Oftentimes, the field agent is the first person an assignee meets upon arrival in their new home country. They’re the person who accompanies the expat during their home search, gets them registered at the local town hall, perhaps even helps find a school for the children.
As the single – or initial – point of contact between the relocation company and the expat, the field agent is, in essence, the face of the agency. Many of our members work with freelance field agents, upon whom they rely during busy periods, as well as their own inhouse staff. Relocation support as we know it today, simply wouldn’t be the same without the support of freelancers.
Yet as much as relocators – or destination service providers (DSPs) to give them their proper name – consider them an integral part of their teams, life on the ‘other side of the employment fence’ comes with challenges entirely of its own.
'Recent industry research indicates that the global corporate relocation service market is valued at some $20.22 bn in 2025 and expected to reach $32.47 bn over the next seven years. '
This summer, we decided to delve into the good, the bad, and the can-be-improved-upons by way of an informal survey. Almost half of our freelance members responded, offering an excellent snapshot into life as a freelance field agent.
Life as a Freelance Field Consultant
The lion’s share of you have been freelancing for at least 8 years, with eight out of ten doing so on a full-time basis. Most of you (57.1%) have between 2 and 5 relocation agencies as regular clients, with 35.7% working for just one or two client companies. Only one of you works for more than five client companies at present.
You enjoy the freedom and flexibility of freelance life (73.3%) and discovering different company cultures (26.7%). However, 13.3% would have liked to work for a particular relocation company but were unable to find a FT/PT position. You also report that field work tends to be on a freelance basis anyway. Overall, you enjoy working as a freelancer (71.4%) though you admit there’s room for improvement (28.6%).
How Business is Going
How many assignments you handle per year varies greatly as files range from smaller tasks such as basic move-in-move-out support to the full range of relocation services. With respondents declaring everything from 15 to 100 assignments per year, business is vastly different for each consultant.
The one thing you all agree on is that business is not booming. Where 23.1% of you report the workload is more or less the same as in previous years, the rest of you are concerned about the lack of business. From less transferees requesting relocation services to less extensive support packages for expats, there is less money to be made overall. Compounded by the housing shortage, assignments are taking more of your time whilst fees do not adequately reflect the cost of providing your services.
A Solid Growth Industry
Does this mean all is lost and it’s time to start exploring other fields of business if you want to make a solid living? Not at all: recent industry research indicates that the global corporate relocation service market is valued at some US $20.22 bn in 2025 and expected to reach US $32.47 bn over the next seven years. Note that the marketing agency did not survey all industry players, which means the actual economic value of the relocation service industry is many times higher.
Europe is the second largest market for corporate relocations, accounting for over 25.2% of global market share in 2025. Belgium may well have dropped four places in IMD’s annual World Talent Ranking, we still hold a very respectable 16th position globally. This means relocation services will continue to be needed, even if our government does need to start making more of an effort if we want to remain competitive in the global war for talent.
Part of the Team
Although you, as field agents, are the face of the relocation company, less than half of you (40%) feel sufficiently valued by your client companies. There is much room for improvement especially when it comes to inclusion, with just over one in four (26.7%) of you feeling like a real part of the team. The rest of you feel like an outsider, some, or all of the time.
As freelancers, you often work for relocators without being introduced to the rest of the team or even knowing who does what in the office. A staggering 80% of you don’t receive regular training from your client companies. And when you do, it often focuses on things like new IT-tools, rather than practical information such as navigating town hall registration processes.
Company Training
Although 66.7% of you do receive (some) training via your client companies, you all agree that more training is welcome. Everything from immigration updates to the latest in rental law, best practices, and other practical advice is gratefully received. However, as training and travel time are not reimbursed, you have a strong preference for online trainings.
Additionally, you are interested in finding out how you can improve your own business as a freelancer. How to get started in relocation, how to gain more clients, insights into conflict resolution, and so on. When it comes to training, you see a proactive role for ABRA as well as for relocation companies.
What’s Going Right
Although it depends on the company, you all value the quality of the briefings you receive, their transparent communication style, and any client feedback they share with you. Similarly, the trainings you do receive are much appreciated. Above all, you are grateful when they have your back in case of problematic files or difficult clients.
With some files taking months to complete due to processing delays, and with invoices only being paid the next calendar month, timely payments are a key concern. A certain level of flexibility by the relocation company would be much appreciated, especially considering it’s difficult to charge late payment fees. Thankfully, most of you report that invoices are paid correctly and on time.
What Could Be Better
The biggest bugbears for freelancers are time and money. From time consuming meetings to unscheduled lunches with assignees, field agency comes with a financial burden that cannot always be passed on to the relocation agency you are working for.
Suggestions range from asking end clients to increase their budget to introducing packages that bundle services together at a reasonable price. You’d also appreciate being given a certain level of autonomy, especially the more experienced of you. Overall, you don’t always feel sufficiently appreciated or remunerated. Though again, it depends on the company.
ABRA’s First Freelancer Event
This has been an exceptionally interesting exercise for ABRA: although many of our member meetings address topics that (we feel) should interest all our members, we recognise that attending our events doesn’t always align with freelancers’ concerns about unpaid travel time to locations around the country.
That said, all respondents expressed an interest in getting to know other freelancers and having the opportunity to discuss common concerns. And so, we’re looking forward to organising our very first dedicated freelancer event towards the end of the year.
We’re currently exploring venues and finetuning format, but are aiming for October/November 2025, so if you’re an ABRA Freelance Member, be sure to keep an eye on your inbox!
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