The Customer Experience (CX) is one of the four pillars of our industry-leading Experience Management (XM) philosophy. In this case study, learn how we collaborated with one technology client to improve and delight the experience of their relocating employees. 

Altair Global’s client, a leading social media platform (hereafter known as “Client”), continuously seeks new ways to create an exceptional experience for their mobile population, going above and beyond the norm to create memorable relocation journeys. In a joint review between Altair and the Client’s mobility team regarding program management, there was consensus to create something fresh and creative that would:

1. Add value to the relocating population who are experiencing an often transformational – and challenging – change
2. Help improve their mobility program’s Overall Satisfaction (OSAT) scores
3. Work on a global scale

Altair, the Experience Management (XM)-focused relocation company, was the perfect partner. Altair sends a Welcome X-check (what we call pulse surveys, delivered at key moments) to each customer at the beginning of their relocation journey to gain valuable information about the individual, including their familiarity with the destination and if they have any social connections in their new locale. X-check data has uncovered that, on average, 33% of relocating employees have no social connections in their destination and a third have never lived or visited their destination before. The implication of this data suggests that this may create feelings of isolation and dissatisfaction during and after a relocation.

To mitigate negative feelings about a relocation and help create a more positive experience, Altair and the Client partnered to roll out not one but two new initiatives, both built with the Customer Experience (CX) in mind.

What’s better than arriving in one’s new destination and already having a connection there to offer guidance? Enter ReloBuddy. To start, Altair generated a list of the Client’s employees who had completed a move. The Client then sent a custom survey asking if they would volunteer to be a peer-to-peer guide (or Buddy) to current employees and new hires relocating to where they were or had been. Through a joint venture, ReloBuddy launched in July 2018.

This new program was marketed and discussed by the Altair Consultant during the Benefits Overview call (which occurs right after the Welcome X-check) with a relocating customer. The Altair Consultant would confirm if the customer would be interested in being paired with a vetted ReloBuddy. If so, Altair would share this information with the Client, who then made a match. The primary matching criteria is destination location, followed by details like family size, origin location, and whether they are relocating with pets. A ReloBuddy Program Guide with FAQs was also posted to the employee’s Altair STAR Customer Portal for easy access to retrieve.

ReloBuddies can share their own personal relocation experience, offer invaluable on-the-ground advice, and even help relocating customers make new connections locally and be a friend themselves. It is entirely up to the ReloBuddies how they want to connect (phone, text, email, in person) and how much time to spend based on their availability.

The result of the program rollout was one of success. The Client’s employees who served as a Buddy were able to get something out of the program by giving back and sharing their experience with those just staring their relocation journey. Newly relocating Buddies also then had the benefit of a mentor and social connection at their destination before they ever stepped foot in their new city. We call this a win-win!

After the ReloBuddy rollout, the Clients’s global mobility team continued to look for new ways to evolve and progress their program. Launched in 2019, the Welcome Home program is an effort to add surprise and delight for employees after they had relocated and settled in their new home.

Through this partnership, Altair and the Client spent 12 months evaluating and scoping several ways in which they could execute a Welcome Home gift. Avenues like personalized items and gift cards weren’t operationally sufficient globally, and so a monetary gift executed through receipt expense reimbursement was designed.

Altair Consultants are given a budget, typically between $100 to $150, to gift the relocating employee via email once they have left their initial temporary living arrangement and settled into their home. The customer can use their Welcome Home spend however they like, on the item or experience that is most important to them; for example, buying furniture or appliances, or taking their family out for a memory-making experience in their new city. From a program administration perspective, simplicity was built into the reimbursement process which consists of the customer submitting their receipt to Altair for reimbursement with “Welcome Home” in the subject line. Altair tracks the Welcome Home spend and provides the Client with a report annually for review.

Altair and the Client routinely receive resounding feedback for this simple, yet thoughtful delighter program that is see as the cherry on top for the relocating employee.

Through its proprietary XM platform and X-checks sent at the moments that matter throughout a customer’s relocating journey, Altair is able to offer the Client deep data-driven insights into the health of their mobility program. Since rollout of the ReloBuddy and Welcome Home programs, Customer Experience (CX) scores from the Client’s relocating employees continue to rank high in overall satisfaction and have remained in the top tier level (i.e., Exceptional) year over year. This XM data validated and continues to show the positive impact of these programs.

The first ReloBuddy match was in the Bay Area, California, and now global connections have been made across Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Altair Consultants love sending the Welcome Home gift and hearing the joy it brings the customer – evidenced through positive sentiments and comments in Altair’s Best Wishes survey at the conclusion of a relocation.

Relocating employees have used their Welcome Home gift in a variety of ways:

Altair continues to utilize its XM dashboard to monitor and analyze X-check data to see positive improvements in customer satisfaction. The Client’s program is routinely analyzed for continued excellence in administration, and relocating employees are happier in their relocation and in their new destination through these thoughtful programs.

“Thank you so much for making the relocation experience so smooth and enjoyable.”

– Relocating Employee