The Beginner’s Guide to Global Mobility: How Companies Can Hire International Talent

What is global mobility?

Global mobility, also known sometimes as employee relocation, is the HR process that allows businesses to move workers across international borders, from one location to another to meet the company’s operational, strategic or development needs. In this sense, it implies planning, coordinating and administrating employee relocations, including aspects such as visas, work permits, accommodation, benefits and cultural support to ensure a smooth transition into the new environment.

Is global mobility similar to employee relocation?

Yes, global mobility is a relatively new term that has been gaining popularity in the past 30 years, and that is very similar to the less-sellable employee relocation. But talking about global mobility has extra undertones that more closely represent the opportunities the workforce has access to in the 21st century.

For example, relocating within one’s country for work is still very common in certain regions. Talking about employee relocation certainly applies to domestic transfers, but falls short of defining how companies can enable workers to move across international borders for work, or to make international hires. Also, global mobility suggests a company strategy, not a single effort from the employee’s camp. Additionally, some HR teams consider business travel a part of global mobility, while relocation refers to a new life in a new town, not a business trip.

All in all, the terms are comparable, but global mobility underscores the international aspect of the movements. It’s also the name of an HR strategy: HR teams can make global mobility happen.

These employees’ transfers, movements, or assignments can be classified into:

• Business travels: These are what we commonly call quick trips to other countries for conferences, meetings, contract negotiations or networking with industry peers. When airport security asks, “Business or pleasure?” they refer to this type of travel.
• Short-term: Short-term assignments can last three or six months and have specific goals. For example, they might involve training local staff, filling a temporary position or working on a particular project. These assignments can be done with a regular tourist visa in most countries.
• Long-term: Long-term transfers typically last one to three years and meet different business needs, like developing global leaders, entering new markets or launching new facilities. They’re chosen over permanent relocations when there's a specific timeline or when an employee’s in-depth knowledge of the company is crucial. In most cases, the government will require a special visa for this kind of assignment.
• Permanent: A permanent assignment involves indefinitely relocating an employee to another country. The employee becomes a resident there and works locally through a local company. Traditionally, these assignments were sourced locally: you first hired someone from your HQ country before sending them overseas.
• International hires: The company hires a worker from a different country so it can work remotely from there until it relocates to any other region. Global mobility enables this process.

What about a workation?

Workation is a portmanteau of the words work and vacation. Since remote working allows taking on tasks from anywhere, employees are on workation when they travel and work from new locations like if they were on holiday, without spending their PTO days.

Workations differ from traditional business trips because employees decide when to take on one. Since it’s something workers strive for, employees will seek no assistance from their managers to go out on a workation — but they will need a suitable global mobility policy to rely on, and they’ll undoubtedly appreciate it if the stage is ready for them to take their meetings from a hut by the beach.

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Pros of global mobility

We won’t dwell on this point too much, as it’s been discussed at length before — and you’ve probably thought about the same for your company even before finding Relocate.me, where we specialise in connecting employers with skilled tech professionals seeking work opportunities abroad. Embracing global mobility offers various benefits for your organisation, especially in today’s potentially global and culturally diverse setting. Some of them are:

• Access to skilled labour
• Expansion into new markets
• Company diversity
• Hiring internationally with worldwide coverage

Additionally, a point often missed out on is how global mobility has become easier than ever.

Thanks to exceptional historical factors, including the rise of collaboration tools, a transnational economy, and increasingly electronic paperwork, companies can shape up multinational teams by hiring people from abroad — and even helping them settle down in a different country. The pandemic has altered perceptions of remote work and the challenges of welcoming new team members from all around the globe. It’s all about seeing the bright side of things.

Do employees also win with a global mobility strategy?

Yes — employees substantially benefit from a global mobility policy. It’s a win-win policy. When the company sets up a process through which it can access worldwide talent and expand into new markets, workers from any background can, in turn, make their next professional step with certain advantages that are difficult to come by on their own. Even if our guide is mostly for companies, workers can also reap benefits from global mobility, like by moving to a new country for their jobs or enjoying a workation.

Challenges in the global mobility process

Of course, it’s not all a bouquet of roses when it comes to moving globally. Not only do different countries have their own customs and traditions, but they also have specific rules you need to follow. So, getting to know global mobility pitfalls will help you make the process smoother and help you make smarter decisions when putting your plan into action.

Disclaimer: The “too much paperwork” excuse

Keep in mind that, in 2024, shying away from global mobility programs because of it involving “too much paperwork” appears to be more of an excuse than a real challenge. Numerous solutions help roll out a global mobility strategy.

Let’s elaborate on the specific issues involved now.

