Relocate Magazine Spring 2014

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Re:locate Spring 2014

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Lloyd’s RegisterStepping up to change

This issue sponsored by:

European Parliament elections

Assessing their impact

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2 | Re:locate | Spring 2014

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Contents

NEWS, ANALYSIS & EVENTS4 Re:editor’s letter Fiona Murchie looks at what’s in store this issue.

5 Re:news & analysis Key industry happenings, personalities and

comment. (continued on page 69)

58 Re:awards The fabulous 2013/14 Re:locate Awards gala dinner,

and how to book your places.

HOT TOPIC6 Re:Europe Issues surrounding the European Parliament

elections, and the impact of corruption on organisations doing business across the continent.

GLOBAL MANAGEMENT22 Re:inward investment How the latest developments in transport

infrastructure are benefiting London and the UK’s regional economies.

50 Re:Australia Challenges facing employers and those managing

international assignments, with contributions from professionals on the ground.

56 Re:Connect & Grow Join the conversation on Re:locate’s new social

media website, which brings together the global mobility community worldwide.

FEATURES26 Re:technology Can London’s Tech City rival California’s Silicon

Valley? Plus a look at the latest relocation-related tools and applications.

36 Re:serviced apartments How this key sector for relocation is rising to the

challenges of global growth.

POLICY & PRACTICE14 Re:managing change 250-year-old Lloyd’s Register is embracing

change and global opportunities through a major group move.

30 Re:talent Continuing the conversation about the value of a

partnering approach between talent management and global mobility.

EMPLOYEE SUPPORT19 Re:property With economic recovery and low interest rates

continuing, what will 2014 hold for the UK housing market?

34 Re:international banking Help relocating senior executives and their families

adjust to life in the UK.

60 Re:education How schools in the UK and Europe are innovating

in order to develop tomorrow’s global talent. Plus our step-by-step guide to choosing a school.

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26

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More News & Analysis on page 69

Keep up with daily news on relocatemagazine.com

“Connect & Grow offers real potential to solve today’s big mobility challenges

”

A s I write, the sun is streaming down and the daffodils are out, heralding the start of spring – a welcome relief from a long and stormy winter here in the UK. The economy seems to be picking up, and we have summer to look forward to.

Back in February, we at Re:locate created our own burst of energy with a networking reception in London to launch our new social media website, Connect & Grow (see p56). Guests from around the world experienced a taster of the power of Connect & Grow by participating in an icebreaker game that provided a snapshot of the kinds of conversation that will happen via the new website.

Judging from the animated conversations and energy in the room (which you can experience by checking out the videos on YouTube), there will be plenty of benefits for our whole global community. As one guest put it, “A great night, and already some great conversations. This initiative offers real potential for solving some of the big issues we have across technology, compliance and immigration. The more we know, the more we can drill down to the right answers.”

In this edition, there are plenty of lively, thought-provoking articles on working with colleagues around the globe to solve the challenges of mobility in a fast-changing world. They cover, among other topics, how 250-year-old Lloyd’s Register is embracing change and global opportunities through a major group move, the latest on relocation-related technology tools and applications, issues facing employers and those managing assignments in Australia, and how the serviced accommodation sector is rising to the challenges of global growth. Look out for our new digital editions of Re:locate Asia Pacific and Re:locate Europe.

We will be recording the first in our series of video interviews to give you a truly multimedia experience and engage with colleagues around the world.

Thank you to everyone who has entered this year’s Re:locate Awards. Don’t forget to book your ticket for a truly magical evening on 14 May, when we will celebrate the successes of this fast-growing profession.

Fiona MurchieManaging Editor

Coming in the Summer 2014 issue of Re:locate magazine

The TeamManaging Editor: Fiona [email protected]

Design: Nat Munckton

Editor: Louise Whitson

Advertising: Garry Tester and Susana [email protected]

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© 2014. Re:locate is published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof)may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents orany opinions expressed herein. ISSN 1743-9566.

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More News & Analysis on page 69

Keep up with daily news on relocatemagazine.com


NEWS & ANALYSIS

Standard Life warns ofScottish pulloutStandard Life, the Edinburgh-based pensions and savings company, became the first major Scottish employer to warn that it would move a major part of its operations to England if the Scots vote for independence in September’s referendum.

The declaration is regarded as a major blow to the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) hopes of securing a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum. It is also the first time that a member of Scotland’s financial sector, which has long been concerned about the problems of erecting a national barrier between itself and the City of London, has felt moved to voice its fears publicly.

Standard Life, which employs about 5,000 people in Scotland and has been based in the country for 189 years, has

started work on a plan to establish additional registered companies in England into which it could transfer parts of its business.

David Nish, chief executive, said the possibility of independence posed unresolved dilemmas over such matters as currency union, taxation, EU membership and financial regulation. The company administers some £244 billion of assets, and 90 per cent of its customers live outside Scotland.

Gerry Grimstone, Standard Life’s chairman, said Scotland had proved a successful base for the company but that “if anything were to threaten this, we will take whatever action we consider

necessary – including transferring parts of our operations from Scotland – in order to ensure continuity and to protect the interests of our stakeholders”.

The Standard Life announcement prompted speculation that other companies would raise the spectre of a Scottish pullout were the nation to vote in favour of independence.

European cities dominate a recently published major survey on the locations that provide the best quality of life for expatriates.

Vienna topped the list of 223 worldwide cities evaluated in Mercer’s 2014 Quality of Living report. Zurich occupied second place, while three German cities – Munich, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt – also made the top ten.

Auckland, in third spot, was the highest-placed non-European city, while Vancouver was ranked fifth. San Francisco, at 27, was the highest-placed US city, Singapore (25) the best city in Asia, and Dubai (73) the top spot in the Middle East and Africa.

London, long a favourite among expatriates, ranked only 38th on the list, having fallen down the rankings because of traffic congestion and air pollution, according to Ellyn Karetnick, UK head of Mercer’s international mobility practice.

Vienna rankedMINT is in and BRIC is out, but which nations are luring businesses overseas? David Hollins, regional general manager of Crown Relocations, gives his company’s perspective.

With the UK now Europe’s largest exporter of people, the desire to move abroad is strong for British employees, who are exploring opportunities in an increasingly wide range of locations.

Canada and the UAE are emerging as some of the most desirable destinations for businesses to explore, partly due to the growth of various industries. Canada’s energy industry is showing green shoots of promise, and opportunities in the construction sector are rife in Dubai and Qatar. Alternative choices are also proving popular, with many branching into Africa.

But whilst this might prove appealing to businesses, professionals may find extensive cultural variances, so those moving there will need support and guidance to ensure their assignment is successful. If these concerns can be overcome, the benefits to an international expansion and growth from staff stand to be considerable.

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The lure of nationstop for expat quality of life

HOT TOPIC


EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS

Few doubt that the outcome of this spring’s European Parliament elections will be the most intriguing – and, probably, most divisive – since direct elections for MEPs were introduced 35 years ago. David Sapsted reports.


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Europhiles and not a few business leaders across Europe are watching uncertainly as more than 300 million eligible voters in the 28 member

states prepare to embark on the tortuous process of filling the 751 European Parliament seats in elections running between 22 and 25 May. Behind the uncertainty is the growth across the EU of Eurosceptic parties, many of which share little in common beyond a distrust of practically anything emanating from Brussels or Strasbourg.

Alex Weber, chairman of UBS and former Bundesbank president, warned the World Economic Forum in Davos this year that the election of more anti-EU politicians could complicate the political process in the EU and, possibly, contribute to a fresh round of problems for the euro, hampering the continent’s economic recovery. “Just think of how the Tea Party has made governance difficult in the US,” he said.

A recent analysis in The Economist magazine suggested that anti-EU parties will double their representation in the parliament from the current 12 per cent to 25 per cent. If that happens, businesses – and not a few governments – fear that a parliamentary impasse could

stifle, or even cripple, the day-to-day workings of the European Commission in administering the single market, which most European companies cherish so dearly.

“The European Parliament has always had its fair share of extremists, eccentrics and outright, drooling loons,” says Daniel Hanna, a British Conservative MEP. “But it’s not just madmen on the rise. In country after country, genuine protest movements of left, right and centre are surging.”

Those parties range from the overtly fascist Golden Dawn in Greece, the Islamophobic Dutch Freedom Party

and France’s Front National, to centre-right groupings such as the UK Independence Party and Germany’s anti-euro Allianz für Deutschland, and even to popularly oddball factions such as Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement in Italy. Add to that Catalan nationalists, the xenophobic Vlaams Belang in Belgium and similar movements in Finland, Hungary, Denmark and Austria, and the electoral mix becomes truly toxic.

What these groups have in common is that they are populist and nationalist, and espouse forceful views on the EU, immigration and national sovereignty.

EU leadership mounts PR campaign

An opinion poll, conducted by Gallup in several European states early in 2014, found that the approval rating of EU leadership had reached an all-time low. In an attempt to win back voters’ hearts and minds, the European Commission is now mounting a PR campaign which, it hopes, will go some way to counter anti-European sentiment.

“No other political construction to date has proven to be a better way of organising life to lessen the barbarity in this world,” says José Manuel Barroso, the commission president, who will be replaced in a vote of MEPs after the elections.

“It is especially important to recall this, as we will commemorate this year the start of the First World War. We must never take peace, democracy or freedom for granted. It is also especially important to remember this as, in May, the peoples of Europe will be called to participate in European elections.”

Such lofty sentiments do not seem to play well with the European electorate, whose minds appear focused on more prosaic matters. “Two themes seem likely to play a central role in the real debate in the 2014 European elections, jobs and immigration, and, of course, they’re linked,” says Julian Priestley, former Secretary General of the European Parliament.

“The strategists among the anti-Europeans have realised for some time that by concentrating on immigration they can keep Euroscepticism on the agenda, almost by proxy.”

András Baneth, managing director of the Public Affairs Council’s European office, adds, “Whatever the outcome of the European Parliament elections, it seems likely that the new European Parliament will have far more MEPs who are sceptical of the internal market and the positive values and the contribution that businesses like IBM, Bayer, Philips or Lego bring to European citizens and the economy.”

Mr Baneth says that if, as expected, the new parliament will be more fragmented than the current one, it could lead “to a certain paralysis in brokering a majority for certain European Commission proposals that cover


HOT TOPIC

‘sensitive’ policies like the environment, food safety or financial services”.

He adds, “When it comes to the EU-US free trade talks, this is probably very bad news: doubts over the benefits of this potentially historic agreement are mounting. The business community, along with trade associations and supportive NGOs, will need to speak up stronger and louder to dispel doubts over the lowering of health and environment standards, reassure the broader public about the issues of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and investor state dispute settlement procedures, and put the free trade agreement’s massive number of benefits in true perspective.”

Making the case for the EU

The problem in many countries is that the pro-EU lobby is having difficulties making its voice heard above the clamour over immigration, continuing austerity and unemployment, particularly in places such as Spain and Greece where more than 50 per cent of young people are out of work.

Nick Clegg, the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Britain’s most avowed supporters of the EU, admits that “we’ve got a real uphill struggle” to make voters appreciate the value of a continued union in the May elections. His concerns are reflected in the opinion polls, which show Labour with a small lead over UKIP, which, in turn, is a few points ahead of the Conservatives, the majority party in the coalition government. The Lib Dems trail as a very poor fourth, with percentage support in single figures.

“Before you know it, this country will find itself outside the EU,” Mr Clegg warned in a radio interview. “That means we would find ourselves less relevant and powerful in the world. But, crucially, there would be fewer people in work, because being in Europe, at the end of the day, means being in work.”

Democracy versus bureaucracy?

On the other hand, Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, describes the European elections as a “battle of national democracy versus EU state bureaucracy”, claiming that Europe is increasingly being run by “big business, big

banks and big bureaucrats”.

It is a message from the right that is being echoed by some unlikely bedfellows across the continent. Sahra Wagenknecht, vice-chair of Germany’s Left Party, Die Linke, told a TV interviewer, “Europe will be destroyed if it continues to socially divide itself. When the people see Brussels’ institutions as helpers for banks and corporations, it tears Europe apart.”

Yet, while few doubt that the outcome of the elections will be fascinating, some question the importance of the parliament itself. Cas Mudde, assistant professor in the Department of International Affairs of the University of Georgia and author of Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe, says, “Both camps grossly exaggerate the importance of the upcoming elections for the functioning of the EU.

“While the role of the European Parliament has grown significantly in the past decades, and particularly with the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, it remains the weakest link in the EU power triangle. Although it has now become a co-lawmaker, the political agenda is still mainly set by the European Commission and approved by the European Council.”

Professor Mudde believes the true importance of the election is the knock-on effect it could have on national elections and, particularly, on the Scottish independence referendum in September. He argues that if a majority of Scots, who are decidedly more pro-EU than their neighbours south of the border, get rattled by the strength of the UKIP vote in May, then they may be swayed into opting for independence come September.

And such a result, Professor Mudde argues, could have ramifications far more important than the number of Eurosceptics with seats in Strasbourg. “For example, Belgium is feeling the pressure of the increasingly popular and radical separatist New Flemish Alliance, while Spain has been confronted with mass demonstrations in favour of Basque and Catalan independence.

“So far, the national elites have tried to stave off separatist claims by arguing that the new states would be too small to survive economically and that the European Union will not allow them to join as independent states. But if Scotland can pull it off, this important argument will have run its course.”

Directly or indirectly, much seems to be riding on the May elections.

“ How will the outcome of the European Parliament elections impact on relocation?

“ Would an independent Scotland affect the volume of international assignments into the country?

These are just some of the issues you can debate by joining in the conversations on our new social media website, candgglobal.com


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The European Commission recently published its first-ever continent-wide survey of corruption, and it was not a pretty sight. “Europeans are deeply

worried about corruption – Eurobarometer survey results show that three-quarters (76 per cent) of Europeans think that corruption is widespread,” it said.

But the report comes after 15 years of concentrated international anti-corruption efforts. So how bad is the situation really?

German television viewers have been gaining some unwelcome insights into corruption in Greece this winter – unwelcome because the alleged villains of the piece are German companies.

A series of reports on Frontal21, a respected investigative programme on public-service ZDF television, has included interviews with three Greek men claiming German arms companies paid millions of euros in bribes – in order to win contracts worth billions.

One of them, a local representative in Greece for three German arms companies, describes a meeting with another of the men, a Greek military officer.

“He asked me, what do I get out of the deal? We could also buy French or American arms,” he says, adding that, when he asked the headquarters in Germany what to do, he was simply told to negotiate over the size of his bribe.

The officer later described being handed a rucksack containing 600,000 euros in cash.

The three German companies have all denied any wrongdoing. But German prosecutors are now also investigating. The three men apparently told their stories to Greek state prosecutors in the hope of receiving milder sentences.

Bribe-takers – and bribe-makers

The case is not an isolated incident, and the rot has gone almost to the top. Last autumn, the former Greek Defence Minister, Akis Tsochatzopoulos, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for taking 55 million euros in bribes connected to contracts for Russian missile systems and German submarines.

But it’s not only the bribe-takers who get punished. In 2012, industrial services provider Ferrostaal was fined 140

THE BULGING ENVELOPE

EUROPE’S CORRUPTION CHALLENGE


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million euros for illegal payments connected to submarine contracts in Greece and Portugal. Two Ferrostaal executives received two-year suspended sentences; the judges said their leniency was due to the two men’s admissions and their advanced age (they were both 73). The damage to the company’s reputation is harder to quantify.

Siemens had to work for years to repair the damage to its image after revelations in 2006 that it had paid hundreds of millions in bribes to win contracts. Among the measures it introduced were hiring 500 compliance officers, setting up compliance hotlines, employing senior figures from Interpol and Transparency International, launching a huge education programme for its staff, setting up a dedicated compliance website with an external ombudsman, and announcing that it would pull out of certain particularly corrupt countries altogether.

Cases like these illustrate that, in many places, expectations of a backhander are alive and well. It’s a

conclusion shared by the European Commission’s recent report on corruption.

“Many countries around the world suffer from deep-rooted corruption that hampers economic development, undermines democracy, and damages social justice and the rule of law. The Member States of the EU are not immune to this reality,” it states.

