This case study features insights from Rosalind Harvey, Director of Global Mobility at Warner Music Group.
Mobility is different for each organization, but visibility of the function is key in all of them, as is listening to and understanding the business — the mobility function needs to reflect the wider business aims, and mobility policies and objectives need to complement this.
For organizations that work across borders with a variety of employees, even if your mobility team is a team of one, letting people inside the organization know that mobility exists and explaining to them exactly what it is that mobility can achieve is key.
It doesn’t matter if an organization is big or small, caters for international moves across jurisdictions or only organizes moves within a country, if people don’t know you exist and moves are possible then you can’t function effectively. Education is key, both within the people function but more broadly with business leaders, for example, CEOs, leaders and department heads.
Once they know who you are, it is important to explain to them what you can do and how it can benefit them. Depending on your audience you may need to first start with core mobility concepts, and myth busting can be powerful. Some may have preconceived notions that mobility is about writing a check to cover moving expenses, so it is up to you to lay out the benefits you can bring financially, culturally, and sharing expertise.
Embedding mobility into the people agenda
Mobility should be intrinsically linked to the wider talent strategy, regardless of where the function ultimately reports to (for example reward).
Small alignments in wider processes can reap big rewards: for example, making sure that mobility is captured as part of talent mapping and succession planning conversations, that internal opportunities are visible across borders, or that guidance given to hiring managers also includes principles on hiring internationally.
Scoping is imperative too — global mobility cannot necessarily solve everything, so it’s key to articulate what is in your remit versus what you can provide support with.
Mobility is an enabler as part of the wider business strategy
This can only happen if they, the decision makers in the organization, are aware of what mobility can do.
Rosalind Harvey, Director of Global Mobility at Warner Music Group, said, “Our operations spread across the globe, and that was both a challenge but also an incredible opportunity. You need to get out and meet people, get in front of them and tell them about the possibilities.”
It is important to understand the perspective of who you are talking to. Mobility is great for talent development, and while that might be an organizational goal, is it a goal for the person you are speaking to?
You need to sell mobility to them on terms they will appreciate and that can mean changing the conversation into one which focuses on the revenue generation benefits which mobility can bring. As Rosalind explains, “If we look at the trade routes of the music industry, you have K pop, which is really big in the US, why would you not have a specialist in market to help you do that? If UK grime music is really big in Australia, why would you not have the specialist there?”
So to try and take that conversation away from talent into how can it make money or help the person you are working with achieve their goals. Understanding what their needs are is only going to help you.
Global mobility professionals have access to an incredible network of suppliers that can be used to support the wider business. Cultural training is a good example, whilst we all know that it's great for mobility, it can have much wider applications, such as diversity, equity and inclusion teams, inclusion training, and leadership development programs. Employer of record companies may be helpful when expanding into new markets, cost of living differentials are important for compensation planning, international security and shipping updates useful for navigating wider business continuity and so forth. Harvey faced other problems due to geopolitical changes, saying, “Another barrier I had to navigate was Brexit and educating the business that in the UK there is no longer free movement of workers, you do have to pay for visas and you can't just send people anywhere.”
A small cost but big impact on the employee experience
Flexibility in packages and small costs can make a big difference to the overall employee experience without overinflating budgets. For example DSP support services are a small cost, particularly when compared against shipping or even temporary accommodation expenses itself. But if someone is given the to help find somewhere to live, they are going to be so much better from a business perspective because how can you concentrate on your job if you don't know where you're going to put your head down at night?
Harvey learnt how to overcome a common roadblock, adding, “I'm sure something I faced will occur in other organizations and that is people telling you, ‘we didn't budget for it’. I overcame this by building benchmarking data so I can articulate at each level roughly what we should be giving people and providing this to the business as part of the general budget planning process. Of course this is still an estimate but it is achievable even for small programs with small amounts of data, and allows the business to plan upfront in a way they haven’t ever been able to before.”
We're moving a life, not a job
Getting people to understand there is a human being attached to this move is important. The function isn’t just about creating a net positive for the organization. Mobility can enhance the employee’s experience and nurture their bond with the firm, and indeed for external new hires this is often their first experience of the firm’s culture. This can be achieved by looking at small incremental ways that a program can be adjusted, that don't a cost lot of money but actually can help fundamentally improve the employee experience, whether this be buddying schemes, online cultural training, a pre-move checklist or a global mobility briefing just to talk through the process. It can also be helpful to break down the overall budget and explain the rationale behind items, so that the business sees the person and the benefits, not just the overall total cost.
You want the moves to be a success not just for the company but for the employee as well. If they land in a new environment and don’t feel comfortable it is unlikely they will perform well. Mobility isn’t just about helping people who want a move but seeing what opportunities exist, finding employees who need a move or other parts of the organization that would benefit from their skill set.
Incremental change — recognizing you’re on a journey
The journey is more often than not likely to be piecemeal, continuously educating and building the case for change rather than a “big bang” from day one.
There are so many other elements that can be built into a successful mobility function, that we can achieve from talent reviews to succession planning but you can't solve everything all at once. So think about what your key objectives are. Be realistic about what you can do with your time. Incremental changes still represent progress and building a stable foundation will put you on a path to prolonged success. Be proud of what you have achieved and let stakeholders know. You should encourage others to share their perspectives on the function and when those who have positive experiences are sharing their thoughts with colleagues, you can shine a light on your successes too.