Importance of Professional Relocation Certification

If you are a serious relocation professional (like me), you read Mobility (Magazine of Worldwide ERC) each month from cover to cover.  In this month’s issue, there was an excellent article entitled:  ”Professional Certification:  Enhancing Skills, Expanding Knowledge.”  This article focuses on the fact that difficult economies highlight the value of our industry’s expertise, and that in a troubled business environment, professional development is one of the areas that draws an even stronger focus.  It goes on to say that this is also an excellent time to partake in professional certification programs.

I wholeheartedly agree with this, especially for those who may be in between jobs, or may have suddenly found themselves to be ”independent consultants,” due to a recent job loss.  I would like to go a step further in highlighting the overall importance of various certification programs, as well the importance of industry-related memberships and involvement.

First let me address the Worldwide ERC’s Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) designation, which formally recognizes those individuals who have mastered extensive knowledge on the principles and practices of relocation.  It also represents a lot of blood, sweat and tears.  Candidates must first qualify for the CRP Exam, then plan on about 3-4 months of intensive self-study, study groups and even test prep-siminars to ensure their passage of the exam.  And even then, not everyone is lucky enough to pass.  This year the passage rate was about 81.5%, based on 168 applicants who sat for the exam.  I am fortunate to be counted among those who were awarded their CRP designation this year. 

Studying for the exam was a bit of a personal and professional journey for me.  There were a great many aspects of the relocation industry that I knew and intimately understood, but there was also many areas for which I was far less familiar.  But now, I am able to bring an indepth understanding and knowledge of all things relocation (not just the real estate side) to my corporate clients and third party relocation companies.

Over the past several months, I have learned that the corporations that we serve and relocation companies that we partner with are looking more and more for Relocation Departments in real estate companies that have Relocation Directors who have their CRP designation, who are members of the Relocation Directors Council (RDC), and who can provide agents who are specifically trained and professionally certified in relocation.  At John Daugherty, Realtors, we are able to provide all of these things (and I dare say “more”) to our clients.

And it has to go way beyond professional certification and membership in industry-related organizations, such as Worldwide ERC and Relocation Directors Council.  Significant contribution and participation in these organizations is key to the effectiveness.  Even on a local level, membership and participation in various groups and organizations are extremely important if you want to be a leader in this industry.

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