Moving is never easy.

There. It’s out in the open – a truth that your employees will certainly recognize. While there are many factors you cannot control in the process of transitioning your company’s most precious resources – its people – from one place to another, the relocation provider you select is, and the decision is of critical importance. Your relocation management company must be an extension of your culture and share in your commitment to your employees. After all, the relocation company will be delivering your company’s policy, essentially becoming the “face” of your brand.

It might seem as though choosing one of the high-powered major national firms would be your best bet but think again. Experts say smaller relocation companies – sometimes called “boutique” or “right-sized” firms – can provide better service, adapt more easily to your company’s corporate culture, and deliver a better value for the price over their larger competitors.

Service With a Personal Touch

Whether your employees are moving across town or across the globe, it’s certainly going to be difficult for them to keep their heads in the game business-wise with dozens of details in flux – especially when there’s a family involved in the move. Thanks to their lithe structure and employees empowered by fewer layers of approvals, these smaller relocation companies are uniquely capable of providing the type of responsive service that will help allay those moving jitters, and in turn, enable your team members to maximize their productive time.

“With smaller companies, the consultants typically handle smaller caseloads than do larger relocation firms,” says Brenda Sunoo of Workforce magazine. “They’re likely to deliver on their promises for consistent, customized, flexible, and personalized services. With the more complicated relocation cases, the staff at smaller companies will be accessible and quick to solve unexpected problems.”

A second point many leading experts mention regarding service is that with a “right-sized” firm, your employees are more likely to have their needs met by a single point of contact, generally backed up by a second team member, at all times. Most employees in the midst of a move find it troubling to have to keep up with the details from so many different inputs. Having a single point of contact is much easier on the nerves, returns your employee to productive time, and leaves him/her with a more positive experience of the relocation as a whole.

A Better Cultural Fit

Customization is another point of differentiation. While colossal multinational relocation companies may well have all the bells, whistles, and tools you’re looking for to serve your employees, will they pick up on important nuances of your business that may require altering those tools in order to help them best serve you?

If the answer to that question is no, this can mean exponentially different degrees of frustration for your employees, and your in-house team could be dealing with processes that should take minutes but can turn into hours. Smaller, “right-sized” providers have the ability to absorb important details about your company culture and fine-tune their services, working hand-in-hand with your team to effectively become your partner in relocating your employees. Many times, individual counselors bond with the employees they’re working with and form real relationships that go well beyond the job.

A Difference at the Bottom Line, Too

While these personal touches are the all-encompassing hallmarks that will matter to your employees, you’ll generally also see a bonus when it comes to the bill: Smaller relocation companies characteristically work on a streamlined operational framework, which in turn means cost savings. Plus, you’ll find that these companies’ suppliers operate in a similar manner, meaning competitive quotes and decreased costs when it comes time to pay the bill.

Additionally, you can be confident the vendors your relocation company chooses are chosen strictly on their merits – not because your relocation company also holds a stake in the van line, the storage company, or another provider within the supply chain.

So, there you have it: When it comes to corporate relocation companies, very good things come in small packages. Much like the concierge at a fine hotel, this job is truly about service, and that “servant’s heart” is at the foundation of success. Coupled with the kind of flexibility in customization that only an agile, right-sized team can offer, it’s the “it” factor that makes them truly the force to reckon with in the relocation landscape.