One of the best things about working at AIRINC is getting to talk to so many different people across a variety of industries and locations. We get to work on all sorts of projects including, but not limited to, policy, strategy, and operational excellence.
Change to Mobility Function
While there are many reasons for organizations to make changes to their Mobility function, the leading reason is that HRBPs are increasingly engaging Mobility in global workforce modeling. More and more HRBPs are asking Mobility to consult, coach, and problem solve.
Another common driver for change is when organizations want to strengthen their processes and increase efficiencies, either internally and/or with their service partners.
These two priorities often neatly complement each other. Because few organizations are adding headcount, there is a need to drive operational efficiency to create the capacity for consultative relationships.
When I’m working with organizations to determine the right approach for their mobility function, I use this methodology:
- It is critical for AIRINC to DISCOVER what your organization is trying to achieve and learn what mobility means to your organization and how it is used (i.e. career development, knowledge transfer, seeking better alignment with Talent Management).
- We then EXPLORE your current Mobility Model, conduct ‘chairside’ interviews with the team to understand processes, identify duplication and inefficiencies, solicit feedback on what is working well and the pain points. Chairside reviews are also a great opportunity to learn the skillset of the team and ascertain if there is gap in skills in order to achieve results.
- Next is to create a ROADMAP to identify the steps needed for success. This includes socialization with stakeholders, integrating service partners and technology, and preparing for change management.
- The final step is to EXECUTE, implement, and evaluate success. This is my favorite phase, when you see the new operational model taking shape.
Operational Optimization Project
In a recent Operational Optimization project, a client came to us with a decentralized function with more than 4 dozen external service partners across the globe. Following these steps, the determination for the future structure was for Centralization and globalization of vendors. Some of the compelling reasons to move to a Centralized function were:
- Creating cost efficiencies across the globe, which allows for increased visibility to total cost, and streamlined invoice management
- Achieve process efficiencies and uniform processes
- Greater Compliance and Reporting Capabilities
- Improve / increase visibility / value add of Mobility to the Businesses & HRBPs, allowing for the team to be more strategic and advisors rather than transactional
- Reduce administrative and repetitive tasks
For this particular client, 'Centralization' will allow for a consistent and improved experience for employees and will create a global standardized approach to assignments and relocations. One of the big challenges for this company is to help previously autonomous business units understand that the transfer to a centralized function is advantageous to them as well as to the company at large. The communication strategy has largely focused on neutralizing this perceived loss of local authority and demonstrating the advantages global and local businesses.
The next step in this project is to look at the skillset of the internal team.
Be sure to look subscribe to our blog, to see the next update where we take a deeper dive on this topic. Kudos to my colleague Mike Wincott who co-produced this post with me.
AIRINC’s Advisory Services team of seasoned mobility consultants are dedicated to helping you. With deep expertise in mobility strategy, program operations, process design, benchmarking, compensation, and policy development, you can leverage the experts you need to drive meaningful change in your mobility program.
