Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/124894
Mobility Boom and Move? You might assume that a revived economy would accelerate the outsourcing of employee moves. Not so fast. By Elizabeth Boudrie As the economy swings back and forth between high hopes and low expectations, one of our perennial questions at the HRO Today Institute is this: How do economic trends impact HR outsourcing? We're interested to explore how bullish or bearish views of the economy influence outsourcing activities in specific functions. To that end, as part of our recent "Relocation Services Baker's Dozen" survey, we asked HR practitioners about the number and complexity of their organisations' relocations during the past couple of years and the anticipated number and complexity during the next couple of years. Number of Relocations Complexity of Relocations Their responses surprised us. The general consensus is that the global economy is on the upswing (that is, if sequestration hasn't tanked the U.S. economy by the time this article is published). Our assumption: An improving economy leads to more hiring, which drives more mobility, resulting in more, and more complex, relocations. But according to responses from our recent relocation survey, that's not universally—or even generally—the consensus. What they told us is (1) more often than not, the number and complexity of relocations increased during the past couple of years, counter to what we'd thought; and (2) fewer anticipate increased numbers and complexity in the coming two years than what they've experienced in the past two. In other words, while HR practitioners don't generally anticipate a decline in the number or complexity of their relocations, many expect less change than they've recently experienced. We reached out to those who indicated they had experienced growth during the last couple of years but expected no change or decline in the next couple. We wanted to understand why their expectations are different from what we'd assumed. 44% 60% 53% 48% 44% Number of Relocations 49% 51% Number of Relocations Complexity of Relocations Number of Relocations Complexity of Relocations 49% 35% 40% 6% 1% 12% 2% 53% 48% 6% 44% 51% 35% 12% 2% past 2 years HRO TODAY GLOBAL 44% increase Number of Relocations stay the same 51% 49% decrease 35% 49% 40% 6% 1% next 2 years past 2 years 12% 2% next 2 years 60% [38] 53% 48% 60% Complexity of Relocations 48% 53% 44% | WINTER 2013 51% 49% 6%