“Corruption varies in nature and extent from one country to another, but it affects all Member States. It impinges on good governance, sound management of public money, and competitive markets. In extreme cases, it undermines the trust of citizens in democratic institutions and processes.”

Corruption endemic

What the report describes is a deeply embedded culture of corruption in a number of countries, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe.

A survey of businesses found, for example, that around a third of companies (32 per cent) complained that corruption had prevented them from winning public contracts. This was particularly true in the construction and engineering

sectors, and especially widespread in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Cyprus and the Czech Republic.

A survey of the general public’s perception was also telling. An astounding 99 per cent of Greeks, 97 per cent of Italians, and 95 per cent of Spaniards and Czechs said corruption in their countries had got worse over the last three years.

Answers suggested the least corrupt societies were in Denmark, Finland and Luxembourg.

In Britain, less than 1 per cent of people said they’d been expected to pay a bribe, the lowest figure in Europe. But 64 per cent said corruption was widespread in the UK (compared to an EU average of 76 per cent).

This may seem like a contradiction. But it’s worth bearing in mind that the term ‘corruption’ can cover a multitude of sins. “Europe’s problem is not so much with small bribes on the whole,” says Carl Dolan, from Transparency

International, in Brussels. “It’s with the ties between the political class and industry … The rewards for favouring companies, in allocating contracts or making changes to legislation, are positions in the private sector when they have left office, rather than a bribe.”

Stopping the rot

But there is an alternative to this dark narrative of rampant corruption. There have been significant legal and cultural changes over the past two decades which suggest things may actually be getting better.

One of the most important is the Anti-Bribery Convention adopted in 1999 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“There definitely has been an impact – for example, the prosecution of Siemens in Germany was made possible by Germany’s legislation to implement the Convention,” says governance consultant Quentin Reed, who sits on the EU Group of Experts on Corruption.

“The impact in the UK is also clear. The OECD openly

EUROPE’S CORRUPTION CHALLENGE


Corruption costs the EU economy a massive 120 billion euros every year. Ray Furlong investigates its impact on organisations doing business across Europe.

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Clive Fowler, a retired international oil executive, also says there is not a level playing field.

“There are companies with whom British and American companies compete which are not subject to the same constraints on corruption. It’s going to be an ever-present issue when some countries have a reputation for being soft on corruption,” he says.

“I can think of at least one occasion where I was asked for something that was blatantly at odds with the FCPA. I said no and reported it back to my boss, and we withdrew from the negotiations and lost the deal.”

But the OECD Convention has now been signed by 40 countries, with Columbia and Russia the latest to join.

And Angel Gurría says the growing international consensus is helping to change things for the better. “Twenty years ago, in many countries, bribing a foreign public official was business as usual. In some jurisdictions, bribes were not considered bad. They were actually tax-deductible!”

Clearly the increased threat of legal action is now something companies have to take seriously, and this has fed down into corporate culture.

Laraine Nee has worked in HR global mobility for 25 years. “The rules on behaviour, on how to influence people, or even being influenced, even when it comes down to something as basic as being taken out to dinner, are now a lot clearer,” she says.

“It’s easier for people at my level to get advice, to raise topics quite confidentially. So it’s got a lot clearer in the Western world, but I don’t know how other countries are operating.”

There will always be voices in the business world which say that those adhering to high ethical standards are at a disadvantage when competing in certain countries, against particular rivals. Perhaps for this reason, corruption scandals like the ones currently being played out in Germany are not a thing of the past. But positive change has happened – and is continuing.

Ray Furlong presents The Newsroom on the BBC World Service and contributes weekly to relocatemagazine.com

condemned the UK for halting the BAE Systems prosecution over alleged bribery in Saudi Arabia, and this was the trigger for a change in direction by the UK culminating in the 2010 Bribery Act, which is very stringent, and there

have already been prosecutions of UK companies abroad.”

Mr Reed also points to the importance of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

“It was the first of its kind and was one of the main reasons for lobbying for the Convention, because US companies felt at a disadvantage. US authorities may have become more active in prosecuting foreign companies because of the generally more favourable international environment for such prosecutions as a result of the Convention. For example, mutual legal assistance is much easier for them to get if the country where one of their companies is bribing has similar legislation.”

But in the US, there is still heated debate about whether US firms are disadvantaged by the FCPA. In 2011, Lisa Rickard, head of the US Chamber of Commerce’s institute for legal reform, wrote that the FCPA was “hurting American businesses’ ability to compete fairly in the global market”. It remains one of the leading voices calling for ‘reform’ of the Act.

And in Europe, willingness to enforce the OECD Convention varies wildly. According to euobserver.com, only Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the UK have ten or more cases under investigation.

Levelling the playing field

Speaking at an event marking the 15th anniversary of the Convention, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría complained that some countries had stopped investigations, citing ‘national interest’.

“This depends very much on the political will of authorities and leaders. I find myself surprised when I write to a particular foreign minister or prime minister and then I go on an official visit and I see that everybody’s terribly pissed off with me. I ask, why is everyone so angry? And they say, because you wrote that we weren’t doing enough, and I say, well, you’re not.”

“ What is your experience of corrruption, and how is it impacting on the growth of your business?

“ With corruption and compliance issues high up the agenda, what can be done to provide practical solutions?

Discuss with Ray Furlong and other experts the challenges of doing business in Europe, Russia and further afield. Join the conversations on

our new social media website, candgglobal.com

HOT TOPIC



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MANAGING CHANGE

Regarded as the epitome of tradition, 250-year-old Lloyd’s Register is one of the City of London’s most respected organisations and has an international reputation. Ruth Holmes finds out how this long-established business is embracing change and the global opportunities provided by more networked and collaborative working through a major group move that will see its marine business relocate to a state-of-the-art Global Technology Centre in Southampton.


Stepping up to change

LLOYD’S REGISTER

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has made its business by always being at the heart of the maritime industry action. With its origins in 18th-century London’s coffee

houses, the international quality assurance company’s City base at 71 Fenchurch Street has been both synonymous with and responsible for building and sustaining LR’s reputation for balancing tradition with foresight.

In recent decades, mirroring the UK’s rebalancing from heavy industry to the knowledge economy, the company’s activities have shifted to offering a more service-based, consultative approach to its advanced engineering, technical and business services products across its main business streams of marine, energy, rail and management systems.

Within this context, and reflecting the company’s values, which seek to enhance the safety of lives and property, LR Marine has embarked on the next phase of change. Its goal is to ensure that it continues to shape and respond to the challenges of the future in a sustainable way.

LR Marine move business case

LR Marine is now in the final phase of a major, three-year transition to a state-of-the art, purpose-built office at the University of Southampton’s Boldrewood campus. The Global Technology Centre, co-located with the university’s School of Engineering and the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, will form a Maritime Centre of Excellence.

Before the end of 2014, around 400 marine roles will have relocated there from their current Thomas Collcutt- and


MANAGING CHANGE

Bev Latham, People Stream team lead at Lloyd’s Register


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latterly Richard Rogers-designed 71 Fenchurch Street base.

While the move to the new Global Technology Centre (GTC), which is set to open in August this year, weighs anchor on the marine business’s 250-year link with the City of London, it is the start of an exciting journey for LR and fuels a shift to a more collaborative and consultative approach with clients and the wider marine sector. The group already has a Singapore GTC, the goal of which is to advance technical innovation in the energy industry and support economic growth in the Asia Pacific region.

“The concept and strategy around co-locating with the university, creating a Global Technology Centre, and collaborating with the university is a unique opportunity for us to maintain our reputation as a global technology leader and create a global research and development network,” explains Bev Latham, LR’s People Stream team lead.

“That’s the concept driving the business forward: getting us ahead of the curve, which is one of our brand values. Co-locating on the campus, investing in this fantastic new building in the engineering faculty, and working out with the university where we can share, where we can work together, and where we can find other opportunities to collaborate.”

Emblematic of the new ways of working is LR’s involvement in the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI). Based on the Boldrewood campus, and collaborating with LR, it comprises a broad representative group of maritime organisations that come together on R&D projects to improve the maritime environment.

“The SMMI opened in July 2012 and represents the type of collaboration which is key to the vision,” says Bev Latham. “The university is a leader in maritime engineering, and Southampton is the heart of the maritime cluster. Our competitors are there, our clients are there, and other parties with vested interests in the marine world are there. Southampton, for the marine part of the business, is the best place to be.”

Moving the business – and hearts and minds

Creating a Global Technology Centre at the hub of the UK’s marine cluster is undoubtedly a compelling vision. However,

the marine stream’s relatively limited experience of change, coupled with delays in the years leading up to the move’s final go-ahead in January 2011, meant that the Re:locate-award-winning People Stream team led by Bev Latham faced some initial reluctance and anxiety among the wider marine team.

“Lloyd’s Register has a fantastic history and legacy,” says Bev Latham. “Part of that is that the community we are working with has limited experience of significant change. We have a population – a remarkable population – of huge long service and loyalty.

“There had been talk of moving to Southampton for a number of years before it actually started to happen. So, inevitably, there was some resistance to change that we have had to influence – not helped by the fact that the move has been off and then on the agenda again. Even when foundations of the new building were complete, there was a sense of ‘it won’t happen’. Part of that is about personal denial. You’re asking people to change their lives. So, understandably, resistance and anxiety featured quite prominently during year one.”

As a measure of the scale of reluctance, the figure for those in the marine business planning to relocate was 25 per cent when the idea was first floated in 2008. Three years later, and following the green light in early 2011, it was a shade higher, at 25.8 per cent.

It is testament to the focus, commitment and unshakeable team spirit of Bev Latham and the 15-strong People Stream team that they have achieved a conversion rate of 60 per cent (above a base target of 50 per cent) – and with negligible policy exceptions and no tribunals.

Plans into action

When she took up her post in May 2011, Bev Latham had not only to turn around this widespread reluctance but also to meet LR’s July 2011 deadline for launching the Southampton relocation policy – before the People Stream team was appointed and operational.

The policy, to be announced at a ‘town hall’ staff meeting in the auditorium of 71 Fenchurch Street, would be critical for marine colleagues’ understanding of how their own moves might happen, and a key factor in whether or not they got on board with the process.

Working with the marine HRD and marine HR programme manager, Bev Latham had just eight weeks in which to define the benefits package. “There was a lot of pressure around working out the policy and what the benefits would be, to try and encourage as many people to come with us as we possibly could,“ she says.

Adopting a business partner approach to formulating policies to underpin the relocation strategy and support the wider business, she reached out to organisations and interest groups (such as the Relocation User Group) which had undertaken similar large-scale group moves, to learn from their experiences.

Global Technology Centre - Southampton


MANAGING CHANGE

The outcome is a new policy based on the current UK relocation policy, with enhanced benefits designed to ensure that as many marine colleagues as possible embark on the relocation journey. Importantly, it also sets the tone for role modelling the new, more collaborative and networked ways of working.

Building capacity

To deliver the policy through practice, Bev Latham appointed HR operations colleagues to the People Stream team in August 2011. Shortly after, they were joined by colleagues focusing specifically on relocation, engagement, communication and resourcing.

Together, as a single team with a clear vision underpinned by agreed values, behaviours, performance targets and a commitment to continuous improvement (adopting the Katzenbach model), they worked together on the complex task of supporting the 400 employees in the group move’s scope, role modelling the collaborative approach the company was seeking to embed further through the move.

One of the HR operations team’s first acts was to hold a round of informal one-to-one interviews with marine colleagues. This was designed to help people in the group move’s scope understand and interpret the policy for their needs and – crucially – to provide an opportunity to discuss the benefits of the move in terms of continuing professional development.

“The business case and the vision appealed more readily to people in the technical and policy directorate – the researchers, in effect – than to other groups,” says Bev Latham. “For example, people in administrative roles were saying, ‘OK, the vision is around collaboration and development networks in order to sustain the business into the future. But I’m an administrator, so how does that affect me?’

“We’ve had to recognise that as a valid question, and respond to it. This has meant evolving the communications around the vision and trying to demonstrate what the move offers everyone. It’s been about encouraging people to think more broadly about the possibilities and sustaining the future of Lloyd’s Register.”

The Lloyds Register People Stream team


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A major factor in the relocation’s success is how the People Stream team has, across its relocation, engagement, resourcing and HR operations functions, incorporated and responded to feedback. Thanks to this, the team has been able to enhance practice and process design within the cycle of continuous improvement that the relocation itself was designed to deliver.

Supporting a cultural shift

“Culture change wraps around the relocation,” explains Bev Latham. “The relocation is the building. We are moving people, but actually it is more than that. Rather than the focus being on compliance, we want Lloyd’s Register to be seen as a group of innovative maritime advisers and consultants. Of course, we are still in the compliance business, but it’s about offering our clients broader options, solutions and innovations, as opposed to a checklist of what’s right and what’s wrong. That is the behavioural change that is required.

“The move will occur whatever happens. But we won’t achieve our vision unless we make some behavioural changes at the same time. A leap of faith is required whereby people are required to behave in a different way. This starts with leaders and cascades down the organisation. The building, location and new working practices are symbolic of that.”

As the impressive metrics suggest, the People Stream team’s approach is proving successful. This is down to how the team has communicated the policy, responded to queries, and built solid relationships with managers, colleagues and outsourced providers.

The team’s work has been vital in building the trust and integrity that are LR’s hallmarks as it faces change and manages uncertainty while ensuring operational relevance and a forward-thinking approach.

“One of the things that has amazed me throughout really comes back to the nature of this business. We are dealing with engineers, who, because of the way in which their minds work, want to unpick everything to the last detail.

That is time-consuming for the whole programme. We have an innovative framework for decision-making that is robust and transparent and deals with questions at any level. It is a part of how we respond to issues and challenges.

“The volume of questions that come in, with the to-ing and fro-ing required to formulate an answer, has led us to create a manager’s guide, so that every question and every decision is categorised and documented.”

Working with outsourced relocation services provider Connells Relocation Services has also eased the workload.

Says Bev Latham, “It’s definitely helped with the volume and with the smooth running of the process.”

Powering to a successful future

“I feel proud of the way we’ve responded,” Bev Latham reflects. “Our framework for dealing with questions is critically important, because it underlines the fairness of the whole process. But we’ve kept all of that up-to-date and moving as well. We’ve maintained that process and that transparency, and we have no record of appeals or grievances. Sometimes there are tough responses, and sometimes this comes back – again – to the behavioural change that is happening in the organisation.“

Lloyd’s Register understands that the process of culture change which started before the relocation was given the go-ahead will continue after the move – and will be a long one. “People say that the culture of an organisation reflects its products, so this project is going to have the turning circle of a tanker!” says Bev Latham.

The move is a prototype of how a long-established, successful business can embrace change and the global opportunities provided by more networked and collaborative working.

By reinforcing the company’s vision and values on its journey to the Southampton GTC, the marine business’s move and the People Stream team’s activities in support of it are undoubtedly adding value to the business (saving close to £600,000 on agency fees alone by upskilling managers), to individuals’ careers, and to the relocation community.

“We are role modelling what the project is about in every way. Externally and internally within the business, that is what we are trying to do,” concludes Bev Latham.

In a future issue of Re:locate, we’ll report on Lloyd’s Register employees’ personal and professional ‘journey’ to Southampton and the support that made a difference to their moves.

Global Technology Centre - Southampton


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new buyers rush to the market nationwide. Even so, price growth and sales levels are still below their pre-crisis peaks, so we’re still some way from the ‘bubble zone’.”

David Brown points out that, although the traditional hotspots of southern England and East Anglia have been first to reap the benefits of the recovery, a wider area, including the West Midlands, is now experiencing the effects of the ripple effect from London.

Richard Tucker, managing director of Relocation Agent Network, the national network of UK estate agents affiliated to Cartus, agrees. “Regionally, sales prices appear to be increasingly broad-based, especially when you compare London’s housing market with the rest of the UK. In the capital, affordability remains the key challenge faced by those moving into the market and – broadly speaking – there continues to be a north/south divide in terms of property values.

“At Cartus, we continue to see an increasing number of buyer enquiries, although buyer behaviour would appear to remain price-sensitive.”

