Customer Experience Radio

Customer Experience Radio Welcomes: Lauren Herring with IMPACT Group

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Lauren Herring is CEO of IMPACT Group, the largest woman-owned career coaching company supporting over 200 Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Over the past 30 years, IMPACT Group has successfully helped hundreds of thousands of people find jobs.

As their clients report, the secret to their success is by addressing job seekers’ emotional roadblocks in addition to providing expert career guidance, resulting in landing a job in half the time of the US national average. Lauren’s personal mission is to make a positive impact on the lives she touches.

Lauren lives in St. Louis, with her husband, Ted, and two young children.

Follow IMPACT Group on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Show Transcript

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, it’s time for Customer Experience Radio. Brought to you by Heineck & Company, real estate advisors specialized in corporate relocation. Now here’s your host, Jill Heineck.

Jill Heineck: [00:00:18] Good morning and welcome to this very special edition of Customer Experience Radio. I’m your host, Jill Heineck. And I’m a business owner, real estate advisor, and customer experience enthusiast. As many of you know, my boutique real estate group has specialized in helping families move with or without a job for the past 20 years. Relocation has many moving parts. And it takes experience, expertise, and patience to coach our transferees through the process.

Jill Heineck: [00:00:44] As relocation partners, we serve as an extension of the company and outsource relocation department, if you will. The main goal is to alleviate the H.R. and management team of having to know all things relo. By partnering with experts in each area of relo, it becomes a smoother, less stressful experience for both the company and the transferee.

Jill Heineck: [00:01:03] And that’s why I’m excited to have Lauren Herring, CEO of IMPACT Group, on the show today to talk about how they’re helping clients get top talent on the job faster and with greater productivity, especially in today’s climate. I really appreciate the foundation upon which IMPACT was founded, and that is the struggle families go through during a relocation. It’s hard enough as it is. Let’s try to alleviate a little bit of this job transition period. With the right career coaching, you can minimize extra stress and make every move easier on employees and their families. Welcome, Lauren.

Lauren Herring: [00:01:36] Thank you, Jill. I’m glad to be here.

Jill Heineck: [00:01:38] I’m so happy to see you. So, why don’t you give our listeners a little bit of background of who you are and what your journey has been to this point?

Lauren Herring: [00:01:46] Absolutely. IMPACT Group is a second-generation, women-owned business. And we specialize in relocation, support, outplacement, and leadership development. I have been CEO for a little over ten years now, which is hard to believe. And interestingly, since you just asked about my journey, part of my journey is that I never really saw myself as CEO of IMPACT Group, even growing up with the business. So, my mom started the company in 1988. I was about ten at the time and did odd jobs with the business over the years. And I always referred to it as my little sister, if you will, when I was younger. But I went away to college. I thought I would go work on the coast in some high-flying corporate job or something like that.

Lauren Herring: [00:02:37] And interestingly, at a pivotal point, I was in a career transition myself. I was a couple years out of college having done some volunteer service work for a little bit in Puerto Rico. And I was trying to figure out what my next step was going to be. So, I had my own career journey. And my mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer. So, fortunately, she’s well now after two battles fighting it but still kicking and doing great. But at that point in 2001, I decided that it was time for me to focus on family. I came back home to St. Louis and started out working on projects for the company. And before long, I was enjoying what I was doing, liking the people I was working with, and loving being with family. And St. Louis, where I’m born and raised, it wasn’t as terrible as I remembered it to be. So, anyway, I made the conscious decision to come back to St. Louis, join the family business, and everything took off from there.

Jill Heineck: [00:03:35] That’s fantastic. Well, I think it was around the time you were taking over that we met at ARC and, I want to say, it was either Dallas or D.C. I just remember you in a red dress and black heels. And we were standing at a high top. And I remember we had connected on LinkedIn and I said, we are finally going to talk.

Lauren Herring: [00:03:59] And now we’re really talking. This is great.

Jill Heineck: [00:04:02] So, again, thanks so much for being here. I know you just gave us a little intro about the IMPACT Group. But talk a little bit more about what your lines of business are and what you’re focused on these days.

Lauren Herring: [00:04:14] Sure. At our core, we are a career development company and focusing on career development through coaching. So, I mentioned before, we’re a relocation, outplacement, and leadership development. So, in the relocation space, we help with families transitioning into the new location. And we specifically are supporting dual career spouses and partners. As well as the general family needs to help them settle in and feel at home again as quickly as possible. The idea here is that by helping that employee and family settle in, they are going to feel at home faster. Your employee is going to feel more committed and more connected to the community and to the role. And you’re going to get that productivity that much faster.

