Relocating to a new country isn’t easy. New cultures and languages take time to understand, obtaining government paperwork is tedious, and finding a place to live is challenging — and you’re doing it all on a deadline. Ultimately, relocation success is all about the “final mile.”  Companies have sourced, recruited, persuaded, negotiated and promised:  now they need their star performers to take the move, anchor in,  and be happy in their new destination. The final mile is where the rubber meets the road.

That’s where our Destination Services Consultants come in. Our DSCs act as a bridge for relocating transferees and their families by providing a friendly face in an unfamiliar environment. For one transferee moving to Seattle, help from our DSC, Ghada, was exactly what they needed.

“It was extremely important for a person like me to have someone who could assist me during my first phase of relocation to Seattle. My relocation was big and stretched across two separate continents that differ culturally as well as linguistically.

Ghada was perfect because she connected to me beforehand and talked to me to understand my preferences and wish list. It actually gave me an idea of what to expect and what things I should be prepared for after moving to Seattle.”

During any relocation, transferring employees are going to have questions. With a DSC, they have someone to turn to for answers from the start. Transferees can rest assured that they’re in good hands by getting the answers and comfort they need to leave their home and country a little easier. Rather than trying to figure everything out on their own, they have an expert resource available to them and their families whenever they need it.

“Ghada was always available whether it was through a phone call or WhatsApp. I had a lot of questions, and she was very gracious in answering each of them. Through my consistent communications with her, I was able to develop a clear idea of what was required of me during my first few days in Seattle. I can now see that this information really helped me settle in a lot better than I had earlier thought.”

Along with answering questions, our DSCs are also a key factor in moving the relocation process forward. Most transferees are on a tight deadline to get settled and be present for their first day of work, and yet they have concerns and personal needs that may distract from their professional focus. We make sure transferees can meet that deadline and feel comfortable before they have to start working.

The only way to do this is to be aware that while there are checklists, scopes of work, and a logical sequence of events to follow, those should be running in the background while the concern and support for the employees takes center stage.

Our goal is to ensure they feel confident throughout the process, help them work through everything, alleviate any stress they have toward the relocation program and maybe insert some ‘me time’ and personal attention into the process and to relieve the stress.

 “On my second day in Seattle, we did the right thing by applying for Social Security first. Then we applied for cellphones, bank accounts, and other things. We had some concerns about housing, but a couple of visits with Ghada was enough to provide an indication of exactly what we wanted and which areas to look in.”

When you move around the world, you might know where to research available homes, but you might not know what the surrounding neighborhood is like. Our DSCs are local area experts. They live in the areas they work in and provide local insight that gives transferees an edge while searching for the perfect place to live.

“Ghada gave us a lot of information about Seattle life, and she made sure that we knew about common things that are required in Seattle (that aren’t very common in the country I came from.) One good thing was the reviews of every neighborhood in and around Seattle. She gave us comprehensive information on which areas were good for families and which were good for office commutes. This was especially helpful given the peculiar location of my office.

We completely enjoyed Ghada’s company on our second day in Seattle. It gave us a morale boost to have someone assist us in many things that we did not even know about.”

At the end of the day, once all the boxes are checked, and the keys to a new home are in a the newly transferred employee’s hands, our DSCs are still there to make sure everyone is comfortable and confident in their new environment. Even after they’re settled in, our DSCs are still available to answer questions and ensure that transferees are adjusting well to their new home. Organize a book club, a luncheon, a meet up with other expats, maybe even a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner? Sure. It’s those moments that truly define the Dwellworks Experience.