b'2025 CERC CONFERENCEdangers involved with its use and their own employability in an AI-dominated economy, Hirsch pointed out that it can be used TOP 6 TAKEAWAYS for spearheading positive transformative changes. Electricity too was once consideredand can bedangerous, yet look at the overwhelming good it has done for the world, he noted. Below are some key takeaways from the 2025 CERC Conference compiled by Olivia Bahrami, CERP, founderKEY TOOLSand owner of The RFP House To navigate all these changes, Hirsch listed three tools that relocation professionals should embrace. The first is knowing 1. The ROI of resilience: economic uncertainty demandsyour story and being able to articulate it: What service are you smarter mobility investments: Mobility ROI is shiftingproviding exactly? Think this one through, stressed Hirsch, from a cost metric to a strategic lens, linking talentpointing out how the pizza chain Dominos was facing aoutcomes and business growth directly to assignmentgrim future until it determined it wasnt selling pizzas butinvestments. Mobility isnt about moving peopleitsrather convenience. about positioning talent to grow the business. That one simple acknowledgement changed the pizza brands 2. AI is redefining the mobility experience for profes- strategyand its fortunes. If you dont know your story, saidsionals and relocating employees alike: From auto- Hirsch, you become reactive and chase optics instead of devel-mating workflows to personalizing relocation support,oping a solid business approach. AI is transforming mobility from reactive to predictive,The next tool is looking at things from a different perspective. An improving both strategy and employee experience. historic producer of wallpaper paste, for instance, quickly pivoted 3.Regulatory disruption is fuelling the need for agile,when wallpaper was no longer in vogue. He turned his paste into value-aligned programs: Organizations that build flex- a childrens product called Play-Doh instead, and we all know ible, data-backed programs are using mobility as a leverhow that turned out. By looking at his product from a profoundly for growth while staying compliant in a fast-changingdifferent perspective, he found far more business success than he regulatory landscape. ever had with wallpaper paste.4. Global mobility needs to lead the conversationThe third tool is building human connections, and this is particu-larly important in relocation, stressed Hirsch. When you are around workforce dependency: Mobility leaders mustdealing with employee relocation, you are actually at the core of guide discussions on where businesses rely on foreignhuman beings lives, he said. As we look at the macroeconomy talent, ensuring resilience through alignment with HRand all the crazy things going on and as we try to navigate our and strategic planning. way through, we need to remember that human connection is at 5. Sustainability questions in RFPs require morethe very core of economics.clarity and fairness: A new framework is helpingRegarding AI, for instance, Hirsch pointed out that, Your job standardize sustainability questions in RFPs, levellingis not going to be replaced by AI; its going to be replaced by the playing field for all suppliers and driving meaningfulsomeone who understands how to connect with other people ESG progress.in a world where AI is dominant. We need to remember that human connection is all the more important as it becomes a 6.Collaboration is more powerful than competition:rarer commodity. Lasting success in mobility comes from sharing insights and co-creating solutions, proving that collaboration, notADDRESSING CHALLENGEScompetition, fuels innovation. In the annual State of the Industry panel discussion, much of the discussion revolved around immigration and compliance. This included policy developments in the U.S. that allow for raids by Leading the disruptions, Hirsch said, were tariffs (Who everU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Companies thought wed be talking this much about tariffs?), which setneed to be cognizant of the fact that lenient practices bringing everyone in a tailspin when they were first announced by U.S.in foreign workers, which may have earlier fallen under the President Donald Trump. Tariffs have slowed down the economy,radar, are no longer viable. What was once customary has now with less than two per cent growth registered in the G7 economieschanged, said panel participant Jack Kim, partner at Fragomen. for this year. Theyve also reoriented global trade flows, withThe rules of the game have changed, and this has massive more trade directed at China and other BRIC countries and awaygeopolitical ramifications.from the U.S.Canada too has had its fair share of hurdles to overcome when it The world is also facing a rapid rise in climate change, whichcomes to immigration and relocation, Cryne observed. Canada is dramatically impacting economies, especially the insurancehas lost its brand, he said. We put up a lot of barriers for people coming in. We have the foreign buyers tax, surcharges industry. Claims have jumped from around $700 million a year inon housing when people want to come and buy a home and the 2000s to $3.1 billion in 2023 and a whopping $8.5 billion justthere are no reliable and predictable pathways to permanent one year later in 2024.residency.While all that sounds ominous, there are some positive develop- At the same time, conference sessions dedicated to technology mentsinflation, for instance, is coming under control, andpainted a far more positive picture as speakers and participants we have transformative technology like AI making crucialoutlined a growing movement to embrace AI tools and optimize headway. While many professionals are concerned about thework in relocation.Winter 2025PERSPECTIVES15'