The Future of Global

Mobility
Report
September 2021
Introductio Introduction

n
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Technology

Brexit Concl

usion &
recommend
ations

Next 1
Key trends that are impacting employers, employees
Introduction
and Global Mobility
Global assignee population
The world of work has been disrupted and provides an exciting opportunity to reimagine Global Mobility. Our view of the
key trends below has been developed by analysing broader business and Human Capital trends, as well as deep-dive The ‘why’
interviews with Global Talent leaders.* behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business traveller
s

Technology

Brexit Concl

usion &
recommend
ations

*Deloitte Human Capital Trends, 2020 & 2021 (including responses from c. 9000 Business and HR leaders) and Deloitte FOW - LINK
Next 2
Introductio
Introduction
n
In the spring of 2021, we gauged a diverse group of Global pandemic and the major trend on remote work. It is clear
Mobility, Reward, Payroll and HR leaders, working for that their points of view evolve as we learn to be successful Global assignee population
companies with key decision units in Belgium, The in the Next Normal.
Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and the UK with HQ The ‘why’
locations all across the globe, on the future of Global behindGlobal Mobility
The pandemic accelerated the need for a clear global workforce
Mobility. The Global Mobility function clearly is about to take
vision and strategy. The role of Global Mobility is clearly further
a Remote working
evolving from a limited advisory function to a true integrated
quantum step in its evolution, accelerated by the VUCA times
partner that is human-centric, design-led and data-driven.
we live in.
Global Mobility and HR leaders keeping both the compliance
Business traveller
spectrum as well as the strategic spectrum under control, will
In a domestic as well as international context, the shift to s
see a clear need arise to further develop a service delivery
remote work has become a major trend for companies. Global
model fit for purpose. One which will evolve towards an Technolog
mobility and HR leaders need to find new ways of working and
ecosystem underpinned by by the right technology platforms y
execute quickly and thoughtfully now to prepare their
and realised by effective change and communication
organisation
management. Brexit
for the future. In the short term, they will need to define
immediate steps to return to work and enable their workforce to
become more effective, efficient and empowered. On the mid Conclusion & rec
to long term, they will need to define their ambition for the ommendations
future of work, workforce, and workplace. There is a clear
tension between these two time horizons as their priorities are
competing. The choices they will make, will define whether they
will be able to sustain their competitive advantage.

With compliance being a key priority for companies, awareness

is rising that a clear governance, a set of guidelines and tracking
tools are a must. Many companies are preparing for this
change and are defining their approach and strategy,
accelerated by the
Next 3
Survey
Introduction
demographics
Methodolog Global assignee population
y
The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Survey conducted Online Sent to a diverse Technolog

in the spring of questionnaire group of Global y
2021 Mobility, Reward, Brexit
Payroll and/or HR
leaders Conclusion & rec
ommendations

Next 4
Survey
Introduction
demographics
Global assignee population
Industry

Company HQ location
The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility
US 28%
Other
Belgium 21%
Remote working
Netherlands 21%

Energy, resources
Switzerland 6% Business traveller
& industrials UK 6% s
Sweden 3%

Luxembourg 3%
Technolog
Financial services
y
Japa 3%
n
Germany 3% Brexit
Denmark 3%
Technology, telecom
& media
Canada 3% Conclusion & rec
ommendations
Global assignee population
managed in Global Mobilit y
Life sciences program me
& healthcare 0 - 50 31%

101 – 200 24%

201 – 1.000 21%

Consumer 51 – 100 15%

Unknown 9%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30%
% % % % % %
Next 6
Global assignee
Introduction
population
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Technology

Brexit Concl

usion &
recommend
ations

Next 7
Evolution of
Introduction
assignments
Global assignee population

Remote workers across borders Cross-border commuters The ‘why’

behindGlobal Mobility
Increase Increase

Respondents are Remote working

Same Same
expecting:
• Large increase of
Decrease Decrease Business traveller
remote workers across
s
borders 0% 20% 60% 0% 20% 60%
40% 40%
Technolog
• Significant increase of cross-
Past Future Past Future y
border commuters
Brexit
Business travellers Long-term assignments
Conclusion & rec
Increase Increase ommendations

Same Same

Respondents are expecting: Decrease

Decrease
• Large drop in number 0% 20% 60%
0% 20% 60%
of business travelers 40%
40%
Past Future
• Long-term transfers are expected Past Future
to decrease in the future

Next 8
Evolution of
Introduction
assignments
Global assignee population
Short-term assignments Permanent transfers
The ‘why’
Increase Increase behindGlobal Mobility

Same Same
Expected to remain the same: Remote working
Decrease Decrease
• Employee categories least impacted
Business traveller
by COVID-19 are permanent 0% 20% 60%
0% 20% 60%
40%
s
transfers and short-term transfers 40%

Past Future Past Future Technolog

y

Brexit

Conclusion & rec

ommendations

Next 9
Impact of
Introduction
digitalisation
A small majority claim that digitisation has (strongly) impacted their number of international
Global assignee population
assignments.

