Who has written the most global mobility policies ever?

AIRINC can help you refresh your Strategy, Process, or Policy. But who are the people behind the scenes? And who has written the most global mobility policies ever? The answer is Grace Kernohan.

Grace is a Senior Manager of Advisory Services at AIRINC. In Grace's current role she specializes in consulting and benchmarking, focusing on policy reviews, market alignment, and mobility communications. She has worked on a range of projects, including NGO policy suite revisions and pharmaceutical M&A mobility function consulting. Let's hear more!

Grace, one of your key areas of focus at AIRINC is policy development, what does that entail?

Mobility professionals often come to us looking for policy development, but they really need program development. For example, I had a client come to us asking for support documenting their policy and procedures. After our conversation, we both realized that the current Mobility program wasn’t actually achieving what they needed it to. Together, we redefined the company’s goals for their Mobility program and used that to design the policy features and benefits. As a result, this company now has clear policy documents along with detailed guidelines on how Mobility should be used within their organization.

You have written a lot of policies, what types are most popular?

Traditional, long-term home-based assignments are consistently the most common policy type that I write. However, I see more trends when I look at policies from a birds-eye lens; for one, I see that nearly all policies are organized by lifecycle of the assignment. Whether the policy is core/flex, local plus, or something else, organizations tend to prefer seeing the benefits laid out in chronological order.  

What is the coolest policy feature you have ever included in a mobility policy?

We recently developed a policy for a company that highly valued sustainability. In their policy, we incorporated opportunities for the employee to elect sustainable alternatives to traditional benefits and included cash incentives for doing so. For example, the traditional pre-assignment visit was included in the policy; however, the employee could elect for virtual home tours instead. If the employee elected for the sustainable option (sustainable as it cut back on carbon emissions from the roundtrip airfare), then they were awarded $2,000. The cash lump sum was less than an overall pre-assignment trip, so in this case, the company saved on carbon emissions and overall spend.  

What is your definition of a well written policy?

A well-written policy should be crystal clear to its audience. Policies are usually either employee-facing or Mobility-facing. Depending on the audience, the policy should focus on a different set of priorities. Employee-facing documents should be empathetic, friendly, and encouraging. Internal mobility policies should be clear on eligibility, exception criteria, and compliance. There is no “one-size-fits-all” policy; companies need to carefully consider what they need their policy to do, and then work to bring that to fruition.  

Other than policy writing what else do you do at AIRINC?

I love attending industry events or presenting on webinars. AIRINC has so many interesting projects and benchmarks, so I enjoy being able to share that information with other industry colleagues. In addition, it’s great to meet other Mobility professionals at conferences and roundtables. We all have such a breadth of information, so when there is an opportunity to have discussions, it’s fascinating how much we can learn.  

Outside of AIRINC, what do you like to do?

I am a big foodie — Boston has so many great restaurants, so I love spending my weekends trying out new spots around town. I recently had an octopus dish with crispy rice that I am still thinking about! 

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.