As we become more aware of #GlobalMobility as a corporate function, body of research, and whole industry, compared to thinking it was a global taxi service when I used this hashtag on Twitter in 2009, I thought it would be great to refresh the main issues that we still face in many organizations. I still see five major challenges in Global Mobility across industries and countries: 1 – SELECTION and SUCCESSION PLANNING: Expats are often selected on an ad-hoc basis, and intercultural competence is hardly ever considered in the selection process. Female Expats and Rainbow Talent are still greatly underrepresented. Our HR systems have reinforced systems of patriarchy. We need to come to a more data-driven selection process and talent selection […]

When I was working as a Global Mobility Leader at one of the big four consulting firms, I sometimes had a hard time explaining to my team members why they were not compensated at the same level as an HR Manager (or HR Business Partner as they used to be called back in the day). I told them about my vision of Global Mobility Managers reporting directly to the Head of Human Resources or even the Head of Business Development. I encouraged them to learn more and gain more profound knowledge and expertise to talk to line managers about international assignments through the business view (not just the talent development glasses). I was frustrated about the lack of recognition and […]

Once, I gave a talk discussing the Expat Experience in Zurich and how to enhance it. Zurich is a typical inbound hub, so many of the ideas in this article will also apply to places like Dubai, London, Hong Kong, or Singapore. As the most populated canton in Switzerland, Zurich is becoming home to an ever-growing population of expats. Today’s typical expats look like this expat couple: Heidi and Govind. Heidi is a Director who works in banking and is a credit guru. She met Govind, her husband, at the London School of Economics. From there, they moved to New York and later to Abu Dhabi. Govind now works for a pharmaceutical company that has stationed them in Abu Dhabi for the […]