New homes growth

The continuing recovery is also leading to an increase in the building of new homes. According to the National House Building Council, which provides warranties and insurance cover, the number of new homes registered in the UK in January showed a 14 per cent increase on the figure for January 2013.

These first statistics of 2014 continue the upward trend seen throughout last year, which resulted in the highest number of new-home registrations since 2007. Estate agent and property adviser Savills predicts that housebuilding

A recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) report showed that, during December 2013, house prices rose by 5.7 per cent in England, 0.5 per cent in

Scotland, and 4.8 per cent in both Wales and Northern Ireland, bringing the average UK house price to £250,000.

Growth is starting to increase considerably in some parts of the country, especially London, where prices rose by 12.3 per cent – more than twice the UK average. Other strongly-performing regions were the East of England, where prices were up by 4.6 per cent, and the West Midlands (4.3 per cent).

According to the LSL Property Services/Acadata index for January, house prices are now rising in 90 per cent of unitary local authorities. The index also reports an increase in transaction levels – another sign of a strengthening market. In January, monthly sales were not only at their highest since the financial crisis began in 2007 but just 4 per cent below the January average in the decade before the credit crunch.

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, attributes rising prices to growing demand and therefore hot competition for property, reinforced by low interest rates and the government’s Help to Buy scheme. The rise in transaction levels, he believes, is largely attributable to a resurgence of first-time buyers, resulting from the wide range of attractive mortgage deals on offer, cheaper rates, and wider product choice.

Says Mr Brown, “The increase in new-buyer numbers has encouraged activity further up the ladder and inspired movement among ‘second-steppers’, which will prove vital in sustaining a healthy rate of sales activity.

“With mortgages still historically cheap and interest rates set to remain stable for the time being, we’ll continue to see

PROPERTY

UPWith data from the Office for National Statistics showing a continuing increase in the average price of a UK home, it’s clear that the recovery in the residential property market is taking hold. Louise Whitson reports.

on the

PROPERTY


PROPERTY

will rise by 55 per cent over next five years. Developers across all sectors, it says, are set to increase their output to 167,000 new homes per annum by 2018, supported by a steep rise in output from the public sector. This is still short of the 240,000 homes a year that are required to meet need in England, but a 55 per cent rise on the 2013 total of 108,000.

Demand from housebuilders, Savills adds, is pushing up the value of residential development land across the UK at a rate not seen since 2010. Price growth continues to be led by the South East, but there are now “early signs of life” in key urban markets that have remained dormant since 2008, including Manchester and Birmingham.

In the South East, greenfield values increased by 5.8 per cent in Q4 2013 and by 8.1 per cent between June and December. Well-located sites in areas like Oxford and Sevenoaks have already exceeded former peak values, while commuter locations such as High Wycombe and Reading are fast approaching their former highs.

Help to Buy has been a catalyst for activity in lower-value markets, according to Savills. Marked land-price rises were recorded in Durham, Leeds and Sheffield, and there are signs of renewed market interest in some Birmingham and Manchester city-centre sites.

Surging optimism

Given the widespread signs of recovery, it’s not surprising that the all-important feelgood factor is also returning to the property market. The Knight Frank/Markit House Price Sentiment Index for January showed that more households than ever before were upbeat about the future value of their properties, with households in every region perceiving that the value of their home would rise over the next 12 months.

It will be interesting to see if this general increase in confidence will lead employees to be more willing to take the plunge and make that all-important relocation move.

It’s worth mentioning that house-price rises are not universally welcomed. In its report The Housing Gap, Shelter, a charity for the homeless, found that homes had become more unaffordable in every local authority since 1997, and estimated that those on average earnings would need a pay rise of £29,000 if they were to afford to buy a home.

Rentals market

Over the last few years, the number of people wishing to rent rather than buy a home has grown enormously. Recent figures suggest that home ownership has fallen to its lowest level since 1987, while the number of households in rented accommodation has almost doubled.

Savills’ director of residential research, Lucian Cook, says, “Over the past few years, the government has introduced several initiatives to support home ownership, most notably the Help to Buy scheme. Yet, despite this, we expect the

[private rented] sector to grow by a further one million households in the next five years.

“This increase in demand in the mainstream private rented sector has not been met with a similar increase in the supply of rental properties. This has resulted in rents being pushed up.

“In the mainstream markets, supply is likely to remain constrained, but less so in the more valuable markets, which is where new activity is concentrated and overseas investors are particularly active.

“Over 2013, we saw marginal rental growth in prime London but, given the recent increase in applicants and improved outlook and prospects for the economy, we expect this to pick up in 2014. From 2016 onwards, we anticipate rental growth to be increasing by 4.5 per cent per year.”

Meanwhile, north of the border, lettings portal CityLets says that, driven by Scotland’s two major cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, supply and demand have been in “relative equilibrium”. Time-to-let figures remain low, with a typical property being rented within a fortnight and one-bedroomed properties taking only nine days to let.

While the average rent of CityLets’ 80,000 properties across Scotland and Northern Ireland is just £678 per month, one Aberdeen postcode, AB12, has an average monthly rent of £1,472, thanks to the thriving oil industry.

Cartus reports that more employees relocating within the UK are choosing some form of rented accommodation as part of their relocation programmes. This is mainly because of an increase in short-term projects and assignments, coupled with a lack of properties available to purchase in a number of areas. As a result, the company is seeing an increase in demand for managed UK tenancy programmes.

Among most Cartus clients, London is the top destination for expatriates relocating to the UK. Depending on family set-ups and budgets, Kensington, St John’s Wood, Notting Hill, Clapham, Wimbledon, Chiswick, Richmond, Fulham, Putney, Shoreditch, Islington, London Bridge and Pimlico are popular. One- and two-bedroomed furnished apartments, particularly those with good transport links, are most sought-after by assignees.

Outside the capital, places like Swindon, Newbury, Portsmouth and Aberdeen are currently popular for particular projects, Cartus says.

Service sells

Given continuing shortages of rented accommodation, letting agents are having to compete harder than ever for every new instruction. This is good news for prospective tenants.

At the recent Cartus Relocation Agent Network annual conference, Silvia Eldawi, lettings director at West London estate agency Northfields, emphasised the importance of having a unique sales proposition. She pointed out

PROPERTY

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that, as free market appraisals and web advertising were now standard, agents must find other means of setting themselves apart.

One such way, Ms Eldawi said, was the use of videos on agency websites. Another was increasing agents’ social-media profiles and facilitating listings for mobile devices, which growing numbers of potential landlords and tenants were using to access the internet. Online signing of tenancy agreements and other documents was more convenient for tenants than visiting the agency, and improved the speed and efficiency of the deal process, to the benefit of the agent.

But it isn’t all about technology: a focus on service, to both landlords and tenants, is essential for agents who are keen to set themselves apart, Ms Eldawi reminded delegates .

With high-quality service becoming a key differentiator, it looks as if relocating employees should find the process of finding and renting accommodation much easier than might once have been the case, despite ongoing supply shortages in some parts of the country.

Looking ahead

So how can employees on the move negotiate the booming property market and make a smooth transition to a new area?

Says Relocation Agent Network’s Richard Tucker, “In our experience, relocating employees continue to set

realistic asking prices on their properties, which lead to successful sales.

“In the rental market, as the number of tenants outnumbers available rental stock, relocating employees need to act quickly to secure the property they want. This is especially the case in major cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester.”

Will the current boom lead to an inevitable bust? LSL Property Services’ David Brown sounds a note of caution. “With greater economic prosperity, confidence between banks and lenders has been cemented further, which will no doubt fuel the engine of recovery in the months ahead, while, similarly, first-time buyers are set to swim further across the sea of adversity to secure a home.

“But it is crucial that both aren’t scuppered and that the government’s housing plans come to the fore with a continued focus on supply. This will ensure the recovery reaches the finish line and a generation doesn’t get priced out of the market.”

See the Property section of

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discussions at candgglobal.com

how it’s benefiting Britain

INFRASTRUCTURE

INVESTMENT

INWARD INVESTMENTT2 roof ©

Heathrow

Airport

Diagram

of how H

eathrow could be linked directly to

the southern, western and H

igh Speed 2 rail netw

orks ©

Heathrow

Airport

In the context of their implications for the London and regional economies, David Sapsted examines the latest developments in UK transport infrastructure, including HS2 and Crossrail, and considers the options for a new London airport.

Infrastructure in Western democracies is “incredibly difficult to deliver”, reckons Sir David Higgins. And he should know.

The Australian-born civil engineer, who delivered the nuts and bolts of the 2012 Olympics on time and on budget, is now charged with doing the same for HS2, the UK’s most ambitious and most controversial piece of infrastructure – a £50 billion, high-speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Environmentalists, Nimbys and people with doubts about the validity, let alone the costs, of the project are ranged against HS2, an endeavour estimated to take 20 years to complete.

But Sir David believes that “the UK is addressing and answering the questions” over its infrastructure. “The fact that we can consider something as politically difficult and as long-term as HS2 is proof of strength and maturity,” he says.

For years, there have been complaints that the UK has under-invested in its infrastructure: a problem the coalition appeared to address last December when it unveiled the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) detailing how £375 billion would be spent on energy, communications, transportation and water projects over the coming two decades.

As important, perhaps, was the legislative proposal revealed by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in February for a specialist planning court to fast-track disputed major planning applications in a bid to deliver projects more swiftly. Developers, engineers and politicians have been pulling out their hair for years over Britain’s cumbersome planning procedures that have allowed major schemes to become bogged down for years in hearings, appeals and court action.

With pension funds ready to boost infrastructure investment with a £25 billion cash injection, the latest NIP detailed 646 projects, 291 of which are already under construction.

Nationwide projects

While HS2 continues to grab many of the headlines nationally, other major programmes in the offing include the Crossrail 2 railway between South West London and Hertfordshire, the Mersey Gateway Project for a new toll bridge over the river at Liverpool, and the £4.6 billion Thames Tideway Tunnel, the largest tunnel project ever undertaken by the UK water industry, which will tackle the

problem of London’s Victorian sewer system.

Work on some projects, such as the Queensferry Crossing – Scotland’s largest infrastructure project in 25 years, which will replace the existing Forth Road Bridge – are already well underway, and the government’s latest spending review includes a commitment to a £50 billion capital investment next year, much of which will be aimed at transport infrastructure, including improvements to roads, railways and bridges.

The government is keen to deflect criticism that, too often, infrastructure projects are concentrated in London and the South East. Chancellor George Osborne travelled to Manchester Airport earlier this year at the start of a £20 million rail upgrade at Manchester Airport, and insisted growth would not be “concentrated in any one place”.

Part of a £600 million Northern Hub project to electrify lines and upgrade the rail network in and around Manchester by 2019, the upgrade is expected to increase passenger capacity by 44 million a year and create 20,000 jobs.

“The government’s long-term plan is about securing a recovery for all parts of the country,” maintained Mr Osborne. “Each part of this project … will help us build the infrastructure we need to compete in the global race.”

Addressing skills shortages

There is a problem, however: a shortage of skills, particularly in engineering. Chris Marsh, HR director for resourcing at multinational engineering and project management consultancy Atkins, says shortages affect civil, structural and mechanical engineering.

“We want to recruit the best people who have the right skills and approach to work, which will exceed our clients’ expectations,” he says.

“However, there is only a relatively small pool of candidates to choose from. Ultimately, it boils down to the fact that the UK does not produce enough engineers, which is why Atkins and our industry peers and bodies are putting so much effort in trying to address this shortage.”

Mr Marsh says that, in London alone, major transport infrastructure schemes such as the Northern Line underground extension, London Bridge station rebuilding, Crossrail and Crossrail 2 stand to create a difficult-to-fill demand for engineers with a wide variety of skills.

It is a message echoed in a report earlier this year from energy consultancy DNV GL, which warned that while growth opportunities abounded in the oil and gas industry, a shortage of engineers was casting a shadow over the future.

Elisabeth Torstad, of DNV GL, commented, “The sector is increasingly moving into challenging environments which require deep technical expertise to provide solutions, yet many companies are faced with ongoing skills shortage.

“This need is driving up salaries at a time when there is already pressure to reduce costs. While technology can go

INWARD INVESTMENT


Everyone accepts that Heathrow is an ageing and over-crowded hub. What nobody can quite agree is what to do about it – a question that needs to be answered urgently, not just because of the need for more capacity in the air but also because of the infrastructure ramifications for new and improved road and rail links.

Politicians of every stripe have avoided making firm proposals, apart from London Mayor Boris Johnson, who wants a new, four-runway airport built in the Thames Estuary – a project favoured by few others.

In 2012, the coalition government established, under the chairmanship of Sir Howard Davies, the Airports Commission, which was charged with coming up with the definitive solution to the nation’s airport problem. Sir Howard, though, has been told not to report until the summer of 2015, which, not coincidentally, is after the May 2015 general election.

Last December, the commission did come up with an interim report which shortlisted two proposals for expanding Heathrow and one for building a second runway at Gatwick. In January, KPMG undertook an analysis of the commission’s recommendations and estimated that a third runway at Heathrow would require £11.5 billion of taxpayers’ money, while expansion of Gatwick might need £17.7 billion and Mr Johnson’s scheme for a new airport on the Isle of Grain £64.7 billion.

“The scale of the proposed schemes, and of the financing challenge associated with each, points to the criticality of government support,” the KPMG report stated, apparently contradicting claims that the bulk of money could be raised from the private sector.

But it will not be questions of finance that will dominate when Sir Howard comes up with his final recommendation next year. It will be the fury the decision unleashes among local communities, which will probably make the intense wrangling over HS2 seem like a round of friendly banter.

Like the man should have said: infrastructure projects can be damned rancorous to deliver in Western democracies.

some way to plugging the gap, it can’t fully replace human intervention. The industry needs to take a longer-term view of building professional skills, rather than putting the brakes on nurturing talent when the oil price weakens.

“While we cannot fully duplicate and replace the experience of retiring professionals in the sector, we can work smarter through structured approaches to managing industry knowledge and ensuring that the competence built is effectively transferred to younger generations.”

Boosting the UK economy

Assuming this skills shortage can be overcome, either by training at home or recruiting from abroad – or, more likely, a combination of the two – few doubt that, on current plans, infrastructure development in the UK will continue apace for the next 20 years.

The acid test, however, will be HS2, whose future is repeatedly questioned. Over the winter, the House of Commons all-party Transport Committee investigated the scheme and came to the conclusion that its construction was “essential for the UK”.

“The project is now commonly regarded as costing £50 billion and rising. This has led to exaggerated references to HS2 requiring a ‘blank cheque’ from government,” said the committee’s report.

“The Department for Transport’s communications about HS2 should emphasise that the estimated cost is £28 billion, not £50 billion, and that cost increases to date have largely been due to the decision to undertake more tunnelling and other work to mitigate the impact of the project on people living near the route.”

During its inquiry, the committee took evidence from consultants KPMG, who said that, by 2037, HS2 would boost the UK economy by £15 billion a year.

Airport expansion

There is, however, an elephant in the room in the debate on Britain’s infrastructure, which has the potential to benefit the economy even more than HS2: airport expansion.

Four runways north west & south west ©Heathrow Airport

INWARD INVESTMENT


Infrastructure projects are key to building the economy and essential for inward investment. They often rely on the expertise of a wide range of international companies for delivery.

Share your views on practical solutions to talent shortages and supporting project teams in the UK and globally via our new

social media website, candgglobal.com


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P17674 Where can you find_Relocate 297x210.indd 1 28/02/2014 16:59


Nestled in East London, not far from the city centre, is Tech City. The bold claim made by the British government is that the area – a cluster of tech and

digital-focused companies centred on the so-called Silicon Roundabout, in Shoreditch – is Britain’s answer to California’s Silicon Valley.

Tech City UK says there are currently more than 1,300 tech companies in the cluster. The geographical boundaries are fluid, however, and Trampoline Systems CEO Charles Armstrong, who spent time mapping London’s tech companies, suggested in 2012 that there were as many as 5,000 such companies in wider East London.

Cisco, Facebook, Google, Amazon, BT, Intel, Tweetdeck and McKinsey & Company are among the tech firms that have invested in the area, with smaller start-ups appearing amongst the industry giants all the time. Google alone is building a £650 million new headquarters, set to house some 5,000 employees by 2017.

