New RES Forum report reveals HR global mobility challenges
A new report from the RES Forum, the independent network for HR and mobility professionals, has shown that diversity and data mastery are the key challenges facing the global mobility sector today.
The data challenge
Effective data analytics allow organisations to arrive at evidence-based conclusions. Some of the report's key findings on this issue include:- Multinationals are not exploiting IT and integration opportunities that may reduce cost and lead to a more standardised, possibly higher-quality, GM service provision
- Almost all companies consider that general data analytics will be important to their GM programme management over the next three years
- Organisations plan to move forward in terms of analysing assignment success, retention and performance to predict success elements and patterns. Half aim to predict future assignment compensation, reward trends and costs and 40 per cent to predict assignment types and movements and want to draw up lists of identified future GM candidates
- GM teams are starting to report on performance trends, nationality and the ethnicity breakdown of assignees versus the general employee population. Additionally, they will strive to compile an age breakdown of their assignee population
- In the next three years, the biggest growth is expected to be in measuring ROI, retention of assigned talent after and during assignments, career progression of repatriated assignees post assignment and the early return of assignees
The age issue
Some of the key perceptions of the companies surveyed surrounding employee age categories include:- Multinationals offer more developmental assignments to younger expatriates and more business needs/strategic assignments to older assignees
- As potential assignees get older, companies believe that it becomes more difficult to identify suitable candidates and to motivate them to accept postings. Different sets of drivers motivate the different age groups
- Early/mid careerists (Gen Y, Millennials) change employers more often (36 per cent) and are more frequently promoted (25 per cent) than their older peers
- Mid/peak careerists (Gen X) are seen to fit more successfully into host teams and facilitate knowledge transfer more than their younger peers
- Business learning is seen as more extensive for mid/peak than late stage careerists (Baby Boomers). However, there is no real indication that the performance of late stage careerists is inferior to younger generations
- The Brexit effect and what this means in the broader, uncertain geo-political environment in which GM operates
- Age diversity and its effect within multinational corporations
- Pertinent organisational development and talent management considerations in GM
- GM data analytics opportunities and the potential benefits
- Reward package design and key trends in remuneration and benefits