Mobility Trends: Talent Development and Employee Experience

During ongoing conversations with our clients, Sirva continues to explore key trend areas and their impact on mobility strategies. We also discuss strategies organisations have implemented, or are looking to implement, in the future to achieve their talent management and organisational objectives.

This article takes a look at trends and strategies in the areas of Employee Experience and Talent Development.

Employee Experience

When asked about future-focused strategy, organisations are looking to enhance the employee experience, with a keen awareness of the effects that relocation can have on employees and their families.

The main areas of focus organisations share for improving the employee experience are:

• Reviewing mobility policies
• Improving employee retention
• Focusing on wellness and duty of care
• Establishing greater flexibility in policy and processes

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE STRATEGIES

Policy and Processes

• Conducting a full policy review to ensure flexibility to reflect new hybrid workforce
• Redesigning policies to be purpose-driven to segment for a transparent experience
• Approving policy exceptions
• Improving coordination of processes between all suppliers/vendors

Employee Support

• Setting expectations upfront with an employee intake call to identify critical to quality service elements (CTQs)
• Understanding the value of relocating employees
• Offering intercultural training
• Conducting security department briefings and intercultural training for LGBTQ+ employees to be better prepared for certain countries
• Improving tech solutions/automation to reduce waiting times for employees to connect with vendors
• Getting FAQs to employees quickly via different communication tools
• Facilitating direct meetings for relocating employees to track and improve attrition

Flexibility

• Providing flexibility in language/intercultural training
• Realising employee needs differ and meeting them with empathy (e.g. technology, flexibility)

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

In the area of talent development, organisations are fostering learning, employee engagement, talent management, and employee development to drive organisational performance, productivity and results.

The main areas of Talent Development focus for Global Mobility are:

Developing the Organisation’s Overall Talent Pool

• Talent acquisition support
• Developmental assignments

Developing Individual Employees

• Supporting different move types
• Supporting employees in challenging locations
• Ensuring assignment success and ROI

Talent Development Strategies

Policy and Processes

• Having policies and procedures in place for international moves/assignments
• Conducting candidate and family assessment/selection
• Considering expanding relocation policy to entry-level roles to attract new talent and to develop loyalty
• Reviewing selection and assessment criteria for assignments and transfers
• Putting technical platforms in place to track and report on talent development

Training

• Providing Mobility training basics to Talent Acquisition to help set expectations better and provide simple tools and materials
• Training for employees and all stakeholders along the process
• Providing more development opportunities and communicating to employees that relocation helps diversify experience and is needed to grow
• Offering leadership training, personal development, and continuous excellence training

Align Mobility and Talent

• Continuing to partner with Talent Acquisition to promote internal mobility
• Developing new talent through exposure to different experiences
• Aligning mobility programme to broader company talent strategy
• Assessing ROI when an employee returns from a global assignment, keeping employees with the company