More than just a collection of companies, however, the cluster has also attracted investment from academic institutions. City University London, Imperial College London, Loughborough University and University College London all have projects established in the area.

The cluster began organically some five or six years ago. It was dubbed Silicon Roundabout thanks to the Old Street roundabout that lies at its heart. In 2008, there were 15 companies, including the likes of Last.fm and Tweetdeck, established in the area. The number grew quickly, with companies being drawn in by relatively cheap rents, a critical mass of programming talent, and enough outside investment to encourage risk-taking.

Tapping into the trend, Prime Minister David Cameron announced in 2010 that the government would support and accelerate growth in the area, rebranding it Tech City in the process. The government would provide advice, mentoring and contacts through its Tech City Investment Organisation to businesses looking to set up or grow in the area. £200 million of equity finance and £200 million of investment in technology and innovation centres were promised, and it was announced that visa restrictions would be loosened for entrepreneurs looking to start businesses in London.

Mr Cameron said his government was “firmly on the side of the high-growth, highly innovative companies of the future”, adding that, while Silicon Valley had traditionally been seen

as the heart of the world’s tech industry, there was no reason London could not rival it.

In 2013, Tech City published research showing that the number of tech companies in London increased by 76 per cent between 2009 and 2012, with the capital’s tech sector growing just shy of 17 per cent in the same period. Perhaps most notable, though, was the assertion that the tech sector was responsible for 27 per cent of London’s jobs growth over the three-year period.

Hard figures are difficult to come by, but one set of numbers suggests that, in 2013, around $340 million was invested in e-commerce start-ups in London, $198 million in digital media, and $66 million in software companies. While the numbers sound impressive, however, it’s worth noting that they represent only around 10 per cent of the money flowing into Silicon Valley.

In spite of the critical mass of businesses and talent, filling roles can be a challenge. “We have 100 vacancies, but we’ll be fortunate if we can fill half with hires in the UK,” Errol Damelin, head of Wonga, told The Economist magazine in October. Often, new staff have to be sourced from regions such as the US, though immigration rules for bringing people in from beyond the EU have historically proved problematic. Some investors have also questioned whether Tech City will produce the ‘exits’ – flotations or company sales worth billions of pounds – it needs to really make its mark on the international tech scene.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Tech City’s success as a breeding ground for tech companies is beginning to drive up rents. The upshot of this may be that the cluster’s already loose boundaries begin to widen. Lumi, a start-up from Last.fm’s co-founders, has set up shop a mile or so north of Tech City, in London Fields (an area the company’s developers are already referring to as Silicon Fields), for example.

Despite some of these teething issues, however, the government remains bullish in its approach to the area. In early 2014, Tech City announced that it had brought in Gerard Grech as its new CEO. With his 15-year history in digital industries, working with the likes of Blackberry, Nokia, Nokia Growth Partners and Orange, Mr Grech said that his focus would be on building new partnerships and cementing Tech City’s role as an international technology hub.

While Tech City has a few hurdles to leap as it matures, its growth doesn’t show any signs of slowing in the near future.

set to rival Silicon Valley?TECH CITY


London’s Tech City is billed by the UK government as a British version of California’s Silicon Valley. Mark E Johnson profiles this vibrant area of the UK capital, and finds out whether the reality matches the hype.

TECHNOLOGY

Northern Ireland is proving that close to home is competitive for knowledge intensive business services operations, a welcoming place where motivated, talented people deliver smart solutions cost-effectively.

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ecause the expertise, experience and resources on offer are so extensive, companies like Allen & Overy, Deloitte, Capita and Mercer, among many more across

diverse sectors, easily find the ideal fit, get up and running quickly and, crucially, do it all within the UK. They have also discovered that Northern Ireland is not only a great place work but also one which provides a great lifestyle.

Yet, for all its qualities, low-risk nearshore location and long, successful track record of delivering services to UK, European and US clients, Northern Ireland enjoys costs among the most attractive in the western world.

Operating costs in Belfast are 50% less than London, up to 40% lower than other UK locations and almost 30% below Dublin. Property averages around £12.50/ft compared with London at £55 and Dublin at £22 (CBRE, 2013). And considering the calibre of the workforce and low turnover, salaries are modest.

The business services portfolio encompasses human resources, accountancy and finance, IT, marketing, design and advertising and customer care.

Multi-nationals are now choosing Northern Ireland for a wide variety of services. For example, Caterpillar which has shared services centres covering finance, order fulfillment andIT support. PwC employs 800 staff and has global centresof excellence in technology, forensic services, capabilityand training.

For investors, the ready availability of the right people is key to setting up quickly and expanding easily. Northern Ireland’s two universities produce almost 7,000 graduates annually in relevant disciplines including: business, languages, law, human resources, marketing, IT and design - a surplus of hundreds of graduates each year in legal

studies and 1200 in accounting, finance and business. In addition to this readily available talent, there are also well qualified and experienced people who are keen to either return to the region or are very happy to relocate there.

Northern Ireland has a lot to offer; with little congestion, efficient public transport, and an easygoing lifestyle, there are few obstacles to generating a contented and productive workforce or relocating key managers.

A Northern Ireland-based financial services executive says:“I spent 20 years in London and my commute to the city was two and a half hour each day. I’ve been in Northern Ireland for five years and every day Belfast gives me back two ofthose hours.”

Ideal for families too, the region has leisure opportunities to suit all ages and tastes and a good education system.

Always an educational high-flyer, Northern Ireland’s GCSE and A-level results outclass the rest of the UK. Post A-level, 75% of school-leavers progress to third level and 66% of university graduates attain a 2:1 or better.

Cultural compatibility is important for relocating employees and for business and it is vital when handling complex and sensitive matters.Northern Ireland is an outsourcing solution that speaks the same language. This strategic location benefits too from close links and easy access to Dublin, London and the US.

Firms that once considered venturing further afield are exploring nearshore options; taking a closer look at Northern Ireland and liking what they see.

Find out more about what Northern Ireland can offer your business visit investni.com/invest


Northern Ireland is proving that close to home is competitive for knowledge intensive business services operations, a welcoming place where motivated, talented people deliver smart solutions cost-effectively.

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ecause the expertise, experience and resources on offer are so extensive, companies like Allen & Overy, Deloitte, Capita and Mercer, among many more across

diverse sectors, easily find the ideal fit, get up and running quickly and, crucially, do it all within the UK. They have also discovered that Northern Ireland is not only a great place work but also one which provides a great lifestyle.

Yet, for all its qualities, low-risk nearshore location and long, successful track record of delivering services to UK, European and US clients, Northern Ireland enjoys costs among the most attractive in the western world.

Operating costs in Belfast are 50% less than London, up to 40% lower than other UK locations and almost 30% below Dublin. Property averages around £12.50/ft compared with London at £55 and Dublin at £22 (CBRE, 2013). And considering the calibre of the workforce and low turnover, salaries are modest.

The business services portfolio encompasses human resources, accountancy and finance, IT, marketing, design and advertising and customer care.

Multi-nationals are now choosing Northern Ireland for a wide variety of services. For example, Caterpillar which has shared services centres covering finance, order fulfillment andIT support. PwC employs 800 staff and has global centresof excellence in technology, forensic services, capabilityand training.

For investors, the ready availability of the right people is key to setting up quickly and expanding easily. Northern Ireland’s two universities produce almost 7,000 graduates annually in relevant disciplines including: business, languages, law, human resources, marketing, IT and design - a surplus of hundreds of graduates each year in legal

studies and 1200 in accounting, finance and business. In addition to this readily available talent, there are also well qualified and experienced people who are keen to either return to the region or are very happy to relocate there.

Northern Ireland has a lot to offer; with little congestion, efficient public transport, and an easygoing lifestyle, there are few obstacles to generating a contented and productive workforce or relocating key managers.

A Northern Ireland-based financial services executive says:“I spent 20 years in London and my commute to the city was two and a half hour each day. I’ve been in Northern Ireland for five years and every day Belfast gives me back two ofthose hours.”

Ideal for families too, the region has leisure opportunities to suit all ages and tastes and a good education system.

Always an educational high-flyer, Northern Ireland’s GCSE and A-level results outclass the rest of the UK. Post A-level, 75% of school-leavers progress to third level and 66% of university graduates attain a 2:1 or better.

Cultural compatibility is important for relocating employees and for business and it is vital when handling complex and sensitive matters.Northern Ireland is an outsourcing solution that speaks the same language. This strategic location benefits too from close links and easy access to Dublin, London and the US.

Firms that once considered venturing further afield are exploring nearshore options; taking a closer look at Northern Ireland and liking what they see.

Find out more about what Northern Ireland can offer your business visit investni.com/invest


TECHNOLOGY IN FOCUS

Compliance with regulations, from immigration to tax, is a key focus of today’s global mobility department. Duty of care is also taking centre stage, as the results

of a recent survey by international corporate travel services company Hogg Robinson show. Data security and managing travel risks and mobile data were among respondents’ top concerns.

Among the latest products for global mobility professionals is a new version of the Travel-LINK app from immigration specialist Pro-Link GLOBAL, which has been developed to address the challenge of managing business travellers. Explains Pro-Link’s Andrea Elliott, “Since international borders within the Schengen Area, for example, are more fluid than others, ‘stealth expats’ are on the rise, and compliance is a must for all multinationals.”

Using the app, mobility departments can confirm at the touch of a button whether a visa is needed in any of more than 140 countries, submit a request for a visa if necessary, and obtain a checklist of required documents. By tracking passport expiry dates, they can ensure that a passport has sufficient validity remaining, plan for passport renewals, and coordinate the application for a second passport.

Travel-LINK also allows HR to access reports on business travellers’ locations and movements by date and country.

Other technology supporting global mobility departments and employees on the move includes Assistance App, from global medical and travel security services group International SOS, which is designed to help travellers in a wide range of situations; they may, for example, need to speak to a doctor in case of illness or accident, or to a security professional when a threat is developing. The app also gives instant access to country guides and alerts. A new location check-in feature allows business travellers to share their location with their employer’s travel, medical and security support teams via International SOS’s TravelTracker platform.

The Summer 2014 issue of Re:locate magazine will include coverage of more technology that is making life easier for employers and their relocating assignees.

Latest developments

Organisations are continually facing change, which is often accelerated by growth into new countries and regions. Changes are also happening more rapidly. It is not surprising that companies look to technology for some of the solutions, particularly as increased productivity and process efficiency are also high on the agenda. There is also the drive to provide real-time access to data.

Mobility solutions have evolved over the years, and now employees, particularly the younger generations, expect their employers to have good technology and state-of-the-art systems with the information they need to make a move viable for them.

For some global organisations, a shared service solution which monitors all travel and international assignments to various countries is the answer. In the summer issue, we will explore advances in this direction, and the pros and cons.

There appears to be a shift in organisations towards making countries and regional projects more accountable for the decisions they make regarding both risk and cost. There is also the desire to understand the value of business need versus talent development moves by analysing the metrics.

Immigration and tax are just two areas that have a significant impact; health and security add another dimension. We will also try to explore how employees feel about being tracked and how they can be motivated to provide the information needed to stay compliant and keep safe.

In the age of cost control, it is vital for business to know the cost of new hires and international transfers, and for project managers to appreciate the costs involved. It often falls to HR global mobility managers to explain the necessity, but tools and systems are being developed that can calculate budgets and offer complete transparency. These may be the solution for organisations with big volumes of moves, but what is on offer for companies that relocate on a small scale?

International group move

In the summer issue, we will focus on some of the complexities surrounding an international group move. This follows on from a lively session at the WERC EMEA conference in London in which Guido Regazzoni, global mobility manager of Thomson Reuters, described how his organisation was moving a small group of intellectual property specialists from their native Russia to a new IP and science hub in Barcelona, Spain.

We will look at what role technology can play, particularly in supporting an international group move.

If you would like to share a case study or help shape the technology of the future, then join in the technology conversation on our new social media website, candgglobal.com, or email [email protected]

Since technology now permeates every aspect of our daily lives, it’s no surprise that it is rapidly changing the way in which global mobility departments do business and support their relocating employees, business travellers and international assignees. Fiona Murchie reports.

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In the Winter 2013/14 issue of Re:locate magazine, we considered whether a partnership between talent and mobility was the solution for companies seeking global growth. David Schofield continues the discussion.

THE POWER OF

GLOBAL MOBILITY

TALENT

relocateglobal.com | 31

Those of us working in the global mobility field are in a privileged position – because global mobility truly has the power to contribute both to the business

success of the organisation and to the career and personal development desires of the people in the organisation.

As someone who has worked in global mobility around the world for many years, I believe the key to unlocking this power lies in a close partnership between global mobility (GM) and talent management (TM). Organisations which make this partnership work can give themselves clear market advantage, and will be better able to attract the brightest and best people.

Of course, we need to be clear from the outset what is meant by ‘talent management’. John Hopkins University’s Office of Talent Management and Organisation Development defines TM as “a set of integrated organisational HR processes designed to attract, develop, motivate and retain productive, engaged employees”, the goal of which is “to create a high-performance, sustainable organisation that meets its strategic and operational goals and objectives”. This definition shows that TM is targeted not just at a few high-flyers, but at the wider workforce.

It also firmly connects talent management to the achievement of the organisation’s strategic business objectives and to what the employees want.

The true value of the GM/TM partnership was on display at a number of the sessions at the October

2013 Worldwide ERC Global Workforce Symposium in Dallas. The Winter 2013/14 issue of Re:locate magazine highlighted an excellent, lively session in which Angela Lane, vice president of talent management for pharmaceutical research and development company AbbVie, positioned global mobility as a “vital lever within a fully fledged talent strategy”. And WERC has responded to the increasing awareness that mobility needs to be a critical strategic component of a well-managed talent programme by introducing a new Strategic Talent Mobility module to its Global Mobility Specialist training programme.

Planning for success

Against this background of growing interest in the issue, I would now like to move forward the discussion, not only by sharing some insights into how to have a fruitful relationship between global mobility and talent management, but also by outlining some of the other enabling factors behind a powerful and successful global mobility programme.

Unfortunately, many organisations do not at present seem to recognise the need for their GM and TM functions to cooperate closely. A recent Ernst & Young (EY) survey, Global Mobility Effectiveness: Your Talent in Motion, found that more than half of mobility executives working in multinational companies played no role in talent management and wider business objectives.

EY’s global director of human capital, Dina Pyron, said, “Mobility professionals can play a more effective role in strategic business planning, rather than focusing on immediate needs, to drive competitive advantage for their organisation. Mobility needs to be seen as a tool to enhance the talent pool, not simply an easy way to fill a vacancy without strategic insight. The function must be connected or integrated with the talent management team.”

However, some organisations are taking a more proactive approach. I had the pleasure of moderating a session at the WERC Dallas symposium where the global mobility and talent management partnership came vividly to life. The speakers were Coeni van Beek, PwC’s global managing

director for key talent, and Gary Baker, its global managing director for global mobility.

While professional services firm PwC is, of course, a very big organisation – with some 192,000 people in 159 countries – their insights should be applicable across a wide range of businesses. Coeni van Beek and Gary Baker identified a number of factors which support the integration of talent management and global mobility, including:

• Both the global mobility strategy and the talent management strategy must be driven by the organisation’s strategy and business objectives

in partnership with talent management

GLOBAL MOBILITY

TALENT


TALENT

• As well as reacting to the business drivers behind global mobility, you need to respond to what is motivating individuals – developing their careers will be important, but so will be factors such as work-life balance and a partner’s career

• Global mobility and talent management leaders should meet regularly, by phone or virtually if not in person, to share current priorities and issues

• The full range of global mobility options should be used – not just ‘traditional’ people-to-job secondments, but also moving jobs to people, short-term assignments and virtual mobility

• Mobility should be positioned as one of a suite of ways of developing your talent

• Metrics must be established and monitored, to measure the success of your talent management and global mobility programmes

GM programmes: the top ten components

So, diverse organisations like AbbVie and PwC clearly feel that the integration of global mobility and talent management is adding value. Indeed, I would place GM/TM integration at the top of my list of ten essential features which a global mobility programme must have if it is to be successful.

You can test your own organisation’s global mobility programme on whether you feel it has these features.

