It all began with a dream – of Isamar van Hilten who started Partners in Relocation in The Netherlands in 1997. the core services of Partners in Relocation – classic immigration and relocation services in the Netherlands.
Throughout the years we have added more to the core services, such as 30% tax ruling done in-house and many more: tenancy management, payroll services, special expat services, trainings and workshops, etc.
The company grew not only in size and service delivery in The Netherlands, but it started growing internationally as well, with the establishment of an office in Riga, Latvia. The office in Riga was created to expressly service the Baltic States, Central & Eastern European markets in classic relocation, immigration and culture shock workshops. This was the moment when Partners in Relocation became Partners in Relocation Group, PIRGROUP.
Growth and Recognition
In that period PIRGROUP grew a lot both in in-house service delivery, as well as destinations covered.
This period of time marks also the following proud moments:
- EuRA Global Quality Seal certification obtained for the first time
- Cartus Platinum Award in 2012
- Crown Partnership Award in 2016
- Crown Partnership Award in 2019 for being "Intelligently Ambitious"
In 2016 PIRGROUP started working on its first Sustainability initiatives as well.
Milestones in Our Journey
The year 2020 – a year no one will forget, a year of shift in gears, movement of tides and change of direction. For PIRGROUP 2020 has really been a year of changes:
- In early January, PIRGROUP acquired Personal Relocation B.V. – one of the first relocation companies in The Netherlands, famous for its personal approach and creative solutions.
- Followed by the next big change for PIRGROUP in June 2020, when PIRGROUP welcomed back Iveta Berkolde as a Managing Partner of PIRGROUP Latvia, responsible for the Baltic, CEE and CIS countries.
- Last but not least, in June 2020, Miranda de Keijzer and Ina Zhekova became the new owners of PIRGROUP The Netherlands. Both ladies knew that plans do not always work out, especially looking at 2020 – however, they looked positively at the future and counted on their amazing team. They saw and still see the team as the driving force, and they are sure that an excellent service delivery starts with a motivated and devoted team.
The combined knowledge, experience, and expertise of PIRGROUP and Personal Relocation, Iveta Berkolde’s return, Isamar van Hilten’s legacy, together with PIRGROUP’s enthusiastic team, Miranda’s eagerness and Ina’s devotion helped shape PIRGROUP into the business it is today.
The core values of the company are well preserved, while the forward-thinking culture is encouraged, and innovation is combined with tradition.
Nurturing Growth and Innovation
This period marked the years in which PIRGROUP appreciated the change and nurtured its growth both in The Netherlands and Latvia:
- New owners and new management teams were introduced
- Renata Vera has become a valuable addition to the Management Team in The Netherlands, contributing to the development of new working methodologies and the formation of teams at PIRGROUP The Netherlands
- In-house (field) consultants were hired to support and accompany the international professionals in the field
- Onboarding guides including employee journey and buddy programme were implemented
- Dedicated Teams were formed for all our clients
- A new way of working looking at the Intensity of files was introduced – to ensure both the balance in the workload for our team members, but also to give enough space and time for our consultants to focus on what they are good at – coaching and guiding our clients
- The Planning team was formed within PIRGROUP to separate the tasks of planning appointments from the consulting/ coaching tasks which our back-office team has
- PIRGROUP developed its own in-house tracking system for internal use
- PIRGROUP also introduced an application that supports the immigration and relocation process for external use – to enhance the experience of the relocating employees and to better communicate and collaborate with them, while providing HR with full visibility of every step of the process.
Reaching New Heights
We stay grounded and we keep on trying to reach the sky via:
- Holistic approach
- Strong leadership
- Diversity appreciation within the team
- Hybrid way of working
- Excellence in service delivery
- Adjusted services to remain relevant
- Coaching rather than only consulting / assisting
- Educated clients & Educated teams
Last but not least, PIRGROUP is supporting continuously more than 10 charity causes which are chosen by our own employees.