Relocation SLA and dedicated account management

What a relocation SLA should define

A relocation service level agreement is not a marketing promise. It is a working document that sets out response times, scope of services, escalation paths and reporting formats, agreed before mandates begin so both sides know what to expect.

For a Switzerland-focused SLA, this typically includes acknowledgement times for new referrals, timelines for first contact with the relocating employee, the services included as standard versus billed separately, and the cadence of status updates to HR.

• •Time to acknowledge a new referral and assign a consultant
• •Time to first contact with the employee or family
• •Scope: which services are included per assignment tier
• •Escalation path and named contacts on both sides
• •Reporting format and frequency for HR and finance
• •Confidentiality and data handling terms

The role of a dedicated account manager

A dedicated account manager relocation model means one person on our side knows your company's policy, your approval process and your history of past assignments, rather than each new case starting from a blank page.

The account manager does not replace the relocation consultant working directly with the employee. Their role is oversight: making sure each mandate follows your company's relocation policy, flagging issues early, and giving HR one number to call instead of chasing several consultants across cantons.

• •One contact for policy questions, escalations and reporting
• •Continuity across assignments, so context is not lost between cases
• •Coordination across offices when moves span Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich and other cantons
• •A single point of accountability if a mandate falls behind

Reporting and visibility for HR teams

Global mobility teams are increasingly asked to justify relocation spend and demonstrate that assignments are progressing on schedule. Regular reporting under a relocation SLA gives HR a factual basis for that conversation, rather than relying on informal updates.

Reporting typically covers active mandates, milestones reached (arrival, permit application filed, housing secured, school enrolment confirmed), and any blockers requiring HR input, such as a missing document or a delayed decision from an authority.

Confidentiality in corporate relocation mandates

Relocation files contain personal and sometimes sensitive information: salary bands, family circumstances, immigration status, health coverage choices. A corporate SLA should state clearly how this data is handled, who within your organisation receives what level of detail, and how long records are retained.

Professional secrecy applies to every mandate we handle, and reporting to HR is structured so that operational visibility does not require sharing information the employee has not consented to disclose beyond what is necessary for the relocation itself.

Scaling account management across cantons

A company relocating employees to Geneva, Zurich and Zug at the same time faces three different cantonal administrations, three housing markets and, often, three different immigration procedures depending on nationality and permit type. Without coordination, each move is handled in isolation and HR ends up as the de facto project manager.

A dedicated account manager working across our offices in Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, and active in cantons including Zug, Lucerne and St. Gallen, keeps a single view of every assignment regardless of destination canton, so HR receives one consistent report instead of several disconnected updates.

What to ask before signing a corporate relocation agreement

Not every relocation provider structures its service the same way. Before committing to a corporate agreement, it is worth confirming exactly how account management and reporting will work in practice, rather than assuming it matches what was discussed verbally.

• •Who is the named account manager, and what is their availability?
• •What are the committed response times, in writing?
• •What is included in the standard mandate, and what is billed as an add-on?
• •How and how often is progress reported to HR?
• •What happens if a consultant is unavailable or a mandate stalls?
• •How is confidential employee data handled and for how long is it retained?