The world of Global Mobility is entering a period of unprecedented change. Disruptive influences are widespread, and heads of Global Mobility must steer their programmes through uncharted waters.
In our Mobility Outlook Survey, we asked which trends are likely to most disrupt Global Mobility over the next five years. The fascinating thing for me is that, unlike in the past, no single trend such as DE&I, sustainability, or flexibility stands out. Instead, Mobility leaders feel they are facing a perfect storm of global disruptions that will make mobility more complex, dynamic, and challenging than ever before.
In a ranking that was almost too close to call, geopolitical tension and global conflicts, along with shifts in immigration and visa policy, emerged as the trends most widely expected to create disruption. Wars, conflicts, sabre-rattling, rising tensions, and unpredictable global relationships are expected to affect not just where mobile employees can (or want to) work, but also increase the need for unplanned interventions—to support employees, ensure their safety, and potentially evacuate them from conflict zones.
At the same time, it is becoming much harder to secure the right to travel to, live, and work in many locations. Tightening immigration policies are expected to increasingly disrupt the flow of mobile talent and make it harder for companies to build the globally minded, capable workforce they need to drive growth.
While these real-world issues top the chart, technology is also anticipated to have a dramatic impact on mobility. Artificial intelligence is not yet widely used in Global Mobility: only 15% of companies say they use AI occasionally, and 4% to a moderate degree. However, expectations are high: 67% of companies are exploring potential applications and planning specific AI integrations that could transform the function.
Meanwhile, technology’s role as an enabler of hybrid working, digital nomadism, and remote work is driving a fundamental change in employee expectations. Despite some companies pushing to get employees ‘back to the office’, Global Mobility leaders expect remote work to have a major impact on the function. This is especially true when combined with other top trends—changing employee expectations, talent scarcity, and the global skills gap.
These global shifts will have a profound impact on talent mobility in all its forms. Mobility functions need to develop agile capabilities to adapt quickly to fast-moving situations. Yet agility is not a core strength for most programmes: only 15% of companies feel their programme can adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
Building the skills and capacity to proactively identify trends, anticipate business needs, develop contingency plans, and evaluate technological opportunities should be a priority. These are the hallmarks of a successful, agile mobility function. By carving out time from the day-to-day running of your programme, you can take a more proactive approach and position yourself to meet whatever challenges come your way.
In a recent project in the tech sector, we developed a ‘special projects manager’ role to give the function the agility it urgently needed. Responsible for new market entry, technology, crisis response, and other special projects, this role created capacity to respond quickly to urgent needs and proactively plan for future business requirements. Of course, not every Global Mobility team has the headcount for a full-time role. However, I’ve also seen this work successfully in one-person teams, where a specific time slot (e.g., two hours on a Friday morning) is reserved to step out of the day-to-day and think strategically about how to address these global disruptors.
If you’d like to discuss how to prepare your programme to respond to shifting global trends, we’d love to chat.
The 2025 Mobility Outlook Report is not just an annual update — MOS 2025 has been redesigned to provide a clearer, more actionable view of mobility trends.