History
Geography
Awards and Testimonials
News
Articles

Reprinted courtesy of FIDI Focus Magazine, October 2006 issue

Moving the ‘Online Generation’

By Ronald Huiskamp

“I don’t get MySpace”, a panel member at a recent relocation conference commented. Very likely, neither do you. However, for all involved in relocating transferees, whether as a service provider or HR professional, we would be well served to pay attention to the online behavior of younger generations.

Clearly this article is not suggesting you need to understand why 20-somethings feel the urge to post stories and pictures of themselves in various states of sobriety on MySpace. I don’t get that either. Rather, this article takes a closer look at the growing importance of the “world online” for younger generations and its potential impact on the relocation industry.

Defining the Online Generation

First off, let’s define “younger generations”. Much has been written about the differing behaviors of Generations Y, X and Baby Boomers. Although Gen Yers are the primary patrons on MySpace, using this demographic is not appropriate for a discussion about relocation services. Depending on which generational division you accept, Gen Y can include those born between 1977 and 2000. Obviously, we don’t have to be concerned about the online behavior of a 6 year old. That is, not yet. 

Therefore, a term is needed that captures a more relevant demographic. For that reason I would like to introduce the “Online Generation”. A member of the Online Generation can be defined as a young, working professional who spends a significant amount of time of his/her working and private life online. This group would encompass the older third of Gen Y (the employed 20-somethings) and a good number of Gen Xers. Using this definition also translates better across borders, as terms like Gen Y and X are mostly associated with North America. 

No Stopping the Online Expansion

Although the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, the growth of Internet usage, high-speed connections and commercial websites has continued steadily. For example: in 2000 just five million people in the U.S. had high-speed Internet access at home. At the end of 2005 that figure was 73 million (Pew Internet Research).

Even more dramatic is the rate at which new websites gain popularity. In August, MySpace was the fourth most popular English language site in the world, easily out-performing giants like eBay, Amazon, CNN and AOL. This online gathering place is only three years old, yet it boasts some 100 million members and is quite happily adding about 500,000 new ones per week.

YouTube, a video-sharing website launched in early 2005 is creating a similar sensation. Although it didn’t gain serious public interest until December, it is currently one of the fastest growing sites on the Internet. In July it announced that a whopping 100 million video clips were being watched every day. 

Driven by faster connectivity - which provides an enhanced user experience - people are spending vast amounts of time online. This is particularly true for our Online Generation. For them, the Internet is an important part of their daily lives and social interactions. They go online for entertainment, to write their own blogs, join web-based communities to “hang out” with friends and even pursue new relationships. This is a phenomenon of recent years and one that has only just begun to develop.

There are plenty of examples in other industries that illustrate just how pervasive these changes can be. Just take a look at the printed media (in particular newspapers) and the travel industry. Sites like craigslist and Monster have taken a big chunk out of the job classifieds revenue. Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity have more or less replaced traditional travel agencies. 

Similarly, our industry too will be affected by the introduction of new (and sometimes disruptive) technologies. The following thoughts on some of these issues, as well as advice and experiences from industry leaders, will hopefully start an ongoing discussion about how our industry can succeed in dealing with these developments. 

High Speed Internet Damage

One consequence for our industry of the “always-Online Generation”, is the speed at which potential transferees can cause problems. 

Susan Musich, Global Career & Mobility Specialist at the World Bank, gave this example about young World Bank staffers: “They may have been at a dinner party where a potential new assignment was discussed, and by the time they get home 30 of their closest friends have received a text-message about their new assignment to Burkina Faso”. Until the assignment has been formalized and relocation benefits have been properly explained, this can quickly become problematic.

With so much information available online, transferees start researching their new destination at the earliest notion of a possible move. Before long they have volunteered their contact information on websites and are communicating with a moving company or a realtor. Most service providers have already experienced this exact situation (and cost them money). With an industry that has gone to no-management-fee relocation services, not being able to obtain referral fees on the real estate transactions can be very costly.

