Joleen Lauffer is executive vice president at Aires in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Aires is a Relocation Management Company (RMC) with its roots firmly planted in the moving industry. Steve Jordan talked to her about COVID-19 and the long-term outlook for the industry.
Over the last few months we have written a great deal in The Mover about how COVID-19 has affected the moving industry and how it has had to change to be able to operate. But I was interested to speak to Joleen to get a different view, not just from the perspective of an RMC, but also a more long-term impression of how the industry has changed and what the future might hold.
Aires employs around 600 people. That becomes a big HR problem when a pandemic strikes and most of the team is forced, unexpectedly, to work from home. “We really worked hard to make sure people still felt connected to the organisation,” said Joleen. “This included regular video meetings with our leadership team that allowed us to get together and talk about what was happening in the company and how our work was impacted. I think they really helped get us through the transition phase.” ...
Photo: Joleen Lauffer