The Importance of Aligning Your Mobility Program with Company Goals

In an expanding global market, it’s no surprise that company stakeholders list organizational growth as a top priority — over 53% in fact, according to SIRVA’s 2018 Mobility Report, Talent Mobility for Business Growth – Aligning Practices to Drive Organizational Impact. Mobility can play a strategic part in this growth when aligned with company goals, as this maximizes the readiness of companies to capitalize on global opportunities when they present themselves. For this reason, designing a future-ready relocation program that’s strategically aligned with organizational goals should be a top priority for companies that are looking to grow.

Unfortunately, this strategic alignment between organizational goals and relocation programs often falls short. A significant number of respondents in SIRVA’s 2018 Mobility Report (over 37%) stated that their mobility service delivery models were 'completely/somewhat misaligned' with organizational goals or altogether 'neutral.' To avoid the missed opportunities resulting from this misalignment, companies should consider multiple factors:

Relocation program maturity: From designing and implementing the components of a relocation program to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience, it’s important to involve stakeholders from various divisions of a company (HR, IT, leadership, etc.) during each step of the process. Doing so doesn’t just aid company-wide engagement and buy-in, it also helps to achieve program alignment with the company’s overall goals. Be sure to communicate policies and practices among stakeholders for maximum success. Throughout each step of implementation, note any consistent areas of failure or consistent misalignment to identify areas for improvement.      

Internal business culture: Ensuring that employees feel connected to and part of company culture is crucial to their success and, therefore, the success of your organization. Building a strong mobility brand for your company goes a long way toward achieving this. Engage the input of human resources and leadership teams before departure and after arrival in a new location to help employees establish a sense of continuity.

Stakeholder roles and investment: It takes many people to implement a smooth and successful relocation, from internal management and travel and logistics partners to vendors at origin and destination locations. Mobility teams and partners play a critical role in identifying and managing the complexities associated with mobility, so ensure the right level of competencies to support your program and drive success.

By aligning a mobility program to organizational goals, its processes, people, and technology all support a company’s long-term objectives. There are a variety of practical steps that can be taken to design a future-ready relocation program. Read our latest paper, Designing a Future-Ready Relocation Programme for Going Global, to learn more about the evolution of mobility programs and how to design a program that will prepare your company for future growth.