To plan a successful and efficient future of your company or employees, you must first look back at the past. No, no to torment you with your mistakes. But rather to analyze what was good and bad and learn from that. Now that the new year craziness has passed but we’re still feeling fresh from a new beginning and motivated, it’s a good time to do that.
This is recommendable for all businesses, but especially those regarding the mobility industry. Because it’s an ever-changing industry. There’s always something new to learn, improve on or get updated in. Your plans may have to be modified to be better. But if you’re a mobility professional, you already know this.
Add some fun and some charity into all that and you have MERC’s “Winter Education Event”. A look at the past through your learning lenses and a hopeful look at the future of mobility. So, if you work in this industry, you can’t miss it.
About MERC
Minnesota Employee Relocation Council (MERC) is a non-profit organization that aims to help relocation and mobility professionals through education and networking. They have three objectives.
First, they want to give opportunities for professionals to share and trade information and ideas. Second, they want to give educational opportunities to these workers. Third, they wish to encourage cooperation among people in the industry, so they all can work together to help with the needs of clients.
They achieve this through the events they host during the year, like their Annual Conference. Also, by helping their community through charity work and a scholarship for a high school senior that has been relocated.
Great news for you if you like MERC: you can be a member! There are different according to your business profile:
There’s the Corporate Membership, which is free and for unlimited time. Some of its benefits are a discount for the Annual Conference and free education events.
There’s also the Service Provider Membership, which lasts one year, and it costs $100. Some of its benefits are sponsorship opportunities and a discount in the registration for their Annual Conference.
Finally, there’s the Transition Membership, which is also free and for unlimited time. Some of its benefits are “[…] job referral opportunities” and discounts for the education events.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, February 8th, 2024
Time: 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location:Brookview Golf Course at 316 Brookview Parkway S, Golden Valley, MN 55426
The “Winter Education Event” is all about having an educational environment with a splash of fun and networking. All of this in order to move forward in the best way possible.
You’ll have a great time during the education session: “Looking Back and Launching Forward”. Where you’ll take a look at what happened in the mobility world in 2023, so you can learn from that and improve your professional life in 2024.
They’ll “[…] dive into what went well in 2023…” As well as “[…]what may not have gone as planned, what was accomplished and what 2023 initiatives ultimately went on the backburner”.
But the future is also important, we can’t get stuck in the past. That’s why they’ll also talk about what “[…] the group’s mobility program goals and initiatives are for 2024”.
But the event doesn’t end there. MERC also knows that networking is important for all professionals. So there will also be a time for this.
And because they also care about their community, there’s also going to be a fundraiser while having fun “pub curling”. You might wonder: what is pub curling? It means that you can participate in the curling activity, but because there’s no ice, it’s all going to be inside.
But it’ll be just as fun as when there’s ice. They describe it as “[…] curling meets shuffle board”. Because of this exciting activity, they recommend you go dressed in a “warm casual” outfit.
The fundraiser will help The Foundation for Workforce Mobility, founded by Worldwide ERC. This foundation wants to motivate all relocation professionals to support charities and those who need it.
They, at the same time, support many different charities. Among those there is Family Promise, which helps homeless families; Move for Hunger, which transports food for communities that need it, and others.
As if this weren’t enough, there’s also going to be some raffles. You’ll be able to win gift baskets and cash! How cool, huh!
Here’s the schedule in more detail:
The corporate-only round table will take place from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Then, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM, it’s time for the registration for the education event. After it, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, comes lunch and the educational session. Finally, from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM it’s networking time!
Oh, and by the way, you’ll be able to get CRP/GMS credits if you attend.
There’s still time for you to be the sponsor of the “Minnesota Made Raffle Gift Basket” for $250.
If you’d really like to attend, register here. It costs $180 for non-members.
Moderator
Eric Loff studied a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at St. Olaf College and a Master of Business Administration in Accounting at University of Minnesota. He soon became the Manager at KPMG. Then, he started working as the Executive Director at Ernst & Young, where he was for 11 years!
