Everyone is trying to find the best fit right now. And I’m not talking about a pair of classic black pumps (though please reach out if you have a recommendation). The real conversation? The size and structure of today’s mobility teams.

As responsibilities expand and budgets tighten, organizations are walking a careful line: keeping teams lean while ensuring they have the expertise needed to manage a growing and increasingly complex scope of responsibilities.

Our recent Designing Mobility for Success research sheds light on what teams look like today, revealing that even within large global organizations, most mobility teams remain remarkably small—typically fewer than five full-time employees.

And while size matters, it’s not everything. Structure plays an equally important role in determining how effective mobility teams can be.

For some companies, mobility responsibilities are still spread across regional HR teams, tax partners, immigration providers, and relocation vendors. For others, consolidating those functions into a centralized global mobility model is becoming a strategic priority.

But what does centralization really mean, and is it always the right move?

What Does It Mean to Centralize the Mobility Function?

Many mobility programs didn’t start with a deliberate structure. As organizations expanded globally, relocations were often handled locally by regional HR teams responding to immediate needs.

Over time, organic growth often produced fragmented programs: different policies, different vendors, and limited visibility into the broader mobility population.

Without centralization, organizations often struggle with:

  • Inconsistent employee experiences
  • Limited visibility into costs and assignment activity
  • Fragmented data across regions and systems
  • Higher compliance risk due to decentralized oversight

In our work with clients, we often see mobility data scattered across multiple systems and locations when programs are managed regionally. This fragmentation creates delays in accessing critical information and can lead to employees receiving inconsistent guidance across business units.

Centralizing mobility shifts key responsibilities, policies, and oversight into a single global framework rather than allowing assignments to be managed independently across regions.

In a centralized model, a core mobility team typically owns responsibilities such as:

  • Mobility policy design and governance
  • Vendor selection and management
  • Budget oversight and cost tracking
  • Compliance coordination (tax, immigration, payroll)
  • Assignment management and reporting
  • Technology and mobility platform oversight

Regional HR teams still play an important role—but instead of operating independently, they work within a shared global framework. The goal is one cohesive (and consistent) mobility strategy rather than multiple localized approaches.

The Benefits of Centralizing the Mobility Function

1. Policy Consistency Across the Organization

A centralized mobility team can establish clear eligibility criteria, assignment types, and benefits frameworks that apply globally. This helps ensure employees are treated equitably regardless of where they are relocating from or to.

Centralized oversight also allows organizations to standardize processes and ensure mobility policies are applied consistently across business units.

2. Better Cost Control

Mobility programs can be expensive, and decentralized programs often make it difficult to understand where the money is going.

Centralization allows organizations to:

  • Track relocation costs more accurately
  • Identify trends and cost drivers
  • Standardize vendor pricing and services
  • Reduce duplicate or unnecessary benefits

With a clearer view of spending, companies can make more strategic decisions about when – and how – mobility should be used to support business growth.

3. Stronger Data and Reporting

When mobility activities are managed across multiple regions and systems, reporting becomes extremely difficult (and slower than it needs to be). Centralized programs can consolidate data into one platform or reporting framework, enabling organizations to:

  • Track assignment populations globally
  • Monitor compliance risks
  • Analyze program utilization
  • Forecast budgets more accurately

This visibility allows mobility leaders to demonstrate the true strategic value of their programs.

4. Improved Compliance Management

Global mobility involves complex, rapidly evolving regulatory considerations, including immigration rules, tax obligations, payroll implications, and labor laws. Centralizing oversight helps organizations stay ahead of these challenges by coordinating compliance across regions and ensuring that expertise is concentrated within a dedicated mobility team.

What We’re Seeing Across the Industry

Across the global mobility industry, the trend toward centralization is clear, but it rarely looks the same for every organization.

Our latest research reveals that 73% of companies operate under a centralized mobility model (37% from a single location and 36% across multiple locations).  

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in this shift. Centralized data platforms bring all stakeholders together on the same stage, empowering companies with visibility across assignments, vendors, and costs – even when operational tasks remain regionally managed.

Another trend on the rise: many companies are designing hybrid structures rather than choosing between fully centralized or fully decentralized approaches. These hybrid models combine global governance with regional expertise – the best of both worlds!

They also help address one potential downside of full centralization: the loss of local insight. A single global team in one location may unintentionally become disconnected from the realities employees face on the ground in different destinations. After all, mobility is inherently personal. Hybrid models acknowledge that reality while still providing the structure and oversight needed to manage an increasingly complex mobility landscape.

The Bottom Line

Local teams play a vital role in keeping talent moving and navigating the regional nuances that can make the difference between a good move experience and a great one. But, more often than not, these teams operate most effectively within a consistent global framework – that’s the essence of centralization. It’s about bringing structure and visibility to a program that has become increasingly complex.

Whether fully centralized or hybrid, the most successful mobility models balance global consistency, local expertise, and technology-enabled transparency.

As mobility continues to evolve, we know that clients who strike this balance will gain a clear advantage in the global competition for talent!

Want to see how your mobility structure compares? Download PART 1 of our Designing Mobility for Success research report or connect with our Advisory Services Team for a customized analysis.