1 Connect the global mobility and talent management programmes. As a GM leader or manager, you could make this connection in simple ways, such as arranging meetings with your opposite numbers in TM. Ideally, the two function leaders should report to the same boss. At a more advanced level, bear in mind the above definition of talent management, which said that the function was designed to “attract, develop, motivate and retain productive,

engaged employees”.

Global mobility can contribute to each of these activities; for example, an active mobility programme can be very attractive to potential recruits; international experience is recognised as one of the best ways to develop future leaders; the right kind of mobility opportunity can motivate someone who is not fulfilling their potential in their current post; and organisations around the world which do not offer their staff the chance of mobility will struggle to retain them.

As a leading French newspaper, Ouest France, said last year, “The new generation is more and more international and ‘hypermobile’.” If you can demonstrate to your talent management colleagues that you can help them to achieve all their key objectives, then you should be very popular!

2 Address what really matters to the business. What keeps CEOs and board members awake at night is worrying about how strategic objectives can be achieved and how business risks can be managed. A risk which regularly features in the lists of top risks for international businesses is failure to attract and retain top talent – this was number five in the 2013 Global Risk Management Survey compiled by Aon, the UK’s largest insurance broker. Flexible GM programmes can make a contribution to reducing this risk, by helping to attract and retain top people.

3 Give employees what they are looking for. Increasingly, what people want to see is the chance for many to acquire international experience in a variety of ways, and to develop careers while maintaining a work/life balance, rather than the old model of a small number of assignments for an elite few.

4 Demonstrate the return on investment (ROI). The need to look on global mobility not as a cost but as an investment, and to be able to measure the return on this investment, has been set out in a recent book by Yvonne McNulty and Kerr Inkson, Managing Expatriates: a Return

on Investment Approach. Their insight is to define expatriate ROI in terms of both the corporate return and the costs and benefits that accrue to the individual expatriate.

Your finance director will be well used to justifying business decisions according to ROI – so ‘speaking the same language’ as him or her will help you to justify expenditure on mobility.

5 Provide the full range of global mobility options. While there is definitely still a place for traditional assignments, where someone is sent from headquarters to establish or develop an overseas operation, GM programmes now must be flexible and offer the full range of options, including moving jobs to where the skills are, enabling people, via technology, to work virtually across borders, short secondments, business trips and project work.

6 Comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Non-compliance is a top business risk (at number two in the Aon survey). Your GM programme must not add to this risk, for example, by sending people on assignments without the proper visas, or by failing to meet tax obligations. In fact, GM can help to mitigate wider compliance risks, by spreading around the world the knowledge and culture needed to ensure high ethical standards in all locations.

7 Engage responsive, flexible and sustainable suppliers.

Even the largest companies need their global mobility programmes to be supported by specialists in the fields of relocation, accommodation, tax and legal services, spousal support, cultural awareness training, and so on. It is well worth building good, long-term relationships with the right providers.

8 Team with other functions. By this, I mean more than the talent management and HR functions. In my experience, the solution to business problems normally involves a number of functions – and you need to team with colleagues in operations, finance, marketing, IT and so on if you are to be able to offer holistic solutions to top management.

9 Identify and address the barriers to mobility in your organisation. These will vary from organisation to organisation. For example, there could be parochialism in an international company, where you will need to convince a powerful local leader of the benefits which mobility can bring; or there could be financial problems, when you might need to use the ROI approach to convince a hostile finance director of the business case behind a proposed move.

10 Take responsibility for the full assignee lifecycle. The role of global mobility is not just to arrange moves, but to be part of the selection decision (again, teaming with talent management), to ensure contact is maintained with the assignee, to facilitate their return (or a new move) at the end of the assignment, and (as mentioned above) to be able to demonstrate the return on the investment.

Tracking assignees is part of this role: with volatile political situations around the world, you need to know where your people are, and how they can be assisted or relocated if trouble does arise.

This list of ten essential features of a successful global mobility programme takes me back to my starting point. A GM programme which meets all these criteria – and, in particular, is well connected with talent management – will be recognised as powerful and valuable by everyone in the organisation: CEO, board members and workforce.

David Schofield is a director of Murray Court Consulting and former global mobility director of PwC.

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TALENT


Adjusting to your new life in the UK Practical steps for senior executives

INTERNATIONAL BANKING ADVERTORIAL

Spending part of a working life abroad can be career-changing. Not only is there the excitement of a new job and a new challenge, it can bring new skills and

accelerate career progression.

The right guidance can be the difference between an enriching and a stressful experience. This is where NatWest Global Employee Banking can help.

The settling-in process for inpat life can appear complex and be administratively difficult. Significant decisions such as where to live often need to be made quickly and on relatively little prior knowledge. Deciding on the right location can be the first hurdle. Where are the best neighbourhoods? Should they rent or buy? How to choose a school? Does the chosen neighbourhood have a dry-cleaner, a gym, good restaurants, and proximity to theatres or cinemas? How long is the commute to work? This is before considerations such as the type of home itself – a flat or a house?

Senior executives must negotiate all these complexities at the same time as dealing with a new job and adapting to a working environment that may be very different from the one they left behind. They may have a new team and a new position and be expected to assume significant responsibility

quickly. Home life may be just as tricky: they may also be relocating a partner or family, and will have to take their needs into account in their decision-making.

These are practical problems, but there are also emotional issues with which to contend. People must build an understanding of their new environment, forge new friendships, and build a new life outside work. This takes time, and the interim period may be difficult and lonely for some. Adapting to a foreign country and a new way of living may be challenging.

How a bank can help

A bank may not seem like the obvious place to turn in this situation, but that depends on the bank. There are many ways in which the process can be made better – through prior knowledge, by keeping it simple, and by finding effective advice.

The very least any bank must do is make the process of setting up bank accounts as efficient and speedy as possible. Picking a specialist that genuinely understands the needs of international assignees helps with this process. Opening a bank account is the foundation on which many other parts of

At the same time as adjusting to life in the UK, relocating senior executives may have to take responsibility for a new team and a new role in an unfamiliar working environment. Neil Barsby, head of NatWest Global Employee Banking, explains how the right bank can make the adjustment process easier.


inpat life rest – from receiving a salary, to paying deposits, to day-to-day living – and should happen smoothly. This is where NatWest Global Employee Banking can help. We recognise that inpats may not have the normal residency documents, for example, so we have established a process to overcome this.

Any bank also needs to work in the same way as its customers work. NatWest’s Quality of Life report has shown that international assignees fully embrace technology, with many finding that it improves their relocation experience. For example, close to 90 per cent of assignees surveyed said that personal technology enhanced their relocation experience. Embracing internet banking, delivering a comprehensive website and, more recently, launching an iBanking app are critical to help clients manage finances on the move. These are minimum standards, but at NatWest Global Employee Banking, we go a step further to understand the needs of relocating assignees and support them on their journey.

The NatWest Global Employee Banking website provides all clients with access to a ‘relocation hub’. This is a comprehensive guide to relocation, covering all the different aspects of relocation for executives. It includes a range of practical guides on everything from finding a home, to how the health system works, to the visa and immigration process.

Each of these provides a detailed and comprehensive look at one aspect of inpat life. For example, the ‘finding a home’ guide takes a look at renting versus buying homes in the UK, the pitfalls of both options, and how the process works. These guides also cover the softer aspects of relocation. British culture can be potentially baffling to outsiders. Our guide to UK culture gives an insight into the idiosyncrasies of the British, saving relocating assignees the time and bewilderment of figuring them out independently. This can help the integration process enormously. We also give details on British cultural life – the theatre, sporting clubs and local restaurants.

Practical assistance

However, we do not neglect the practical aspects of managing your money in the UK. The financial affairs of inpats can often be complex, and we need to ensure we do our part to make them run as effectively as possible. For example, for many of our clients, making cost-effective international transfers back to their home country is vitally important. They may only be on assignment for two or three years and will retain domestic properties and connections. Keeping the cost of those transfers low makes a real difference. As a result, when our clients make payments online, it is free.*

NatWest Global Employee Banking is a bespoke team with over 20 years of experience for the purposes of supporting corporate entities and their internal assignees relocating to the UK. This is a life-changing move, and the process must run smoothly. Inpats must have the right support as they are building their new life. Once an account is open, assignees have access to a range of

The Global Employee Banking service is offered by National Westminster Bank Plc. Registered in England No. 929027. 135 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3UR. National Westminster Bank Plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

National Westminster Bank Plc is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, covers your account. For money held in a bank or building society in the UK, the scheme will cover up to £85,000 of your claim. Most people who make deposits, including individuals and small firms, are covered. Deposits in all currencies are treated the same. For more information on the conditions of the scheme, please contact the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk

Our services are not offered to any person in any jurisdiction where their advertisement, offer or sale is restricted or prohibited by law or regulation or where we are not appropriately licensed.

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For more information and details of the accounts NatWest Global offers, visit www.natwestglobal.com, or contact Neil Barsby on 01245 355628.

financial requirements.

Moving abroad is a big step, but does not need to be difficult. The team at NatWest Global Employee Banking are here to make sure all aspects of the move run as smoothly as possible. Through our website and the service we provide, we aim to be a seasoned and trusted adviser for those who are relocating. Relocation is a big step, but can be an enriching and enlightening experience. Understanding the potential pitfalls, but also the potential upside, can be the difference between a happy and fulfilling foreign placement and a miserable one. It is much more than simply providing a bank account.

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providers responding to the needs of those moving on an international assignment and needing a stopgap until they find longer-term rented accommodation, and companies requiring a convenient and cost-effective alternative for those between homes or commuting weekly?

Following the London 2012 Olympics, the serviced apartment industry is still doing well, but now some of the established UK brands are setting their sights on the global marketplace and looking at how they can give some of the established international and US brands a run for their money.

Of course, hot on everybody’s heels are the big hotel groups with their ‘aparthotel’ offering, which could sweep away the opportunities. InterContinental Hotels Group-owned Staybridge Suites is already established in Stratford, London, with other developments in Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle. The huge Marriott empire provides apartments in 16 countries but has hotels in 74 countries.

Trusted global brands

In a fast-paced global world, there is a lot to be said for the scale and trust element that the really big players can offer, particularly when some multinationals are looking at

The pieces of the jigsaw are changing as serviced apartment operators grow to appreciate the value of the relocation and global mobility market. Mobility was formerly the poor relation of business travel in terms of demand, but things are now changing – certainly when it comes to percentage of business. Fiona Murchie explains.

continues on p38


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rationalising their accommodation procurement.

In a move to clarify its offering and make it easier for buyers to access its global brand, BridgeStreet was at the forefront of grading serviced apartments and now has six levels of apartment, adding new aparthotels and, at the top of the market, luxurious six-star properties providing the red-carpet treatment. At the other end of the spectrum, its budget two-star brand is aimed at students and interns.

BridgeStreet positions itself as ‘a hospitality experience in global locations’ with a family of brands to fit every price point and lifestyle. This is backed up by leading technology, high levels of service, clear business processes and plenty of metrics. BridgeStreet manages multiple supplier networks to provide global coverage in 60 countries, and uses partners to mirror its product with standardised terms and conditions and matched service-level agreements. It has the size and reputation to offer business travellers and relocation clients ‘solutions’.

But this innovative sector is rising to the challenges, and independent providers are coming up with their own solutions.

Understanding relocation service

Another big global player which has long been active in the global mobility sector is Oakwood. It clearly sets out to demonstrate that it understands the relocation market.

Ric Villarreal, president of Oakwood Worldwide, has highlighted (as did the recent UK Serviced Apartment Report from Savills) the trend for big corporations, including massive multinationals like Target and Facebook, to bundle together their accommodation provision. At this stage, the number of companies that will follow suit can only be guessed at, but we know that the nimble organisations breaking barriers and moving into new overseas regions are not necessarily the very large corporations.

Says Ric Villarreal, “Organisations are looking to streamline travel operations, and taking a fresh look at their business travel and relocation functions is a good place to start.

“In the past, these two business operations lived independently and thus were headed by two separate executives. Today, HR departments are beginning to re-evaluate this model and move managed business travel and corporate housing under one umbrella.

“The result? HR executives and travel managers need a better understanding of the emergent benefits of corporate housing and how their roles are quickly elevating to encompass both business travel and corporate housing acumen.

“The corporate housing industry must sharpen its focus on hospitality to cater to this new, evolving model. Providers must be prepared to offer these organisations, as well as their executives and employees, the level of expertise needed to meet their growing business demands.”

As with all things relocation, the big players swap their work around under the tender structure, with procurement leading the way. But there are plenty of organisations new to the relocation game and new to understanding the complexities of managing international assignments that are pushed onto the global stage by recessionary times. They want the right accommodation to have their employees up and running as quickly as possible – and without the distractions of fending for themselves. There is also the huge untapped and fluid market of project managers looking for accommodation solutions.

The very large corporate providers, such as BridgeStreet and Oakwood Worldwide, may be leading the way in taking on the global role, but there may be other options, too.

The independent serviced apartment providers certainly have a role to play in the relocation picture. HR corporate buyers, the relocation management companies and the DSPs value their relationships with their trusted providers. As well as ticking the boxes for security, cleanliness and facilities, serviced apartments are often in just the right locations – an all-important consideration for those who are relocating, whether they need proximity to the office, the airport or a school.

Equally, the individual character of accommodation may make all the difference to a family needing to find equilibrium in a new location before moving to more permanent accommodation. As the Cartus year-end survey in 2013 reported, employees, by a significant margin, say that spouse and family happiness is the key to a successful job transfer. This impacts on talent retention, the growth of businesses, and employers’ future competitiveness. In a global world, HR global mobility professionals and relocation professionals want the same thing.

Different approaches to standardisation

The TAS Alliance, established in February, may have the means of ensuring that those independent providers who understand relocation also have the opportunity to be part of a global solution.

Charlie McCrow, CEO of RoomSpace and The Apartment Service, sees the new alliance as “a landmark moment in the world of serviced apartments”.

He says, “If the TAS Alliance can bring together the independently-owned and operated apartment providers into the global equation, that can only be a good thing. Working together, they can generate solutions for buyers, and the TAS team will drive this. Our members will be required to meet exacting standards in accommodation, service, staff training and facilities.”

Newly appointed MD of group commercial sales Jo Layton explains, “The TAS Alliance will give buyers access to a fully-connected supply chain to meet their serviced apartment needs globally.”

On coping with the mobility market’s tender process, she

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It’s nice to be recognised...

We’re delighted to have been awarded ‘Best Serviced Apartment Provider’ at the recent 2014 Business Travel Awards. The judges commented, “In one of the most competitive categories, this was seen as an outstanding entry. We liked the integration with GDS, its

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Despite over 18 years experience, we like to think we’ve only just begun.

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LIVE YOUR WAY, LIVE SKYLINE

Corporate Accommodation Solutions

LIVECREATIVEOur serviced apartments are stunningly well-designed, with more than enough space for you to work and play. So be inspired, be creative and live your life to the full.

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Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living offers discerning transferees and their families a luxurious home from home in the heart of London. Combining the refined services of a luxury hotel with the privacy, comfort and generous living space of a contemporary Mayfair residence, Grosvenor House Apartments offers a unique experience at London’s most exclusive address.

For more information please email [email protected], visit jumeirah.com/ghaor call +44 (0)20 7518 4444.

A LUXURIOUS HOME FROM HOME FOR DISCERNING TRANSFEREES

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was confident. “To include serviced apartments in their RFPs, corporates need consistent products and processes, total connectivity, and MI to capture their expenditure. They also want to be able to negotiate global rates centrally as part of the process. At the other end of the supply chain, serviced apartment operators have to implement every aspect of policy, from traveller tracking to centralised booking and problem resolution.”

Certainly, The Apartment Service is known for its high-quality service, expertise and distribution technology, and it will be interesting to see who comes on board. Already, TAS has aligned with the US network GO, and together they offer a flow of bookings across the US and EMEA.

There is obviously a lot of industry knowledge behind the initiative, with Charlie McCrow establishing the business in 1981 and now joined by Jo Layton, who has many years’ experience in the serviced apartment industry. Of course, the technology to drive this is fundamental, and TAS is confident that eTrak will give its clients the reporting and reassurance they need in order to know where their employees are, with the option to follow the progress of new bookings themselves.

