Staying competitive, attracting top talent, and retaining star players are three common goals that circulate in boardrooms and find their way into organizational strategies. There are all sorts of different approaches to hit each of these goals, but one solution that may not be immediately apparent—and that does hit all three—lies within Global Mobility. More specifically, purposeful companies are proactively setting up and promoting and array of mobile deployment options to meet talent needs of their employees, candidates, and the company.
We recently ran a webinar titled “More Mobility: Increasing Opportunities for Mobile Talent Deployment” with our partner AIRINC, to share findings on the value of including more mobile employee offerings – such as remote work – as part of your global mobility function. We asked in a poll: “Would the ability to work in another country help attract/retain you at a company?” The webinar attendees answered with a resounding “Yes,” which supported earlier AIRINC survey responses that it certainly would. It’s clear anecdotally that the appetite for working in different locations—not just from a coffee shop or a co-working space, but from entirely new geographies—is extremely attractive today, but what do the survey results say?
Employees today want to work from anywhere—here’s why
Remote work from other countries is a sought after option for employees, and commonly ranks as one of the main talent attraction components today. The practice is supported in a vast range of industries, especially with the rapid digital transformations that most industries underwent during the COVID-19 pandemic. While that’s well understood, the reasons for why remote working is so attractive in your particular business may not be so clear if you haven’t had the opportunity to survey and consult your own staff on the matter.
The results of AIRINC’s International Remote Work Survey, in which they asked why employees undertook or would undertake an assignment, may surprise you. While it may be expected that the incentive for an international move is usually for financial reward, the survey found that this was true only for 10% of respondents. In fact, 86% of respondents cited long-term career development and 84% answered, “to gain professional skills.” One thing is clear: employees see international experiences, whether remote or otherwise, as a significant opportunity to upskill and gain career experience.
Why your organization should offer employees more opportunities for talent deployment
The good news is that many companies are already empowering employees to have mobility experiences with the rise of remote work: 32% of companies surveyed already have a formal remote work policy in place. However, given only 11% of companies are currently actively promoting remote work to their employees there may be a deeper question at play here, as it’s clear that the demand for these experiences is considerable – are companies aligned internally and comfortable disclosing their remote work positions?
So how does increasing opportunities for mobile talent deployment meet those initial three goals of staying competitive, attracting top talent, and retaining your star players?
1. Forward-thinking companies are adopting more employee-friendly mobility options
For many companies, work from anywhere is integrated into their people function already. Job ads are popping up with “work from anywhere” or “global remote” in their location options. To stay competitive with the growing number of companies that offer these options, it’s time to consider your own remote working policies—and ensuring that all your employees and talent resources can see themselves inclusively in your policy.
2. You can greatly increase your employee value proposition with the right set of employee-focused mobility policies.
Today, potential employees value work/life balance and flexibility more than ever. This includes people of all skill levels and ages. Offering many different mobile employment options – such as remote work, commuters, and permanent relocations as part of your global mobility strategy also opens your talent pool to people who have accessibility needs that may stop them from applying otherwise. It’s time to rethink these options to attract the talent you may otherwise be unwittingly excluding. Think like the applicant—if they are requesting to be mobile, give them the opportunity!
3. You can retain your star players if you align your mobility policies to your people strategy.
The AIRINC survey results show that employees have a taste for working remotely in different countries. Rather than restrict your current talent by requiring them to work from your home country, why not experiment with options around employee-initiated remote assignments? This is especially relevant if you have office locations in certain locations already. Organizations that don’t consider these opportunities for their current employees may risk losing people to forward-thinking companies that do.
Offering more opportunities for mobile talent deployment in different locations for the first time may seem daunting, but all the data is pointing toward its value for companies that strive to remain relevant and cultivate a positive employee experience.
For more insights and data on the current state of all mobile workforce planning and management from a global mobility perspective, click here to watch the webinar.