Microsoft, arguably having one of the most wired workforces imaginable, has put measures in place to avoid these problems. As Peggy Smith, Global Relocation Program Manager at Microsoft, explained; when Microsoft finalizes the job offer, the candidate will be told specifically not to engage any moving companies or real estate agents about their upcoming relocation. If they do, it is made very clear to them that they will jeopardize their relocation benefits. It has proven to be successful, as Microsoft rarely has renegade transferees going outside the system.

Separating the Good from the Bad

For all the good information available online, there is plenty of horrific stuff out there too. This is certainly causing us headaches when we are working with misinformed transferees. However, with the ongoing expansion and improvement of online information, the argument that it requires a professional to separate the good from the bad may no longer hold up in the future. 

Consider Zillow for example. Launched in February of this year, Zillow helps U.S. homeowners (and buyers) determine the fair market value of a house. Using, among others, historic home sales data, county tax records and fancy algorithms, the site produces a Zestimate. Unlike similar tools available, Zillow is free and does not require the user to hand over any personal information (all you need is a U.S. address). By their own admission, these Zestimates are far from perfect. At least, not yet. Richard Barton, CEO and Co-founder of Zillow, explained to me recently, that one day, “we should be able to track the value of a home like we track the value of a stock”. Note to readers: Rich Barton was also the Co-founder of Expedia, currently the world largest online travel agent.

Smarter Users 

Zillow is just one of many (new) online tools available that provide useful information for people that are moving. The younger the transferee, the savvier they are about using precisely these tools.

Peggy Smith of Microsoft emphasized this point by talking about her employees: “These kids do online research for a hobby. Finding out stuff about the destination  location is just another fun challenge.” Needless to say, if there is one company that moves people who fit the profile of the Online Generation, it must be Microsoft. Of all the relocations Microsoft handled last year, 78% were new hires, with the majority being college grads.

To maintain control of the service delivery process, Marty Frame, Chief Information Officer for Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions™, suggests that companies “embrace new technologies and use them to their benefit”. “Figure out which of these online tools are of value and include them in your own relocation portals”. 

Mapping technology is a good example. Many real estate companies have integrated mapping features into their listing data to pinpoint properties on a map or show aerial imagery of a neighborhood. 

Managing the Transition

In talking about how our industry is transitioning from a traditional service model to one that includes more online tools, Peggy Smith made the analogy to the banking industry. “I still remember the lines going around the corner when visiting the bank. My 7 year old daughter thinks a bank is an ATM machine at the side of a building.” The point:
banking for the Online Generation is a different experience. They don’t write checks or go inside a bank. Instead, they make all their payments online and get “cash back” while shopping at the supermarket. 

For all the right reasons, organizations have been putting more HR related information on their own Intranets. Susan Musich, lead the development of the World Bank’s “Online Country Briefing Center”. Originally launched in 2001, the Center provides country profiles for locations where the World Bank has a presence. It also offers HR and relocation information on topics such as benefits, moving and spouse support. Today, the Center has evolved from initially providing static information, to a dynamic database driven site with many interactive features, such as online forms, chat rooms and blogs.

According to Susan Musich, there is a clear difference in acceptance and usage between younger staffers (our Online Generation) and older colleagues; “When the chat rooms were introduced, the younger folks immediately jumped on and started using them”. In contrast, when dealing with HR related documents, older staffers place “a higher face value on printed materials”. The former being much more willing to go on the Intranet to fill out online forms and other documents, and the latter needing more hand-holding and training.

For those that still need convincing of what we can expect from future members of the Online Generation, consider this. Marty Frame, after coming back home from an evening out, found his son in tears. When asked what was wrong, he replied: “I HAVE to go on Google, but she won’t let me!” She was the babysitter who was looking after Marty’s son. The kid is three years old. True story. 

About the author: Ronald Huiskamp is the Director of Marketing for Full Circle International Relocations, Inc. and Editor for ReloBlogger. He can be reached at 425-896-0361 or ronald.huiskamp@fullcircle.com.