b'2021 CERC ANNUAL CONFERENCEIn Day Twos To Be or Not to Be presentation, Chris Brunone, executive vice president of talent for Weichert WorkforceVIRTUAL TRADE SHOWMobility, sat down with Sandeep Anand, senior lead for global operations and mobility with Shopify Inc., and Troy Pariag, program executive for global delivery operations with IBMThere was no physical exhibition hall to browse between Canada, to discuss their talent strategies at the onset of conference sessions, but this years event featured the return the pandemic. of CERCs Virtual Trade Show. Through the Whova desktop "The pandemic was an opportunity to take [mobility] to theor mobile app, attendees had the opportunity to click into next level," said Anand, who detailed Shopify\'s transition to adigital booths and enjoy videos and information from a fully remote workforce. "[It was a chance to] reassess what goingvariety of exhibitors that included:remote actually means for mobility. It was no longer the black-and-white \'find some talent and take them to the location where the officeATLAS CANADA(Platinum Sponsor)is.\' It was more about the hiring philosophywhat is it that weUNITED/MAYFLOWER/ need to hire the best talent? Where are they located? What areMOVEONE INTERNATIONAL(App Sponsor)the parameters we want to build around to look at things like talent movement?"ERNST & YOUNG(Diamond Sponsor)Pariag shared his experiences with IBMs workforce trans- WEICHERT WORKFORCEformation, which was driven in large part by the companysMOBILITY INC.(Diamond Sponsor)previous shift to a globally integrated enterprise. Administering consistent communication processes and policies to over 350,000CIBC GROUP MORTGAGE PLAN(Gold Sponsor)employees in 171 countries in 30 languages could have beenCERC(Exhibitor)a huge challenge, said Pariag. However, because weve been using consistent IT infrastructure that had been in place forFRAGOMEN(Exhibitor)most of the company years ago, we had 95 per cent of IBM employees working from home within days. The only onesMEDIAEDGE(Exhibitor)who did not were [those] required to work in the office becauseOBASA SIX THREE SUITES(Exhibitor)they were performing essential services or carrying out mission-critical work for clients. Between sharing their personal career stories and pandemicthe events later sessions, Maximizing the Employee Experience Post-challenges, Anand and Pariag emphasized the value of empathy,Pandemic, several mobility leaders weighed in on the topic by consistent communications, and flexible workplace strategies insharing their experiences and advice for optimizing the employee keeping their teams safe and productive. experience now and into the days ahead.ADDRESSING CHANGE [The hardest challenge coming out of the pandemic] is taking Themes of change and adaptation were common among confer- a look at the special arrangements we made in the heat of ence sessions. In Day Twos Post-Pandemic RFP Trends presenta- the moment and pulling back or seeking to understand how tion, Dwayne Waldrop, vice president of global supplier-partnerwe might create a framework and policy around things we management for Bristol Global Mobility, and Olivia Bahrami,may have approved, offered Mala Cornell, director of global director of marketing and communications with Bristol Globalmobility human resources with the CPP Investment Board.Mobility, discussed the developments they witnessed in theirWith various regions recovering at different paces, Cornell corner of the industry. The session delivered insights andadded that mobility specialists will be further challenged to opinions on post-pandemic RFP frameworks, ongoing supplycreate frameworks and policies that address various circum-and demand issues, labour shortage impacts, and the emergingstances for teams around the world. "As mobility professionals, demand for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies,we like cleanness, we like equity, and we like policies and people among other prevalent trends.following things equally, she said. That will be difficult in the The pandemic has had a definite impact on the requests fornew world." proposals administered by prospects and clients, said Bahrami.Offering a wealth of virtual sessions, presentations and social With major themes and emphasis on health and safety proto- events, there was no shortage of content for 2021 Conference cols and the ability to deliver services with minimal impact toattendees, and the event was a huge success. CERC sends its clients relocating employees and families, RMCs and relocationheartfelt appreciation to everyone that worked behind the scenes service suppliers need to respond to the call of duty.to bring the conference to fruition, and to the delegates who Faced with rising costs, service delays, labour issues (e.g., "Themade it all worthwhile. Great Resignation"), and other talent management obstacles,As for next years conference, there are plans to once more Waldrop insisted, "One of the main challenges moving forwardreturn to a live event in St. Johns, Newfoundland, from for RMCs will be to balance the cost containment while ensuring a good employee experience." September 11 to 13. While virtual events may rate high on convenience, we are all looking forward to connecting with Striking that balance is no small task, and throughout the event,everyone in person once again. As expressed by incoming speakers across the mobility sector discussed the myriad difficul- CERC chair Hollyanne Healey, manager of relocation services ties facing employers and their mobility partners as they seekat PCL Construction Inc., I cant wait to see you all thereits to keep their workforces safe, engaged and effective. In one ofgoing to be a time!" Winter 2021PERSPECTIVES15'