Social Distancing, Innovative Connecting

By Karen Cygal, Worldwide ERC Senior Vice President, Product Development

This letter originally appeared in the April 2020 issue of Mobility magazine.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been testing policymakers, disrupting markets, stressing health care systems, and placing unprecedented demands on human resources and crisis management teams in all parts of the world. 

But it’s not all bad news. There’s something else happening, too: People are coming together to volunteer their time, talents, and resources to support individuals who are at greatest risk. Quarantined Italians took to singing and sharing music from their balconies to boost their collective spirits. Internet service providers are offering free or reduced access so schoolchildren can continue to learn remotely. Artists are conducting virtual creative sessions on social media channels, and entrepreneurial businesses are finding ways to put their core capabilities to work differently, creating the products and solutions that will help us meet our most immediate needs.

Challenging times bring us together in new and different ways, and that’s at the very core of what Worldwide ERC^®is all about: serving as the continuously evolving center for our industry’s connectivity. We are delivering trusted information, tools, and research to help you navigate the difficulties, and we are hosting a variety of opportunities to keep us in touch with—and learning from—one another. We are urging lawmakers to implement financial relief packages to support you and your businesses’ continuity. We are shifting our in-person events to virtual summits for now, and we are giving you ways to boost your career and professional development via live, proctored sites for the Certified Relocation Professional (CRP)^®exam, online courses in the Learning Portal, or discussions in the Community. We are here for you.

It’s impossible to say today just how long this current situation will last or predict the full impact it will have on our people, our businesses, and our global economies. What we doknow is that we’re an industry that comes together in the face of challenges. We share what we know and work together to weather the storms, develop creative solutions, and adapt to changing needs. These past few months have reminded all of us just how inherently social humans are—and how vitally important it is for us to stay connected to each other in whatever ways we can. I think professor, lecturer, author, and speakerBrené Brown sums up well what we as an industry have always known: “We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.” 

Continue to stay well—and connected,

Karen Cygal

Senior Vice President, Product Development

Worldwide ERC