b'STAYING THE COURSE will make it easier for employees to considerrespected seat at the table, and because Not everyone has been called back home.making a move and may become a normalof what happened in 2020, thats whats Some companies have hit a temporarypart of the relocation process. happening, says Baker. Relocation pause button on their mobility plans, butspecialists have always done good work, many have stayed the course when it comesOne thing is clear: the scope of current chal- and theyve been recognized in their own to keeping their assignments active. A lotlenges has made companies keenly awareway. Now, though, theyre front and of organizations have been working reallyof the important role played by reloca- centre in the boardroom and leading the hard to make sure that their employeestion professionals. More than ever, theydiscussion when it comes to knowing are well supported and safe, and that theyunderstand that keeping assignees in playwhere employees are located, how have environments to work in duringmeans keeping relocation specialists at thetheyre faring, and how the organization their assignment so they can still keep thedecision-making table.can be more strategic when it comes company initiatives going forward, notesGlobal mobility professionals have oftento carrying out mobility plans during a Kathy Burrows, director of global advisory services with SIRVA Relocation & Moving. felt as though they need to fight for aglobal health crisis.The volume of assignments has gone down, but many essential and non-essential companies are still actively relocating. The difference now, says Burrows, is that they are taking a closer look at their mobility strategy: We havent seen a lot of major and permanent changes when it comes to relocation policies themselves, but we have seen more conversation around who companies are sending and the applica-tion of those policies. Were having more thoughtful conversations with the organ-ization about why they want to move someone, if they really need to relocate them, and if it can even be done given travel restrictions. Burrows believes these conversations will continue over the short term as relocation specialists and their clients weigh the risks and feasibility of sending employees on an assignment. AT THE TABLEWhat comes next? According to those in the industry, 2021 will likely be spent adapting to pandemic measures as they evolve, understanding which policies are most effective (and which still apply), and exploring different approaches to domestic and international assignments. Moving ahead, youll have some organ-izations who are doing well and trying multiple mobility strategies to get people into locations. On the other side, youll see organizations who arent doing as well and pulling everyone back to figure out how to cut costs and go about things differently, says Elaine Baker, senior vice president strategic account development and global support services with Sirva. The thing we have to remember is there are parts of a business you just cant stop, so our job is to help them keep those lines open as safely and efficiently as possible.As for when things go back to normal, it is likely that relocation activity will spike due to pent-up demand. It is also possible that the rise of virtual destination services (e.g., virtual house tours, remote support, etc.) Spring 2021PERSPECTIVES15'