“We are committed to a customer-focused business philosophy,” said Jim Walsh, Alliance Relocation Services CEO, “It’s this mindset which ensures that our customer requirements are met on time by streamlining our processes, listening to the voices of our customers, and standing behind the services we provide.”

Alliance Relocation Services, Inc. is an innovative and respected leader in the crating and third-party specialty relocation services industry. With sales offices in the Northeast, Southeast, and on the West Coast, Alliance is prepared to support any size mover or relocation company.

10 – Fitness -> By staying in shape, you’ll be able to do more, and be in less pain from heavy lifting.

9 – Stay Hydrated -> Make sure to keep plenty of water on hand, especially during July/August which are usually the hottest months!

8 – Focus – it’s our Playoff Time!  -> This is the busy season, have to keep your head in the game!

7 – Get Organized -> And because it’s busy, you have to make sure that you know where all materials, paperwork, and schedules are at all times.

6 – Do what you say you’re going to do -> Follow Through!

5 – Say No….  If you have to -> It is ok to turn things down to get the job done.  Or if you need help with a project, it is ok to ask as well.

4 – Golden Rule – Life is a mirror image what you put out comes right back at you

3 – Don’t Forget Family! –> They are your support system.

2 – TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More

1 – Delegate!

Merchants Moving & Storage reaches 66 years of age and still going strong.  They recently sent out a notice demonstrating their milestone!

“When a person is 66 years old, they enjoy senior citizen discounts around town. When a moving company delivers high-quality service for 66 years, they enjoy loyal customers, a great reputation, and the satisfaction of knowing they’ve been helping ease the stress of moving for generations of Treasure Valley residents. Merchants Moving & Storage, Inc. is proud to announce our 66th anniversary in 2010.

We are also family-owned: the Grove family of Boise is in the second generation of leadership at Merchants Moving & Storage, Inc., and expects the third generation to join the family business in the next few years.

So even though we were “born” in 1944, we don’t mind old jokes. In fact, we couldn’t be prouder of our age.”

We contacted Merchants Moving and spoke with CEO, Ron Grove about the milestone.  They are very excited about their past and their future, and he had this to share with us:

The Merchants Moving & Storage, Inc. team is proud of our accomplishment.  A generational business that lasts 66 years is not common today.  We would like to sincerely thank our dedicated employees and our wonderful customers.  Without each of them, we would not have reached this milestone.

Congratulations on all the hard work and your achievements!

Alliance Relocation Services seeks first to serve and we like to be where our community is.  So it should be no surprise that we dove headfirst into the mysterious world of Social Media this year, and we’re pretty excited about it.  For the past few months we have been developing initiatives and jumping on platforms with hopes of reaching more transferees and building better relationships with customers.

We are now on what is known as “The Big Three” networks which includes Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  We have what is undoubtedly one of the largest Twitter followings in our industry with 6200+ people, and are hoping to connect with everyone we do business with as well – if only to improve communication systems.  However, we haven’t stopped there with just The Big Three.  Alliance can also be found on Digg, YouTube, Flickr, Slideshare.net, and of course, on our Blog – Relocation Ally.

In May we hired a Community Manager to handle our social media full time.  She manages all of the accounts on line and interacts with our followers and fans.  As one of her most recent projects, she helped Alliance with a two week open call for anyone to take a Social Media Survey and find out exactly how other relocation industry companies are using it to their advantage, if at all.  The Survey included 19 questions about personal and professional use of Social Media platforms and all participants were entered to win one of five $50 gift certificates to Best Buy (winners to be announced on July 15^th).  Once the results are in, the summary will be posted on our blog, so be on the lookout.

If you are a company who is looking into getting involved with Social Media we would be more than happy to talk more with you about it.  In fact, Jim Walsh (also on Twitter @AllianceCEO), just gave a presentation to the local Syracuse Chamber of Commerce on Social Media and how it works for various industries.  The clips of this presentation can be found on our Relocation Ally YouTube channel as well.

Taking the initiative to say thank you is still a relatively untapped leadership strategy. Yet recognition is probably one of the most powerful job motivators that we have available to us; its simplicity, impact and flexibility are almost boundless. Recognition programs that encourage employees to show appreciation for everyone’s efforts can improve working relationships and business results. But such programs should be run in conjunction with manager feedback, experts stress.

We recently instituted a “peer-to-peer” recognition program entitled “YOU ROCK.”  The “YOU ROCK” program is simple to administer and flexible when it comes to what actions are recognized.

Here’s how it works

-           A team member at any level, can fill out a blank “YOU ROCK” card thanking a coworker for something specific they did that went “above and beyond.”

-          That team member notes the recognition in a quarterly log

-          The recipient receives a card AND a $5 gift card from Target.

