Onboarding Begins at Home

Onboarding is a structured process that companies use to help new employees succeed, and may involve different types of multi-media training and hands-on orientation sessions.

Another common term for this is organizational socialization, which makes it clear that we’re talking about emotional considerations as well, beyond the person just being capable at their job.

When a company actively cultivates a new employee’s job satisfaction, the result is a higher commitment to the success of the company; it’s far more likely that employee will stick around and be happy to be there. Everyone benefits from that, which is why so many companies use these structured onboarding programs.

In “Leading With Culture,” an article from the executive search firm Spencer Stuart, the authors call out some alarming statistics:

·      Executive failures can cost up to 40 times the base salary of leaders

·      Forty percent of executives who change roles or get promoted fail in the first 18 months (source: Fortune Magazine)

·      Companies with strong onboarding programs see 2.5 times the profit growth and 1.9 times the profit margin than those that don’t (source: Boston Consulting Group)

At Holistic Relo, we’d like to see one more component formally added to the onboarding process – the effective assimilation of the family. Our tagline, “Success from the family room to the boardroom” indicates that the family’s success is every bit as important as the executives success in the boardroom. It is our belief that the addition of relocation coaching to the onboarding process will save corporations money.

Holistic Relo would like to help improve the odds of an executive’s success by adding the family’s assimilation to the onboarding process.

Would I Choose This State if it Weren’t For a Corporate Relocation?

United Van Lines’ Annual Migration Study tracks the states its customers move to and from during the course of the year. Oregon is once again the number one state people moved to in 2014. South Carolina comes in second, and North Carolina is the 3rd most moved to state in the US.

The top outbound states last year were, in this order, New Jersey, New York and Illinois.

This is the first year United Van Lines added an interesting new question to their study: Why are you relocating?

The answers made sense. According to the study, people are choosing to relocate to southern and western states for lower housing costs, better climates, and more positive job growth. People are also drawn in by things like outdoor recreation, cultural activities, and green space.

A corporate transfer is certainly a different type of reason than moving to the Carolinas for the warm climate and outdoor activities or Oregon for the green space. In fact, as I look at the migration study results, I wonder how many of these moves were a conscious choice, versus a corporate relocation that dictated the new zip code with no input from the family involved.

If you’ve had to move to a state you didn’t embrace, my congratulations to you for making it through and finding a way to call it home. If you’re still striving for that feeling of being settled, here is a relocation resource that can help.

Moving In

The top inbound states of 2014 were:

1. Oregon
2. South Carolina
3. North Carolina
4. Vermont
5. Florida
6. Nevada
7. Texas
8. District of Columbia
9. Oklahoma
10. Idaho

Moving Out

The top outbound states for 2014 were:

1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Illinois
4. North Dakota
5. West Virginia
6. Ohio
7. Kansas
8. New Mexico
9. Pennsylvania
10. Connecticut

9 Motivational Quotes for the Relocation Journey

When you are moving, everyone knows it. They see the For Sale sign. They see the bags of donations on your doorstep as you attempt to clear out before the movers come to pack. They see your anxious expression as you try to juggle many projects all at once.

Since what you are going through is so obvious, everyone seems to want to offer advice (even if you would probably prefer they drop off a healthy meal or offer to watch the kids while you make calls to switch utilities). Unfortunately, this unsolicited advice doesn’t always contain the kind of positivity you need right now.

Following are some of my go-to quotes while navigating an unsettling time like relocation. They help set my internal GPS to destinations that keep my mind focused on the many gifts of change. I hope they keep you on a positive path, too.

1. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” 

~ Dan Millman

2. “Focus on where you want to go,
 not on what you fear.”

 ~ Anthony Robbins

3. “Do not follow where the path may lead. 
Go instead where there is no path 
and leave a trail.” 

~ Muriel Strode

4. “Done is better than perfect.” 

~ Sheryl Sandberg

5. “Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny.” 

~ David O. McKay

6. “Still round the corner there may wait, 

a new road or a secret gate.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

7. “No journey carries on far unless, as it extends to the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within us."

~ Lillian Smith


8. “Travel many roads. Turn around. Make a wrong turn. Get lost. It’s all part of being found.”

~ Maripat Abbott

9. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” 

~ Maripat Abbott

Unique Gift For Anyone Relocating

A corporate relocation is only as successful as the transition of the executive spouse. Yet at times, the family’s practical needs are prioritized over emotional needs.

For the relocation expert who wants to go one step further and really stand out in the industry, there is a unique relocation gift you can use to add value to your services.

