This article is part of a recurring series highlighting recent talent mobility industry reports. If you would like the WERC editorial team to consider covering a specific industry report, email mobility@worldwideerc.org.
Results from the EY 2024 Mobility Reimagined Survey have been released, confirming that mobility agility can drive business resilience, but only if it evolves to activate five key drivers:
- Strategic alignment
- Talent linkage
- Digital focus
- Flexibility
- Use of external expertise
Respondents of the survey, which included more than 1,000 mobility industry personnel across 21 global geographies, fell into three categories based on their level of adoption of these drivers. “Evolved” functions, representing 25% of respondents, showed the highest adoption levels, while an “emerging” middle 50% showed some adoption; 25% were found “effective” with low adoption. The results revealed, among other things, that talent mobility professionals who focus on the five drivers are more likely to say mobility helps organizational resilience, improves their sustainability agenda, and helps address talent shortages.
They are also more likely to cite positive mobility return on investment. Nearly all employers are tracking ROI of their mobility programs, up from 80% in 2023. Yet a universal norm for tracking ROI is lacking. The largest number of employers (64%) track performance ratings, with cost (56%) and the function’s impact on business revenues and finances (54%) being the next most common metrics used.
Recognizing the broader benefits to talent development is another distinction between evolved and effective mobility functions. Nearly all evolved functions and just 41% of effective employers are tied to two or more of core areas of talent development. These core areas include developmental programs designed to involve mobility experiences, mobility woven into career milestones for leadership, early career programs designed with mobility steps, and mobility experiences offered to the top talent.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to mobility programs, with organizations needing to chart their path based on a unique constellation of designs and objectives,” the report states. “By linking the function to talent development goals and processes, and to targets for talent attraction and retention, organizations can add greater value for employees through exceptional experiences and encourage new workforce models for agile organizations.”
The Evolution of AI
The most evolved mobility programs are nearly twice as likely to already use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) routinely, compared to programs that are effective. Currently 71% of mobility functions only use GenAI at times, with 22% using it routinely. About 79% of employers say GenAI will have a positive impact on their function in areas like ways of working in the function, working flexibly, employee experience, and enabling new job opportunities.
But technology is only useful in the hands of people trained and comfortable using it. With rising cost pressures forcing targeted investments, increasing competition to find people with in-demand skills bolsters the case for organizations to keep a people-first mindset through technological innovation. Evolved mobility functions are more likely to try transformational technologies to stay competitive, with 27% routinely using GenAI at work compared to 14% of functions that are deemed effective.
Boldly Going to the Evolved Frontier
According to findings in the report, mobility needs to evolve its operating model for a new kind of cost-capability calculus. “With added scope, closer strategic alignment and added investments in technology, mobility functions will need to reimagine their operating models to account for better coordination of internal stakeholders and external partners,” the report says. About 58% of respondents to the EY CEO Outlook Pulse said they are planning to accelerate transformation efforts in the next year, with three-quarters of respondents expecting a “lower for longer” economic growth environment. “For workforce mobility, and the two-thirds of employers expecting the scope of the function to grow without major growth in headcount, these factors require a new cost-capability calculus in how the function operates.” the report says.
Greater divisions in operating model choices are seen when comparing evolved functions with their counterparts, “showing much more willingness to mix and match resources to provide the greatest service to the organization, and greatest level of adaptability to increase efficiency while alleviating workload pressures,” according to the report. “This willingness to flex operating models allows mobility functions to refine certain activities based on their organization’s profile, needs, and resources.”
Actions Need to Drive Evolved Mobility Function
“As organizations look to evolve their mobility function to cope with growing complexity, and help achieve broader strategic goals, it’s important to recognize the interplay of agility and resilience,” the report states. “By being willing to embark on a bespoke reimagination of mobility’s capabilities and strategic role, organizations can break the function out of transactional isolation.”
As such, EY lays out five steps toward evolution. The first is to act strategically, which involves embedding and aligning mobility into the wider organizational strategy. It also involves increasing the strategic effectiveness of mobility by reducing operational silos and improving the exchange of data with other business functions.
The second step is integration with talent. Embedding mobility into the wider workforce agenda will recognize its importance to developing future leaders. Integration also involves the enhancement of the mobility experience to boost talent retention.
The report also recommends organizations promote the use of new digital tools and ensure people are at the center of transformation. This involves preparing for GenAI to become widely adopted, with the potential to transform ways of working and mobile employee experience.
Step four involves the building of people-first mobility programs. This includes building in flexibility to enhance employee experience and creating a people mobility strategy that enables compliant hybrid and remote work. It also involves putting sustainable and inclusive thinking at the heart of mobility programs.
The fifth step encourages the development of resilient operating models. “Proactively address the rising risks caused by the changing mix of work models and international regulation,” the report advises, adding to “leverage external providers to access know-how and take the pressure off in-house resources.”
Rising to the Ranks of Evolved Mobility
EY’s 2024 Mobility Reimagined Survey results, along with providing insightful statistics about the thinking of current mobility functions, reveal drivers of evolved mobility functions that can lead to better outcomes for mobile employees and their organizations. The report further provides actionable steps for companies seeking to join the elite “evolved” club of mobility organizations.