Relocation service caters for return trip

There was a time when the Irish economy was characterised by immigration numbers.

Many of these migrant workers were coming for economic reasons, but others were brought in for their individual expertise.

Most of the latter groupwere offered relocation services as part of an overall package, but now that the economy has contracted, many of the people who came to this country during the good times are making the return journey home.

However, just as they benefited from relocation packages during their initial journey, they can also take advantage of the skills and expertise of relocation experts for the move to their next assignment.

Irish Relocation Services, which is often known simply as Irishrelo, has been instrumental in bringing thousands of people to Ireland during the economic boom - and thanks to the high-level partnership agreements in place with relocation services around the world, it is now in a position to help people as they leave.

Our business is focusing on outbound relocation and domestic relocation at the moment,said Patrick Oman, founder of Irish Relocation Services.

We spent the years of the boom settling in the people who were arriving, and there was a huge influx from abroad. But that was until the end of last year, when everybody seemed to start moving in the opposite direction.

Part of a relocation company‚ expertise is its local knowledge, which is why Irishrelo was so successful in helping migrants to settle in Ireland. But through its membership of two significant organisations the European Relocation Association (EuRA) and ERC, its global counterpart Irishrelo can replicate its Irish experience anywhere in the world.

Wherever an Irish-based person is going, they can avail of such services as home search, school search, settling in, advice on compensation and benefits, advice on costof- living allowances, family support services and a household goodsmove all provided by a trusted Irish operator.

'We have put in place a programme for our clients that pulls together the different elements required for a relocation anywhere in the world', said Oman, and we ensure that our clients get it at the right price.

Additional services include visa, immigration and work permit preparation, as well as cross-cultural training - which prepares people for their next assignment, assuming that they‚ are not going home. Visa and immigration work is becoming more of an issue, especially given the shortness of some foreign assignment.

Irishrelo will handle the process from start to finish, ensuring that the person in question is ready to hit the ground running in their destination country, without the complications of multiple visa applications.

While the significant trend appears to be for moving out of Ireland, there is still a major market for the inbound element of relocation services, although Oman estimated that this part of the business was currently down by about a third on where it was 18 months ago. Domestic relocation is becoming more significant, however, although that involves an element of outplacement with relocation.

What is notable about Irishrelo, however, is that the service to which its clients have become accustomed in Ireland is now available anywhere in the world.

We have people on the ground wherever companies want to send their people,said Oman. We have partnerships with local experts who will provide the same services that our clients have become used to over the past 30 years.