To aid recruits moving to Maine, Benchmark launches relocation service
Photo / Tim Greenway
From left, Shannon Noyes, Debrah Yale, Tom Landry, Shelly Warters and Mary Morin of Benchmark Real Estate in Portland formally launched a corporate relocation service this month.
For the past two years, Benchmark Real Estate in Portland has been providing relocation services on an ad hoc basis to companies such as WEX, L.L.Bean Inc. and Bangor Savings Bank.
Now the firm has formalized the program.
“It became clear to us that there was a need in the marketplace for a service that helps people when they’re relocating or interviewing for a job,” said Benchmark’s owner, Tom Landry.
The program, launching this month, will work to help new employees quickly find rental housing, leveraging Benchmark's relationships with area property managers, rental agencies and landlords.
There will also be transportation services, including airport pick-ups and drop-offs and area tours, as well as concierge services such as children’s activities for families of visiting recruits. When a company’s new hire is ready to move to the area, the program can assist by connecting the employee to vendors ranging from landscapers to attorneys.
Assisting recruits and families
Landry said he and his team were developing the program before the pandemic, in response to the perceived need as companies look to recruit and retain employees.
“We’ve done lot of this corporate work, but it’s been a bit ad hoc,” he said.
The program, he said, is designed to take the pressure off human resources and other administrative staffers as companies ramp up their hiring.
“We’ve got all these businesses here that are growing,” he said. “They’re bringing in people and selling them on joining the company and living here — not just them but their families. So how can we help them?”
The program is the brainchild of Shelly Warters, an associate broker at Benchmark.
“My husband and I have done three interstate moves,” she said. “Moving to a new place can be challenging.”
Warters recalled that, whenever they visited a new location for the first time, they’d ask all about it. When they moved to Portland, she said, it became apparent that a concierge relocation service was needed in the area.
“What better place than to do it than a real estate agency?” she said. “We know everything about these towns.”
Landry said the program can be tailored to specific needs.
“We can pick up someone at the airport. We can take their family to the beach or skiing,” he said. “It’s almost an insider’s guide, as opposed to catch as catch-can.”
Brunch & Learn
Benchmark is also launching a Brunch & Learn education series. Topics include organizing and downsizing, buyer and seller tips and tricks, creating a dream home. events will be livestreamed here and in-person at Benchmark’s East End office at 104 Washington Ave., Portland.
Landry will moderate each session and host guests who will share tips and field questions.
“We’ve never experienced a more challenging time in real estate,” he said, citing heated prices, bidding wars and cluttered homes.
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