After that, he started working at Global Tax Network, first as a Managing Director and now he’s the President. He’s been there for twelve years! He also works as a speaker “[…] on international executive topics”.
On his LinkedIn, he states that his “[…] focus is providing clear and understandable tax, policy and payroll assistance to companies with mobile employees and to individuals with cross-border tax complexities.
He lists international tax, expatriate management, global mobility, and tax advisory as some of his skills and areas of knowledge.
Panelists
Connor Mattison studied a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies at Luther College. Since then, he’s built an impressive career. He was an Inbound Marketing Intern at media junction. He worked at Plus Relocation for a little over 4 years in different job positions!
He started as their Global Mobility Specialist, then became the Global Mobility Coordinator, and finally the Senior Global Mobility Coordinator. During that time, he was also their Staff Photographer.
All this happened before working as a Global Talent Mobility Specialist at Edelman, his current job. As if that weren’t enough, during all those jobs, he was also an independent photographer and he still is.
On his LinkedIn he has HR operation, social media, event planning, public speaking, fundraising, inbound marketing, and more as his skills.
Sarah Yantifovich studied Theater at Pomona College and then a Bachelor of Science in English Language and Literature/Letters at Minnesota State University. She also got her Global Professional in Human Resources certification at HRCI.
Throughout her career she’s had different amazing job positions. She was a Project Manager at Fieldwork Minneapolis. Then, she became a Relocation Counselor at Plus Relocation Services.
Then, she went on to work at Cargill for 13 years! She first was their Global Mobility Specialist, then became the Senior Global Mobility Consultant. After that she escalated to Global Mobility Lead for North America and Latin America. Then, became their Global Mobility Compliance Leader.
During that time, she was also Interim Total Rewards Lead for Europe Middle East & Africa, also at Cargill. She then was the Digital Transformation Manager of Global Employer Services at Deloitte. Finally, she got her current role as a Manager of Global Mobility at General Mills.
She stated her specialty “[…] is helping companies drive their overall talent strategy by building award-winning, efficient, compliant, experience-focused mobility programs and cross border remote workforce solutions”.
Hiroko Teshikawara has an impressive education. She studied a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She then got her Professional in Human Resources certification at HR Certification Institute.
After that she became a Global Mobility Specialist at Worldwide ERC. And finally, got her Global Professional in Human Resources, also at the HR Certification Institute.
She has also built a wide career. Among her many jobs, she was a Bilingual Administrative Assistant at Hilton Hotels in Otaru, Japan. She also worked as an Administration Manager at Tokyo American Club.
Then, she worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for six years! During which she had many roles: HR Assistant, Recruiting Operations Coordinator, Relocation and Immigration Specialist, and Global Mobility Specialist.
Then, she was the Manager of Global Mobility at Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA. Now, she works at Beam Suntory as a Senior Manager, Global Mobility.
She lists Mobility Strategy, Corporate Relocation, Human Resources, Onboarding, and Expatriate Management as some of her skills and areas of knowledge.
Move Forward in Your Mobility Career with Fluency Corp
Now that you’ve analyzed your past and especially your 2023 in terms of your mobility career, what do you think you could do better for 2024?
We have good advice for you: Work on your second language skills. This will take you far in any industry, but especially in relocation and mobility, where you work with international clients. So, if you want to become an even better professional, take Fluency Corp corporate language classes.
Our lessons are for you, your employees, and honestly, everyone who needs them. And the best is that they are completely customized to the job and your needs. Oh, and let’s not forget classes are taught by a native teacher. With all of this, you can be sure you’ll truly learn useful things.
We teach based on the Bellieu Method, created by our CEO and founder Micah Bellieu. It consists of making you speak using what you’ve learned so far. Because through speaking practice you’ll achieve true language fluency.
Now all you must do is pick a language and choose between our online or on-site classes. For any questions, contact us for a free consultation at getfluent@fluencycorp.com or (800) 401-3159.
