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Surveys of global mobility policies and practices

Mercer's comprehensive surveys on international assignments and global mobility policies and practices keep clients up to date with current trends. From these surveys we have compiled the most robust international HR management database in the industry, from which we draw data for our global mobility policy benchmarking.

Most of our surveys remain permanently open for participation. Take the survey of your interest at your convenience and get access to unique participant-only benefits and benchmarking solutions.

Highlights

AIA survey

The "Alternative" International Assignments survey focuses on short-term assignments, permanent moves and internationally hired foreigners.

WIAPP Survey

The Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices is a comprehensive look at long-term assignment management.

International Remote Working

Explore the evolution of this new assignment type and how organizations adopt it for their global talent sourcing needs.

Policies by assignment type

"Alternative" International Assignments

Focus: Short-term assignments, permanent/one-way transfers and internationally hired foreigners

Our AIA survey uncovers the latest market trends in managing selected international assignment types and explores how the relative policies and practices have evolved since the last survey edition in 2021.

Worldwide International Assignment Policies and Practices

Focus: Strategic mobility management and long-term assignments

The Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices (WIAPP) encompasses a comprehensive look at international mobility programs management strategy and long-term assignment management, now split into two separate surveys.

International Remote Working and Virtual Assignments

Managing a remote workforce has become a priority for companies. The need to handle the pandemic constraints, together with a growing trend for more flexibility in global mobility programs, has prompted organizations to review their policies around international remote working and ensure they have the right governance rules in place. Mercer runs a highly topical survey designed to explore how multinational companies approach virtual international assignments and international remote working.

International Foreign Hires

Focus: Allowances, Entitlements and Benefits

After the 2020 International Foreign Hires Survey edition we received requests from 80% of participants to launch a follow up, more in-depth edition, that dives into the details of how organizations manage international foreign hires.

International Business Travelers

This survey, first launched in 2018, digs into policies and practices put in place to address the tracking, compensation, travel, support, and insurance coverage of business travelers.

Rotator Assignments

Rotators are critical to the success of the overseas operations of many companies. These unique workers support challenging projects in a range of locations and industries, particularly energy, mining, engineering, and construction. Mercer's competitive data and expertise in global mobility management can help support your international rotator programs.

Mobility hot topics

Navigating international assignments through difficult times

With a challenging end of 2022, we were on the hunt to find out how organizations’ global mobility policies address compensation and benefit packages for their international assignees, and what special measures they take, if any, to support their mobile employees through times of high inflation and market volatility.

Flexible Mobility Policies

The way we work is changing. As many organizations lean towards flexible work options it’s important to establish what flexibility looks like for your employees. Discovering what’s sustainable long-term is key to fully identifying short-term flexibility decisions vs. a long-term plan. This study will help you find out how companies have introduced flexibility in their global mobility policies, presenting the prevalent approaches and how successful they have been.

Host-Based Approaches (Local/Local-Plus)

Offering an in-depth look at multinational companies' host-based approaches for international assignments across all geographies, whether purely host-based or host-based-plus. The global survey is supplemented by location- and region-specific questionnaires to provide insights into the characteristics and differences between policy elements or practices based on host location.

Mobility Metrics and Analytics

While talent mobility analytics have not reached full maturity yet, the ability to use and share relevant analytics for decision marking is an increasingly important trend that should not be ignored – but how far are you with adopting metrics and analytics for your mobility program? Our initial survey drive has completed, but you may still participate for report discounts and other benefits.

Mobility Organization and Transformation

This report can help you benchmark your mobility function's organization and management against that of your peers by providing an in-depth review of the services responsible for the mobile workforce management and information on how they are structured and operated.

Benefits for Internationally Mobile Employees

This survey covers policies and trends in the provision of benefits to globally mobile employees by multinational companies.

Local and regional focus

Australian Domestic Mobility Survey

This survey deep dives into the domestic mobility policies regarding relocating employees within Australia, providing insights, trends and benchmark data to help organizations review their current policies and practices.

North America Domestic Relocation Policies and Practices Survey

This survey addresses key elements of relocation programs within the United States or Canada and provides you with benchmark data to set fair and competitive policies. In-depth detail is provided on the issues involved in transfers from low-cost to high-cost locations. Three main policy types are covered in the survey: Standard (Core) Policies, Flex Policies, and Lump Sum Policies.

Local-Plus Reports for Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam

These reports provide comprehensive insights on how organizations design their benefit provisions for foreign employees using a local plus compensation approach. Each report contains market practices on statutory and nonstatutory benefits and captures the latest trends and data on industry-specific provisions.

Africa Assignment Policies and Practices Survey

The Africa Assignment Policies and Practices Survey helps companies establish assignment policies and practices as it relates specifically to long-term assignments into Africa and among African countries, regardless of the location of the company’s headquarters.

Gulf Cooperation Council International Assignment Survey

Focusing on the assignment policies and practices of organizations headquartered in the GCC, this report offers a unique data set available nowhere else in the international mobility space.

Contact us today to inquire how we can help you get the answers you need to maximize your program.

Benchmarking advisory services Leverage unparalleled data from the latest research with our custom benchmarking advisory services, and assess your mobility program using an array of precise policy benchmarking tools.

Access all Mercer surveys Mercer conducts many surveys on a vast range of topics across multiple geographies. Check out our one-stop survey space and keep up-to-date with the ones relevant to your organization.

Custom data and surveys Need data you don’t see? Mercer also runs client-commissioned surveys that cover talent mobility issues such as expatriate satisfaction surveys, vendor assessments, and more.