Lauren Herring: [00:05:01] And the other areas of our business in corporate outplacement – that’s a part of our business right now in the days of the COVID pandemic – that we’re actually seeing quite an uptick in our business. So, while the relocation business is down, outplacement is up because that is a service that is aligned with organizations downsizing. So, we provide career coaching support on behalf of the company to the individuals who are moving on to their next opportunity.

Lauren Herring: [00:05:32] And what’s great is both in the relocation and in the outplacement space, our data backs this up, but also it’s actually academic research that people who work with a coach in IMPACT Group, like I said, has similar experiences are about – are likely to find a job in about twice as fast as if they’re searching on their own. So, having that career coach support really makes a difference. And the final area that we focus on is leadership development. And as a woman on business, one of our areas of specialty is in women in leadership.

Jill Heineck: [00:06:07] I love this. I love this so much. So, let’s talk a little bit about what you just mentioned, and that is, dual spousal support where you have the transferee and their accompanying talent coming with them onto the job. And I have been such a big proponent of having companies buy into the fact that it’s not just about the transferee. It’s actually the same, if not more important, for that traveling and accompanying spouse to feel just as included in the transfer and integrated as quickly into the community. So, talk a little bit about what that looks like right now. So, let’s start with the transferee and what kinds of things are you focused on when you’re – what kinds of things are you saying to them to get them in that mindset?

Lauren Herring: [00:07:05] Well, one of the things I’ve heard one of your previous guests say is that EX equals CX. So, the employee experience drives your customer experience. And one of the things that the services that we provide – offer a company is an enhanced employee experience throughout their transition. So, one of the things that we oftentimes see in a relocating family is there are so many moving parts, there’s so much to do, and frankly, so little time. And one of the things that we’re able to give people is we’re able to give them back the gift of time. Whereas, they might have to be going out and doing all this research on the new community, whether it’s on schools, or on doctors, or what is that one make-or-break thing. I have a gymnast daughter and she’s going to be an Olympian. What are those resources that are going to help her be successful in that new community? Some of those things are make-or-break factors in accepting a transition or being successful if that doesn’t work.

Lauren Herring: [00:08:18] So, for example, I am familiar with an individual that we didn’t work with but they had a deaf daughter. And unfortunately, in the community they moved into, they were not able to get plugged in to the community for the deaf resources for their daughter. Well, guess what? That was so critical to them being successful in their new location that that was a failed relocation. And they went back to their old location. So that’s an example of what are those things that are going to be key in making a relocation successful. And how do you make sure to address that really proactively in this situation where the company can address appropriately through services like IMPACT Group.

Jill Heineck: [00:09:08] Right. So that sounds like, to me, that it’s not only, you know, the job, career coaching, transition coaching. But it’s also somewhat like destination services. And for some listeners who don’t know what that is, typically, that is when you get to a location, there’s what, I would call, your high-level welcome wagon. Just kind of giving you kind of a lay of the land, helping you get plugged in, like you said, to different resources in the new community, and to help you understand what that community’s going to offer you and your family. So is that what you call – is that what you’re calling that? I know you said something about integrative services.

Lauren Herring: [00:09:46] Right. We call that integration or also settling in services. And a lot of times what we find, especially on the domestic side, is that people spend so much time focusing on the real estate side it was settling in to the community. And obviously, the primary focus of the agent is on the real estate. And so, then, there’s all these other ancillary parts of the settling in and the integration into the community that sometimes don’t necessarily happen immediately. And so you move in, four months later, all of a sudden you’re missing these other routines.

Lauren Herring: [00:10:23] So, the other part that is very critical to our service in the integration is the coaching. Which almost takes on a form of life coaching for the family to make sure that they’re doing everything they need to do to settle in and feel at home again as quickly as possible. And then, of course, the career piece is a little bit more self-explanatory in terms of how the employee is able to feel that much more secure in the location because their spouse or partner is able to find employment, they have two incomes coming in again, for all of those reasons.

Jill Heineck: [00:11:01] So, from a domestic perspective, are you in the major markets, you know, that you would think of in the U.S.?

Lauren Herring: [00:11:08] Yeah. We’re in all the major markets. But we also deliver the service virtually. Because, obviously, in the age that we’re in, we are able to provide very similar levels of service no matter where you are. And then, internationally, we’re in about 50 countries as well.

