Unlocking international opportunities: why every company needs a global mobility policy

14 Oct

Petra Hasselbach, Account Relationship Manager at AGS Relocation, explains why and shares her top 10 tips for writing a policy that meets your organisation’s needs.

 

Why do you need a policy?

“Fairness and equity are the cornerstones of HR practice,” Petra explains. “If your assignees receive different levels of support, dissatisfaction is sure to follow, unless you have a clear policy in place that defines the support that different groups of assignees get and why.”

Having a policy is also good for the bottom line. By clearly identifying what relocation support services are available and putting together an overall plan, your business can correctly budget for each assignment, and there are less surprises and unforeseen costs.

In addition, you gain a strong recruitment tool. A policy demonstrates to potential employees who are considering accepting a role within your organisation, the ways in which they will be supported should their new position involve an international relocation.

 

How to write a global mobility policy

Many consultancies sell off-the-shelf policies. They’re a good start, but unless they’re tailored to meet the needs of your organisation and help achieve strategic goals, they’re worthless.

Thankfully, writing your own policy doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

Here are Petra’s top 10 tips for drafting your first mobility policy (or updating an old one).

• • Keep it simple– Yes, the large corporations of this world have a suite of complex mobility policies, tailored to meet different business needs and to support different groups of employees. You may need that in the future, but for now, something simple is fine if it meets your company’s needs.

• • Ensure compliance– We can’t stress this enough, whatever your write must be compliant from a legal, tax and immigration point of view. Always seek advice internally, and from external groups and advisors too, if needed.
    Regularly review your policy to account for any changes in international laws, tax regulations, and immigration policies. Setting up periodic compliance audits can help prevent costly oversights.

• • Define your strategy– Involve key stakeholders from different departments early in the process to ensure that your mobility strategy aligns with the overall business goals and addresses the needs of all involved parties.
    The Global Mobility team is not an island within the business, it’s an enabler meant to help the business achieve its strategic goals, and you can’t presume to know what the business needs. Find out who is relocating, why, where to, and for how long.

• • Target your support – A business-critical project to what’s known as a ‘hardship location’ (a country where living conditions are less than ideal) might mean offering assignees more support (and cash) than if you were relocating them to the sunny Caribbean.
    To determine the level of support required for each location, taking into account not just financial costs but also the potential impact on employee well-being and productivity. It’s ok to differentiate, as long as there is a clearly defined policy rationale.

• • Engage with mobility experts – Join a global mobility networking group, connect with specialists in the relocation industry, read the latest research, talk to a relocation company, and find out what is happening in the sector in which your business operates. This will help you to benchmark the support you offer and decide how best to structure it.

• • Be competitive– To recruit and retain the best talent, your policies should be on par with what the market is offering. Scour industry reports and analyse competitor offerings to understand the benefits they provide.

• • Talk to your assignees– If you’ve already moved some employees, did the support you provided meet their needs? If not, what should change? Develop a feedback loop with employees who have relocated and use their insights to continuously refine and improve your mobility policy.

• • Tap internal resources– Talk to your payroll, tax and legal teams. Better yet, get them in the same room and talking to each other. They may have the necessary expertise. If not, seek external advice and consider what you should outsource.

• • Consider a ‘core-flex’ policy– You must include certain ‘core’ elements, such as tax and immigration, while other elements can be ‘flex’, such as destination services or spousal support. Employees then select services that they would like based on a budget or an allocated number of points. This approach not only improves cost-effectiveness by standardising essential benefits but also boosts employee satisfaction by offering personalised choices, ultimately leading to a more motivated and loyal workforce.

• • Take a bird’s eye view– Consider how your policy supports other organisational initiatives, such as sustainability goals, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), and remote and hybrid working policies.

 

Implementing and optimising your mobility policy

Once you’ve gathered all the information, you’re ready to create your policy. Ensure that you consult with the leaders in your organisation throughout the process and incorporate their feedback to ensure that the policy meets the needs of the business.

You should also partner with a specialised relocation and moving company for the support elements you can’t deliver in-house, like immigration, household goods removals or destination services.

Lastly, train your managers. “It’s important that they understand who the relocation policy is there to support and how it will impact budgets,” Petra says.

Request regular feedback from your key stakeholders, including employees and managers. Change what isn’t working. Do this continuously, not just once a year, because things can move fast.

Creating your first global mobility policy may seem like a daunting task. However, once it’s in place, you can continue to evolve and develop the support over time, enabling your organisation and its employees to continue to achieve their mobility goals.

For support creating global mobility policies for your organisation, contact AGS Relocation for a no-strings-attached consultation.