The mobility industry as a whole, from corporate HR to outsourced relocation management companies, is on a quest to ensure it knows who is where and why, not only to comply with tax, immigration and other regulatory requirements but also to meet duty of care in terms of natural disasters, political unrest and security threats. There is also the number-one driver of cost containment.

This also explains part of the refocus on relocation by the serviced apartment industry. Jo Layton is convinced that a

high percentage of relocation bookings are allocated direct to the client company because of the inability of booking systems to differentiate. This distortion of figures would put the importance of relocation moves much higher up the serviced apartment agenda. The TAS system, she claims, would give a much more accurate portrayal, through its ability to record the trail of bookers.

Another well-known brand responding to global growth and benefiting from comprehensive understanding of relocation and mobility needs is SACO. Knowledge of locations and property and understanding of deep-seated business drivers lie behind its global expansion, which has brought to the company Stephen Hanton, formerly of BridgeStreet, who has experience of a global network and the defined property brand offering.

The company’s corporate headquarters are in Bristol and employ 170 staff. However, SACO has grown significantly since it was founded in 1997 by David and Lesley Freed. It now operates its own 600 apartments and has a global network of more than 30,000 apartments across 220 key destinations in 50 countries through carefully selected partners.

SACO’s dedication to global mobility clients is shown by its introduction of an internal Centre for Global Mobility Excellence in response to companies operating across many markets and requiring staff to move at short notice. In addition to managing the supply chain, it delivers a quick turnaround of enquiries and reservations, responding in an average of 30 minutes with a proposal. The introduction of a partner tiering system is helping SACO to respond quickly to the needs of groups of assignees.

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Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living offers discerning transferees and their families a luxurious home from home in the heart of London. Combining the refined services of a luxury hotel with the privacy, comfort and generous living space of a contemporary Mayfair residence, Grosvenor House Apartments offers a unique experience at London’s most exclusive address.

For more information please email [email protected], visit jumeirah.com/ghaor call +44 (0)20 7518 4444.

A LUXURIOUS HOME FROM HOME FOR DISCERNING TRANSFEREES

ReLocate Full Page Adert - Spring 14.indd 1 26/02/2014 13:37:22

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Understanding relocation

Established in 2009, Skyline Worldwide has its own serviced apartment portfolio in London and is growing fast throughout the UK and EMEA via partners. Its strong connections with Brazil via its Brazilian owners make it a natural choice for those sending employees on international assignment there.

Skyline’s proposition is a high-end product at a competitive price, and this appears to be the secret of its success. It has doubled in size, with more units at Canary Wharf, in Kensington, and at its Altitude E1 apartments in the City.

A conversation with sales director Sabrina Carparelli, who has been in the serviced apartment industry for many years and with Skyline for 18 months or so, reveals a deep understanding of the relocation and global mobility marketplace. She highlights the importance of understanding particular industry sectors, citing oil and gas as an example and making the link between the demand from this sector in both London and the UK and in Brazil.

Simple things like 24-hour meet and greet can make all the difference, and a large reservation team makes this possible. By focusing on the relocation and global mobility market, she feels, there is more opportunity to meet the needs of a specific industry. With a 65-day average length of stay, everyone knows how it works and you can provide

SERVICED APARTMENTS

continues on p42Citadines Apart’hotel is managed by The Ascott Limited, a member of CapitaLand. It is the largest international serviced residence owner-operator with more than 200 properties in over 80 cities spanning more than 20 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Gulf region. It operates three award-winning brands Ascott, Citadines and Somerset.

Citadines Apart’hotel offers a unique stay concept in the heart of major cities supported with a wide choice of personalised hotel-style services.

Experience independent city living in more than 60 Citadines properties in the world, including 5 in London.

www.citadines.comCorporate arrangements: [email protected]

My business, my projects, in the heart of the city.

Relocate-89Lx132H-Fev2014.indd 1 26/02/14 18:11

clients with the tracking they need, she explains, although Skyline does not have a minimum stay period and will accommodate short stays for clients.

Part of Skyline’s ethos is to respond to clients’ needs and provide solutions to their accommodation problems. The staff and their training are very much part of the proposition, which appeals to overstretched corporate HR and relocation management companies juggling the complex demands of a relocation.

Top of the range

When Jumeirah opened its exclusive penthouse suites in the Grosvenor House Apartments in 2012, the opulence and style brought the wow factor to the gloomy economic conditions of recessionary Britain.

Even though the top end of the market was known to be pretty recession-proof, with movers and shakers jetting into the UK’s capital city from other international hotspots all in a day’s work, the high-end concept for the international assignment market had yet to be proved.

In quiet times, when celebrities and the super-rich were not in town, were the serious, high-level executives drawn to the Grosvenor House Apartments, and did their accompanying partners and families appreciate the extra services laid on to help them feel part of the city while dad or mum kept the wheels of international business spinning?

Two years on, I asked Jumeirah’s Steve Thorne how things had moved on now that London was buzzing again.

“Grosvenor House Apartments is seeing a year-on-year increase from our corporate clients using the residence for high-level transferees, but, at the moment, this is probably down to a growth in awareness of the residence since our opening in 2012 rather than any notable market shift. There is certainly a growing demand from those with high budgets relocating very senior personnel who need a very special home from home.”

Mr Thorne added that the apartments attract guests from particular geographical markets, notably North America, the Middle East, Russia and Europe. Interest from South America is now also on the rise.

The Grosvenor House Apartments are positioned in Mayfair, opposite Hyde Park, in the heart of London. You know exactly what you are getting and that the apartments will be perfectly appointed, convenient, and with a high level of service. As Steve Thorne pointed out, they appeal both to extended-stay guests relocating to London and to those on shorter trips seeking an alternative to the conventional five-star London hotels.

“The living spaces offered by our penthouses are unrivalled in London, with four or five bedrooms, and this is largely the deciding factor for guests’ choice. When security and privacy are a must, the value of the extra high-level services

SERVICED APARTMENTS

can make a difference.

“We have built an array of services to support our guests beyond the usual hotel or apartment experience. For example, we will arrange for them to be met from the plane door and driven across the airport in a chauffeured car to a private arrivals suite, where security and customs checks are conducted in private. Our guests don’t set foot in any of the main terminals, and their bags are brought to them and loaded into our waiting car – drastically cutting back on airport time for the guest, and affording an unrivalled level of privacy.”

It is another world, but, in the context of global business, a price some companies are prepared to pay to see the deal done.

Location can be everything for those with exclusive requirements. The Sloane Club Apartments are in a tree-lined avenue in Chelsea, with Sloane Square – famous for its luxury shopping streets and extensive transport links – on the doorstep. As a spokesman explains, “To have the space and privacy that these apartments offer is very rare in one of London’s most sought-after neighbourhoods. Couple that with the top-class concierge and dining service provided by The Sloane Club and you soon understand why there are so few that can compete in terms of versatility and service.”

But perhaps surprisingly amidst such luxury, family appeal is also important, and flexibility is everything, as

the spokesman demonstrates.

“Families with children are very welcome at The Apartments. We are flexible in terms of sleeping arrangements (cots and rollaway beds can be provided), we offer special family hampers full of activities and meals, and – most importantly – we have teamed up with Norland Nannies to meet guests’ childcare needs.”

Cheval Three Quays is the latest desirable address from luxury apartment specialist Cheval Residences, which already offers seven residences in some of London’s most sought-after postcodes.

The spacious one-, two- and three-bedroomed apartments have dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing guests unobscured views of the River Thames. Most feature private

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Cheval Three Quays, a stunning serviced residence situated next to the Tower of London, is launching in March this year and will offer a unique selection of architecturally designed

apartments and penthouses with unrivalled panoramic views of the Thames.

As part of the Cheval Residences boutique collection of 5 star serviced apartments, Cheval Three Quays delivers the perfect solution to those travelling on business or when

relocating to London whether alone or with family. The concierge and housekeeping teams offer a range of traditional services to support the lifestyle requirements of the

modern business traveller, providing the perfect work-life balance.

View from Gallery Quay Penthouse

chevalresidences.com+44 (0)20 7205 2519

Luxury serviced apartments for global business travellers

Cheval Serviced Residences – for short or long stays, ideal for corporate relocation

Cheval_297x210_Relocate.indd 1 04/03/2014 10:13

Today, there is a unified approach to serviced apartments.

The TAS Alliance brings together the best independently-owned and operated serviced apartments in a global

network, powered by a common technology platform.

The TAS Alliance is a 100% solution for buyers looking to build, expand or enhance their

serviced apartment programmes.

Visit www.theTASalliance.com

Believe in the power of one

glass-and-steel balconies with spectacular views that include the Tower of London, City Hall and the Shard.

Residing in the heart of this thriving neighbourhood with the buzz of London’s ever-improving social scene on the doorstep, this postcode will appeal to culture vultures and night owls alike.

With families in mind, even more spacious accommodation can be created by combining two of the penthouses to make one large four-bedroomed, four-bathroomed apartment with vast balcony. Little ones will love the Paddington Bear at the Tower books and cuddly Unicorn toy.

Pets come too

Children are not the only ones to be catered for in the bid to keep relocatees happy. New pet-friendly apartments in London may be a valuable asset for those waiting to get into their new long-term property.

“No need to miss out on a property viewing for want of a dog-sitter,” says Joanna Fisher, UK regional director of sales and marketing at The Ascott Limited. “Pets are now welcome at all five of our central London Citadines Apart’hotels serviced apartment residences. For a charge of £10 per pet per night, guests’ four-legged friends will be able to stay with their owners.

“On arrival, owners may discuss a personalised housekeeping programme to keep disruption of the pet’s

routine to a minimum, and we provide an invaluable Wuff Stuff leaflet recommending delightful London walks for dog and owner. A regular dog-walking service can be arranged, and if your pet is in need of a little R&R, Citidines will make a reservation at a luxury dog spa” she explains.

The relationship between serviced apartments and the relocation industry goes back a long way, and it would seem that the serviced apartment sector is taking notice of what ticks the boxes where relocation is concerned.

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See the Property section of

relocatemagazine.com for news and

practical advice, and join the property

discussions at candgglobal.com

AUSTRALIA SPOTLIGHTWhile much of the world has floundered, Australia has proved fairly resistant to the global economic crisis. With slowed growth over the last year, thanks in part to the softening mining sector and a somewhat uncertain political climate, however, the country is looking towards new opportunities for prosperity. Mark E Johnson reports.

Australian government has a federal structure, with power divided between central government and the individual states. Characterised by this federalism

and a separation of powers, the government is made up of an elected Parliament, comprising the House of Representatives (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house), as well as the Executive responsible for enacting legislation and an independent judiciary.

Because Australia uses a proportional representation system, it’s not uncommon to see a coalition in power. Tony Abbott, leader of the centre-right Liberal Party, formed a government following the 2013 elections, in partnership with the National Party of Australia, ousting the incumbent centre-left Labor Party government.

As is the case in the House of Representatives, neither major party holds a majority in the Senate, leaving the Greens and independent crossbench senators holding significant power. The Economic and Political Overview 2014 report from the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) quotes coalition adviser and lobbyist

AUSTRALIA

Grahame Morris as saying that the current numbers present a Senate favourable to the coalition, but one that will nonetheless require significant amounts of diplomacy to manage.

The Liberal Party’s lack of a majority may create challenges for the government over its term as it seeks to reduce government and build an Australia better equipped to live within its means. The country’s Disability Insurance Scheme, new school funding scheme and spiralling healthcare costs (the result, in part, of an ageing population) are all putting pressure on Australia’s ability to balance the books. The government may be forced to raise taxes if the schemes are going to continue in their current form.

Tony Abbott used his keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to call for freer trade and less local protectionism, echoing his claim on election night that Australia was once again ‘open for business’. The corporate world was recently surprised, however, when a foreign investment bid for agribusiness firm GrainCorp was rejected.

On the other side of the equation, the government has signalled that it isn’t interested in providing so-called corporate welfare. It recently said it would not give $25 million in support for food processor SPC Ardoma. Justifying the decision to ABC’s (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) current affairs programme 7.30, Mr Abbott said, “We are moving from the age of unsustainable entitlement to the era of sensible responsibility.”

Major airline Qantas has also asked for government help recently, seeking either changes to the Qantas Sales Act that caps foreign ownership of the company or a guarantee of its debt. Both cases will be regarded by the business community as a test case for government attitudes towards corporate support.

The financials

Speaking to Re:locate about long-term trends for Australia as a destination for business, Scott Strain, director of trade for UK Trade & Investment, Australia and New Zealand, was upbeat, saying, “Australia hasn’t suffered a recession for 23

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years, and consistent economic growth has made it wealthy and more confident of its place in the world. Australia’s proximity to much of Asia and its strong people-to-people and trade links can make it a good base for Asian expansion.”

Still, financial growth in Australia was lacklustre throughout 2013, though analysts are predicting a gentle uptick during 2014 and above-trend gains again in 2015. The Reserve Bank of Australia says it expects the economy to grow this year thanks to stronger activity in the retail and housing sectors alongside a lower exchange rate. The organisation said in February that it expected growth of 2.25 per cent to 3.25 per cent, up from the 2 or 3 per cent it predicted in its October report, with inflation predicted to peak at around 3 per cent in June. The low Australian dollar is expected to boost export and restrain imports.

A substantial drop in mining investment and fiscal restraint will, however, keep growth subdued for the year ahead.

Key sectors

Australia is highly dependent on the Asian economy. In particular, much of the capacity in place around the key mining and energy sectors exists to provide for a growing Asian economy and, with Chinese growth slowing down and supply from projects established when prices were higher coming online, Australian commodities are expected to see a similar contraction in growth.

Mining and commodities have long been drivers for growth in Australia, but, as they slow, other sectors are expected to move into prime positions.

CEDA concluded in its forecast that the housing sector offered the best hope for a smooth transition to growth resting on other sectors. Commenting to Re:locate on the strong housing and retail sectors, however, Jane McNeill, regional director of recruitment firm Hays in Australia, said, “Job creation in both housing and retail is expected, but this has not been enough to stop the unemployment rate from rising to 6 per cent over the past year.”

Highlighting sectors that have a strong British presence, Scott Strain pointed to mining and oil and gas, infrastructure and construction, financial services, defence, business and professional services, biotechnology and health sciences, and ICT. He added, “We have indicated to British companies that there are particularly significant opportunities right now in the building of Australia’s roads infrastructure.”

Jane McNeill named some of the sectors highlighted by Mr Strain as key to Australia’s future. “As our economy transitions from mining-led to a system of micro-economies, five ‘super industries’ will fuel huge jobs opportunities in the years ahead, according to Deloitte. These ‘super-growth’ industry sectors – agribusiness, gas, tourism, international education and wealth management – are worth an extra $250 billion to the national economy over the next 20 years.”

The Deloitte report cited by Ms McNeill, Positioning for Prosperity? Catching the next wave, points to five factors acting

AUSTRALIA



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in Australia’s favour when it comes to taking advantage of growth areas: world-class resources, proximity to growth markets in Asia, use of English, a temperate climate, and well-understood tax and regulatory regimes.

Scott Strain echoed some of the points made in the Deloitte report when discussing Australia as a destination for UK firms. “British companies feel particularly at home here, as the business culture and regulations are often very similar to the UK’s and there are more British people in Australia (1.1 million) than in any other foreign country. There are over 1,000 British businesses already operating here, and the UK is the second-largest foreign direct investor in Australia, so Australians are familiar with

British businesses operating here and receptive to doing business with them.”

Employment

Jane McNeill noted that the country’s recent slower economic growth had impacted employment. As of January, unemployment was 6 per cent, a level not seen since 2003. But there were reasons for optimism, she added. “Although the number of full-time roles has not returned to its peak, there has been an increase in the part-time space; we are still seeing employers hire part-time staff or contractors to manage their workloads while they wait to see if they need to make a permanent hire.”

Ms McNeill said that the anticipated slight upward turn in economic performance should have an effect. “The latest National Australia Bank Monthly Business Survey shows that business conditions maintained last month’s momentum and are approaching three-year highs, while confidence was up for the first time in four months. This should ultimately feed through into the labour market; employers need

The complexities of moves into and out of Australasia are increasingly challenging to manage. Here, members of the Victoria-based Employee Mobility Institute take a look at some of the changes mobility professionals face, and explain how the right approaches can result in a positive outlook.

