Relocation Directors Council

Relocation Directors Council Relocation Department Operations Survey Results May 2005 Jan Harbor, Survey Chairperson

Survey questions were devised, revised and revised again by a committee of four: Jan Harbor, Crye-Leike- Memphis; Lynn Greer, CB Howard Perry & Walston – North Carolina; Melissa Riley, William Raveis – Connecticut; and Judy Pogue, Real Living Relocation – Ohio. Our intention was to gain knowledge and understanding of the ways in which our members operate their relocation departments across the country. Our goal was to look at the similarities and the differences in the ways we handled our business and hopefully learn from each other more efficient ways of managing our operations.

The questions were much harder to compose than any of us anticipated. The vast differences in the way we as relocation directors manage and assign referrals; charge our sales associates for this business; and account for company profit or loss prevented us from devising simple questions that could be used within the on-line survey capabilities of the RDC website. Using the on-line survey required that we have only one type of question: i.e. we could have multiple-choice questions or essay type questions, but not both!

The survey results were at first disappointing. We had very low participation from our members and several sent e-mail comments regarding the questions. The committee’s consensus was the questions had too much ambiguity for the many different ways members did business. With the revision of the survey and an additional notice to members asking them to retake the survey, the results were some better at about 23%. The results for each question are shown on the accompanying pages for your own interpretation.

In general of the members responding, we learned that the majority of our members (63%) operate the relocation department as a profit center. The question of what referral fee was charged was not clear-cut. 43% charge a 35% referral fee, but the other choices were too scattered to have much significance. Most relocation departments (59%) charge a consistent or standard referral fee on the Relocation Department assigned referrals regardless of what the referral source charges. 52% charge the same referral fee on “Direct to Agent” relocation business as on company generated and assigned relocation business. Half of the survey participants handled sales associates’ commission splits consistently on all types of relocation business, while about 25% allowed agents to earn up to a capped split and 25% replied that agents were on their normal split.

More definitive, 81% of all surveyed track all relocation business through the relocation department regardless of how it came into the company. The majority (73%) has an agent client registration system in place allowing the relocation department to know whenever one of their sales associates is already working with a referred client. 71% refer listings and 89% refer buyers to their sales associates rather than use in-house staff agents.

Internet leads are managed through the relocation departments of 70% of the survey participants with 84% replying that the sales associates receive all internet leads on their own listings directly. The survey results were about equal on whether or not a different referral fee was charged on the Internet leads versus relocation business.

63% of survey participants handle REO business through the relocation division and 54% refer the listings to the sales associates rather than use in-house staff sales associates.

Additional questions posed about referral holding companies and concierge services indicated that members have an interest in seeing future surveys on these subjects.

The Survey committee hopes that our members gain some insight into different operational methods and can take away at least one new idea that will help in the day-to-day management of our relocation departments.

Thanks to all the members who took the time to go to the website and take the survey. It is amazing to think of the willingness of our members to answer questions, offer suggestions, and be open to change when we come from different size companies and even different parts of the country. It is a sign of true professionals who choose to share with others! Thank you!

The survey results are posted on the RDC website at www.relocationdirectorscouncil.org