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Part 1: Introducing the Mobility Quadrant of Success

Future of Global Mobility

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Twenty years ago, most Global Mobility departments principally focused on managing the relocation aspects of their international assignee population; the focus often being exclusively on traditional long-term assignment moves, which frequently started and ended in the country location of their corporate headquarters.Since then, the scope of services delivered by Global Mobility has changed significantly, and it is still very much in motion. The logistical relocation of global talent remains one core aspect of responsibility, but the functional accountabilities of Global Mobility departments have developed exponentially in responding to today’s diverse and ever-evolving mobility types and global business needs.

Mature Global Mobility functions are now able to master what KPMG LLP calls the “Mobility Quadrant of Success,” and they apply it to all forms of global talent mobility beyond traditional international assignments.

Supporting compliance

Managing risk

Driving employee experience

Creating business

value

1Future of HR Global Mobility© 2020 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. The KPMG name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. NDP044218-1A

The Mobility Quadrant of Success

Supporting complianceOne critical aspect of Global Mobility is to support individual compliance globally. However, supporting global compliance requirements goes far beyond authorizing a third-party tax services provider for preparing an international assignee’s individual income tax return. Immigration, labor laws, and social security compliance also have to be on the radar, but there are other key business risks that need to be considered.. In addition, there are a significant number of corporate compliance requirements that also need to be supported. For example permanent establishment risks, transfer pricing considerations, payroll withholding and reporting obligations, and data protection laws increase the scope of compliance support for Global Mobility departments.

Knowing these compliance requirements and understanding the possible impact of violations caused by different types of employee mobility is critical to drive the right business decisions.

Managing riskThe second quadrant is managing risk. Supporting compliance and managing risk are not the same. While each organization determines its own risk tolerance thresholds, violating against compliance requirements or taking advantage of legal grey zones creates certain risks; managing corporate-and individual-level risks means organization’s need to consider global mobility risk management in the context of all four quadrants.

This may mean analyses and decision making involving diverse scenarios like the following examples: Mitigating compliance risk in labor law may create additional compliance risks in social security. A change to transfer pricing policies may torpedo all initial assumptions about individual income tax liability. Alternative mobile work arrangements along with an increase in diverse talent mobility needs, as well as a growing professional contingent or “GIG” worker economy, has created a situation where human resources, talent acquisition and management, and global mobility must work in sync as one community of business advisers. Organizations need to know the dependencies and work inclusively together across various areas of functional and subject-matter expertise. Aiming solely to avoid all legal risks without consideration of possible “legal grey zone” advantages may also jeopardize the overarching business case. While risks may be reduced to the organization, it may not support the key business objective and desired outcomes.

In addition, “compliance” is not the only risk that organizations need to consider.

There is a significant number of additional risks that have to be considered in the context of mobility. Physical risks such as safety or health issues for the employee and accompanying family members, for example. Psychological issues often due to higher stress associated with a move from one country to another. As an employer, the “duty of care concept” ultimately means that organizations still have accountability for the health, safety, and well-being of its employees and their families, and what this actually means can be interpreted significantly different depending on assignment context, host location, and employee demographics.


Managing risk


Creating business

value


Managing risk


Creating business

value



Driving employee experienceThe third quadrant is driving employee experience. Compliance and risk set certain parameters and can heavily impact mobility processes. While employees may want to “just do the job abroad,” your process may be delayed by the various immigration, legal, and tax compliance checks and processes that are mandatory to support compliance. Employees may not understand why familiar ground transportation service apps are not allowed to be used in one country, and despite the possible cost savings of using an app such as Airbnb for lodging, employees may need to use predefined hotels instead of alternative lodging to support risk mitigation.

However, while compliance and risk impact processes and desired timings, it should not dictate the entire mobility experience. The Global Mobility function is much more than managing compliance and risk.

