Yesterday I attended a really interesting Houston Relocation Professionals meeting. Corporate relocation managers from Shell, Chevron, Anadarko and Chase were invited to participate in a panel discussion regarding relocation from the corporate perspective.
Here are just a few of the take-aways from the panel discussion:
- Communication is the most important thing with employees in terms of relocation.
- Cost is the biggest incentivizer when it comes to an employee’s decision regarding whether or not to accept a relocation assignment.
- Exceptions to a relocation policy will make or break the policy. This is an especially important consideration when dealing with transferees who are high up in the organization and the fact that it is often difficult to say “no” to them.
- The volatility of crude oil prices really is not affecting relocation policies. It’s more of a business decision with regards to whether or not to move an employee.
While the panelists had a variety of things to say about a variety of issues, there was one important fact that seemed to ring true with everyone, and that is that Houston remains a preferred destination to the employees of these organizations. Our market is well-perceived and people genuinely like to move to Houston! The statement heard over and over again by transferees in all of these companies, as well as many others who we assist at John Daugherty, Realtors is, “People in Houston are just so nice.” While we know this to be true, it is always nice to hear!
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Michelle,
What you said about Houston is so true. Real Estate is such a local market and we're so fortunate in that we've had slow and steady appreciation in Houston's real estate markets. So, even though Houston home sales certainly slowed during the recession, Houston real estate owners haven't had the huge losses that other parts of the country have seen.
And too, Texas means friendly and Houston is certainly the epitome of that!