Crown World Mobility is set to offer assignees virtual home searches, part of a significant strategic global investment in IT.
The company has announced that it will offer assignees a range of options to view properties abroad without having to leave their desk.
Crown World Mobility's Regional Director Peter Sewell said that this new innovation would be especially suitable for low-cost assignments or for people who have difficulty in making physical viewings.
Virtual Home Search allows assignees to receive all the components of a traditional home search programme, but without having to visit the destination. With the help of a Crown Mobility advisor the assignee can choose to view this via a live stream or access the recording at a later time.
This mix of traditional and ultra-modern approaches takes into account that many assignees are pushed for time but also ensures they are not left to do everything themselves without the specialist knowledge required to assimilate into a new cultural environment.
Peter Sewel said that these kind of technical solutions really appeal to people who are comfortable with digital technology and lower budget career development assignees. “But we have also seen higher level executives and their families take up this option rather than take a week out of work at a very stressful time in their lives. This saves the employee considerable time while the company saves on flights and hotel costs.”
Crown has already introduced virtual home surveys during which a skilled advisor can assess the volume and cost of moving goods via smart phone technology. Assignees don’t have to wait for a sales person to call and a quote to move will be available within the day.
“With more and more transactions taking place on the Internet, this is what our customers expect and will soon be the norm,” said Peter. “It will be interesting to see where technology takes us next – but further development is inevitable.”
Photo: Peter Sewell, Crown World Mobility's Regional Director
The concept of providing traditional relo services via apps was discussed at length at the EuRA conference in Porto in 2015. Many felt then that this was a step too far and would not become popular. However this story from Crown demonstrates that the relentless march of technology is beginning to touch areas of the business that some had not thought possible in the past. There are other companies using technology in equally innovative ways. It won’t stop here!
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