The Chairman's Corner

By John Chipman, Jr.

March 2021

It’s been 12 long months since California began to shut down due to Covid-19. What have Movers learned? On the one hand, we know the loss of life has been a calamity not seen since the Spanish Influenza outbreak over 100 years ago. The business challenges have been grim and humbling. On the other hand, are there any pandemic developments that, perhaps, have made our industry stronger? The Communicator asked several van line leaders for their take on whether any “silver linings” had emerged amidst the misery. Here’s what they have to say.

Brian Risley, SVP of SIRVA Worldwide (parent of Allied and northAmerican), sees it this way: “The pandemic has very clearly revealed the critical nature of our work in the moving industry . . . this was not a surprise to our industry, but our uninterrupted operations where it was a very public validation of the vital work of the men and women of Moving and Storage. And, this recognition is not limited to lawmakers and health officials. Our customers understand, too."

As the fight against the pandemic progresses, Brian believes that “one silver lining of this challenging time is that the good and hardworking people of this industry will find more personal fulfillment in their work because of its clear importance, and continue to garner all due and overdue respect and appreciation—each and every day.”

Atlas World Group Chairman & CEO Jack Griffin believes everything happens for a reason. Even during a pandemic. Atlas leadership in Evansville, IN made some very tough decisions to counter the pandemic’s effects. And those timely decisions yielded an important silver lining: Atlas has become a “leaner and more efficient organization,” according to Jack. This change enabled Atlas to not only be more productive, but also more profitable. More significantly, Jack says, Atlas is now “poised for significant growth and prosperity in the future.”

Atlas also gained a greater appreciation for the role that technology plays in our industry. As Jack sees it, Atlas’ pre-Covid investment in technology: “was essential in our ability to serve our customers during these difficult times and is 100% necessary in order to evolve as our modern-day customers evolve. Jack is an optimist: “We are excited about what the new normal will bring and look to enhancing our service offerings to match the ever-changing needs of our customers.”

Mayflower and United agents also received a high-tech silver lining -- virtual survey/sales technology. According to Marc Rogers, CEO & President of The UniGroup Companies: “When COVID hit, we were able to continue booking business safely while meeting local protocols and protecting agents, employees and customers. Now, we see even higher participation in those using virtual surveys, which continues to offer greater flexibility and benefits both to the agent and customers.”

The pandemic placed movers and customers under even more emotional stress–which is really saying something for an industry accustomed to safeguarding cherished possessions, like family photos and heirlooms. As Marc puts it: “we emphasized the importance of empathy, especially with our frontline workers, operations and sales teams. Special care was needed in so many instances to guide customers through an even more emotional experience, which led to higher customer satisfaction scores overall.”

Covid-19 has also sparked movers to look for new business. “Some of our agents had strong financial years,” according to Marc, UniGroup agents “. . . pivoted resources to areas with growth opportunities, which proved to be beneficial when National Account business was down and military shipments were paused.”

What about our relationship with the physical office place during the pandemic? Colleagues in supporting roles, like sales, billing and customer service, learned working from home didn’t jeopardize performance. But, did it help? National Van Lines Chairman & CEO Tim Helenthal thinks so: “We’re able to successfully operate the business in a work-from-home environment so we now have flexibility to close the building when we have really bad winter weather.”

Did National and its agents get better at selling during the pandemic? “We’ve also had to rearrange some of our sales processes and that has provided us with the ability to really close more business”, says Tim. “Fortunately, we still see plenty of consumers looking to move.” On a personal note, Tim doesn’t miss pre-Covid business travel. “I regularly do anywhere between 60 and 90 hotel nights per year. Being home has helped me re-establish much better daily habits – I’m exercising more regularly, eating better, and getting a better night sleep. And it’s been really nice to have that extra time with my wife and my kids.”

Have you noted any “silver linings” during the past year? I’d love to hear about it. Please email me at jchipmanjr@chipmanrelo.com.

March 2021- CMSA Communicator