While some mobility trends and initiatives are globally shared, some vary regionally. Let’s look at how APAC results deviate from global results.
Average number of policies
The average number of policies is 4.5 in APAC, while the global average is 6.5. Policies that are more common in the other regions of the world and less so in APAC include commuter, domestic relocation, host plus, and locally hired non-national. Nevertheless, for each of these policy types, about 20% to 30% of participants say they expect an increase in usage in the upcoming year.
International remote work
From global mobility’s perspective, international remote work brings compliance challenges like migration, visa, tax issues, and local law requirements. To avoid these potential liabilities, 24% of our global participants only allow international remote work for a defined temporary period (e.g., 15 days a year). At only 7%, APAC companies seem more prudent on this initiative.
Upfront consultations
In the survey we asked participants about whether they facilitate initial consultations with the employee to understand their individual circumstances and needs before their assignment/transfer. These meetings could be an opportunity to set expectations and to communicate and provide upfront support on a more personal level. Most APAC companies say they provide an initial consultation with an in-house resource (40%) or they do not provide such a consultation at all (40%). While the global average of 61% of participants provide an initial consultation with in-house resources, and 30% through their RMC or other external vendor, which could include providers of tax and cultural training services.
Emphasis on cost predictability
When asked about the most frequently requested functions of Global Mobility, 69% of our global participants reveal that cost predictability is one of the top 3 requests, while the number in APAC is 90%. As a reflection of these percentages, we have seen an increased interest in AIRINC’s Assignment Cost Estimating Tool (ACE) among long-term clients who are looking to provide management with the cost information prior to an assignment.
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