Jill Heineck: [00:11:28] Excellent. Okay. Well, what I think that we also want to talk about is the accompanying talent and what kind of support that you’re providing to them. Is there anything specific about the integration services that you feel stand out that really your clients have felt like that put them over the edge in terms of comfort level?

Lauren Herring: [00:11:55] Yeah. I think the key example for the integration service is the fact that we’re proactive. So, rather than waiting to be asked about what it is that that will help make this a successful transition, IMPACT Group coaches are making sure they understand what are those key factors that will make a family feel at home again. And then getting them either the resources or coaching the family on how they can make that happen for themselves. And the fact that it’s also proactive over time. So, again, a lot of times what we see in the relocation industry is there’s a lot of support right up front at the time of the move.

Lauren Herring: [00:12:46] And then all of a sudden, it’s really two to four months later that all of a sudden people are realizing, “Wow. It’s really lonely here.” Or, “I’m having trouble connecting.” Or, “My daughter isn’t feeling like she’s making friends at school. How do I deal with that?” Well, that’s where the coaching experience of our coaches is able to pinpoint some of those issues. And then support the parents in that case through helping their daughter through that transition.

Jill Heineck: [00:13:18] Excellent. So, I mean, I’m sold. And I always have been on this kind of support through a relocation because it’s not just about packing up your house and showing up on the job. There’s obviously so much more to it. So, let’s talk a little bit about your corporate client who is offering these transfers to candidates. And, you know, what are the conversations that you’re having with clients around the importance of the support and the impact that it does have on a successful relocation?

Lauren Herring: [00:13:54] Sure. Well, one of the things that we’re seeing more and more focus on these days is dual careers. We know that, especially with millennial generation and the generation to follow, Z, that dual careers are basically expected in those generations. And not necessarily in a way where the employee is the main breadwinner and someone else has some menial job that they just follow. You used a word – a phrase that I have started using as well, Jill, which is accompanying talent. These are not trailing spouses. Trailing spouses gives you the idea that someone’s being dragged by her hair behind the employee.

Lauren Herring: [00:14:39] And we’re talking about people with advanced degrees. People with equal education and career opportunity in front of them as the employee that we’re talking about. So, in fact, the IMPACT Group’s people perspective on relocation survey that we just released shows that the average spouse salary is over $75,000. So, that’s the average. So, you can imagine these are not menial jobs by any means. So, with that being said, organizations are recognizing that if they’re going to get their top talent to move, then they have to be doing something for that partner and accompanying talent as well.

Lauren Herring: [00:15:25] In fact, one of our clients has acknowledged that they used this service as a part of their diversity plan to increase their women in leadership. Because they know that women are even more attuned to what their husband’s needs are relating to careers than the other way around them, fortunately. But I think that’s changing. I think that there’s recognition across the board that the dual career spouse and partner is going to be a critical factor. And so, those are some of the conversations that we’re having with our clients to make sure that they recognize that maybe old stereotypes aren’t necessarily the way that things are working nowadays. And that there is a lot of interest in what they can do to support a positive transition along those lines.

Jill Heineck: [00:16:24] I love that. So, what else do you see that is trending right now, whether it be with corporate client requests or transferee or accompanying talent? What is trending as far as you can see, whether it’s COVID related or not, in 2020?  What have you been seeing?

Lauren Herring: [00:16:45] Yeah. We’re really putting a lot of focus on what’s going on in the news. That people’s minds are so focused on the pandemic, the racial justice, things like that. So, we’ve actually been having a lot of conversations with our coaches on how they can be supporting their participants and transferees through these challenging days. So, we’re doing quite a bit on the pandemic in terms of making sure our coaches are prepared on some of the latest job search related techniques that they need to be working with people on. As well as offering webinars, specifically, to spouses on job search during the pandemic. We’ve also created resources for our participants to access information about COVID and where they can go. And obviously, there’s a lot of other places they can get those resources. But we want to make sure that if they happen to come looking for them from us, that we’ve got them.

Lauren Herring: [00:17:54] The other thing that this particular job market with the record levels of unemployment has made us think about is, what can we do for people we’ve worked with in the past that might need some support right now? So we have actually opened up our web site. We have a job search career portal called myIMPACT, with a tremendous amount of content, access to live and recorded webinars, access to data bases that are subscription only. And we have opened up that portal to participants in the past who might be able to use it. And so we’ve offered that to the people who we worked with in the past number of years. And we have gotten people taking us up on that offer after what must be a situation where they had a job. And then now, in this situation, find themselves on the market again.

