AIRINC’s recent roundtable in Singapore brought together mobility professionals for a meaningful exchange of experiences, challenges, and strategies shaping global mobility across the APAC region.
The session began with AIRINC sharing preliminary findings from our redesigned 2025 Mobility Outlook Survey. This year’s focus is on how companies are future-proofing their mobility strategies amidst rapid change. Key themes included the need for agile policies in response to technological advancements, evolving employee expectations, and the increasing influence of global events on mobility decision-making.
Several notable trends emerged from the survey insights:
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Agility in Mobility Policies: Organizations are calling for greater flexibility, particularly as AI and automation reshape processes.
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Cost and Wellbeing: Balancing cost efficiency with employee support remains a key challenge, prompting exploration of remote and host-based assignment models.
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Global Pressures: Economic shifts, political uncertainty, and compliance complexity are influencing mobility strategies.
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Changing Work Models: Hybrid work and digital nomadism are transforming how companies think about cross-border talent movement.
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Sustainability: Environmental responsibility is increasingly integrated into mobility planning.
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Talent and Expectations: Companies are adapting to a scarcity of skills and the growing importance of work-life balance among younger talent.
Hot Topics
Following this, participants engaged in collaborative discussions on how these macro trends are playing out in day-to-day mobility operations. Topics spanned a wide range of issues relevant to the APAC region, including:
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Domestic Relocation Support: Participants shared experiences around intra-regional moves and how cultural nuances and cost-of-living differences influence relocation benefits.
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Intern Assignments: While approaches varied, many companies offer tailored support for interns, often including accommodation and travel allowances.
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Localization Strategies: All participants confirmed they have a global localization policy, with varying degrees of structure around allowances and transition phases.
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Benefits and Allowances: Practices differed around transportation support, housing budgets, and utility reimbursements, but safety and local standards remained key factors in benefit design.
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Family Support: Most companies continue to support dependent school tuition but have moved away from compensating for spousal income loss, offering alternative benefits like extra home leave.
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Relocation from High to Low Salary Locations: A recognized challenge, especially for family moves. Some companies opt for alternative destinations when compensation mismatches create obstacles.
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Core-Flex Programs: A growing number of participants are adopting flexible benefit models, enabling employees to select benefits based on their personal needs while helping manage company costs.
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Tax Policies: Most companies remain aligned with traditional tax equalization models, although discussions are ongoing around alternative approaches.
AIRINC Roundtables
We love hosting roundtables like this one—not just in APAC, but all around the globe. These sessions give us the opportunity to connect directly with global mobility leaders to hear firsthand what’s top of mind in each region, and reflect those insights back to the broader community. It's through these conversations that we stay up-to-date with real-world challenges and help build the future of global mobility, together.
The event was a valuable opportunity for mobility professionals to benchmark practices, share creative solutions, and reflect on the future of global mobility. The atmosphere was collaborative and open, with participants expressing appreciation for the chance to connect with peers facing similar challenges.
An Invite for you
We’re grateful to everyone who joined us in Singapore and look forward to continuing these conversations in our next APAC roundtable in Q2 2025. If you working for a corporate company and are interested in attending, please contact Lynette Laurence at llaurence@air-inc.com.
