISSUES What countries present the biggest challenges for your relocation program? China United Arab Emirates =2 Brazil =4 Mexico =2 Russia =4 Argentina India 5 Algeria Saudi Arabia What are your organization s three most significant current challenges in relation to international assignments? = 2 = 2 3 Cost of relocation Employee reluctance to relocate Compliance Expansion into new and emerging locations challenges cited that did not make the top three included housing, immigration and return on investment. PAGE 2 OF 5

3 To control relocation costs are you? Have attitudes to relocation as an essential part of employment changed in the past three years? Tasked with specific amount or % saving No change 23% Employees more willing to relocate Not tasked/ staying flat 5 CONTROLLING COSTS 3 Tasked to save but no specific amount ATTITUDES TO Employees less willing to relocate Employees negotiate harder/more often 50% MANAGING A POLICY/PROGRAM How do you manage your relocation program today? How often do you review your relocation policy? Annually Decentralized 26% YOUR PROGRAM 59% Centralized globally As business needs change YOUR POLICY 65% Every 2-5 years Included in the category was a combination of centralized and decentralized, decentralized in home country, and hub concept. answers included continuously and not regularly. What family support do you provide?* Partner Employment Support Education Support Language Training 2 2 Intercultural Training 26% PAGE 3 OF 5

4 Managing a Relocation Policy/Program PULSESURVEYREPORT Do you outsource and if yes how do you outsource? What relocation services do you outsource? 30% HOW DO YOU OUTSOURCE? Outsource to global relocation provider 55% Outsource to several local service providers Household Goods Language Training Destination Services Intercultural Training Relocation Program Management International Compensation % answers included tax, immigration, moving companies. answers included tax, visa, travel agency, expense management and global payroll. FUTURE FOCUS Rate the following global relocation challenges for their future impact on your organization* Talent Management 8% Emerging or Expanding Markets 73% Cost Control 6 Compliance 6 Family Support 6 Relocation Program Tracking 60% Global versus Local Policy Development 40% Immigration 36% Which single HR issue do you think will be your main focus for the coming year? Compliance Outsourcing Diversity Compensation & Benefits Learning & Development 207 HR FOCUS 32% Technology War for Talent PAGE 4 OF 5

5 GLOBAL COMPARISONS So how do the results of this German pulse survey compare with Cartus global findings? Interestingly, the findings are remarkably similar, indicating that the challenges and issues faced by German companies are not dissimilar to those of other organizations based elsewhere. The key challenges of cost and compliance are felt by companies globally (as evidenced in our 205 Biggest Challenges survey) so too is the ongoing war for talent and expansion into new and emerging markets to meet key business growth goals. Locations too are similar. In Cartus 206 Global Policy and Practices survey, respondents indicated that the two countries where they relocate employees to most are the USA and UK. China, which came top in our German survey results, was third. Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Mexico also figured prominently on both survey lists. There were also similarities too in the most challenging countries. In our global survey Brazil, China and India came in the top three which corresponds exactly with these German based company results. IN SUMMARY This first pulse survey specifically focused on German companies demonstrates organisations ever growing relocation needs and points to increasing requirements for specialist relocation support. As new and emerging markets represent key market opportunities for German exports and relocation cost and compliance challenges increase, companies are looking to specialist providers for assistance in areas where the necessary knowledge and expertise is not available in-house. To discuss your relocation program in more detail, please contact or visit Relocation outsourcing is generally less widespread in Germany than in other parts of the world where outsourcing is typically utilized as a key driver for cost savings. In our 206 Global Policy & Practices survey, 7% of companies reported outsourcing relocation activity (as compared to 55% in Germany). In addition a further 29% of global companies were considering outsourcing more relocation activity. The key driver given for this was to reduce costs. trustedguidance@cartus.com 206 Cartus Limited. All rights reserved. The information in this publication is provided in good faith based on information currently available and is therefore subject to change. However it is not intended to provide specific advice or guidance or take the place of either written law or regulations. Cartus accepts no liability for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the data and information contained herein or for any loss or damage arising in contract, tort or otherwise in reliance of the data contained or omitted from this publication or from any action or decision taken as a result. PAGE 5 OF 5