Home search & orientation
Expertise you can be sure of
Destination services are where it all started for us. It was our first service line from the inception of Icon, and one we take great pride in.
We’ve built all our DSP services from the ground up, tailored to our specific tried-and-tested processes. And we’ve maintained standards to the highest levels — we’ve been the holder of our industry’s professional body service quality mark — the European Relocation Association’s Global Quality Seal (EuRA EGQS+) — longer than any other UK DSP.
“Icon are amazing. They helped show me around and found plenty of housing choices. A really good experience.”
Assignee
Holistic approach
Over the past 20 years we’ve continuously enhanced our expertise as the business has grown and developed.
We’ve taken a unique approach to UK-inbound DSP services that we’re extremely proud of. We have a dedicated ARLA Propertymark qualified property support team who work in close partnership with UK-wide letting agents and landlords, ensuring that we have the best chance to secure a preferred home quickly.
All of our property research is completed in-house and we track every activity, piece of research, short-listed home and viewing outcome — regularly reviewing our data with leading agents so that we can improve efficiencies through our partnership.
This ability to see our service holistically — from initial research to securing the home — leads to higher quality and more consistent, positive outcomes.
Award-winning quality
We’ve won many industry awards, including five Emmas, in recognition of the quality of our service, and consistently positive client feedback.
For these reasons, we’re recognised as one of the top UK-inbound DSP providers in the world. We use our in-house methodology and expertise, coupled with our close working relationships with the Harmony, EuRA and TIRA specialist partner networks of providers to deliver the same exceptional DSP services worldwide.
We’ve also listened to what our clients need and worked hard to develop a suite of value-add, specialist services, designed to fit perfectly with our DSP services.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
1. Dedicated, attentive and scalable support
We’ve worked hard to design our Icon DSP service to work in perfect harmony with any of our Icon Relo, Icon Stay, Icon Move or Icon Plus services. You’ll be provided a EuRA MIM, ARLA Propertymark or Worldwide ERC GMS qualified account manager, giving you a single point of accountability for your organisation, along with specialist consultant and operational property support.
2. Exceptionally close partnerships
Our longstanding, proactive and positive DSP reputation means we’re better connected with the leading letting agents and landlords, giving you faster and higher quality responses.
3. Industry-leading home search outcomes
Our expert, in-house property support team identify the new and best fitting homes on the market quicker, and with higher quality relocation outcomes.
4. Market-leading rent cost efficiencies
We have a proven track record for regularly saving our clients tens of thousands in rental costs, even in a difficult property market.
5. 24×7 expert service
Thanks to our Cosee app, we can provide timely information and communicate with you and your assignee 24×7 on all key issues.
UK home search,
longer-term rental
To get the best home options for your assignee, it’s essential to be informed about good property stock that fits budget and policy requirements as soon as possible, and even more so in a challenging property market.
Our EuRA MIM and ARLA Propertymark qualified property support team undertakes daily UK housing market research so that they have the very latest information on your behalf.
We store every property we research in our case management system MoveWise, which gives us unique access to over 20,000 profiled UK rental properties, and live rental market tracking of almost two million UK properties. This means we can provide you with industry-leading property stock analysis.
MoveWise, our proprietary case management system, manages property stock level and locations, viewing itineraries and outcomes, tenancy agreements, utilities status and more — all in real-time.
“Icon are an absolute pleasure to work with…always friendly, personable, extremely diligent, professional and are experts in their field.”
Associate Director, Chestertons
Integrated with the
property market
Coupled with our direct letting agent relationships, and growing range of property site and agent-data-linked APIs, we regularly have the best information in the industry, meaning we can pinpoint and secure suitable homes quickly, and some before they even join the rental market.
Our industry-leading tracking of property rental trends also means we can make better predictions for longer-term housing stock planning.
Expert insight
Using our rich source of in-house data, our team can tell you the combination of areas, budgets and property sizes that have been successful (or not) for other assignees.
We don’t waste time filling in unnecessary forms, or researching and organising costly visits, our data already tells us what might realistically work in the current market so we target those options.
“We love working with Icon, we can always rely on them for top-quality and exceptional customer service. They are always willing to go above and beyond.”
Area consultant
Accompanied support throughout
Our home-finding consultants work seamlessly with our in-house property support team to plan and manage home viewing itineraries.
The consultant that accompanies your assignee on a property tour always has local knowledge, offering independent, expert market advice.
And whilst they pay dedicated attention to your assignee, our in-house property support team keep track of any necessary on-the-day changes, including brand new homes that have come onto the market, as well as all viewing decisions. This unique approach enables us to provide enhanced levels of responsive service.