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility
Influence of digitalisation on international assignments/Global Mobility
Remote working

Business traveller
21.21% 33.33% 18.18%
s
15.15% 12.12%

Technolog
y

Brexit
1: Not at all 2 3 4 5: Strongly
Conclusion & rec
ommendations

Next 10
Contingent
Introduction
workforce
Almost 4 out of 5 companies indicate
Global assignee population
that they are not considering to
work with freelancers nor foresee an
increase of the number of The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility
freelancers in their globally mobile
workforce:
• too many challenges from Legal Immigration Compliance Remote working
a compliance perspective
Increased risk of Possible showstopper Moving around implies Business traveller
• typically highly expert reclassification as the contingent administrative burden s
positions; protection of the worker will not for the contingent
of business- critical relationship always be eligible for worker as well as Technolog
information/knowledge work authorisation or financial impact due to y
Challenge to
confronted with tax and social security
safeguard IP Brexit
complex applications rules and currency
outside employee
Is your company exchange fluctuations
context
considering to work with Conclusion & rec
freelancers? ommendations

Yes
21%

No
79%

Next 11
The ‘why’ behind
Introduction
Global Mobility
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business traveller
s

Technology

Brexit Concl

usion &
recommend
ations

Next 12
The ‘why’ behind Global
Introduction
Mobility
• Getting the job done is the Global assignee population
number one reason for To which extent is your Global Mobility
international assignments. programme an accelerator or
The ‘why’
enabler? behindGlobal Mobility
• 1 out of 10 respondents indicate Talent development
their Global Mobility programme
Remote working
is Succession of
mainly cost driven. pipeline

Corporate culture Business traveller

s
Main drivers of the
Diversity & inclusion
Global Mobility policy Technolog
y
Sustainability
Business operations 67% Brexit
0% 10% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
20%
Not relevant Relevant Very Extremely relevant
Conclusion & rec
People driven 16%
Somewhat relevant relevant ommendations

Cost driven 10%

Next to that, organisations have a Global Mobility strategy in place for their
people: giving their employees the possibility to develop themselves, to make an
impact.
Combination of above 7%

– 4 out of 5 of respondents think of Global Mobility as an accelerator for

talent development
– 67% see it as an enabler for corporate culture
– 77% consider it an enabler for succession and pipeline

Next 13
Remote
Introduction
working
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Technology

Brexit Concl

usion &
recommend
ations

Next 14
Remote work approach &
Introduction
strategy
In the spring of 2021, not one
How are companies planning to address remote work? Global assignee population
respondent has a remote workers
strategy in place for its globally Developing strategy 33%
mobile employees, although 1 out of The ‘why’
Not proactively encouraging, but accommodate 30%
3 companies are developing a behindGlobal Mobility
strategy. Temporary approach, return to office asap 27%
Remote working
Knowing where employees are is the Not sure/not applicable 10%
very starting point. Without that
information, employers cannot Already had a remote workers strategy in place 0%
Business travellers
manage compliance, safety and
wellbeing of
the workforce and deploy a long-
Technology
term vision.
Most companies didn’t have a robust
system in place to gather this data, but Central recording and control for Central recording and control for
several solutions (stand alone or fully remote work remote work Brexit
integrated) are available. In the
No central recording and
meantime, many companies are Data remote worker 36%
control, but limited checks 53% Conclusion & rec
looking into compliance possibilities to HR data fields in HRIS system 28%
are performed ommendations
track
Travel expense reports 17%
their remote workforce. No recording and no checks 33%
Other 11%
Yes 13%
Agency data 8%
Roaming data 0%

Next 15
Remote work
Introduction
trends
Many organisations are contemplating a post-COVID world that involves remote work, but approaches and strategies
vary: Global assignee population

While some are ahead of the curve by managing a The ‘why’

… Not all have a formal behindGlobal Mobility
remote work policy … approach

Remote working

What stage is your company at 27% Business traveller

in developing a long-term Acknowledge it: no of companies noted that
s
remote work policy? proactive policy or remote work policies are
strategy Technolog
temporary as a
result of COVID-19
y
Track it: evaluating
company ownership Brexit
Manage it and approach, defining
17% the policy Conclusion & rec
Acknowledge it 33% ommendations
30% Manage it: creating of organisations are looking to
infrastructure and develop a longer-term
guidelines, already remote
rolled out and aligning working policy for all or parts
Track it it with our return to of the organisation
53% work strategy

And many are lacking a

holistic strategy!

