The Seasonality of Relocation: May is National Moving Month

May 5, 2011 by Frank Peditto

It is estimated that an average of 44 million Americans move in the U.S. each year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau one in six Americans move each year and the average American will move just over 11 times in their lifetime. While many of these moves occur within the same county or local area, a substantial portion are longer distance moves, requiring the services of moving professionals, including vehicle transportation services.

One of the biggest challenges we face in the moving industry is the seasonality, with between 60 and 70 percent of the annual activity occurring each year between April and September. In fact, the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) named May ‘National Moving Month’ to signify the beginning of the season. Anyone who has been in the moving industry understands the seasonality and works diligently to prepare for the increase in activity while not sacrificing service or capability. Reflecting back on my nearly 20 years in the business, I share the following recommendations for preparation and survival.

• Survey your clients: Meet with clients during annual reviews and work to develop individual plans based on their specific business objectives and predictions for the forthcoming year. Incorporate these forecasts into your overall business modeling.
• Leverage temporary help: Design and implement an operational model that allows for the engagement of temporary help during the spring and summer seasons. A perfect opportunity for college students and interns, your model must be built to allow for the separation of administrative and back-office tasks (non-customer facing) providing your experienced service professionals with the support required to effectively manage an increased caseload without comprising service in any way.
• Prepare and train your team: Don’t wait until the initiations begin coming in, but rather work with your team in advance to prepare them for the process and train them on efficiencies and best practices to allow them to effectively do their jobs and provide unparalleled service.
• Continuously invest in technology: Work on your business as well as in it, remaining focused on improvement and leveraging technology to reduce redundancies in workflow and automate any non-critical manual tasks.
• Reward your team: Ensure that you recognize the increased workload through internal kudos, pizza lunches, complimentary half-days, etc.

Working in a seasonally impacted industry is not easy and it requires a lot of knowledge, preparation and flawless execution, but, if you know your business and engage and reward your team, you will mitigate the volume with ease and position yourself for continued growth in the future.