-           At the end of each quarter, the team member with the most “YOU ROCK” cards wins a dinner for two at a local eatery.

-          A summary is also distributed at the end of each quarter that provides an overview of the great work that had been recognized for that quarter.

Why is peer-to-peer effective?

What are the typical interactions and contacts that you have during the course of that day? Most people will spend the majority of their people time (a 90-10 ratio is probably reasonable for most staffers) interacting with peers and customers not with management. In other words, the peer group has much more of an opportunity to influence how an employee feels about his or her contribution (the individual’s self esteem) than does the manager.

Many companies have some type of recognition program for the most part and these programs are controlled by management.  Very few of these companies have processes which encourage all employees to take the initiative to recognize each other’s work contributions at a peer-to-peer level.

Elements for a successful peer-to-peer recognition program

Align with Business Values. What contributions from employees are important to your business? Many times these factors can be based on the organization’s core values.  In addition, the team should develop an understanding of what each member expects from the team.

Be Inclusive. In an effective peer recognition program, any coworker can nominate a peer for going above and beyond.

Reward Appropriately. Sometimes a simple “thanks” is all it takes to make someone’s day, and sometimes you need something more, such as a physical object (like a “YOU ROCK” card).

The Nomination Process. Keep it simple and empower the entire team.

It’s easy to see how a workplace where employees show each other appreciation would be a more pleasant place to work.  Employees who recognize each other show greater respect and tend to act more cooperatively. Respect and cooperation create a happier, more productive workplace—an obvious benefit for individuals and managers.

Over the past several months, Alliance has been working on a valuable lead generation tool; The Relocation Ally Move Estimation Widget. Unlike most web-based move calculators, this widget will provide a real-time estimate for an upcoming move. Plus, it will help the shipper manage move milestones and make the entire relocation process run more smoothly.

The widget will capture valuable information including a shipper’s e-mail, phone number, origin/destination data and the scope of a move.  In addition to the estimate, the widget will display a list of qualified movers that the shipper can review and follow up with.  Here’s the best part, we will push these valuable leads to participating movers via email.  All you have to do is follow up.

Alliance will be looking for up to 50 companies initially to try this for free. Our widget comes with simple HTML code that anyone can put on a website or blog and over time you’ll start to see the leads roll in.

If you are interested in being one of the first 50, leave a comment or email Jim & Jenn for more information.

So far in our series we have posted 11 Milestones (with many more to come) that have been widely well received across Twitter and Facebook.  Comments are always appreciated and encouraged as we are hoping to build a strong community amongst movers and customers. The topics discussed so far include:

1 Have a Meeting

2 Seek Emotional Support

3 Take Inventory

4 Ready…Set…Plan!

5 Making a Budget

6 How to choose a Moving Company

7 What Are you Not Using?

8 Sell Your Junk!

9 Packing Correctly

10 Make Your Home Repairs

11How To Best Use a Storage Unit

If there are any you would like to see added in the future that would be helpful, let us know by sending an email over to Jenn Pedde, our Community Manager -> jennifer.pedde@alliancerelocation.com

We created a Powerpoint presentation of 24 slides and played a 4 minute video to start off the one hour long session.  Alliance Relocation Services does not claim to be an expert in Social Media, but after having developed initiatives and platforms over the past few months we have learned a thing or two.  Social Media is an excellent way to enhance a company’s marketing or PR departments, and has a hand in IT as well with website SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and blogs.  It not meant for only B2C (Business to Consumer) style marketing, but also B2B (Business to Business) as well.

Our slides can be found on slideshare.net if you are looking into what Social Media can do for you.   We have also posted a few short clips from the presentation on our YouTube Channel as well. 

The transition from independent living to assisted/community living can be a taxing time in life. In addition to dealing with the emotional stress of relocating, senior citizens and their families  also have to handle the mental strain of moving. This has inspired many movers and relocation professionals to reach out to this target market. Dedicated to “providing the delicate art of move management for seniors,” many movers now handle all planning, coordination and supervision associated with relocating from one residence to another. From planning and packing, to picture hanging and making the beds, these service providers take care of every detail.

During these tough economic times it’s important to step back and look at your core business and determine how you can adapt to the ever-changing needs of the customer. It is inevitable that a move is going to be required sometime in most seniors’ lives. When this happens it is important that serious consideration also be given to the senior’s needs and even more importantly, the caregivers. So much of the burden of moving often falls on the shoulders of the caregivers. They too have personal time commitments and cannot always be available when the move is required to do the organizing and physical tasks associated with moving.  This is when a mover with specialized skills and experiences for moving seniors is particularly valuable.

This is one area that Your Relocation Ally will be covering more in the future.  This is only one of the many opportunities that our industry should be exploring.   Innovative, solution-based business opportunities, like Senior Move Management, may hold the key to success for both small and large moving companies.