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Challenging Convention: The Power of Journey Mapping 03.23.2023 | Laura Levenson

Mobility is a unique industry influenced by so many (sometimes conflicting) factors. Talent management, business development and growth, technology, and evolving human needs play a big role in how we structure and position global mobility to help drive success. The fluidity of our industry challenges us to be agile as mobility professionals, and Journey Mapping has been a powerful tool to help us refresh our client’s current service models to align with the changing times and ensure their talent thrives!

So, what is Journey Mapping? 

Starting with a thorough, end-to-end analysis of all relocation processes, Journey Mapping leads you through the customer journey, so you can visualize how they experience or interact with the brand at each step.

This exercise offers insight into customer behavior, touchpoints, and pain points, so you can understand how to develop a solution to improve their overall experience. This visualization of what customers want -- and when they need it -- can also help team members stay aligned, working towards the same goal!

Many forward-thinking clients are currently focused on embracing a new target of reducing the touchpoints in the mobility process to drive responsive service and better experiences. Here is a powerful story about how we leveraged Journey Mapping to collaboratively restructure our client’s service delivery model to help alleviate the strain on their internal team and ensure the highest satisfaction levels for their mobile workforce!

Reframing the Conversation: A Client Story

Not long ago, working with a client keen on uncovering challenges and improving their employee mobility experience, Weichert conducted a Journey Mapping exercise and revealed some unexpected findings. This client’s Talent Acquisition group was gung-ho to “reduce the touch points”. They had an aggressive recruiting agenda and were pushing to expedite the mobility process. But as a small (but mighty) team, they felt like they were fighting an uphill battle…a little outnumbered.

Through the journey mapping exercise, we put the TA team in the shoes of their employees, allowing them to experience every twist and turn of a relocation. This opened their eyes to the limitations of holding the transferee hostage to the Counselor’s availability, which inevitably leads to frustration. Several of them had relocated before and could attest that direct access to the expert with the deepest knowledge of the issue – such as tax, immigration, or real estate — was a significant advantage, even beyond the mobility experience! It eliminates the risk of a broken telephone (with a single query passing from mouth to mouth along the chain of command), driving efficiency and higher satisfaction.

The session led to a much-needed re-arranging of internal processes and implementing of a two-step initiation process. This included refining their communication plan so that mobile employees have a deeper understanding of whom they can contact to access the information they need quickly.

But they kept our service delivery model as is — because with a customer satisfaction rating consistently exceeding 97% on a 10-point scale, why mess with a great thing?!  The Talent Acquisition team gained awareness of their role in a successful move and a new-found admiration for our client contact and her mobility team. A resounding win–win!

Tech that Connects

In fact, it was a win for us too!  We leveraged client input like this — and a mountain of Voice of the Customer insights — to design Weichert Go around what transferees want most: control, choice and someone to care.  It’s why we’ve developed a mobile app that allows the transferee to schedule appointments, review and process documents, expense reports, etc. and gives them direct access to vetted experts in the supply chain. Of course, we offer the necessary oversight and quality control, but we don’t stand in their way.

That’s why with Go, your employees are in control, but they’re never alone. Their dedicated counselor proactively helps them avoid potholes, always there to lean on and provide advice and counsel. But we also empower them with a network of experts to ensure they can access the best person at the right moment. It’s a formula perfected for the modern world of mobility, resulting in satisfied employees and thriving mobility programs.

Want to learn how Journey Mapping can help enhance your program processes and level-up your employee experience? Talk to us! 

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Written by Laura Levenson

Weichert_Laura_Levenson

Laura Levenson is a Practice Leader in Weichert Workforce Mobility’s Advisory Services group. She has worked in management capacities for workforce mobility and Big Four firms, and is well-versed in bringing clarity to the most pressing global talent deployment challenges. She brings over 25 years of experience to her role and is a frequent speaker on the mobility conference circuit.

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