2025 Outlook and International Remote Working Spot Survey

This short survey explored what are multinationals’ global talent mobility plans for 2025, how they feel about global mobility positioning in their organization and their ability to fulfill these plans, and how multinational companies’ approach to international remote working evolved.

Survey Highlights

Global Mobility Positioning and 2025 Priorities

  • Reviewing the mobility policy(ies) framework is the 2025 priority rated at the maximum rate of 4 by the highest percentage of respondents. 
    • Cost reduction remains a major focus, with over two-thirds identifying it as a medium to high priority for 2025.
    • Better integration of global mobility into the talent management strategy comes as the third highest priority for 2025. 
    • Incorporating ESG in global mobility policies and practices is the lowest priority on the list.
  • Half of participants feel confident and 3% totally confident about the capacity of their current global mobility program to meet their organization’s strategic talent management objectives. However, less than half think their global mobility function is adequately resourced to deliver these priorities.
  • Almost half of companies expect the overall global mobility activity to remain stable, and just above one-third, to increase.
  • Only 17% of participating companies define assignee experience success.

International Remote Working (IRW)

  • One-third of participants indicate that the topic of international remote working is growing in importance and 10% indicate it is a burning topic. This represents more than the 20% and 14% who indicate that the topic of IRW is, respectively, not very important or not a topic of interest.
  • Just above half can only track international remote working manually. However, a higher proportion than in the previous edition have a tool, typically a specific one for international remote working, that allows tracking.
  • majority of respondents are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their international remote working offering but more than one-third are either satisfied or very satisfied – a higher proportion than those who are rather dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
  • Most do not have any metrics to track the success of international working though, showing no progress from the previous edition.