Immigration

Since they depend on each government, a global mobility program can be made or broken by immigration policies. Let’s have a closer look at the specific issues and look at best practices for addressing them:

• Visa complexity and delays: Each country has its own rules for visas, and these rules can be ambiguous. It’s important to visit official government websites to learn about each country’s visa requirements and how long it takes to process them. It’s best to plan ahead carefully. The best choice is to partner up with people who understand how immigration in a particular country plays out. To go global, it’s best to go case-by-case.
• Work permit woes: Securing work permits, especially for specialised roles, can be time-consuming and require specific qualifications. Non-compliance could get you in serious trouble, like facing hefty fines, if you’re the firm, or making your employee face deportation. Make sure to carefully research the work permit requirements for your desired job and location.
• The changing tides of policy: Politicians with inconsistent ideas rise and fall off year by year, so immigration policies constantly shift, making long-term planning challenging. Building adaptability into global mobility programs allows for quicker response to legislative shifts. Your program should never depend on the charlatan who’s in office right now in your target country — they might get kicked out in the next election cycle, and policies could change at a moment’s notice.

Corporate tax

Dealing with corporate taxes across different countries can be really tricky. It can even affect legal compliance. Imagine paying taxes only to be told off for not following the rules — it can’t get worse than that. Let’s see some key challenges in this area that any company with a global mobility program should consider:

• Double taxation: Employees who work overseas might end up paying taxes in both the host and home countries. Fortunately, some countries have tax treaties and policies like tax equalisation. Tax treaties can prevent double taxation, while tax equalisation helps employees maintain their standard of living despite tax differences. Collaborating with tax specialists is always a good idea.
• Permanent establishment: Any connection in a foreign country, even if it’s just through your employees, can lead to a permanent establishment (PE) for tax reasons. To handle this, keep a close eye on what your employees are doing and how long they work abroad. Having clear rules and keeping tabs on what your employees are up to can help you ensure compliance and steer clear of surprise tax bills
• Saving on taxes but staying in the right lane: It can be hard to balance cutting expenses on taxes and being completely open to scrutiny. Aggressive tax planning may raise ethical concerns while overpaying taxes will slash your profits. Just make sure that you have a tax payment schedule at the start of each fiscal year. Not a reason to celebrate, but a necessary evil.
• Building internal collaboration: Different departments within an organisation, such as HR, sales — i.e., when they invoice — and finance, may have conflicting priorities regarding taxes. A compliance issue could be around the corner if these teams work too separately. Make sure teams collaborate and understand when and how to invoice from each country and to which country.

Payroll

Let’s jump straight to the key aspects of paying a global workforce:

• Currency: Changes in exchange rates can affect how much employees get paid and cause a lot of hassle for the company. To deal with this, create straightforward rules and steps for dealing with changes in currency value. You can always ask employees to send their bank account information in a specific currency and peg their salaries to that.
• Multiple formats: Managing diverse payroll formats, reporting requirements, and payment methods across different countries can be a logistical nightmare. Standardise processes wherever possible, using centralised payroll systems with global capabilities.
• Data: Keep correct and consistent information about employees in different countries. If authorities ask you how many contractors or employees from a certain country you have on your payroll presently, you should be able to send them info on it.

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🚀 Global mobility strategy: Step-by-step guide

Overcoming the previously mentioned challenges and taking advantage of all global mobility benefits strongly depends on crafting a robust strategy. It involves thoughtful planning and customisation. Here’s a detailed guide to help you create it:

• Figure out your global mobility program’s purpose: Consider the challenges you want to address, such as attracting and keeping talent or transferring knowledge to a new market.
• Conduct an assessment: Find key roles and positions that could benefit from mobility opportunities, and decide who can apply based on seniority levels.
  
• Choose locations: Pick those that match your business goals and are good for your company and its workers. Consider factors such as market potential, talent availability, cost of living, infrastructure, and cultural fit. Double-check that you are complying with local regulations, and consider the impact on diversity and inclusion.
• Estimate the costs: Evaluate the costs associated with each location, including taxes, housing, transportation, and relocation expenses. Remember that costs are two-fold: those the company will cover, and those an employee will have to deal with.
• Make the process easy to follow: If someone wants to relocate, they should be able to check everything about it on an internal knowledge base.
• Define standards: Establish transparent standards for mobility requests, approvals, and reviews. Determine how employees can submit requests. It should be as simple as simulating a return on investment or calculating an insurance premium.
• Keep track of it: Did you know that more than a third of relocated employees don’t feel happy about their process? You should monitor your mobility policies and start shrinking that figure. Collect feedback from employees and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement. On an ongoing basis, rethink the strategy to align with changing business needs and market conditions.

Global mobility is too complex to improvise on, but too simple to operate once it’s running. So follow those steps, and you’ll be able to get an exemplary global mobility program as quickly as your workforce and business call for it.

🤝 Why relocation is the measure of success for global mobility

If your company satisfactorily allows an employee to relocate to a new country, especially if it’s a new hire, you can consider your global mobility program a roaring success.

Why? From all the possible assignments, relocation is arguably the ultimate step of a global mobility program. It’s not just about paying for a plane ticket or helping the employee book a hotel — it’s about bringing talent to a new market with a different legal framework and a different taxation system. During relocation, both the employee and the employer need special care.

You don’t need to read another step-by-step guide because at Relocate.me, we match you with workers looking to relocate so you can hire internationally.

You can also head to our Employer page, and we’ll gladly assess you with all you need. 

If you’re a tech professional looking to relocate and be hired internationally, you can also head to our job board. Good luck!