The landscape of global mobility has changed significantly over the years, never more so than following the pandemic.

Whereas the perception may have been that global mobility was a consideration reserved primarily for multinational corporations, the reality today is very different. As businesses are increasingly operating on a global scale, international expansion brings numerous opportunities, but also a set of unique challenges, particularly in managing a geographically dispersed workforce.

In its base form, global mobility is what enables an organisation to facilitate the international movement of its employees. In doing so, it ensures employment tax and social security obligations are identified and managed in the appropriate jurisdictions. As employers and employees alike are embracing new ways of working e.g. international remote working, global mobility reaches far wider than before.

As global mobility becomes more commonplace, businesses have an opportunity to shift their global mobility focus from fulfilling compliance driven tasks to providing a key stakeholder role in partnering with the business to achieve the wider strategic objectives, such as those identified below.

International growth

Is your business thinking about expanding into new and emerging global markets? If so, you may have a clear strategy in terms of which markets you want to target; why you have chosen those markets, how you will expand and the timeframe you have identified for expansion.

Alternatively, you may be in a situation whereby expanding into these markets needs to be done quickly and you do not currently have the infrastructure or personnel locally to take this forward.

Having a global mobility policy which enables experienced employees to be relocated into these markets can facilitate a smoother transition in terms of knowledge transfer which, in turn, can enable operations to be established efficiently and effectively. Additionally, deploying experienced employees into these markets can bridge the initial talent gap that may arise from expansion into new markets.

Talent agenda

The war for talent continues and having a well-structured global mobility policy can play a key role in a company’s ability to attract and retain top talent. Offering opportunities for international assignments can appeal to employees who may be seeking career and / or personal development opportunities.

A global mobility policy can be linked to career paths and prove a useful tool when identifying and developing a company’s talent pipeline, all on a global scale. Having such a policy enables companies to have the right talent in the right location at the right time. Alongside this, it can also provide the individual employee with a unique learning experience – giving them exposure to different markets, cultures and business practices which can enhance their skills and foster effective collaboration in the workplace.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

In simple terms ESG considers the impact a company has on its people, clients and the communities it operates in and in today’s world, there is an increasing focus on the importance of a company’s ESG core values and principles.

At first glance, you may think that global mobility conflicts with the environmental principles of ESG. However, companies can use their global mobility strategy and policy to significantly impact their environmental footprint for example, through partnering with like-minded vendors (e.g. travel providers who can offset your carbon footprint); through the education of employees on sustainable travel options so that when business travel is undertaken, employees make choices that support and are aligned to the ESG values of the business.

Global mobility policies can also advance social objectives by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through providing equal opportunities for all employees, offering tailored support to diverse employees, such as language training, cultural integration programs, and family support services.

The governance aspect of ESG is equally as important and as we moved through the pandemic, it was commonplace for employees to be stranded in different jurisdictions. This highlighted the need for effective travel and tracking mechanisms to be implemented by companies – if a company doesn’t know where their employee physically is, how can they safeguard their wellbeing? As well as providing a framework for the mechanics and practicalities of business travel, having an effective global mobility policy can mitigate the risks associated with international business travel.

Next Steps

Having a strategic global mobility policy should be on the agenda for businesses aiming for sustainable growth and competitiveness. The benefits of such a policy extend beyond the compliance obligations of international travel; they can include talent management, skill enhancement, cultural integration, and risk mitigation.

If the above has given you food for thought in how you can align your global mobility policy with your wider business strategy and you’d like to discuss this further then please contact Jane O’Berg or your regular JC contact.