At the recent Expat Academy APAC Huddle event, a participant raised an interesting question on the use of lump sums and whether they are a popular way to facilitate permanent one-way moves.
AIRINC continues to invest in our domestic solutions in order to improve your experience!
China announced that it will be requiring negative COVID-19 tests within 48 hours of departure from all inbound travelers from their last departure airport. Anyone that is flying into China on a non-direct flight will be required to get a rapid test in the city they depart the final flight into China or extend their layover to get a COVID test.
We often get asked what qualities a good global mobility professional should have. Efficiency, knowledge of compliance regulations, and numeracy are three that immediately spring to mind. But perhaps more important are empathy, intercultural awareness, and exceptional communication skills. Now, more than ever, these traditionally “softer” skills are what will get your assignees through this pandemic while also feeling well-supported by your global mobility programme.
Diana Caicedo leads Clorox’s Global Mobility program (among her many other roles). Clorox recently transformed their US domestic mobility program by expanding their Lump Sum program and introducing a Lump Sum calculator configured to their program specifics. We sat down with Diana to hear how Clorox uses Lump Sums and what advice they would offer others that are interested in Lump Sums.
1. How has COVID-19 impacted buying and selling real estate in the United States and Canada? Typically, the hope is for a linear path for the homebuying and home selling process. Most of the time, there will be at least slight deviance from the path during the process. Currently, there’s more deviation than is standard, but the real estate market is resilient and somewhat surprisingly resilient in the current times.
1. What is the most common question you are facing with home sales/purchases and how are you addressing it? Are things still closing? The resounding answer is ”yes, they are, but…” We’ve seen some declines and many delays year-over-year in home sales and home purchases, but closings are happening and prices remain steady because of the historically tight inventory availability.
What is the best solution for your company: full-service relocation, lump sum amount, or a hybrid approach? It’s a hotly debated topic within corporate relocation programs and is discussed at almost every industry event. Companies must weigh their budget against the level of support they are willing to provide transferees. There’s no easy answer, no one-size-fits-all.
Improving the assignee experience is a key focus for Global Mobility teams. Assignee experience comes in many guises, from better support to more choice, from clearly enhanced career prospects to seamless communications. When AIRINC’s Advisory Services team is working with clients to develop an improved assignee experience, we have to take into account that every assignee is different. As a result, we all view the assignee experience in a different way. Programmes that want to genuinely improve the assignee experience need to use a broad range of tools to deliver the enhancements their assignees are looking for.
COVID-19 is impacting everyone, everywhere, and its sphere of influence changes almost daily. Of all the places facing change and uncertainty, the airline industry is at the forefront. News of airlines facing bankruptcy and impending doom cloud the headlines globally. As Global Mobility specialists, we examine 110,000 fares on a quarterly basis so that we can deliver our clients the most up-to-date information to support their assignees. Now, more than ever, we know that you need quick answers and accurate estimates to support your international and domestic assignees that need to return home during this sweeping pandemic.