Next 16
Governanc
Introduction
e
Managing remote work requires a Which team is the ‘owner’ of remote
Global assignee population
broad knowledge and understanding work?
of diverse aspects. HR operations
and Global Mobility seem the The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility
“natural” responsible, but
organisations need to assess
Remote working
whether they have sufficient
resources to manage Remote Work.
Temporary (contingent workforce), Business traveller
additional FTE or technology-based s
solutions, or a mix of these, can
Technolog
help the organisation to be
y
performant.
In most companies, the HR Brexit
operations or Global Mobility teams
are responsible for remote work. Conclusion & rec
ommendations

Next 17
Remote work & COVID-
Introduction
19
Respondents perceive working remotely as
their biggest challenge in the area of Global assignee population
Global Mobility during the pandemic.
The ‘why’
No ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution behindGlobal Mobility

Organisations all have a unique starting Remote working

point when evaluating a “best fit”
approach. It’s critical that a customized
Business travellers
solution meets today’s requirements and
guides the organisation where it is today
and guides them to where they want to Technology
be in the future.

As employees had a taste of working Brexit Concl

remotely and won’t give up on the
flexibility they got in the past 18 months, usion &
respondents indicate it will be a challenge recommend
ations
to find the right balance in the next
normal, as employees expect more
flexibility. Defining a policy for remote
working will be necessary – especially as
none of the respondents already has a
policy in place.

Next 18
Business
Introduction
travellers
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business traveller
s

Technology

Brexit Concl

usion &
recommenda
tions

Next 19
Business travel
Introduction
landscape
Evolving obligations and market
asks: Global assignee population

Evolving obligations The ‘why’

behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business traveller
s

Enable Securit Right to Compliance Travel Technolog

travel y work restrictions y
• Booking • Traveller safety • Immigration • Social security • COVID-19
Brexit
• Cost • Duty of care • Posted • Payroll (quarantine
Workers etc.)
• Brexit • Income tax
Directive • Medical Conclusion & rec
• Corporate tax ommendations
• Regulatory certification
(presence,
• Brexit transfer pricing
etc.)

Market asks

End-to-end business
Data-driven Positive
travel program support Scalable solutions Oversight and governance
automated employee
and advisory
processes experience

Changing shape of Next 20

mobility https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/businesstravel
Approach
Introduction

What will business travel look like after the

pandemic? It will pick up again, but to Central recording and control of cross- Global assignee population
what extent, and for what purpose? As border business trips
companies are rethinking their policy The ‘why’
around business travel, they should also 60% behindGlobal Mobility
revisit their approach.
Remote working
50%
Do organisations believe by today that it
is important to know where their Business traveller
talent is? s
40%
Technolog
Several countries and regions are
y
implementing stricter immigration,
tax, regulatory and labour rules or 30%
Brexit
are enforcing these more, so
travel
Conclusion & rec
compliance will be an integral part 20%
of the ommendations
new business travel approach.

10%

0%
Ye No central No central
s recording and recording and
control, but no checks
limited
checks Next 21
Governance
Introduction

Only 28% of respondents perceive Global Mobility as (one of

the) owner(s) of business travel, compared to 38% when it Global assignee population
comes to remote work.
The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility
Business travel Remote work
Remote working
Global Mobility 27% Global Mobility 35%

HR operations 25% HR operations 32% Business traveller

s
No one 18% Unknown 8%
Technology
Other 18% Tax 9%

International HR 6% Legal 6% Brexit Concl

Unknown 6% Talent 5% usion &

recommenda
Recruiting/talent acquisition 0% Recruiting 5%
tions
HR Business Partners 0% No one 5%

Though likely more volume of business travellers than

Remote Workers, the compliance exposure is easier to
manage.
As similar dimensions need to be addressed, synergies can
be created.