Jill Heineck: [00:18:52] So just so our listeners understand, I just want to get an idea of who your typical client is. Who hires you? So would it be the corporation? Would it be the third party? Is it either one? Do the transferees, you know -is your service recommended to the transferee and the transferee makes that call? How does that work?

Lauren Herring: [00:19:16] Great question, Jill. So our services are typically purchased by either the corporation directly or it’s part of the policy. And the third-party relocation management company will implement that policy. I would say we have a lot of direct corporate clients where they specify that 100 percent of transferees are eligible for this service. And so then, what happens is that the third party will authorize the service. And then we will introduce it to the employee and/or the spouse or partner.

Jill Heineck: [00:19:50] That’s amazing. That’s amazing.

Lauren Herring: [00:19:51] And so, what’s great about that process is because this is a very personal part of the relocation, but it’s outside the scope of the regular relocation concept of moving people from A to B, and all the details included with that. We often find that the relocation counselors, there’s a lot of questions that might come up that the relocation counselors can’t necessarily answer, which is fine because they have to know so many things about so many other aspects of this relocation process.

Lauren Herring: [00:20:26] So, we encourage in those situations for them to be authorized for us. And we will do the outreach and explain the value of this service and how, unlike a lot of the other services in relocation, that this service is not going to ask them to do more things that are going to go on their to do list. This is a service oftentimes that will take things off of their to do list and provide resources that are specifically just for them and make them feel very supported in the process.

Jill Heineck: [00:21:00]  Which is a giant bonus.

Lauren Herring: [00:21:00] Yeah. And if they decide they don’t want it, there’s no charge for that initial assessment. But if we can do that initial assessment, usually what we find is that 70 to 80 percent of people who are authorized for the service will take us up on moving forward with it.

Jill Heineck: [00:21:16] Right. So, let’s talk a little bit about how you’re motivating your coaching teams and your support teams on how to deliver these excellent experiences to the transferees and their partners as they relocate so that, you know, overall relocations are successful. And I’m guessing, given your success over the years, you have a very small percentage of failed relocations. You know, nothing is perfect. We know this.

Jill Heineck: [00:21:48] But I know, knowing your company, how dedicated you are to improving that experience year over year. So, talk to me a little bit about and tell our listeners how you’re motivating your coaches and what you’re doing behind the scenes to get them to continue to want to provide this experience to the transferees.

Lauren Herring: [00:22:10] Great. Well, we have actually recently reorganized our coaching team so that we are no longer focused on individual product lines. But we have, overall, a concept of coaching excellence at IMPACT Group. And this has really taken our coaching team to the next level because we are thinking in terms of big picture coaching excellence. And then bringing that down to what are the actionable things that coaches need to do to be successful.

Lauren Herring: [00:22:41] So one of the things that we implemented over the last couple of years is a coaching certification that all of our coaches have under their belts now. And so that’s great because it means that we are consistently applying our best practices. As well as the coaches are motivated by the fact that they are building in their repertoire of capabilities as well. Not to mention the fact that they have another certification behind their name. So that’s one thing. We are also providing content to the coaches in the form of lunch and learns and other types of training and specific pathways.

Lauren Herring: [00:23:23] So, for example, we are just releasing with so many changes in the visa landscape. For example, we’re releasing a new pathway to make sure all of our coaches are trained on visas. And what is our role as a career coach in the world of visas and what is not our role. And where we start creeping into giving legal advice and where we want to stay away from. And so we’re just providing clarity like that, also, is a big motivator for the coaching team. Because now they know exactly what they’re responsible for and what they don’t necessarily need to be focused on.

Lauren Herring: [00:24:02] And the other piece is just making sure that, especially, in these times of virtual life that we’re staying connected as a community. And so that’s something that our team, our coaching excellence team, has been doing a wonderful job of making sure that we’re checking up on each other, even though we’re a virtual team, even though we are all over the world, that we’re staying very connected. And that they’re still feeling like they’re a part of the team.

Jill Heineck: [00:24:35] Well, I mean, that’s a huge part, you know, keeping you guys connected then keeps everyone else connected that you’re touching. Which I think is key to success, particularly now. So, Lauren, let’s talk about something very exciting. Your upcoming book with the title being Take Control of Your Job Search, Ten Emotions You Must Master to Land the Job. And I believe it’s being released July of this year, correct?

