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Geopolitical instability and conflict zones
Ongoing political instability and conflict in various parts of the world are creating significant challenges for companies operating in affected regions. The war in Ukraine, for example, forced the relocation of a large number of employees and families from Kyiv to various European cities. This operation, which had to be achieved quickly and in difficult circumstances, highlighted not only the logistical hurdles, but also the challenges of finding suitable accommodation and support at short notice for displaced workers and their families.
“At the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine we needed to relocate a lot of transferees from Kyiv into different cities in Europe,” says Kabiru Onikoyi, EMEA/APAC director of global services at
3Sixty. “That was a monumental undertaking moving families, managing supply chain issues across the region and then finding suitable accommodation for the families.
“More recently, we have seen the situation in Lebanon and in Tel Aviv in Israel, where we have been involved in moving people out of conflict zones. Where there is a change in government or potential instability, you may need to move people very quickly. It is about having the infrastructure in place in this market to be able to react very, very quickly.”
Political instability in countries like Kenya, where riots have disrupted social cohesion and business activities, further underscores the need for agile, responsive mobility solutions, he says.
Key takeaway: Companies must have robust contingency plans and infrastructure in place to respond quickly to political crises. 3Sixty has close partnerships with data providers like Dun & Bradstreet to allow for real-time insights into potential instabilities, enabling proactive planning and minimising risk to assignees and staff working abroad.
An increase in compliance requirements around duty of care
“As geopolitical volatility, economic pressures and housing shortages increasingly impact major business hubs, a robust duty of care strategy is essential for organisations managing business travel and employee relocation,” says Paul Dear, regional vice president of EMEA supplier services at
SAP Concur. He says that in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of employees in uncertain environments, businesses can use data-driven solutions.
“Technology can aid HR teams in ensuring that all employees working outside the office are given sufficient health and safety coverage,” he says. “Integrated travel and expense platforms offer the tools necessary to navigate complexities with real-time, localised data.”
Working with partners like
International SOS, a leader in international health and security risk management, to integrate safety considerations into business travel tools can give companies the critical information they need to make informed, timely decisions based on geopolitical risk alerts and region safety scores. “This capability is especially important in regions experiencing instability or unrest where conditions can change rapidly or simply if a traveller has lost a passport or medication,” he says.
He adds that ensuring duty of care through technology and real-time insights is more than a compliance measure; it is a strategic advantage. This approach not only protects employees, but also reinforces organisational resilience, allowing companies to operate confidently and responsibly even in challenging environments.
“By fostering a culture of safety and support, organisations can build trust and continuity in their operations, even amid uncertainty,” he explains.
Key takeaway: Organisations could be considered legally negligent if something happens to an employee, especially if they are travelling or relocating for work, and a reasonable level of health and safety can’t be proven by the company. This emphasises the need to prioritise duty of care.
The need for ongoing crisis management expertise
Regular disruptions, whether to travel, immigration policy changes, election fallout, wars and conflicts or virus outbreaks, mean that global mobility teams are having to work harder than ever to anticipate and respond to rapid change.
“We’re navigating through an era of what we call permacrisis,” says Claire Pepper, partner and business travel leader for EMEA at
Vialto Partners, a tax and immigration specialist. “We are also seeing employees, especially ones with in-demand skills that give them bargaining power, becoming more selective and demanding in where they would prefer to work. All of this has the potential to disrupt day-to-day business, so companies are adapting the way they move people around.
“The role of data analytics in mobility has gone from being just useful to being vital,” she says. “It’s about making sense of data in ways that drive smarter decisions, from anticipating policy shifts to managing compliance risks, to ensuring the right people are moving into the right roles, all while controlling costs. Using predictive analytics is the key to staying ahead of the curve.”
Disruptions can force companies to mobilise their staff urgently in a country or region, so understanding who your people are, where they are located and their roles, skills and capabilities can enable companies to manage crises decisively.
“We help clients with crisis-mitigation planning using data for more unstable locations where we will look at their population and how they move them and will map contingency locations to ensure their people are safe, but also to give them business continuity,” she explains.
“We do similar modelling for political reasons, like looking at the impacts of protectionism. Governments change rules and fees all the time, so we help companies with ‘parking zone planning,’ where we will help them think about where they can ‘park’ their employees to continue their roles in other locations.”
Key takeaway: Global mobility teams are having to work hard to anticipate and respond to rapid change in this age of permacrisis. Ongoing data and predictive analytics are key to managing and mitigating risks and mounting responses when necessary.
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Balancing developments in new destinations and tackling housing shortages
Another emerging trend is the movement of corporate relocations to destinations that have lower levels of infrastructure and housing. In some countries, like Germany, companies are choosing to locate new offices and factories in cheaper, less developed areas in order to benefit from lower costs and more space for building warehouses or operational centres. While this can reduce the cost of new developments, the downside is that there is often a lack of corporate housing in more remote or less developed regions.
“In Germany, we have seen a lot of movement from major clients moving to tertiary and remote locations where there is extremely limited availability in terms of housing,” Kabiru Onikoyi of 3Sixty says. “While it is cheaper and more affordable to build new facilities and warehouses in these remote locations compared to the cost of building in Munich, there is a huge challenge in finding housing for 300 people who suddenly arrive.
