Winner of the 2019 Relocate Award for Excellence in Inclusion & Diversity

Above: Trevor Janes & Joanna Harman, SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving

Award Winner: Capital Group & Sirva Worldwide Relocation & Moving

Relocation and global mobility have an absolutely critical role in helping employers to support their inclusion and diversity goals. It was, therefore, so encouraging to see this year such a hard-fought category championing many great examples of superb practice in this important area.

However, it was the award-winning partnership between financial services company Capital Group and SIRVA that ultimately prevailed. Their entry offered a masterclass in how mobility expertise can be harnessed in a strategic and inclusive way in line with clients’ priorities to deliver excellence in relocation practice with high assignee satisfaction.

Capital Group ranks among the world’s oldest and largest investment management organisations. Despite the sector’s reputation, some financial services companies are among those leading the way in developing truly inclusive practices; Capital Group is among them.

Getting Real in Relocation 

Recognised as one of influential website Glassdoor’s best places to work in 2018 and receiving a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index among other accolades, Capital Group has an established framework for inclusion and diversity activities called REAL (recruiting, engaging, advancing and leading).

REAL’s initiatives are helping to break down barriers and improve outcomes. These include sponsor programmes to help recruit women and minorities, over 30 targeted communities of interest covering more than half the company’s 7,500 associates and targeted talent development programmes, all underpinned by dashboard monitoring to ensure transparency, accountability and accessibility for all.

“There is a huge amount of work that Capital Group does with diversity,” explained Trevor Janes, VP Business Development at SIRVA. “It is such an important topic.”

Strategic Deployment of Mobility Expertise  

As perhaps expected in an organisation that embraces diversity and inclusion of thought and practice, Capital Group actively gives its internal and external mobility teams a “seat at the table” and ensures its service teams become an extension of the organisation. This means mobility expertise is recognised, not just as a support function, but as a strategic partner, enabling it to improve mobility decisions at higher levels within the company.

It is in this context that SIRVA is able to ensure
all relocation provision meets the needs of the diverse
relocating employee profile. “We actually run a couple of programme types for Capital Group,” said Janes. “These focus on supporting non-traditional families, such as in the LGBT+ community, relocate around the world. In today’s day and age, we’ve also got lots of different generations relocating. It is vitally important that all talent can relocate, not just your traditional expats as was the case maybe 10 or 20 years ago.”

Partnership Key to Delivering Inclusion and Diversity 

During their considerations, the judges highlighted the strong working relationship between the two organisations. They observed how the partnership clearly demonstrates inclusivity and a dynamic approach to relocation that ensures all transferees, “regardless of their diverse family status, receive personalised services enabling them to move in a positive way.”

Mobility expertise works with individuals to adapt benefits in accordance with their individual needs. These might include on-site delivery support to help parents supervising young children, live-in partners receiving the same benefits as married couples, accommodation or care for ailing parents and resources for parents of children with additional needs.

The partnership also continues to listen to feedback and adapt by seeking and sharing ideas for more well-informed and flexible solutions , ensuring the benefits programme remains relevant and continues to help attract and retain diverse talent.

Commitment Shows in Satisfaction Scores 

While winning the Relocate Award is one mark of success for Capital Group and SIRVA, another is the near-perfect scores for assignee satisfaction. These the judges attributed to the success of the partnership’s work supporting minority groups as they focus on their assignments and to feel included. “The organisation’s staffare offered inclusive and diverse family benefits, so that they can bring their best selves to work,” said the judges in their summary. “Investment in diverse staff enables them to commit to a positive diversity transferee culture. Mobility teams are also recognised for what they do as strategic partners. The commitment feeds into the inclusion initiatives that play out in the relocation arena.”

www.capitalgroup.com | www.sirva.com