Next 22
Pre-travel clearance
Introduction
process
More than half of the respondents indicate that they
don’t have a ‘pre-travel clearance process’ in place! Global assignee population

However, 1 out of 3 of respondents plan on setting The ‘why’

up such a process in the (foreseeable) future. Pre-travel behindGlobal Mobility
process
Remote working

Business traveller
s
Planned later Yes
Technolog
30% 41%
y
Topics covered in the clearance
process, ranked from most common Brexit
to least common:
No Conclusion & rec
VISA ommendations
27%
PWD
Tax compliance
Work permit
Social security
Permanent
establishment

Next 23
Real-time
Introduction
tracking
• 4 out of 10 organisations are using
technology to allow tracking of Global assignee population
employees or have concrete plans to
do so. The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility
• 6 out of 10 organisations have no plans Presence of technology tool which allows for real-
to use technology. time tracking of employees Remote working

The use for technology to track business No, and currently there are no plans to Business traveller
62%
travellers varies between organisations. implement such a technology tool s
For organisations with a high volume of
No, but there are concrete plans to implement such Technolog
business travellers, an integrated solution 14%
a technology tool in the near future y
to track travel and linking this with travel
compliance requirements, can provide the Brexit
employer and workforce with the comfort Yes, current location 10%
that their global compliance is dealt with.
Conclusion & rec
Yes, expiry of the visa or work authorisation in place ommendations
3,5
at
the time
When done right, there is only a %
limited effort required post-
implementation. Yes, passport nationality held at the time of travel 7%

Yes, visa or work authorisation in place at the time 3,5%

Next 24
Technolog
Introduction
y
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Technolog
y

Brexit

Conclusion & rec

ommendations

Next 25
Assignment programme
Introduction
tool
Recent global events have forced companies to look at A more general HR trend that has trickled down
how they are using technology to manage their Global to Global Mobility is employee experience. One of Global assignee population
Mobility programmes. the key reasons for Global Mobility teams to look
to The ‘why’
• Legislation such as GDPR has pivoted companies technology is to offer an enhanced experience for behindGlobal Mobility
away from manual processes supported by their people at a time that can otherwise be chaotic
excel or other local solutions, to robust and fraught with stress. A number of platforms Remote working
assignment management platforms ensuring support chatbots, document sharing and signing,
appropriate controls in the use and sharing of secure exchange of data to vendors and stakeholders
data; Business traveller
via ecosystems, access to useful host country
s
information, tasks overviews, vendor contact details
• The pandemic was a huge prompt for companies
and other functionality that allow for a better Technolog
to assess their internal mechanisms to track global
experience for the employee and their families. y
assignees and transfers and to determine how
quickly they could identify where they were. Many The true value of technology can be felt through the Brexit
saw this as a significant moment which changed intelligent use of the data housed therein. Big data
technology priorities; analytics can transform Global Mobility programmes Conclusion & rec
by taking the data housed within to analyze and ommendations
• Brexit has brought with it significant new compliance
predict total mobility spend, assignment success
considerations that can be infinitely better
rates, ROI and vendor performance. The output
managed through technology with the ability to
more easily track people affected and to quickly from this analysis allows companies to make data-
and seamlessly connect with third-party compliance driven decisions around the strategy of their
vendors to share data and initiate services policies and operations which, in return can yield
huge savings to the programmes.

Next 26
Workflow management software
Introduction

Global assignee population

The ‘why’
Of the companies that are using behindGlobal Mobility

Only 1 out of 3 respondents are a software tool, 14% uses a

Remote working
using a software which offers
workflow management software employees the possibility of
Business traveller
“self-service“ (e.g. application for s
visas)
Technolog
y

Brexit

33% 66% 14% Conclusion & rec

ommendations

Next 27
Assignment programme
Introduction
tool
There are tools in the market either web-based
Are you using a tool that gives you insights Global assignee population
or not, which are accessible for Global Mobility
and meaningful knowledge about your
management systems and which can operate
assignment programme? The ‘why’
as a
central data portal linked with the mobility teams, behindGlobal Mobility
No
HR teams and international assignees. 69%
Yes 31% Remote working
The benefits to these tools are that they can
distributes data to tax, relocation, immigration Business traveller
and other providers increasing user experience s
by avoiding data duplication.
Technolog
In addition, they typically have modules for: Which kind of tool are you using for this purpose? y

• Workflow management Self-developed analytics solution Brexit

7%
• Calculation of compensation and cost Database 3% Conclusion & rec
projections ommendations
Excel reporting
• Reporting functionality regarding payroll 41%
Other 21%
• Monitoring of business processes
Provider system
• Checklists and key event reminders 28%

Next 28
Brexit
Introduction

Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Technology

Brexit

Conclusion & rec

ommendations

Next 29
Brexit
Introduction

Global assignee population

The majority of employers have made efforts, but

The ‘why’
many struggled to implement or create visibility about Do you currently see or expect changes in behindGlobal Mobility
those initiatives, especially considering the long your assignment population due to Brexit?
negotiation period and lack of visibility on new rules
Remote working
until immediately before implementation. Yes 17%

There were difficulties in ensuring employees No 72% Business traveller

impacted take the appropriate measures, and ability s
to track this population remains challenging for many N/A, we don’t have UK nationals 10%
employers. Technolog
y

Brexit
Did you provide immigration support to UK
nationals applying for the Brexit permit / Conclusion & rec
temporary residence permit prior to 31 ommendations
December 2020?

