You can’t control the seismic changes in the world today that are affecting business immigration, such as travel restrictions, the rise of remote working and employees’ priority on personal health.
But you can change the way you run your organization’s immigration function, so that you’re best placed to meet the needs of your workforce when travel and relocations pick up in the post-pandemic world.
Here are some useful ideas for refreshing your immigration processes.
Simplify your vendor roster
New suppliers and consolidation in the market may mean that you can run your business with far fewer relationships to manage, which means less admin and more time for you to add value elsewhere. Working with new suppliers may also align with any efforts your organization is making to digitize the way you work.
Re-evaluate your immigration strategy
Not even the most optimistic forecasts see the Covid-19 threat ceasing everywhere at once. Some countries will remain closed for longer than others. An easing of travel restrictions may be followed by further shutdowns. Certain countries may develop bi-lateral arrangements around business immigration. All of this brings complexity to your immigration function.
Think about the priority needs of your business and map those against the art of the possible in the real world. For instance, if it’s critical for you to fill roles for on-site IT support staff but your traditional source country is closed due to ongoing health concerns, it’s time to search elsewhere. Understanding what is most important to your organization’s strategy and success will drive performance and keep you focussed on what can be practically achieved amid the changing immigration picture.
Build in long-term flexibility
Alongside the disruption the pandemic has caused in global markets and supply chains over the last year, there are other, less visible risks that will bring about workforce changes in the foreseeable future too.
Business and robotic process automation is upending both white collar and blue collar jobs. Globalization is no longer the linear process to which we’d become accustomed, and state rivalries and tensions threaten to spill into the business world through trade wars and sanctions.
If the places you source people and where you send them changes, you need flexibility in your immigration systems so you can adapt quickly each time there is a major shift to contend with.
Push for transformation and digitize your systems
Now is a good time to encourage your business to invest in transformation programmes that will update your immigration processes and make them fit for the new world. With people-related issues currently high on the corporate agenda, HR and workforce management teams have strong arguments to be near the front of the queue for digital transformation budgets.
Draw up and implement a plan to get essential materials digitized so that they’re shareable and can be accessed and updated by remote immigration teams. Build links with other departments and functions that are lobbying for transformation and tech upgrades. Together, you may be able to nudge forward and make a case for new tools that could boost your productivity and minimize time-wasting manual processes.
Use the latest technology and tools
To succeed with your organization’s immigration strategy, you need the right technology.
The right tech can automate and streamline immigration processes to provide a more seamless experience for all involved. It also gives your immigration function the agility and flexibility it needs to react to economic, business and political issues quickly and effectively.
By radically reducing the manual administrative burden, leading technology for managing immigration cases frees teams up so they can add value to the business through insights and initiatives that will make the entire organization more successful.
If you’d like to know more about Equus PinPoint Immigration and the next generation of immigration case management tools, get in touch.
