Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Career Focus: International Relocation Administrator
by Mary A. Schumacher
Relocation administrators are in charge of policies, people, and money. Add in expatriate employees, and this career takes on an international flavor.
While relocation companies exist to meet outsourcing needs, this article focuses on relocation professionals within an organization. These are the people who provide structure and assistance when employees must move to another location at the organization's behest, whether to another part of the country, or to another country altogether.
Job Duties of an International Relocation Administrator
The job duties of a relocation administrator are quite diverse. A 2000 Runzheimer International survey noted that relocation professionals in the U.S. generally spend their time developing and administering relocation policy for their organization's employees, and then approving exceptions to those policies.
Besides policy work, some typical tasks for the international relocation administrator include preparing an annual relocation budget, directing real estate sales, managing employee travel, tax planning, arranging visas, and cross-cultural training.
While a relocation professional typically works a 40-hour work week, international issues might require strange hours when negotiating with vendors in much different time zones, or even trips abroad.
Who Is a Relocation Administrator?
According to the Runzheimer International survey, the typical U.S. relocation administrator is female (88 percent of respondents), 44 years old, has a salary of over USD 62,000 annually, has a bachelor's degree or some college education, and has a staff of two.
Most relocation professionals work in the Human Resources department of their organization (70 percent) while others are scattered throughout accounting, administration, purchasing and other departments.
Their work background is generally in human resources, real estate, finance or compensation benefits. Those who graduated from college largely received degrees in business (38 percent) or liberal arts (35 percent).
Relocation administrators may be found in any type of organization. Large, multi-national corporations have had an international presence for a long time. The globalization of the world economy has motivated small and medium-sized companies to follow them. Non-profit organizations may also have international departments that require a relocation expert.
On-the Job Issues
Large corporations will often provide general expatriate packages for their overseas employees. The packages could include a generous salary for the employee, and allowances to ensure that the employee and his or her family maintain the lifestyle of their own country. When the corporation is sending a citizen of an industrialized country to a developing country, the cost could easily equal the expatriate's salary.
The relocation professional will have to support the corporation's business goals by developing appropriate expatriate policies. If a corporation wants to send a top level executive to Japan, it must be prepared to spend enormous amounts of money to prompt that person to accept the expatriate posting. While most people in Japan live in small apartments, the expatriate will often demand his or her home country standard of living, which might mean a $120,000 annual housing allowance. The relocation administrator must understand these costs and be able to incorporate them into a relocation policy. Of course, smaller firms may not be willing or able to pay such huge sums, and would have a relocation policy that employees would simply have to accept or not.
Other issues that a relocation professional will have to face include developing policies for how often the organization will pay for the expatriate to come home, and if the package includes airfare for the family. Some organizations, realizing that spouses often give up careers to accompany their expatriate mates, provide allowances for education or expatriate clubs. Some organizations pay for the children's schooling, and the relocation expert will often have to research where international schools are available. Relocation administrators also will have to investigate best places for expatriates to live while abroad, and develop policies about whether to simply lease housing for the employee or assist with purchasing real estate, so that the employee will not lose the opportunity to build equity.
Relocation experts also have to contend with actual relocation of an expatriate's personal possessions. While it's relatively easy to find a freight company that will pack up and move a household to another country, the relocation administrator must be sure that the expatriate has the proper work and residential authorization papers. Otherwise, she might be faced with an unhappy expatriate who can't get his possessions out of a customs warehouse because papers aren't in order.
From the Runzheimer survey, it's clear that many relocation professionals came to their work from a roundabout way rather than a clear career path. Most came to their present jobs from other human resource or administrative jobs. Being able to research, negotiate, and communicate appear to be important abilities. Also, as with any international activity, it is important to be flexible.