We often hear that we are now in a fourth industrial revolution tied to digital technologies—increasing automation, the use of artificial intelligence and robotics—which is having a direct impact on the future of work and jobs changing. This is leading to an impact on the future needs of the HR function, as well as to the future of the GM function supporting this new workforce reality. When we look at the Global Mobility function, KPMG predicts a greater diversity of assignment types and an increase in mobile work arrangements. Global Mobility must have an increased role in the talent agenda and work closely with the talent management function throughout the entire employment lifecycle. We see Global Mobility being a dedicated, digitized and automated stakeholder function supporting the future of diverse talent mobility and employee experience.

As such, driving the employee experience has to be on the radar of every mobility leader. This means on one hand organizations think about the “moments that matter” for the employees and their families and take the steps that are needed to create the best experience possible. Often this experience is created by different people within and outside the company. In this context, actions such as finding a home in the host country, getting accompanying children into the right school or finding a

doctor that a trusted person recommends remains more in an employee’s memory than a required visa application or individual tax briefing.

Mastering a great experience requires that Global Mobility become the overall “employee experience architect” for everything that touches employees and their families. Global Mobility needs to recognize that employees are now looking for a tailored, simplified, digital consumerism experience for mobility processes and services (“fast and easy”).

Finally, delivering a great experience also starts with setting the right expectations from the beginning. Creating awareness and transparency about the complexity and challenges of mobility is equally critical to properly managing expectations and driving a positive employee experience from the start.


Managing risk


Creating business

value


Creating business valueThe fourth quadrant is about ultimately creating business value. Moving a person only makes sense if it creates business value, and generating business value can be achieved in different ways.

Some ways are more obvious, such as: “the business needed employee A to be in country B to fulfill a customer obligation and Global Mobility made it happen.—Fantastic job.”

Some ways are less obvious, such as: “a manager has a business challenge in country B and already had identified his team member A, but Global Mobility also challenged the manager to consider other possible candidates with the right talent already located in country B, thus avoiding a costlier international assignment.—Great work.”

The value proposition for Global Mobility in other business scenarios may be hard to measure, but are as equally important, such as: “Global Mobility is the glue that keeps the different regional, local profit centers together and actually gives us one DNA, one culture.” In stakeholder interviews with top executives, KPMG often hears statements similar to this:

“Mobility pushed me to leave my comfort zone. Working in a different culture, in a different business unit equipped me with the skills and competencies that I still take advantage of today, my international assignments were the best development program that I received both personally and professionally.”

Despite the significant business value that Global Mobility adds, too often the Global Mobility function is still perceived as a back-office tactical logistics administrator, a generator of unnecessary costs, or a function that creates barriers or is holding off on implementing a “done deal” between management and the employee by asking too many questions and challenging employee mobility decisions that were made outside of prescribed selection and approval processes.


Managing risk


Creating business

value

It’s easy to understand where much of this is coming from, but this often has to do with a knowledge gap regarding of Global Mobility and what it takes to master the Mobility Quadrant of Success.

Creating business value also means enabling transparency about the significant business value that Global Mobility brings to a global organization.



Understanding the Mobility Quadrant of Success is a great starting point to create awareness for business leaders and employees about the complexity of managing talent mobility globally. Moreover, it is an even better way to demonstrate Global Mobility’s brand and key value proposition supporting the organization’s global talent and business priorities.Interested in more information? Please read part II—Mastering the Mobility Quadrant of Success.

Final remarks


Contact usTo learn more about our services, please contact your local KPMG adviser or any of the professionals listed below.

Achim Mossman Principal KPMG U.S LLP T: 212-954-6812 E: [email protected]

Thomas Efkemann Partner KPMG AG T: +49 621 4267-629 E: [email protected]

Some or all of the services described herein may not be permissible for KPMG audit clients and their affiliates or related entities.

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© 2020 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. The KPMG name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International. NDP044218-1A

future of global mobility - kpmg · the fourth quadrant is about ultimately creating business...

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