Once a preferred property is identified, we liaise with all parties to negotiate and secure the selected property, placing an offer on the assignee’s behalf. Once secured, we draw up the inventory, utilities, local taxes and support your assignee with TV, phone line and broadband set-up, ensuring the least amount of distraction.
School search
Relocating with school-aged children can be a stressful and emotional experience, and the choice of school is one of most important decisions a family will have to make.
We know that it’s essential that the best option is secured because it can be a deciding factor in whether or not to relocate, and can often mold the family’s perception of their new location.
A professional school search with an education consultant helps your assignee and their family have a better understanding of schooling in the new location, enabling them to make informed decisions and better settle into their new surroundings.
Our school search service considers the needs of the relocating family: existing and future education plans, specialist support with visits and applications, and any unique education requirements such as special needs schooling. A bespoke private education programme is also available on request.
“Icon’s professionalism shines through, treating assignees more as trusted friends, focused on finding a home rather than just a property. A truly remarkable experience.”
Area consultant
Area orientation
To help allay any assignee concerns and build confidence in their decision to move, it can be helpful to set up an orientation trip before, or at the very start of a new assignment relocation.
This can be a cost-effective way for your assignee and their family to start to feel more comfortable and get clarity on their needs, expectations and preferences so that they transition into their new life that much quicker. Getting things right from the outset is also recognised to support longer-term assignment success.
We can fully customise a familiarisation trip to the needs of your assignee and their new location, with expert planning and support, including a mixture of guidance on local life and culture, key areas of interest, the local neighbourhood, example property types and local amenities.
Settling-in services
On arrival in a new location there is inevitably an adjustment period where your assignee and any family members are finding their way around and getting used to a new way of life. This should be a positive experience, not a distraction.
The aim of our settling-in service is to help your assignee through the first few months in a new location. This ensures they’re free to focus on what matters.
We provide a flexible suite of support services, delivered by understanding and knowledgeable consultants, that can be tailored to meet the needs of your assignee. We cover things like setting up banking and utility services, social and company networking, healthcare, car and property registration, insurance, furniture rentals or purchases, sourcing trades people and much more.
“We have had the privilege of working closely with Icon, offering a diverse selection of serviced accommodation across multiple countries worldwide. Our partnership often involves time-sensitive requests with specific criteria to meet. Icon’s prompt and efficient responses, coupled with their profound understanding of their clients’ needs, have enabled our collaboration to run seamlessly. Their dedication ensures that our mutual clients receive exceptional care and service throughout their stay.”
Senior Business Developer, Portland Brown
Departure services
Looking after and retaining valued talent means each assignment also needs to be successfully completed, or prepared to move on to the next role with ease.
Efficiently finalising paperwork, and ensuring effective closure of contractual and maintenance issues are key to success, and help mitigate risks or unhelpful distractions.
In order to ease the administrative burden on both your global mobility or HR team and assignee, we can fully manage this process, including clarifying tenancy agreement terms, notice periods and end dates, completing rental payments, implementing inventory and cleaning services, and ensuring deposit returns without issues.
Our property support team also have a deep understanding of the letting industry rules, often better than many agents. We have a proven track record for ensuring we obtain the maximum deposit returns, regularly completing pre-check-out inspections to proactively address any issues in advance of departure, all helping to effectively manage and reduce your dilapidations costs.
This proactive approach accounts for our strong relationships with letting agents and landlords. We are seen as a reliable and responsive tenant support service, which helps to guarantee our strong success rates, enabling us to secure more and better properties through our home search services.
We can also provide notification to local authorities if required, notify benefits and tax providers, and factor in associated service cancellations such as domestic help, utilities, subscriptions and memberships, financial and schooling completions or transfers — for return or onward assignment.
For successive assignments, we can also help with immigration requirements and organise onward relocation services in line with your policy.
For assignees returning home from long-term or successive assignments, repatriation can also be a challenging prospect. We can work with your assignee and their family to design a programme within the framework of your policy, that will ensure they settle quickly into life once home.
Family transition support
One of the main reasons for a failed or early termination of an assignment is the dissatisfaction of an accompanying partner. It’s vitally important to ensure everyone in the family is happy with the move.
Career aspirations, financial considerations, dependent needs, these all play an important role in ensuring a successful relocation uptake and outcome.
Support with professional and social concerns, both early on, and throughout the assignment, can go a long way to help ensure your assignee feels comfortable in their new role without the added stress of partner and family concerns.
Very much tailored to the each family’s needs, services can be a mixture of employment and education support, voluntary work opportunities, meeting expat groups and associations, or help to feel more comfortable in their new home and location.