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Making the Internet work as a relocation tool
There can be few areas of business activity where the Internet provides more immediate practical benefit than employee relocation.
Whether domestic or international, relocation is an increasingly common requirement for many executives, and as most use the Internet regularly, they are well placed to exploit the opportunities that the on-line information explosion offers.
Instant access to up to date information about distant destinations can be of great value to time-pressed employees. Often, prior to the actual relocation, orientation visits are carried out in order to decide on the immediate requirements such as accommodation and education. Whether or not employees are accompanied by professional search counsellors, a little background research on the Internet can make these visits much more focused, useful and therefore cost effective.
However, despite these obvious advantages, the Internet remains relatively untapped as a source of orientation information for relocating employees.
Why is there this apparent lack of enthusiasm to make full use of a tool that seems ideally suited to the needs of globe-trotting executives and their families? Amongst other things, the growing amount of information available on-line means that the increasingly efficient search engines deliver pages of links to ever more obscure websites. Consequently, converting the quantitative advantages of mass information to the qualitative benefits of focused orientation assistance can be a time consuming and frustrating experience which will often defeat even the most accomplished ‘surfer’.
For instance, if you are relocating to somewhere unknown, how do you decide where to start looking for somewhere to live or which school to choose? Most people will not even start to consider this until they actually make the first orientation visit. Consequently, this can turn out to be little more than an expensive sight seeing tour, after which the serious process of finding accommodation and schools etc, can start on the second or third visit. How much better to arrive for the first time already well informed about these issues, so that these precious days can be spent on a well planned and fruitful itinerary. Subsequent visits may therefore become unnecessary.
The advent of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) technology which geographically analyses data combined with sophisticated mapping packages means that “intelligent maps” can now be created which show the required discrimination between areas that would previously have been achieved by actually visiting and taking a look.
PRS Consultants have long been acknowledged as the experts in the application of GIS technology to the relocation industry.
The PRS designed GIS system Locate4000 has long been the market leader for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) reports for the UK, but coverage has recently been extended to include all Western Europe, with further expansion planned in the near future.
PRS Maps which are customised to individual employee requirements graphically highlighting desirable and popular areas and displaying a wide variety of useful local information are now also used to ensure that orientation visits are well planned and focused.
More recently PRS maps have been introduced to the ReloMove website. www.relomove.com is a rapidly expanding website designed by PRS Consultants, where both relocating employees and HR professionals can freely access information, services and links which are specific to relocation issues. PRS maps have greatly enhanced the site’s orientation facility, effectively filtering the potential on-line information overload to enable quick and easy collation of a wide variety of subjects such as accommodation, education, transport, cost of living, and many more.
The ongoing objective of www.relomove.com is to continue to harness the potential of the Internet as a high quality relocation tool for the benefit of both Human Resources professionals and their relocating employees.
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