Whether you are a real estate agent, relocation company, human resource director, recruiter, corporate temporary housing company, consider meeting the unspoken (yet incredibly important) needs of the executive spouse.

The spouse or life partner of the relocating executive is typically feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained as a result of all the responsibilities heaped upon her. Yet her emotional well-being often gets lost in the move, taking a back seat to tactical responsibilities like finding the right home or getting settled in temporary housing.

WE’RE MOVING WHERE??? Five Steps to Relocation Ease, is a new book that contains a simple five-step process that will keep her focused on her own success, so that the family can experience success in the family room and the boardroom.

Providing this book that has been written specifically to meet her needs will make her feel valued during a process where the spotlight is often mostly on the relocating executive.

The gift of this book brings the executive spouse out of the shadows and into the light, acknowledging her as an equal partner in this move. This book will be as valuable to her emotional well-being as a GPS is to her geographic needs.

For a personalized touch, request a signed copy of the book, or combine your purchase with a package of relocation coaching sessions just for her.

Corporate relocation is a major life transition. This book makes it easier.

Separation Due to Relocation

When your spouse or life partner is living in another city for a period of time during your relocation, you find yourself saying farewell on a weekly basis. The first few times that happens can be particularly painful if you are not prepared. You may experience unexpected feelings of abandonment and loss.

It can be very helpful to take time to discuss the weekly departures with your spouse/partner so that you avoid last-minute meltdowns. While it is perfectly okay and understandable to have an emotional storm come out of the blue, it may help you feel more settled if you are able to process the grief more thoroughly.

I recommend creating a goodbye ritual that you adhere to no matter what, such as:

• Handwritten notes tucked into his suitcase or her pillow.

• Each partner keeping a talisman of sorts – a special rock with a word written on it that symbolizes union or strength.

• A certain quote or phrase that infuses hope, strength and connection, that can be spoken to one another at parting, e.g.,“ Our love and connection crosses state lines.”

Being able to keep in touch via cell phone, Skype video calls, and texting can all make weekly goodbyes much less painful. The goal is to keep these connections thriving.

Holiday Relocation Sustainability

The desire to be sustainable is on everyone’s mind. And yet, if you are moving during the month of December, perhaps sustainability is the last thing you are thinking about.

Even if you are relocating this month, consider the concept of inner sustainability, because accomplishing this will add, not subtract, from the peace of the season.

We are each our own ecosystem - a mini planet of sorts - and there are easy things that we can do to improve our own sustainability and care for the planet in an energetic, not literal way. Here are some ideas:

• Breathe. Breathing fully from the belly decreases stress, increases brain function and helps you to become more mindful.

• Be still. Stillness and mindfulness foster connectedness, and from this place we realize that all of our actions and choices affect others.

• Be kind to yourself. Being violent to yourself (running around chaotically this season, skipping your body movement and eating things that do not make you feel good) creates tiny ripples of violence that radiate out. Nonviolence and self-care ripple outward in a much more positive way, encircling our planet with peace.

Sustainability doesn't have to be relegated to engineers. It actually can live right beneath our noses with something as simple as the breath. Start with you.

Home for the H.O.L.I.D.A.Y.S

If you are moving over the holidays, you may consider paying closer attention to what is going on inside of you, rather than external decorations. You will have plenty of time to decorate for future holidays in your home.

You may not feel one bit at home this holiday season if you have just relocated to a new zip code. What if you focused more on sprucing up your true home, which is your body and your emotional well-being? Beautiful mums, holiday lights, and packages become irrelevant if you are empty inside.

As Jim Rohn says, "Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."

Every holiday season I challenge myself and my clients to focus more on our self-care than on anything else during this time. Here's an acronym for the word H.O.L.I.D.A.Y.S that may will help keep YOU at the top of your shopping list:

Honor Your Body. Treat your emotional and physical self like the most delicate of packages.

Only Say Yes to what you want to do. Is this the year you decline the cookie exchange party?

Let it Go. Once you've said no, let it go.

Internal Landscape. Pay at least as much attention to what you are thinking, feeling and believing on the inside, as you do to the string of lights on the outside.

Deep Breathing. This is a gift that is always available to be unwrapped - it lives right under your nose and has a tremendous ability to calm your nervous system.

Accept Help. It's a gift for others to support you. Say yes to offers.

You. Put your name on your gift list. At the TOP.

Slow down. Affirm that there is plenty of time.


Remember that you are really always HOME for the holidays - because you take yourself with you wherever you go.