History of the ‘trailing spouse’:

Relocation practices began to acquire substance in the early 1980s as they emerged from the primitive days when the term ‘relocation industry’ was more projective than descriptive. In the early ‘80s relocations were much less frequent than they are today.

Spouse/Partner Portrait:

• The ‘trailing spouse’ was always a woman
• Most spouses were not working at this time. If they were, their jobs usually were part-time and not part of a career; their function was to give the family budget a little room to breathe or to supply ‘pin money’ for the spouse
• Most women accepted relocation as part of being married to an up and coming success

This put the wife in the position of figuring out relocation logistics and assimilating the family into a brand new environment.

The ‘90s found most women working at least part-time and many were in full-time positions. At this point companies started to address spousal relocation with programs, as they realized for a relatively small sum, it was possible to increase the success rate of their transferees substantially. During this time, it is important to note, partners who weren’t ‘wives’ were not considered part of the equation.

Today, 83% of of women scientists in academic couples are partnered with another scientist, compared to 54% of men. These ‘partners/spouses’ are now getting more attention as their career needs become much more of a focal point in making a decision to relocate to a new region or stay with an organization. The realization that valuable professional talent can be lost to competing institutions who are being proactive in the dual career scenario has got many top-tier companies scrambling for answers.

In the 21st century, globalization and internet development has made relocation a fairly reasonable and predictable part of career growth. Data confirming a majority of couples have both partners working producing not only the ‘trailing spouse’ but a spouse that is increasingly becoming more male, sends out ripple effects significantly cutting into an organization’s bottom line in an economy already straining to make ends meet. The world’s increasing need for economic interconnectedness guarantees a large number of global relocations. However, this will mean the need for partner relocation benefits increasing as well.

How TechValleyConnect started:

Professor Cheryl Geisler has worked to better the academic careers of women for many years. Most recently, she applied for a grant from Elsevier Foundation to create a pilot program bringing together both academic and corporate PhD-hiring employers to address the exploding issue of the accompanying partner (formerly known as ‘trailing spouse’). Realizing this is a huge challenge for both men and women PhDs, Geisler came up with a unique concept — one that until now, has not been tried anywhere.

How it works:

TechValleyConnect focuses on building both professional and personal ties to the area through networking. According to the Department of Labor, 70% of all people employed, obtained their positions through networking. Much attention has been given to the two-career problem which has become a major challenge for PhD-hiring employers, costing anywhere from $250,000 to over $1 million for each PhD hire they lose. TechValleyConnect helps with placement of an accompanying spouse/partner by having formed a consortium of PhD-hiring employers. In addition to the usual settling-in services such as information about the community, schools, and cultural opportunities, our program, using the consortium’s resources, arranges three “informational interviews” with highly placed professionals in the field of the partner. These informational discussions will serve as networking opportunities and valuable aids in the partner’s job search.

Bottom-line:

The research shows that employers are now, more than ever keenly aware of the potential costs of international relocations — more than two-thirds (67%) have implemented cost–containment programs while only one-third (33%) had such programs in the mid ‘90s.

“Companies that provide ongoing family transition support services incur a minimal upfront expense that is certain to yield incredible long-term benefits,” said Lauren Herring, CRP, GMS, director of IMPACT Group, St. Louis, MO. “We have found that spousal support services can earn companies incredible amounts of goodwill and loyalty from their employees. Spouses are not always aware such supplemental transitional services are available, so when companies do offer such longer-term services that support spouses and families throughout the transition and acclimation process, there is no price tag for the loyalty and dedication a family feels toward the company throughout the assignment.”

Organizations that adhere to preventative measures with regard to the accompanying partner and family will be able to offset the incredible budget drains of the past decade. Networking is the key to building a stronghold in the area, both personally and professionally.

Show me the money:

TechValleyConnect has received funding from the Elsevier Foundation to develop the pilot program and have established partnerships with 11 PhD-hiring organizations in the Capital Region. Further support for funding of our website has been received through NYSTAR. We continue to look for funding sources to be able to lengthen the duration of the pilot. We think by doing so, the pilot will have a better opportunity to overcome the recent economic downturn which has stifled many organizations’ ability to hire. By lengthening the duration of the pilot, we will be able to more accurately measure outcomes determining a value for a sustainable and successful entity.