“It can be very difficult to provide consistency in the temporary housing solution in this type of marketplace because adequate corporate housing solutions just do not exist. Accommodation in these areas may be outdated, with infrastructure stuck in the 1970s or 1980s, which can be a significant challenge when relocating professionals accustomed to higher standards of living, such as those from Singapore or Dubai, who are used to five-star housing solutions.”
As a result, companies are forced to manage employee expectations while finding creative solutions, such as housing workers in neighbouring cities and providing extra transport.
On the other hand, the globalisation of the workforce has further complicated the housing landscape in major cities and in regions where government tax incentives are encouraging new inflows of workers. With more professionals willing to relocate internationally, there is an increasing demand for short-term accommodation. This trend presents a challenge for governments as they must decide how to balance the demands of a globally mobile workforce with the need for local housing.
“The global workforce is more mobile than ever,” says Liam Bailey, global head of
Knight Frank's research department. “People are able to move between different jurisdictions and locations. Yet while you have got this push towards globalisation of the workforce, governments haven't worked out how they need to respond. Do they want to encourage the provision of short-term accommodation to meet that requirement or not? How does that affect the population living there? This is something which will come to the fore in the next few years.”
Governments are attempting to attract highly skilled, mobile workers by offering incentives like favourable tax arrangements, he says. “For instance, Portugal has positioned itself as a destination for creative professionals. However, this strategy raises concerns about the impact on local housing markets, particularly the availability and affordability of accommodation for residents.”
Key takeaway: The shift to less developed locations, even in Europe, can create logistical and housing challenges, requiring companies to manage employee expectations and be more proactive in finding quality rental properties.
The impact of regulatory restrictions on short-term rentals
In key markets like the US, Canada and Europe, increasingly stringent regulations on short-term rentals are putting additional strain on housing availability for corporate relocations. For example, New York has imposed strict licensing requirements for short-term rentals, making it difficult for companies to find adequate housing for employees on temporary assignments. In Europe, cities like Dublin and Athens have implemented similar restrictions to combat the housing shortage for locals, further constraining supply for corporate housing.
“In cities like Dublin, demand for housing has outstripped supply by as much as 45%, pushing prices up and forcing companies to look for alternative solutions, such as long-term stays or partnering with aparthotels,” says Kabiru Onikoyi. “However, the higher costs associated with short-term accommodation remain a major challenge for businesses operating in these markets.”
In major markets like London, Paris, Amsterdam and New York, housing shortages can be exacerbated by demands from leisure travellers, particularly during peak season or when there is a large international event, which further drives up costs.
Kabiru Onikoyi says one solution is to negotiate with operators to retain rooms on an ongoing basis, even when not needed continuously, in order for them to be able to house their corporate travellers during peak periods.
“We are educating our clients on market complexities and working closely with operators to ensure availability, especially in volatile markets like Cape Town and other leisure-centric destinations,” he says.
Longer-term stays reduce costs and help companies secure better deals on accommodation. For example, daily rates for corporate housing in major European cities drop significantly for longer stays, from £250 per night for short-term visits to around £170–180 for extended stays, creating substantial cost savings for businesses over time.
Key takeaway: The corporate housing market is under strain in many regions, particularly those with a high volume of tourism or strict regulatory frameworks. Companies must adapt by negotiating longer-term stays, securing accommodation well in advance and exploring alternative solutions to meet their housing needs.
The rise of major international internship programmes
With skills at a shortage, the need to attract and retain fresh talent is more pressing than ever. Companies, especially those in the tech industry, are increasingly focused on harnessing the potential of new graduates early on in their careers.
Intern programmes, particularly across the Americas and Asia, have become vital avenues for nurturing the next generation of leaders and critical thinkers. Tech giants like
Microsoft and
Google are taking the lead, establishing expansive internship programmes on campuses in the US and exploring other emerging markets for fresh talent. For these companies, the strategic investment in interns is not only about skill-building, but also about fostering innovative thinking that can drive transformative growth.
Recent graduates, particularly from fields like computer science, data analytics and software engineering, can be pivotal in areas like product development and service innovation. With such value placed on new talent, competition for top interns has grown fierce among tech companies.
“For the top 1% of interns in these programmes, multiple companies may be vying for their full-time employment, leading organisations to invest more in their internship experience,” Kabiru says.
For many large tech companies, the scale of intern programmes can be astounding. For instance, in Seattle, thousands of interns are brought on during the summer, with some programmes managing 4,000 to 5,000 interns over a span of just three to four months. These figures reflect the scale and commitment that companies are willing to invest in talent acquisition. In the US, approximately 93% of interns come from within the country, and a similar domestic pattern has evolved in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with a strong focus on cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad. Although there are some international placements, the majority of intern hiring is domestic, ensuring that companies can build a local talent base.
“For these companies, it is about finding the next generation of critical thinkers fresh out of university,” says Kabiru Onikoyi. “Microsoft and Google have massive campuses in the US and are beginning to look into emerging markets as well. These interns bring new ideas and new ways of problem solving and they are going to be the future leaders of the company.
“These major companies are looking to attract this talent and retain these graduates within the company. There may be 400 companies vying for interns in terms of full-time employment and that is where investing a bit more into the relocation programme helps build more loyalty.”
Key takeaway: Overall, the global corporate mobility market is navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. From political instability and conflict zones to housing shortages and regulatory restrictions, companies must stay agile and proactive in their approach to managing employee relocation in order to obtain the best return on investment.
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