For many of today’s top professionals, a career in Australasia is high on the list of goals. Global careers are the buzzword for university graduates, who are drawn to the seemingly easy lifestyle Australia and New Zealand offer. However, this perception can have a detrimental impact on new arrivals, who may underestimate the challenges they face. Companies, too, often take a relaxed approach to the needs of their new employees, who not only have to deal with the job at hand but may also have to support the emotional and functional needs of their family.

Company decision-makers need to be convinced by HR that a holistic approach to the entire family is the key and that cross-cultural training is vital. Without the tools to communicate and integrate effectively, there is a strong possibility that the relocation will fail. Companies must understand these cultural differences and be prepared to embrace them in order to ensure the ‘longevity’ of their global workforce.

Australasian companies have been hit with a barrage of legislative changes over the last 12 months, including new immigration policies and amendments to tax legislation. This year, Australia’s privacy policies are being overhauled, which will control the flow of international personal information and require companies to comply further with the protection of personal information.

There are outbound issues as well, with overseas assignments still attractive to highly motivated, educated and upwardly mobile Australian and New Zealand professionals. Combined with the challenges of the Australasian employment landscape and the draw from growth economies like Asia, Australasian companies continue to be faced with increasing challenges around talent retention. Historically, only a few Australasian companies have fully-developed and well-thought-out international relocation policies that support expatriate success and retention.

It is not uncommon to find Australasian organisations seeking to capitalise on Asian growth opportunities by launching their employees into new countries with the previously successful (and Australasian) practical approach of “just need to get my gear from here to there and she’ll be right”. With the increasing

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IF GOES AHEAD, WANT TO BE IN AUSTRALIA

complexity of immigration laws, tax, company governance issues, security

concerns and cultural gaps, this approach is very dangerous. Not only is there a risk of

business ventures failing, but there are also high risks of employees being put in difficult and

risky situations.

The company will be considered liable for non-compliance in immigration and for employee’s behaviour in foreign countries. Companies therefore need to make careful plans to ensure the success of their commercial ventures. Mobility professionals must protect these outbound employees with international relocation policies and procedures that address these concerns.

One of the interesting anecdotal trends that seem to be appearing is that a number of Australasians are flocking to opportunities in Asia, either with their employer’s support or on their own. They then find it difficult to return to Australia or New Zealand. Having been highly successful in the large Asian markets in well-paid jobs, they are faced, on returning, with a smaller market and a smaller number of high-flying opportunities.

In many Asian countries, it is also not practical, sometimes not safe, or just too difficult to bring up a family, or for the spouse

to work. These two issues are reportedly splitting up the family unit, to the point where the employed spouse stays in Asia and commutes periodically back to the Australasian-based family.

To manage these issues, the role of the mobility professional in Australasia needs to change and will continue to change rapidly as corporations focus on expansion strategies into new markets. As the economic environment continues to be uncertain, leaders are beginning to grasp the importance of global mobility in driving growth initiatives. Across industry sectors, there is a perceptible change in the status of the mobility function, and this presents a great opportunity for mobility professionals. Expect to see astute companies moving mobility closer to the business as a support function.

The war for talent in Australasia is a reality, yet historically the mobility and talent functions have often been managed in silos, with little cooperation. This will change as resourceful mobility professionals look to align assignment strategy with the broader talent agenda.

Article written by Industry Steering Committee Members of the Employee Mobility Institute: Jon Johnson (Deloitte Australia), Wendy Jenkins (Moving2plan), Sue Latina-Cohen (Toll Transitions) and Robyn Vogels (Personnel Relocations).

to be more definitive in their decision-making, rather than hedging their bets with part-time or temp hires. ‘High-skills’ remain very much in demand.”

Looking at employment shifts across the country, Jane McNeill said, “In New South Wales, the largest state economy, the economy is growing again and jobs are responding. Meanwhile, the stellar jobs growth rates experienced in Western Australia during the mining boom are slowing to more moderate rates of growth. Mining continues to deliver jobs and economic benefits, just at a declining rate from that seen at the height of its boom. Those people who are coming out of the mining sector are fitting into the infrastructure sector to maintain their employment.

“After six years of growth slowing in South Australia, there are signs of a turnaround. We are also seeing

new signs to indicate that the market is picking up in Queensland.”

Despite Australia’s current levels of unemployment, Ms McNeill said

that hires were still being brought in from abroad to address skills shortages. “There continues to be

demand for skilled workers across a broad range of sectors, from engineering to healthcare. As long as that demand exists, employers will be willing to sponsor candidates from overseas.”

Australia is noted for its ageing population, but Ms McNeill pointed out that the Australian Bureau of Statistics now says that one in four people aged between 65 and 69 are now employed, usually in full-time work. “Since the global financial crisis, older workers have absorbed half of Australia’s net growth in jobs. Australia has more workers aged over 55 than under 25. Furthermore, the country now has more than a million workers aged 60 and over – almost 300,000, or 40 per cent more than five years ago.”

Australia is entering a period of transition, but looks relatively robust for the time being, with fair promise of a bright future.

Australasia: the mobility scene

Join the Asia Pacific and Australia

groups on our new social media

website, candgglobal.com,

and share your views.

Connect & Grow is Re:locate’s ambitious new social media initiative, designed to bring together the global mobility community around the world.

Re:locate’s mission is to help solve the people management issues that are at the top of business agendas globally, to inform, support, and help mobility professionals across HR and global management to make connections and grow.

That’s why, during 2014 and beyond, we will be generating online dialogues and events for our audience. These will be supported by webinars and articles across our media, including Re:locate magazine, the Re:locate website, and our digital Europe and Asia Pacific magazines and e-newsletters.

Our aim is to leverage collective intelligence on global mobility and relocation, widen the profession, and reach out to colleagues around the world. It’s all about creating more value, innovation, creativity and enterprise. We will be generating some real energy and momentum, facilitating debate, helping you to have effective conversations, and working together to solve some of the challenges of fast-paced global growth.

With recovery taking hold across the world, the good news is that there is more mobility and we are all working in a growth environment. The challenge is how to work together to achieve that growth by working in a more joined-

up way, developing talent (including women leaders and Millennials) and delivering the right support to relocating employees and their families. We believe that Connect & Grow (candgglobal.com) can help the global mobility community to meet that challenge.

To support global growth, we need to understand where people have knowledge gaps, what their challenges are, and what they would find most useful. We can do this by engaging, working together, sharing knowledge and creating solutions. Re:locate will then report on that and feed it back into the chain, so we are helping to map out what global growth is all about from the mobility perspective in 2014, and how it has impacted the different regions in which it is happening.

It’s all about enterprise, engagement, entrepreneurial spirit, and the magic that happens when people pull together to break new ground, solve problems, and evolve practical solutions.

Feeding in the stories to support the debate

Over the past year, Re:locate has reinforced its editorial team with new correspondents, who have added a fresh dimension to our coverage in print and online, with more global insights and an economic and political perspective.

Ray Furlong spent 16 years at the BBC covering a range


With its worldwide audience of HR, global managers, relocation professionals and experts from across the service sectors, Re:locate is uniquely placed to bring together all sides of the relocation equation. Managing editor Fiona Murchie explains why.Join the

conversation


CONNECT & GROW

candgglobal.com

of UK and international stories, presents The Newsroom on the BBC World Service, and reports extensively on Eastern Europe and Russia. David Sapsted, former chief reporter for The Times and news editor and New York correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, contributes daily to our website and to our digital and print magazines.

We will be injecting background articles, commenting, and raising questions across a wealth of topics, countries and management issues that may impact on the mobility of employees and their families. Who is going where and why, and what they need to support them to do more, better, sustainable business is largely up to you!

With Connect & Grow, we have the beginnings of a virtual global mobility hub. I invite you to run with it, have the conversations, and explore and develop the most promising ideas.

Keep checking the Re:locate website for articles that will add to the debate.

Having the conversations

HR global mobility

Increasingly today, when controlling relocation and assignment costs is top of the agenda, HR mobility professionals need to communicate the value of the mobility services they provide. They must be able to demonstrate that they understand both the needs of the business and the global markets and cultures in which they operate.

Using the latest management thinking, and innovating, will equip them to help their businesses make strategic decisions about deploying their people to the right place at the right time and sustaining global growth in an ethical, compliant and profitable manner. This will lead to their being more effective and strategic, and so taking a seat at the decision-making table.

Surveys show that relocation policy is mostly used to meet specific business objectives or goals, recruit new talent, and retain talent through career-developing relocations and assignments. It is therefore important that the close relationship with talent management is also explored, as we have been doing in the pages of Re:locate magazine over recent months.

In addition, research such as the Cartus 2013 year-end survey reveals that, by a significant margin, employees say that partner and family support is the key to a successful job transfer.

Put into the mix housing, complying with laws and regulations (including visas and immigration), safety and security, and payroll and currency issues, and you will understand the reasoning behind some of the discussion groups we have set up in Connect & Grow.

Whether you are an HR professional, a global manager or an industry expert, there are groups for you to engage with, both in open discussions and in private areas. We are also inviting membership organisations across the sector to join in the conversations with their own groups.

Education & schooling

Our education editor, Rebecca Marriage, examines emerging trends in the international education sector and gathers views from some of the world’s most high-profile international schools, as well as providing practical resources for global mobility professionals.

Understanding education systems and schooling options is not only important for HR and relocation professionals advising and supporting employees going on international assignments, to ensure retention – it is also vital for recruiting and growing international talent for the future.

Global mobility professionals are asked to help families to make crucial education decisions in the fast-growing international schools marketplace. And, with today’s school-leavers navigating international higher education and job opportunities, families themselves face the challenge of choosing the right path for their children to enable them to prepare for the global opportunities that lie ahead.

Through Connect & Grow, HR and relocation professionals supporting families can engage with the wider global mobility community, including the international education sector, and together tackle the emerging issues that the rapidly expanding international schools sector is experiencing.


Join our new virtual global mobility hub, candgglobal.com, and watch your organisation connect and grow.

CONNECT & GROW


This year’s Gala Awards Dinner will bring a touch of magic to global mobility. Come

along and find out more!

The entries are in, the judging process is underway, and anticipation is mounting. Who will be on the shortlist this year?

These awards are now recognised as a benchmark of excellence across all aspects of relocation, both in the UK and internationally.

Re:locate’s managing director, Fiona Murchie, says, “The quality of this year’s entries – which came from organisations both in the UK and around the world – is truly exceptional. There are shining examples of those from across the relocation spectrum who are rising to opportunities, overcoming challenges and driving through change.

“It seems that the efforts we’ve made to explain each category and the thinking behind it, and to ensure that potential entrants had all the information they needed – from our series of webinars to our special awards newsletters and our social media initiatives – have really paid off.”

This year’s four new categories, which cover financial support, immigration, health, and talent management, have been well supported, with immigration teams particularly strongly represented. The shortlists will be announced on relocatemagazine.com in April.

JUDGES ANNOUNCED

Each year, the Re:locate Awards judging panel, made up of independent experts, reflects the diversity of those working in the world of relocation and international assignments and the wide range of suppliers and professionals engaged in supporting relocation and mobility.

For details of this year’s judges, visit the Awards section of relocatemagazine.com

GALA AWARDS DINNER

The winners will be announced and presented with their trophies at our black-tie Gala Awards Dinner, which takes place at the Institute of Directors, in London’s Pall Mall, on Wednesday 14 May.

The evening starts at 7.00 pm with a champagne reception and live music. After a delicious three-course dinner with fine wines, our winners will receive their trophies – the highlight of a memorable evening. For full details, see relocatemagazine.com, or email [email protected].

AWARDS

CELEBRATING SUCCESS IN

RELOC ATION


AWARDS

HOST AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Returning by popular demand as our host for the evening will be international broadcaster and foreign-affairs authority Stephen Cole, whose role as anchor of Al Jazeera English, moderator at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, and chairman of the Institute of Diplomacy and Business give him a unique perspective on global trends and events.

Adding some special magic will be John Simonett, who is in demand throughout the UK and overseas as an original and entertaining speaker. Having enjoyed a varied career – as psychologist, sportsman, businessman and magician – he is perfectly placed to reflect and reinforce Re:locate’s themes of engagement, creativity and

innovation, motivation, and making connections.

Explains Fiona Murchie, “HR global mobility professionals are doing magic every day, and thinking outside the box; that’s why we decided on Making Mobility Magic as the theme of this year’s awards dinner.

“We can promise that John Simonett’s high-impact keynote will not only be highly entertaining but will give guests some useful practical tools to take back to their companies.”

NEW SPONSOR

Our latest Re:locate Awards sponsor, Skyline Worldwide, is a key provider of serviced apartments and corporate housing solutions in London, throughout the EMEA region and in Brazil.

Stephen Cole

John Simonett

Head of sales Sabrina Carparelli said, “We are delighted and honoured to sponsor the Relocation Service Provider or Team of the Year award. Skyline has made relocation its main focus since its inception, with targeted recruitment and training, to provide enhanced solutions and services to a sector which is so key to the corporate housing business’s success and growth.”

KEEP UP-TO-DATE

For the latest Re:locate Awards news, see relocatemagazine.com and subscribe to our free monthly e-newsletter, Re:locate Extra.

The Summer 2014 issue of Re:locate will include a full-colour supplement on this year’s awards, with case studies, photographs and comments from our judges. Find out what makes a winner – and be inspired to enter next year!

1. Book and pay online, via PayPal.

2. Download a booking form and return it by post or fax.

3. Contact us on +44 (0)1892 891334 [email protected]

3 WAYS TO PAY

GALAAWARDS DINNER

BOOK NOW!

Wednesday 14 May 2014

SPONSORED BY: SUPPORTED BY:

THE RELOCATIONUSERS GROUPENDORSED BY:


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Globally mobile families have long known that London and Europe represent some of the world’s best education opportunities, in both the school and the

higher education sector. The region possesses some of the world’s top-class and most-established schools. However, according to last year’s international education league tables from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UK’s academic achievements were in great contrast to its international reputation. The UK ranked 23rd overall out of 65 countries for science, reading and maths.

Evidence suggests that the skills gap between what prospective employers expect from graduates and school-leavers and what young people can offer is widening in the UK. Following a six-month review of England’s education system by an independent advisory group consisting of prominent business leaders, Rod Bristow, president of education company Pearson UK, said during the launch of the report Making Education Work, “Study after study has

identified a clear skills gap in the jobs market, which has the potential to grow even larger as the UK and global economy continue to change at a rapid pace.”

According to another report, Education to Employment: Getting Europe’s Youth into Work, from management consultant McKinsey, the problem extends across Europe. A total of 5.6 million young people are unemployed, and 7.5 million are neither being educated nor working.

More importantly, the report states, while young people are eager to work, more than half of those without jobs say they simply cannot find one – but businesses across Europe insist that they struggle to recruit young people with the skills they need.

Rod Bristow believes that knowing things is no longer enough. “Employers want people who can do things too,” he says, “practitioners who can think and thinkers who can act. More roles in the future will require people who can apply their knowledge in the real world, individually and as part of a team.”

EDUCATION in EUROPENurturing & developing global talent

With youth unemployment in Europe at an all-time high and employers reporting serious skills shortages among graduate recruits and school-leavers, education has never been higher on the agenda. Rebecca Marriage looks at education developments in the UK and Europe, and finds out how schools are innovating to meet the challenges in order to nurture and develop tomorrow’s global talent.

continues on p62

Watch the ACS film

Families just know when a relocation works. Whether you are a mom or dad, toddler or teenager, HR or relocation professional, from Texas

or Tokyo, when all the pieces come together, it can deliver one of life’s most rewarding experiences. ACS understands the complex needs

of globally mobile families. We have partnered the relocation industry since 1967 to meet the individual needs of international families.

Our campus-specific Admissions, Housing and Transport experts work closely with parent-assisted Welcome Teams, International Groups,

Parent/Teacher Organisations and Buddy programmes to create a smooth, seamless and happy transition. That is why each year literally

hundreds of families from more than 70 countries make ACS ‘the’ bespoke solution to their educational and lifestyle needs.

