Worldwide ERC’s Americas Mobility Conference coming to Houston

Next week global mobility professionals from around the world will descend on Houston as the Bayou City prepares to host Worldwide ERC’s (Employee Relocation Council’s) inaugural Americas Mobility Conference. It will be held May 18-20 at the Hilton Americas Hotel.

Attendees will hear from mobility experts, as they explore and share their expertise on the future of workforce mobility in the Americas, all in keeping with the conference theme: “Reimagine the Future.”

According to Worldwide ERC, the theme of the conference is about looking at the global mobility industry through a new lens, by exploring fresh relocation policy offerings and structures, evaluating effective crossborder assignment tools, reassessing crisis management, and other key issues that will impact the industry moving forward.

Worldwide ERC events are known as the place where industry leaders, innovators, and the people who make things happen gather to learn about the latest developments, issues and trends affecting the global mobility industry.

It is anticipated that the conference will bring in over 1,000 mobility professional. Worldwide ERC has already reported that corporate registration numbers are at the highest they have been in over five years.

The conference promises many opportunities for attendees to engage in peer-topeer networking, attend educational and developmental sessions, benchmarking workshops and training events.

Educational sessions will include many robust, timely relocation topics, such as: U.S. real estate trends; economic overview of the crude oil market; the energy industry’s impact on relocation; immigration changes and challenges in Latin America; cross-border commuting; appraisal challenges; duty of care; mobility in Mexico; integrating technology and mobility; supporting succession planning through effective management; bridging generational gaps in today’s workplace; bridging cultural differences in North, Central and South America. Jonathan Perelman, former vice president of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and former global lead for industry relations at Google, will be the conference’s keynote speaker. Prior to the start of the Conference, Worldwide ERC is also offering three optional educational and certification programs.

The first is the Strategic Talent Mobility Course, which will be held on Tuesday, May 17.

This course explains the important role that talent mobility plays in organizations’ talent management strategies, and equips learners to become consultative partners in helping their organizations fulfill their talent management objectives.

The second is the Global Mobility Specialist training and certification, which is broken down into three separate modules. The first two modules are offered exclusively online, but Module 3, “The Intercultural Challenge: Supporting Successful International Assignments,” is offered on Wednesday, May 18.

The third optional program is the Certified Relocation Professional Examination, which is administered on May 18.

Finally, Worldwide ERC will be offering two Foundation for Workforce Mobility Events in conjunction with the conference.

To follow the highlights from the Amer- icas Mobility Conference on Facebook and Twitter, use the hashtag: #ReimagineAMC16. Michelle Sandlin is a writer, journalist and relocation industry expert. Her work is frequently fea- tured in Worldwide ERC’s Mobility magazine, and in various business and industry related publications and corporate blogs. Follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMichelleSandlin and on Twitter: @MichelleSandlin. Also visit “On the Move” at blog.chron.com/onthemove.