Corporate Concierge, best known for working with Bermuda’s top insurance, reinsurance and banking companies to provide arriving and departing staff the relocation support they need, is expanding its business to include a partnership with international head-hunting company Elevate.

Company director James Fitzsimons was in Bermuda last week and talked about the new venture along with Corporate Concierge’s Sylvia Jones.

Ms Jones said: “We provide relocation support for executives and new companies coming onto the Island. We’ve been doing it since 2007 — we work with individuals through the interview stage right through to relocation and getting set up.”

She said they assist with everything from finding homes and schools, right through to helping clients get their drivers licences.

“We work a lot with insurance and reinsurance companies,” she said. “We do have a solid client base there, and recently we have worked with a number of new start-ups.

“Through our relocation service a number of companies have asked us to get involved in the interview stage.”

She said they will take potential employees on a tour of Bermuda and talk to them about any concerns they might have about the move, such as whether the lifestyle here can be accommodated.

“Our role is to make them understand what it is to live here,” Ms Jones said. “It’s important that they get a real sense of what living here is like.”

She explained they help would-be new residents make an informed decision about whether or not to make the move.

She added that because companies invest a lot of money in bringing people to Bermuda, it is important that they will be happy here.

Now, Mr Fitzsimons has added his expertise and services to the Corporate Concierge library of services.

Elevate, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, manages bespoke executive search projects and claims to deliver “appropriate business leaders to our clients”.

Like Corporate Concierge, Elevate works closely with clients. According to their website, their extensive search process involves market research, both domestically and internationally.

In Bermuda, Elevate says it specialises in finding the best international talent at C-Suite and board level for roles that include actuaries, underwriters and risk analysts.

Mr Fitzsimons said: “Companies will use local recruitment agencies for some of their needs. When it is a niche area, you have to look overseas.”

Ms Jones added: “It made sense for us to partner with overseas recruiter Elevate. Senior executive talent is difficult to find.

The Elevate website states: “We are a unique blend of global and local — while our search is conducted globally, our on-Island presence provides constant contact for our clients as well as value-added relocation services for candidates.

“From a recruitment and a relocation perspective, we are acutely aware that candidates must understand not just the corporate culture they are joining but the island culture they are about to become immersed in. Our Bermuda office also facilitates an in-depth understanding of our client’s unique corporate culture and talent requirements.”

Mr Fitzsimons said his relationship with Bermuda began in the 1990s when he had the responsibility for hiring for the Bank of Bermuda in Ireland. “I found people to to fill their roles,” he said. “I didn’t realise 20 years ago that I’d be back.”

For a new employee to live successfully in Bermuda, Ms Jones said: “There must be a willingness to participate in island life and an openness for what Bermuda has to offer. Once people realise the size of Bermuda, but also its beauty, and are ready to embrace what it is we have here and the people here, I know they’ll make it a success.”

Useful websites: www.elevateselection.ie

www.corporateconcierge.bm