Why talent mobility should be the top of every corporate agenda in 2021

The combination of pent-up desire among employees for greater flexibility and intensifying competition for talent means talent mobility will become a critical priority for companies in 2021

Back in 2010 PwC introduced its report Talent Mobility 2020 with the following statement: "Mobilisation strategies will need to progress significantly to keep pace with this change and the further increases in assignee numbers. We are not yet consigning existing models for international assignments to the history books, but for organisations to be successful in the coming decade, a radical rethink of policy and processes may be required."

Looking ahead to 2021 and a decade on from these comments, I am not convinced companies have fully understood the return-on-investment of talent mobility. This year has understandably been very different, but in the last ten years organisations have too often focused on short-term challenges and not properly understood the value of talent mobility. However, I am still optimistic that corporates are beginning to comprehend its upsides to retaining and developing key talent, as they are now quickly realising the significant talent cost of not enabling employees to experience such assignments.

While some pundits suggest remote working will see the death of talent mobility with the argument: "why move when everything can be done virtually?" I believe the opposite is true.

If anything, Covid-19 has shone a spotlight on mobility teams, particularly as the first lockdowns came in to force around the world. Organisations struggled to understand where all their employees were and how to get them home safely, underlining that many did not have a proper grasp on critical data.

Remote working has shown there is a huge amount of new risk, as well as opportunity

As we move into 2021, I believe that mobility teams and the technology supporting them will become even more important. Why? Remote working has shown there is a huge amount of new risk, as well as opportunity, for organisations in areas such as compliance.

In our dealings with companies, we see HR teams scrambling to formulate new policies, as employees test the potential for remote working, to offer them different ways of working. Organisations must balance employee desires for flexible working (part office, part home) or working remotely from another country for a month a year or even merging extended flexible holiday with working remotely. It raises legal and compliance questions around employee benefits, what their permanent residence is and which entity should pay the individual's compensation.

It certainly has the potential to be complex, but the combination of pent-up desire among employees for greater flexibility and intensifying competition for talent to fill ever-growing skills gaps, and talent mobility will become a critical priority for companies in 2021.

Above all, though, global talent mobility will be crucial, as how mobile a workforce is correlates strongly with how agile a business is in responding to opportunities around the world. A business will be successful when it can blend the art and science of ensuring the right people are working where they are most needed.

Therefore, it is time for corporates to rethink their understanding of what talent mobility is, and the role it plays in people strategy, because it has evolved dramatically since the days of the classic foreign assignment. The Fosway Group, the leading European HR research house, has emphasised this point in its recent report: "Workforce planning is being replaced by agile talent allocation, talent acquisition by flexible resourcing, succession planning by opportunity marketplaces, internal job boards by project and gig marketplaces, personal development by more incisive upskilling and reskilling, career pathways by employability and career bridging."

Brexit could serve as an excuse for corporates to hold off addressing talent mobility

Of course, the context of the pandemic - and for the UK specifically - Brexit could easily serve as an excuse for corporates to hold off addressing talent mobility, but the reality is that shortfalls in key skills and ever-growing pressure from competitors means companies can ill-afford to face this issue. Certainly, Brexit will make it harder for UK companies to attract talent into this country and I can see many EU nationals will be evaluating whether or not remaining in the UK will give them the career paths they want. However, the smart CEOs will understand that talent mobility means many things these days and providing employees and candidates with a range of possibilities could make their companies even more attractive.

Take the foreign assignment. We work with a number of companies who offer foreign assignments but have cut back significantly on the package offered to employees. There is an acceptance by many employees who want the experience of working in another country that they will take on more of the financial responsibility of such a move, in return for the opportunity. There are also short-term assignments placing individuals in another office to address immediate business requirements, while enabling individuals to garner experience of cross-border working.

Technology is also changing the dynamics of talent mobility as teams leverage collaboration tools, and even virtual reality applications, to interact on a regular basis. This can be combined with extended business travel, because face-to-face time between teams is still important to foster teamwork and ensure remote workers are confident that they have the right level of support.

The ‘soft' benefits of a robust talent mobility strategy should not be overlooked either, because it does help to strengthening corporate culture across a global organisation and conveys the message that the senior leadership team values its employees. It helps employees to achieve better work-life balance, as it will allow them greater flexibility to work remotely, but still remain part of the wider team. With the fight for talent getting harder in the UK and around the world, being known as an employer open to such flexible working and assignment opportunities will benefit companies willing to embrace this more agile approach to talent mobility.

The right talent mobility strategy will send a clear message that the company is still prepared to invest

Even though we are facing one of the toughest economic situations in more than 100 years, the same basic truth about business remains. The businesses that survive will look after their best people. A key way to do that moving into 2021 will be addressing talent mobility in more creative and flexible ways. And there is no excuse for CEOs to sideline it.

2020 put talent mobility back on the corporate agenda and the smart CEOs know the right talent mobility strategy will send a clear message that the company is still prepared to invest. The business will be able to move quicker to respond to market opportunities as a result. And most importantly, it will retain the best talent and build a much stronger, more consistent corporate culture around the world.

Steve Black is co-founder and chief strategy officer at Topia