In this month’s Relo Network Asia webinar, we explored the state of technology in the mobility industry.
Our thanks to Ronald Huiskamp, founder of Relocation Online for answering the questions posed by our CEO, Steve Burson.
The conversation presents over 50 minutes of knowledge and insights. Here are just a sample of the important takeaways:
- Technology has played a role in the mobility industry now for years. But it isn’t all the same. There are four different types of technology in use for today:
- Legacy software providers mostly focused on assignment management and back end
- Tech Spinoffs – started as in-house project that wanted to be monetized who established a second company
- Newer SAAS providers, started later and have a more modern technology stack. More transactional vs. licensing terms
- Tech-focused service providers. Recently entered who have started on the tech side who is also a service provider
- What has gone well?
We’ve made great progress towards understanding the importance of technology in mobility. That may seem like a small thing, but it is a very important first step. - Where do we need to improve?
We are still not greatly enhancing the assignee experience yet. Our communication is a bit disjointed and as an industry we could do better with greater system integration. There is also a great opportunity to advance talent mobility technology, but to do so will likely require us all to step back from any legacy systems and, instead of trying to build on top of them – really rethink everything from today’s technology perspective and capabilities. - Mobility misconceptions about technology: There is a lot of marketing around AI and machine learning. They are great for some tasks, but really don’t work within our industry. It sounds great, but falls far short in reality with our industry’s complexity.
- What might be some pitfalls ahead with technology as we move through today’s unpredictable and inflationary economy? VC funds has slowed significantly. This is impacting software development across the board, resulting in less money from investors, slower hiring and in some cases, layoffs. After years of lots of money and big investments, VC funded companies are now having to show more about how they can turn their ideas into sustainable and profitable businesses. The mobility industry is a niche for the tech industry, relocation doesn’t scale like a technology company does and so the pressure builds.
- What should smaller service providers be focused on with technology?
Take a step back from how we do business now. Lots of focus for smaller organizations goes towards technology for the back office, or looking for a 1-stop solution. Two pieces of advice are to accept that you’ll need more than one system to accomplish your goals and focus on how you can use technology to improve the assignee experience.
Watch the full episode!
