Here’s a question for HR leaders who are managing global mobility:

What percentage of your transferees would you consider to be fully engaged and loving their work? We might guess that, with their opportunities to work in new and exciting destinations – and the financial support for relocation that your company offered – what’ s not to be anything but delighted?

In reality, though, studies show that less than one-fourth of global employees feel engaged and enthusiastic about their work. That low engagement is costly – amounting to $8 billion US dollars, or 9% of the global GDP, says Gallup who conducts the annual studies.

As an HR professional, you understand that the success of your company is heavily dependent on the well-being of your employees. Soliciting employee feedback is a vital step in understanding and enhancing the workplace experience. Here are some ways to use employee feedback to continuously improve your global mobility strategy.

Use regular surveys

Asking for relocation feedback through a survey or a few open-ended questions allows your employees’ voices to be heard. You can use this feedback to identify which aspects of the relocation program were most beneficial to your employees and which aspects proved to be frustrating or challenging.

But don’t consider an employee survey as a one-and-done exercise. Set a cadence for asking for feedback that is, one, manageable for the HR team, and two, not so frequent that employees find it annoying. For many organizations, we implement a 30-60-90 feedback strategy. Checking in at month one, two and three post-relocation helps us drill down to any issues the transferee may be having at each juncture.

Consider using automation technology to schedule different surveys at different places in the relocation journey. For instance, set an alert to check-in within a few days of an employee’s arrival in their new location. Ask specific questions about the relocation itself – how was the process, rate the movers and other destination service providers, did you feel you were well-briefed and educated on what to expect, how can we improve. Let the transferee and their spouse/partner know prior to the move that you will be asking for their feedback. Encourage them to keep notes on things that went particularly well, or those that fell short. Asking them for feedback while these things are still fresh on their minds can capture invaluable insights.

If you receive continual feedback that a certain service or feature wasn’t helpful, consider cutting it to reduce costs without affecting your employees.

Make it personal

Couple the quantitative data you gather via surveys with the invaluable insights that can be gleaned from qualitative research. Some CapRelo clients hold regular coffee chats between transferees, managers and/or HR. Some schedule monthly “pulse” calls. Whether virtual or in person, these are opportunities to have genuine conversations not based around questions on a form. The goal is to better understand the unique experience of that individual transferee, their satisfaction and level of engagement, and how the organization can best support them.

Make feedback a safe place

By nature, the feedback channels you use in global relocation can’t always be anonymous. Your goal, after all, is to get individual personal feedback. But remember that if you are serious about wanting real answers, transferees need to know that they are in a safe space for sharing them.

Watch what’s trending

A third key feedback component is leveraging insightful analytics data using technology tools, like CapRelo’s CompanionFlex. Track usage metrics over time. Do your transferees say they want certain flexible benefits, but the usage data tells a different story? Look closely at which flexible benefits assignees are using regularly. Drill down into the data to uncover trends by employee demographic, type of assignment, global location, or other variants. Use your analytical analysis to reinforce what you are hearing (qualitative) and reading (quantitative) in transferees’ feedback.

Listen – and then act

Even the great philosopher Ted Lasso knows the power of listening. His number one “leadership lesson”? Engage with each person, give them your full attention, and make them feel understood and heard. Listen.

But, be ready to hear what your transferees say, and commit to acting on it. The key to continuous improvement is to not just ask for the feedback, but to have a top-down commitment to making meaningful improvements based upon it.

Rely on your RMC

If you’re looking to more effectively use feedback to create more engaged transferees and maximize your relocation strategies, talk to us. Our seasoned relocation management consultants help organizations around the world apply best practices to dramatically impact their global mobility’s success. Let us help you craft a continuous feedback and improvement process in your organization.