Lauren Herring: [00:25:02] Yes, very exciting. July 14th.

Jill Heineck: [00:25:04] Awesome. So, let’s talk a little bit about what prompted you to write this book.

Lauren Herring: [00:25:09] A number of years ago, IMPACT have started a product development process on our job search just to make sure that we’re really addressing the needs of today’s contemporary job seeker. We used the design thinking process that I’m sure a lot of your customer experience aficionados are familiar with. Meaning that we’re looking at what is that user experience and how do we make sure that our service is supporting those specific needs? Well, in addition to the resumé, and the social media, and the interviewing guidance, and everything that we currently include, one of the things that became so clear of the value of our service was that emotional support provided by the coach.

Lauren Herring: [00:25:52] And as I started to think through some of the challenges that people experience in job searching on their own, where are they getting that emotional support to ride the ups and downs out? And so, I knew that I had another book in me. I wrote a book a couple of years ago called This Side Up, A Simple Guide to Your Successful Relocation. And so, I knew that I had a book in me on job search. But I was looking for the angle. What is going to be unique? Of course, there’s thousands of job search books out there already. Why should someone read what I’m going to write?

Lauren Herring: [00:26:28] And what I’m so excited about is Take Control of Your Job Search is the only job search book out there right now that is truly focused on how you manage your emotions so that you can master them and help land that job faster. So, I’m really excited about what this is going to offer to job seekers out there, especially right now during a challenging economic period and job market in the age of COVID-19 where there are legitimate fears around financial security, health security, emotions have never run higher in a job search.

Jill Heineck: [00:27:09] All right. And couple that with taking on a transfer that is, you know, because then you add that whole layer of concern for health and finances while you’re in the midst of a transfer. And then, you get to the new location and what does it look like health-wise when you get there? And so, that just – I mean, that’s probably another ten layers. That’s just a lot already. And then you have –

Lauren Herring: [00:27:35] Wait. And I have a lot of case studies and personal examples in the book. And one, for example, is where we’re talking about the emotion of anger. And so, a lot of times in the job search, you think about anger. Maybe I’m angry that I got let go. I’m angry at my former company and my former boss. I have an example in the book that talks about a woman who quit her job to relocate with her fiance. And so, she’s struggling in finding a job. She’s angry at him. She’s even more angry at herself for putting herself in this position. And angry at the new location that doesn’t have the job opportunities that she thinks she should be expecting.

Lauren Herring: [00:28:24] And so, how do you deal with a situation like that when emotions are high anyway because of relocation? And now, you have to go out and network. You have to interview and be professional. But if you’ve got all these emotions bottled up inside of you, guess what? They’re going to come out one way or the other.

Jill Heineck: [00:28:44] That’s right. And whether or not you are expressing those emotions consciously during your interview, the energy is there, right?

Lauren Herring: [00:28:58] Exactly.

Jill Heineck: [00:28:58] So, the interviewer or whomever you’re speaking with will feel it regardless.

Lauren Herring: [00:29:03] Yes. And that is exactly what I say in the book. So, you’re right on that even if you think you’ve got your emotions under control and if they’re under the surface, they’re going to come out one way or the other.

Jill Heineck: [00:29:17] That’s right. That’s right. So, I mean, how do the emotions play out differently for relocating spouse or accompanying talent compared to someone who might have just lost their job?

Lauren Herring: [00:29:28] Yeah. Well, so that example I just gave is a perfect situation where that woman had lots of the emotions around regret. Should I have not done this or should we have not taken this move, would we have been better off? So, there’s a lot of emotions kind of comparing the old location versus the new location.

Lauren Herring: [00:29:54] Another situation is, sometimes if you’re moving to a place of lower cost of living. If the spouse has quit a job in New York, let’s say, and is now looking for a job in St. Louis, where I’m at. Well, guess what? You know, you’re not likely to find the same salary level. So, how do you adjust your emotions around that and come to grips with the fact that while you may have been worth X in New York, you’re worth Y in St. Louis.

Jill Heineck: [00:30:27] Is that emotion or ego?

