When Los Angeles companies try to recruit employees from other cities, sometimes they need help “selling” L.A. ? so they call Terra Nova Relocation Services. The relocation management and consulting company introduces potential employees and their families to the region. Then, if prospects choose to relocate, Terra Nova helps them find homes, schools and cars. Owner Maureen Retsek, 56, spoke with Lauren Hollingsworth about the exhaustive process of finding homes for prospective employees, and the challenge of convincing them that Los Angeles is an acceptable, family-friendly community.
Relocation is an emotional, trying time. Companies tend to think about getting the employee, and that’s all. Learning the specific needs for everyone and finding solutions is one of the most interesting and gratifying challenges.
Families need us the most. They have the most issues and they’re the most complex. The real influential members of the family are the spouses. They say, “There’s no way I’m going to uproot myself and my children.”
We end up working with the candidate and with the entire family. We take parents and children to visit schools, visit classrooms. We take people into neighborhoods. We research elder care. We make lunch stops. We arrange for the daughter to spend the day with a peer (in the local high school).
That’s how we distance ourselves from the real estate community. They’re in the business of buying and selling property. We take a holistic approach. (Our) home-finding program has a network of agents. When it comes time to shop for real estate, we need a real estate professional. We interview and hand pick these agents. They need to be service-oriented and understand the process. They may spend several hours with the family.
A recent challenge (involved a potential employee) who had three 60- to 120-pound dogs and three cats. They were all indoor pets and she did not want to buy. She wanted to rent. It was murder. It was the worst. If we couldn’t house her pets, she wasn’t going to take the job. I started networking like mad. I found Pets & People Homefinders. The woman (who started it) has helped all kinds of pets in all kinds of situations and she found places in the South Bay. I previewed the property and arranged for a tour. She ended up not coming out. That was the case of someone who was not transplantable. She was not open to change.
I am L.A.’s biggest booster. Believe me, if I get a chance to showcase our wonderful city, people will say, “I had no idea what was here.”
