For the tenth annual edition of our workforce mobility survey, we took a fresh approach. As you know, the survey’s first decade was all about how workforce mobility was responding to challenging real estate markets across the U.S. and Canada.
Our 2016 edition has expanded to a global survey, identifying the top “game changers” that will require mobility professionals to re-examine how they administer their programs in the future.
According to the survey results, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures represent the most prominent workforce mobility game changer, experienced by 55 percent of responding companies over the past year and anticipated by 42 percent in 2016. Unfortunately, while mergers and acquisitions are designed to build scale, expand markets and acquire talent, few organizations anticipate the impact on
workforce mobility.
In the throes of an acquisition, mobility managers typically have little guidance as to which organization’s policy will take precedent in the new organization, creating confusion. Mobile employees — whether on assignment or preparing to move — become concerned about their place in the new world order, causing attrition at a time when the company needs their skills the most. Meanwhile, the acquiring entity’s leadership just wants to leverage the value of its newly expanded workforce. These factors require mobility managers to be more flexible, strategic and adaptable to sudden change.
Among other mobility game changers uncovered in this survey:
- Tracking and analyzing exceptions remains a great resource for identifying cost-saving policy adjustments, yet 38 percent of companies still don’t do it.
- An increasingly diverse mobile workforce coupled with unrelenting pressure to control costs will likely give rise to a “policy of one” — mobility benefits packages tailored to individual needs and goals. This is evident in the growing popularity of core/flex programs through which companies offer standard “core” benefits alongside flexible benefits that match unique employee situations. Twenty two percent of respondents are using core/flex programs, and 56 percent think these programs will grow this year.
- Only 2 percent of respondents claim to successfully measure mobility ROI, despite the fact that this data can help them illustrate how mobility is helping to drive recruitment, engagement, retention and leadership development across their organizations.
To receive a copy of the complete survey results, email us.
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