Lauren Herring: [00:30:30] Well, it’s all of the above. I think it’s ego. But then you create emotions around it. And so, one of the things that I talk about in that situation is, how do you make sure you’re getting the facts? So, you might be thinking you’re worth $100,000. But if those jobs pay $70,000 in St. Louis, then it’s just important to know that. So, it’s not a statement about your value or your worth as a job seeking individual. But it’s a value – it’s more about what’s that market in that location. So, how can you take the emotion out of it and put more concrete factors in?

Jill Heineck: [00:31:12] It’s very similar to the real estate market.

Lauren Herring: [00:31:15] Yes. Yes.

Jill Heineck: [00:31:18] So, your house might be awesome, but will someone pay what you paid or would be willing to pay for it today? I don’t know.

Lauren Herring: [00:31:25] Exactly. Great analogy.

Jill Heineck: [00:31:25] We won’t really know until you’re in the market. Right? So, let’s talk a little bit more about the transferee’s experience, maybe, from the moment that they decide that they are taking the transfer. And what’s their first touch with you?

Lauren Herring: [00:31:45] Their first touch with us is usually when they’ve been referred to us by the relocation management company. So, even in the case where we have a direct relationship with a client, oftentimes the referral comes through a relocation management company. And we are making outreach to that employee or spouse partner and explaining what it is that we can do, how we can help them have an easier job search, how we can help them settle into their new location faster, and helping to paint a picture of what working with us is going to be like.

Lauren Herring: [00:32:23] A lot of times people will move or accept a move and, of course, they know they have to move their house. They have to get new schools. They have to do the physical part of the move. But a lot of times they’re not thinking about how am I going to find that job. Or they’re just assuming that they’re going to have to do it by themselves. And so, when we’re able to explain this, all of a sudden a huge relief comes over them.

Lauren Herring: [00:32:50] The other interesting thing that we often advise our clients about is, if the relocation management company is talking to the employee about the service, sometimes they’ll say, “Oh yeah. We’ll deal with that later.” We advise, actually, that we have the opportunity to speak to the spouse partner up front. Because that individual’s goals about their career might be to start earlier. And so, if you’re just relying on what that employee is saying, that might not align with what the user of this service, especially, on the job search side would prefer.

Jill Heineck: [00:33:31] And that is also very similar to when we’re talking to clients who are getting ready to move with a relo and they’re selling their house. We want to talk to both decision makers. Typically, there are two. And we want to talk to both decision makers at the same time. And we find that when you get both people, transferee and their spouse partner, on the initial call at the same time, you’re setting those expectations on the front end.

Jill Heineck: [00:33:58] You’re hearing both sides. They’re hearing each other. It makes such a big difference than trying to go back and talk to the spouse partner later after the initial call. Because now you’re backpedaling is what I see in both scenarios, whether it’s, you know, your scenario or mine. I see there’s a lot – there can be backpedaling. So, I love that. So, how do you, at IMPACT, measure a successful client experience, whether it’s the employee experience or your corporate client?

Lauren Herring: [00:34:37] This is an interesting question. Because a lot of times in the world of surveys, there might be one master survey going out from a relocation management company covering everything. And the employees is filling that out. The interesting thing of our service is that, oftentimes, the spouse or partner is the primary user of the service. And so, actually having the employee fill that out is a secondary – is providing secondary information or secondhand information.

Lauren Herring: [00:35:17] But on the other hand, what we’re selling to our corporate clients is the fact that your employees are going to feel that much more relieved, and comfortable, and productive by having the service. So, therefore, even if they don’t know all the details of the service, they should feel connected like we did a good job. So there’s a number of interesting variables along the lines of the formal measuring of the customer satisfaction, if you will, in that process.

Lauren Herring: [00:35:51] But what that has forced us to do is make sure that we are integrating the employee transferee much more in our process. If it’s not where they’re involved in every meeting, it’s more just like they’re getting an update on what it is that IMPACT Group is doing with their spouse or partner’s employment search. And that makes a big difference that they feel connected. They do know that we’re doing something, even if they’re not personally connected with it.

Lauren Herring: [00:36:22] In most cases, for us, a spouse is going to feel like they’re most successful in our service if they’ve landed a job and if they’re happy with that experience. But you know, what’s interesting is because sometimes the package that we’re able to offer because of the size of the benefit, is not something where we’re able to provide ongoing support over months and months and months. It’s more of a job search kick start. And so, what is important to us in that customer experience is that we’re managing those expectations about what they’re going to get upfront. And that we’re delivering on those.

