At the beginning of the new year, you were probably thinking about your business’ mobility goals for 2021 and how you are going to deliver on them. Once you’ve prioritized your strategic initiatives, it’s time to start thinking about whether you have the right tools to support them. And without the right tech, success can be difficult to attain.
However, we’ve learned from our clients that once you realize your current solution is letting you down, doing nothing is never the right option. It only leads to further inefficiencies and extra work for your team. Ultimately, it means spending more time, effort and money dealing with a flawed system that will never improve the effectiveness of your mobility program, and that can damage your organization’s operations and reputation.
So, how do you determine if your mobility technology – whether you still rely on spreadsheets or use a dedicated Global Mobility solution – supports your goals? Or if it could be time for a change? Here are five questions you should ask yourself before considering any new options.
1. Do you have a single, integrated platform to manage your end-to-end program?
Global Mobility solutions should solve a wide range of business challenges, including timely and accurate expense management, ordering and monitoring logistics, managing bespoke annual package calculations and payroll instructions, cost control and visibility, and of course managing compliance end-to-end. While some products offer the breadth of functionality most organizations need, they are often provided in separate, standalone systems. This means users must repeatedly download and upload data or manually enter the same information into multiple areas. There’s also a risk of misalignment between modules.
Ask yourself whether your mobility program would benefit from a single global end-to-end platform. A single platform means fewer headaches that come from trying to join up different modules, and a superior experience for your entire workforce.
Mobility programs with cutting-edge tools are key to attracting and retaining talent. To stay ahead of the competition, look for a solution that is continually evolving and offers cutting-edge functionality to support the latest flexibility requirements, budget tracking and communication functionalities, for example. This has perhaps never been so vital as now, given recent shifts in how and where people are working. Some items to consider are:
- How often is your provider upgrading? Do they stick to upgrade timetables and is there clear communication around them?
- Where do they source their roadmap from?
- Do you have a dedicated success manager to help you optimize your use of the tool?
Find out if your supplier has a team of experts and developers that are always improving and updating the technology, too. If so, it means there’s a good chance it’ll continue to meet your changing needs over time.
Your support service should also work with you after the initial implementation, to help your team upskill and plan for future events. See if your supplier will work with you to educate your workforce on how to best use their solution, and how to adapt your business processes to take advantage of your new Global Mobility technology. Having that strategic support on an ongoing basis, and not just a ‘take-a-ticket’ approach to resolving queries, can prove invaluable if you run into challenges, whether a month or a year after implementation.
In addition, your provider should facilitate access to like-minded peers and learning opportunities. Suppliers that encourage communication among existing and prospective customers, online or through user conferences, are far more likely to be aware of their customers’ needs. These opportunities also allow new and experienced GM users to network, support each other and share knowledge around best practice that could help you get more out of your technology.
While some GM technology integrates with third-party service providers, the solutions often support only preferred partners and are highly customized. This limits your employees’ ability to select the vendor they want for moving homes, hiring a car or renting accommodation while on assignment. In some cases, customers are also charged to connect with service providers.
So look into whether your provider offers standard integration that enables your business to connect seamlessly to any third-party provider, and without impacting the employee experience. Standard connections mean mobility teams and workers can choose the vendor that best suits their needs, whether that’s because they want a lower price or better customer service.
At the most basic level, your solution should automate time-consuming, manual tasks, such as document production, email integration and sophisticated package calculations. This will boost productivity and free up your team to spend more time on strategic duties that add real value to your business.
And, because every business has unique concerns, it is beneficial to look for a flexible, configurable solution that you can personally own and adapt at your own pace. You want technology that can be configured to support both basic and sophisticated functionality, depending on how your business operates.
Look into whether your provider offers autonomous configuration capabilities. Not only does this give you flexible future-proofing to add or change policy provisions as your program evolves, but it also allows you to implement changes at no additional cost.
Many businesses also appreciate having an expert from their technology provider work with their Global Mobility team to help configure their solution, as well, especially when they have to deliver larger projects or enterprise-wide transformations.
Technology should not only support your GM team, it’s also important for it to help empower all of your employees.
They need an intuitive app that connects them – and any family members relocating with them -to every aspect of a move, from understanding compensation and signing contracts, to sourcing movers to finding new accommodation. An app should also provide employees with the ability to manage their benefits while on the go.
The points above can play a huge role in the success of your mobility program. It may be that when you chose your current mobility technology, it met your needs at that time. But if your program has evolved since then, if your technology has stood still, or if you answered ‘no’ to any of the above questions, ask yourself if other options might better suit your requirements today.
Equus AssignmentPro offers the functionality, focus, flexibility and support that businesses require. Whether you’re new to GM technology or an experienced user unsatisfied with your current solution, it will streamline your program and boost efficiency now and as your needs evolve over time.
To get help with your technology business case, or find out more about why AssignmentPro is the right GM technology for your organization, click here.
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