When I work with clients on mobility policy reviews, benchmarking is rarely the end of the conversation. It gives us a useful reference point, but the harder question is what comes next: What should we change, and how will it help?
That is how I think about Modernize within AIRINC’s Diagnose, Modernize, Sustain advisory approach. It is about translating insights into practical changes, not simply making policies look more current, but making the program work better for the business and its employees.
Look beyond the policy document
In one policy redesign project I worked on, the challenges extended well beyond benefit levels. Employees were not always clear about where to get support, policy information was not consistently accessible or current, and responsibilities between Mobility and local HR needed clarification.
Simply updating the allowances would not address those concerns. Our work connected stakeholder feedback and benchmarking to a proposed Mobility mission, design principles and policy framework. The aim was to establish not just what support should be provided, but the thinking behind it.
For me, this highlights an important distinction: employees do not experience a policy document in isolation. They experience the explanations, approvals, payments and handoffs around it.
Modernization needs to consider that whole experience.
Be consistent, not identical
Consider two employees at similar levels going on long-term assignments from the same home location to the same host location. One is filling a temporary staffing gap and is accompanied by their spouse and child. The other is unaccompanied and is moving primarily for leadership development.
I would expect both packages to follow the same policy philosophy, but not necessarily to provide identical support. Structured flexibility within a long-term assignment policy could allow investment to reflect both the assignment’s purpose and the employee’s circumstances.
The framework should explain where that flexibility is available, how decisions are made and when additional approval is needed. Consistency means applying a clear rationale, not providing the same package regardless of need.
This is also where benchmarking requires judgment. Market practice informs the choices; it should not make them for us. A different approach may be appropriate when it reflects a deliberate decision about business priorities, employee needs and available resources.
Make the design workable
I also believe it is important to resist treating modernization as a technology project by default.
Before choosing a platform to support mobility management and administration, we should understand which decisions need to be made, who owns them and where the current process gets stuck. That helps establish what the Mobility team, local HR and external providers should do, and what technology needs to support.
The same applies to flexibility. Giving employees or the business more choice may sound attractive, but someone has to explain the options, administer them and manage the exceptions.
What matters is whether the design helps the business make informed decisions, is manageable for the team, and makes expectations clear for employees.
If it falls short on any of those points, I would revisit the design before adding more features.
Start with a change that matters
Modernization does not have to mean replacing everything at once. A clearer policy selection guide, a revised approval process or a better approach to one type of move can be a worthwhile starting point.
I would focus first on the problem that matters most, then test the proposed change against realistic employee scenarios. What happens to company costs? How does employee support change? What additional work will the team need to absorb?
Those questions should shape implementation, alongside ownership, communication and transition arrangements. It is also worth deciding upfront how to assess whether the change has helped, rather than treating launch as the finish line.
For me, a modern Mobility program is not the one with the newest technology or the longest list of benefits. It is one that makes sense for the business, and for the people who have to use it.
%20(1).png)
%20(1).png)