Lauren Herring: [00:37:06] And that, as best as possible, even if they don’t land a job, which, of course, we want everyone to land a job. But in the case that they don’t land a job in the time that we’re working with them, they are prepared where they can take those skills and proceed on their own. And actually, I’ve received a number of surveys recently where someone has said, “I’m so thrilled about the job I landed. But even more so, I have new skills that will last for my lifetime now that I can take with me.” And so, that’s a great testament to customer experience also.

Jill Heineck: [00:37:41] Absolutely. Absolutely. I’d love to hear a couple actionable pieces of advice that you might have to maybe, on the one hand, executive people who are in the executive roles that are thinking about a relocation, thinking about accepting one, thinking about applying for relo in this job market environment that we’re in. Do you have a couple of pieces of advice for them? And then secondarily, what couple pieces of advice might you have for a corporate client considering, you know, implementing your services into their policies?

Lauren Herring: [00:38:19] Sure. On the personal level – and this is something I talk about a lot about in the book – be clear about your brand. And one of the interesting things about branding is, a lot of times in job search, people think about the resumé or maybe the social media. I would still zoom out even further and think about your brand. What’s the one thing or one or two things that you want to be known for?  And make sure that you’re really clear on that so you can communicate that to others. This is important if you’re in a job search or if you have a job and you want to grow and take that next step. Or be identified for an opportunity for promotion or relocation.

Lauren Herring: [00:38:56] And then take time to reflect from time to time and be intentional on, are you living out your brand promise? And is that something that if you were to ask your boss or your boss’s boss, are they aligned with what you’re wanting to put out there to the world?  Making sure that you are really clear about your brand is, number one, going to help you in making sure that you’re positioning yourself for success in job search or in your career. As well as in a job search, it helps to keep you really focused on remembering what’s great about you. Because sometimes things can get tough. And remembering about you at your best and putting yourself in that mindset is going to help you even on your tough days.

Lauren Herring: [00:39:53] So, then, the second part of your question on what to tell corporate clients. And this goes back to the corporate experience you were talking about. I have a client that a number of years ago told me, “Sometimes it’s hard to put into words exactly what IMPACT Group is offering. But I know when someone hasn’t taken their services because of the additional levels of chaos in that move.” And that creates chaos in the corporate clients’ world as well. And so, that peace of mind that things are going to go more smoothly, there’s going to be more productivity, a higher likelihood of retention, those are the kinds of things that speak to the corporate client, and why this service is a value.

Jill Heineck: [00:40:45] And the bonus that you are taking a lot of that off their plate, off their H.R. team’s, relo team’s plates. And they don’t have to be all things, you know, during this relo transfer. So, that is an amazing amount of advice. And I would really love for you to tell everybody where they’ll be able to find your book and how they can find you.

Lauren Herring: [00:41:11] Okay. Wonderful. Well, again, the book is called Take Control of Your Job Search, Ten Emotions You Must Master to Land the Job. It’s available on Amazon for pre-order right now. And on July 14th, it will be available in Kindle and hard copy. And then it’ll be available in other bookstores as well. And you can find me on LinkedIn. My name is Lauren Herring, again. And IMPACT Group is www.impactgrouphr.com.

Jill Heineck: [00:41:46] Beautiful. Well, Lauren, thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with us. Your information is invaluable. I know that. To our listeners, I want to thank our listeners for listening and tuning in today. I’m proud to share this show with you as these stories prioritize the customer experience as well as the employee experience as a legit business strategy. Reminding us that no matter the business you are in, whether it be H.R., relocation, coaching, or real estate, the customer experience should always be the heart of the business.

About Your Host

Jill Heineck is a leading authority on corporate relocations, and is highly sought after for her real estate industry acumen and business insights. As a published author, frequent panelist and keynote speaker, Jill shares her experience and perceptions with people from around the globe.

Jill is a founding partner of Keller Williams Southeast, established in 1999, and the founder and managing partner of Heineck & Co. Her real estate practice specializes in corporate relocations, individual relocations, luxury residential, and commercial properties. Jill’s analytical approach to problem-solving, along with her expert negotiation skills and sophisticated marketing, deliver superior results to her clients. Her winning strategies and tenacious client advocacy have earned her a reputation for excellence among Atlanta’s top producers.

While Jill has received many accolades throughout her career, she is most gratified by the personal testimonials and referrals she receives from her clients. Jill’s unwavering commitment to the customer experience, and her focus on the unique needs of each client, serve as the foundation of her success.

Follow Jill Heineck on LinkedIn.