Yes 45%

No 38%

N/A, we don’t have UK nationals 17%

Next 30
Brexit
Introduction

Global assignee population

• Employers will need to review their policies and ensure

Will UK nationals entering the Benelux from 1 The ‘why’
that UK nationals going to the EU/Benelux are in line as
with the new rules. ? behindGlobal Mobility
January2021 receive immigration 17%
support Remote working
• It will be interesting to see the outcome for those
employers that have not taken measures to ensure that N/A, we don’t have UK nationals
right to work has been maintained/secured, as No, they are required to obtain their own 7%
employers have a responsibility to ensure their permit
Business travellers
employees have the valid right to work.
Unknown,
Yes, we under
however have not
a yet decided 21%
3% Technolog
• Next to immigration, social security has been separate assignment policy y
substantially impacted. A striking example is the Yes, they will be treated the
restriction of assignments to an absolute maximum of same 52% Brexit
as a third country national
two years.
Conclusion & rec
• As child benefits are not coordinated anymore, What measures, if any, has your company already ommendations
employers will need to assess the extent to which taken to ensure t h a t employees affected by Brexit
any loss of child benefit should be made good.
can cont inue to work in the Benelux?

• Many employers reviewed their policies and employment N/A, we don’t have UK nationals 45%
documents in view of the post-Brexit legal landscape.
None 38%
• Medical coverage can be impacted and requires specific
The following:
attention from employers. 17%
(e.g. Making sure they have right permits,
communicating to them)

Next 31
Conclusion &
Introduction
recommendations
Global assignee population

The ‘why’
behindGlobal Mobility

Remote working

Business travellers

Technolog

y Brexit

Conclusion & rec

ommendations

Next 32
Conclusion &
Introduction
recommendations
Remote work is here to Global assignee population
stay
Remote work has accelerated due to the pandemic model and ecosystem future-proof. Developing an
The ‘why’
and has proven to work in practice. This (r)evolution effective and productive approach to remote work will
behindGlobal Mobility
offers new possibilities in designing the be key and requires a holistic approach across the
organisation and workforce of the future. organisation. Work policies, IT systems and tools,
Remote working
benefits policies and much, much more all have to be
Broadening the scope of traditional factored in.
Global Mobility Business traveller
Here lies an opportunity for the Global Mobility s
Most organisations are still in the process of wrapping function:
their heads around remote work and how to embed
Technolog
y
this new reality in their organisations. Fact is that a • Clear guidelines need to be defined on where
large part of employees have welcomed their new people can work and which safeguards apply Brexit
found flexibility with open arms, making remote work
an increasingly important differentiator in the war for • Importance of tracking to monitor remote Conclusion & rec
talent. Striking that balance between the new business workers and business travelers in order to ommendations
reality, cost containment and safeguarding identify compliance requirements
compliance creates momentum for Global Mobility
teams, they may want to use to make their service • Importance of technology driven
delivery solutions for both employee experience
and effective programme management

Next 33
 Introduction
Global Mobility transformation

There was an immediate impact from the pandemic Global assignee population
on the Global Mobility function as a result of travel
restrictions and immigration bans. Tackling these
The ‘why’
practical challenges was a first and important priority.
behindGlobal Mobility

Aside from that immediate impact, virtual collaboration Remote working

has also caused a shift in the traditional Global
Mobility perspective with respect to where and how
employees are working. Business traveller
s
Re-assessing current Global Mobility strategy and
Work is not a place, Technolog
policies in light of virtual collaboration and remote
work is strongly recommended. it's something you do. y

Brexit
• Rethink the strategic Global Mobility framework in
order to align talent and business needs in this Conclusion & rec
new reality. Do you need to consider different ommendations
assignment types (e.g. virtual assignments)?

• Who will you be sending and why?

• Determine what a great employee experience

should look and feel like. What is the impact of
a fully virtual environment?

• How to motivate employees to relocate for

work.

Next 34
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