To find out more about us, and our world renowned programmes, please visit www.acs-schools.com. Alternatively call either

ACS Cobham +44 (0)1932 869744, ACS Egham +44 (0)1784 430611, ACS Hillingdon +44 (0)1895 818402. ACS schools are

non-sectarian and co-educational (day and boarding) for students 2 to 18 years of age.

More than just a school

3050_2111_Relocate_RELO1_IBAP_AW.indd 1 21/11/2013 15:08

EDUCATION



SECTION HEADINGEDUCATION


Watch the ACS film

Families just know when a relocation works. Whether you are a mom or dad, toddler or teenager, HR or relocation professional, from Texas

or Tokyo, when all the pieces come together, it can deliver one of life’s most rewarding experiences. ACS understands the complex needs

of globally mobile families. We have partnered the relocation industry since 1967 to meet the individual needs of international families.

Our campus-specific Admissions, Housing and Transport experts work closely with parent-assisted Welcome Teams, International Groups,

Parent/Teacher Organisations and Buddy programmes to create a smooth, seamless and happy transition. That is why each year literally

hundreds of families from more than 70 countries make ACS ‘the’ bespoke solution to their educational and lifestyle needs.

To find out more about us, and our world renowned programmes, please visit www.acs-schools.com. Alternatively call either

ACS Cobham +44 (0)1932 869744, ACS Egham +44 (0)1784 430611, ACS Hillingdon +44 (0)1895 818402. ACS schools are

non-sectarian and co-educational (day and boarding) for students 2 to 18 years of age.

More than just a school

3050_2111_Relocate_RELO1_IBAP_AW.indd 1 21/11/2013 15:08

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Assessing the options

So, when it comes to choosing a school, relocating families with an eye on a globally mobile future for their children are likely to be thinking hard about the education options available, and the learning programmes and skills that are nurtured and developed in their chosen school.

The UK and Europe are home to some of the longest-established international schools in the world, with a solid history of preparing young people for work in an international setting. Marcia de Wolf is head of community relations at St John’s International School, in Belgium. She believes that international schools like St John’s and the many expatriate families that pass through their doors have a unique ability to focus on a solid academic education and help build character.

“This includes social and moral development, providing leadership opportunities to students as young as three years of age, and promoting the acquisition of second and third languages,” she says. “We are a smaller school, and our diverse and international environment provides a welcoming, open-minded and caring environment with attention to the individual. All these factors combined prepare our students to become global, balanced, happy adults.”

Karin Purcell, development director of Marymount International School, London, believes that tomorrow’s school-leavers will need to adapt rapidly to change and that a more holistic approach to learning will help to develop those skills. “Yes, students need to master content, but they also need to learn how to learn, how to reflect, and how to challenge themselves and others.”

Interestingly, the OECD is also planning to focus on a more adaptable and collaborative approach to learning. In 2015 it will be introducing a fourth element to its international assessment process; alongside science, reading and maths, it will be assessing schoolchildren against their ‘collaborative problem-solving’ abilities.

“Much of the problem-solving work carried out in the world today is performed by teams in an increasingly global and computerised economy,” the OECD states in its education assessment framework. “Moreover, with greater availability of networked computers, individuals are increasingly expected to work with diverse teams spread across different locations using collaborative technology.”

Karin Purcell welcomes this trend away from the more narrow and rigid testing currently being applied to international league tables. “By focusing on students’ ability to organise their time effectively, incorporate information

Expecting more from a school than just great academics?

You should!At St. John’s, not only do we have great academic programs and results, along with high quality sports and arts programs and facilities, we also focus on character development, instilling values and developing your children to reach their personal potential to become balanced, responsible, happy young adults in an increasingly challenging world.

www.stjohns.be

“St. John’s provides an environment for broad think-ing, respect for others, importance of academic achievement as well as the benefits of involvement in sports and arts activities.”

“St. John’s is a great school with lots of diversity in the teachings as well as the students and activities.”

Compan i on s h i p Integrity - Respect

EDUCATION

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from multiple sources, perspectives and experiences, and offer creative solutions stimulated by the ideas of other group members,” she says, “this new facet to educational league tables is starting to recognise that students’ performance must be evaluated in a holistic way. The Collaborative Problem Solving Framework recognises the broad, outwardly focused skills so vital to a meaningful education as well as to employability.”

Technology providing solutions

International education organisations have also been leading the way in some groundbreaking online solutions and their forward-thinking use of collaborative technology, which have emerged to meet the challenges arising from rapid global growth and the need for access to the kind of consistent and high-quality teaching that can be found in Europe.

Online learning for International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) students has been available since 2009, but has grown significantly in popularity over recent years: more than 1,400 students around the world are currently enrolled in the 2013/14 academic year, across 16 online subjects. Designed by the IB and UK-based online course developer Pamoja Education, the Online Diploma Programme courses are led by experienced IB teachers

with specialised training in online education.

According to the students themselves, the online learning experience is helping to develop self-regulation and independent learning skills, as well as fostering confidence in the use of learning technology, which students find particularly advantageous as they prepare to move into higher education and the workplace. Alongside developing technical confidence and independence, the online system could also offer the flexibility and continuity of study that many relocating families with secondary-school-age pupils struggle to find.

As the world of work becomes increasingly international and certainly more globally mobile, the demands of employers are likely to develop in ways that will be impossible to predict. However, what is certain, as technology advances to enable flexible and innovative ways of learning, is that young people today will need to maintain an unprecedented level of adaptability and cultural agility.

“Current and future school-leavers will create and inhabit a world where their ability to adapt to ever-accelerating changes will be essential to success,” says Marymount’s Karin Purcell. “The international education system offers parents the opportunity to educate their children in an outward-looking way. Pupils are protected from political interference and exam-focused, narrow teaching. Instead, they can develop the global competence they deserve.”

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EDUCATION

SECTION HEADINGEDUCATION

Relocating with school-age children is one of the biggest challenges a family can face. To help to make the process go more smoothly, Rebecca Marriage offers a step-by-step guide to choosing a new school, suggesting questions to ask on a school visit, with advice from the schools themselves, both in the UK and overseas.

CHOOSING A NEW SCHOOL

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We understand you.Whichever language you speak.ISL is a diverse global community where the rich mix of cultures and languages combine to provide an outstanding primary through IB Diploma education for each child. With educational excellence as our driving force, we integrate your mother tongue and other languages into the curriculum from a young age, nurturing the global competencies critical for success at universities worldwide.

When it comes to a successful relocation, finding the right school is often “make or break.” Throw into the mix a new house, a new job

and even a new country, and just thinking about the to-do list becomes exhausting. However, careful planning and good advice can help to take the pain out of the process for assignees and their families.

Research

First things first: parents need to roll up their sleeves and get down to some serious research. Casting the net wide

to start with can help families to understand what they really want from a home and school and what they would be prepared to compromise on.

“Parents should make sure they look for a school before they decide where to live,” advises Kim Burgess, external relations director at the British School of Brussels. Often, homes in the areas surrounding good schools – regardless of whether they are fee-paying or state-funded – can come with a hefty price tag, so it’s important that families are realistic about what they can and can’t afford.

Oversubscribed state schools in England will require families to live within their catchment if they are to stand a chance of being offered a place, so it’s important to ensure that their chosen home

is both affordable and falls within the designated area of their chosen school.

Likewise, deciding between local state schools, independent fee-paying schools and an international school will depend on budget, as well as on other considerations such as length of assignment and the standard of education available in the area.

When parents have settled on a budget and a geographical area, they will need to create a clear picture of what is really important to them and their child. The first step is to prepare a ‘wish list’ of the ingredients that will make up a perfect school: for example, proximity to home, the availability of good sporting facilities, music or theatrical opportunities, or just good and consistent exam results.

Once they have established their wish list, it’s time for parents to start gathering brochures and browsing websites. At this point, it might be worth suggesting that the family puts together a spreadsheet of schools available to them and the information that can be gathered before visiting. For example, the facilities, the curriculum taught throughout the school, details of exam performance, the latest inspection rating, the children-to-teacher ratio, and the numbers, types and cost of extra-curricular classes. Families will then be able very quickly to eliminate schools from the long list of those available to them in the chosen area and start to create a shortlist of those which appear to meet their child’s needs.

EDUCATION

continues on p66

International accreditation

When it comes to selecting an international school overseas, Andrew Wigford, managing director of Teachers International Consultancy, an organisation for international school recruitment, suggests that families might also want to consider if the school is a member of a respected organisation such as COBIS (the Council of British International Schools) and CIS (the Council of International Schools).

“Many of these organisations have codes of practice and standards that schools need to maintain,” Mr Wigford says. “It’s important to look for registered, accredited international schools to ensure the best learning support.”

Education consultant Elizabeth Sawyer, of Bennett Schoolplacement Worldwide, also believes it is wise to remember that ‘international’ is not a patented term and doesn’t have one set definition. “Essentially, any school can hang out a placard that says ‘international’ and give the term its own meaning,” she says “So when families are exploring ‘international’ options, they should investigate the ways in which a school is or is not truly international.”

“You can use curriculum as a guide,” says Andrew Wigford. “The International Baccalaureate and the International Primary Curriculum and International Middle Years Curriculum are all highly respected international curriculum options. These internationally-minded, learning-focused curricula, which are relevant to all children, in all

countries, wherever they are living and learning, can be a badge of quality for an international school and often suggest a strong focus on the learning needs of all children.”

Visit the schools

No matter how much information a family gathers about their shortlisted schools, there is simply no substitute for visiting the school in person. However, with so many things to consider and lots of schools to look at, parents can easily muddle the information between visits, so it would be worth encouraging them to take notes as they go along.

“Parents should feel free to ask questions and to use the time to get to know the school as best they can,” says Elizabeth Sawyer. “Provided that questions are asked in polite fashion, schools will appreciate parents’ interest, and so they should not feel embarrassed or shy about asking ‘too many’ questions. Good schools like to showcase themselves, and they will be eager to provide information and reassurance.

“Ultimately, parents should be able to feel that they can envision their child in a given environment and feel confident that the school will have the resources and desire to support him or her appropriately.”

Kim Burgess suggests asking if the school provides options for prospective parents to talk to current families. This enables parents to ask candid questions about the

EDUCATION

• 1,300 students from ages 1-18 years• Approximately 70 nationalities• British-based curriculum up to age 16• French/English bilingual education available across eight Year Groups (ages 4-13)

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Questions for parents to ask on a school visit• Do they feel welcome as they enter the school?

• Are the staff friendly and confident?

• Are pupils involved in the school tour? Are the children friendly, polite and confident?

• Are the school resources well treated and respected?

• How long has the head teacher been in post? (Provides evidence of stable leadership.)

• Can parents take a look at a break time or a lunch period to see how the pupils interact? Do children have a good relationship with staff?

• Are the administrative staff friendly and helpful? These are the people parents will be communicating with on a

daily basis.

• How will the school communicate with parents? Does it produce regular newsletters? Can parents see copies?

• What are the displays on the walls like? Are there photos of children engaging in lively, interesting activities, such as field trips and community involvement?

• Will their child have an orientation visit or be given a buddy to help them settle in?

• What extra-curricular activities are available, and how many of them are free?

• How much involvement is there for parents in a parents’ organisation? Does the school offer programmes and support for accompanying partners?

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EDUCATION

school environment, as well as offering a potential network of essential support after the move.

However, here Elizabeth Sawyer offers a note of caution. “I would encourage parents to be careful of advice offered by parents of students at a school or parents of a former student at a school. While they may certainly be able to provide some inside knowledge, their opinions will likely be coloured by the experience of their own child at the school. Though they will mean well, they may not be objective, and the experience that their children had may have absolutely no bearing on the experience that another child would have in the same school.”

Andrew Wigford highlights the importance of determining the level of pastoral care provided within the school, particularly when making an international move. “Some schools have an onsite counsellor or assign a pastoral head of year;” he says. “Some schools are much better than others at helping new children settle.”

Transport

One crucial consideration that parents may forget to put on their list of priorities is transport from home to school. Can the school be reached on foot? If not, parents will need to consider whether transporting children by car will become tiresome and costly after a period of time.

Some fee-paying schools provide school bus services,

and some counties in England provide free buses serving state schools, but these will be dependent on exactly where the family chooses to live, so the details will need to be established.

“Not all schools will have buses going out to every location, and public transport might not be an option for families with young children,” warns Kim Burgess. She also advises checking whether the school buses have supervisors.

And finally, after going through all of the carefully planned selection criteria, it is important to remind families that a happy child is likely to be the key to a successful relocation and, although a school might seem to tick all the boxes, it is important to make the right choice for the individual child.

“Choosing a school for one’s child is not about keeping up with the Smiths or simply having a well-known school name on one’s child’s academic record,” says Elizabeth Sawyer. “While those things may be nice, what’s more important is to choose the best-fit school for one’s particular child, and to find the environment where he or she will thrive – academically, socially and emotionally.”

EDUCATION

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We encourage you to ask questions and join in the discussions taking place across our new social media website, candgglobal.com

Engage with our education editor, Rebecca Marriage, and the wealth of education and school expertise across our

community of schools and educationalists.


The main challenge currently facing two-thirds of UK employers in the oil and gas sector is skills shortages, according to the latest edition of the Oil & Gas Global Salary Guide.

Compiled by recruitment firm Hays Oil & Gas and jobs website Oil and Gas Job Search, the guide, which covers 24 disciplines and represents 53 countries, also reveals that 68.1 per cent of employers plan to increase headcount in 2014. An upturn in salaries over the coming year is predicted by 83 per cent of employers, as hiring managers vie for top talent at the same time as further emphasis is put on benefits.

The number of employees receiving benefits has grown by more than 7 per cent over the last 12 months as employers look to bolster compensation packages

with incentivised bonuses or attractive pension plans.

UK respondents indicated that 27 per cent of employees were offered bonuses, 25 per cent pension plans, and 19 per cent private health plans as part of their salary package.

Although salaries flattened for the first time in three years during 2013, employers’ confidence in the market is high, with 72 per cent of hiring managers having a positive or very positive outlook on the oil and gas industry.

Ed Allnutt, director of Hays Oil & Gas, comments, “The UK has flat-to-declining rates this year and is still only ranked 11th out of the 53 countries surveyed, which is no change from last year.

“Norway, Australia, Canada, the United States of America and the Netherlands continue to lead the way in salary levels and, surprisingly, have entered the top ten highest salaries paid to local labour within the industry.

“The UK government is fighting hard to even out the skills gap prevalent within the UK, relaxing immigration restrictions on non-British engineers who wish to work in the UK. Government and private-sector efforts to develop graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines are also underway.”

highlights oil & gas industry talent shortages

New salary guide

Unethical procurement and supply management are making headlines as never before, according to the UK’s Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS).

Now, with the launch of a new online pathway to ethical procurement and supply, the CIPS is fighting back and asking procurement professionals and organisations to do the same.

Recognising that increased awareness and better education are needed to help eradicate supply-chain malpractice, the institute has introduced a two-hour eLearning course that will take participants through content on corruption, fraud, bribery, exploitation, human rights and forced labour, and promote understanding of morale and social conscience.

Participants who gain the end-of-course certificate will be recognised on the CIPS website as being trained in ethics.

For further information, visit www.cips.org/ethics-elearning

to ethical procurement and supply New online pathway

Newly released data on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global metals industry reveals both good and bad news.

According to PwC’s Metals Deals: Forging Ahead report, deal numbers fell by 30 per cent year on year in a deep double dip, to below the volume recorded in the post-credit-crunch year of 2009.

The report also finds that the value of M&A deals in Asia Pacific has almost trebled in two years and now accounts for 61 per cent of all deal value, but competitive energy prices will prompt geographical re-balancing.

The majority of the region’s activity lies in China, where six out of the ten Asia Pacific deals worth US$500 million or more were done. However, PwC says, the emphasis on location could shift again. The massive US$7.5 billion merger of two state aluminium companies in the United Arab Emirates to form Emirates Global Aluminium was by far the biggest deal of 2013 – almost double the value of the second-largest deal.

shines on metal dealsEastern light

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Relocate Magazine Spring 2014