27 Aug Top 3 Concerns of Global Mobility Managers  

The new immigration rules, cost management and reduction, and dealing with evolving tax rules — these are the top three concerns that global mobility managers have been wrestling with since the start of 2018, and will probably do so in the near future.

So if you seem to be having more than the usual difficulty in getting your assignee their working visa, or if your senior executive keeps on reminding you about the ROI of your recruitment efforts, you are not alone.

These three concerns happen to be three trends that will be around and continue to affect the industry, according to the research company Cartus. The sooner you deal with them, and create solutions for the problems and predicaments they unleash, the better it will be for you, your company, and your team.

Immigration rules and visa applications have been tougher the past few years because of the current policies of the government administration.

It has been observed that some foreign nationals have an easier time getting in than others. Indian assignees find that more doors are opening for them followed by their Chinese colleagues. Still, regardless of country or ethnicity, to some news reports, H-1B visas will undergo a slower and possibly more rigid time of scrutiny that will spill over into 2019.

This is one area where global mobility managers have to increase their level of adaptability and resilience. They might have to look for other international talent hubs whose foreign nationals may have an easier time getting into the United States.

Networking with their government contacts, industry associations, and tech enterprises that constantly need talent, such as the ones based in Northern California, might also help in finding out how one can cope with the current limitations.

Cost effectiveness and management might be a minefield that would be easier to navigate. Senior executives and CEOs will always want to reduce expenses while increasing profit. While generating sales is not part of the job of a global mobility manager, seeing to it that the assignee delivers and thus justifies the company’s investment in him is.

A global mobility manager can lessen cost by being more creative about the compensation packages they would be offering. Many younger talents, especially the millennials, would gladly give up the traditional expatriate pay rate for other perks such as paid travels, cross-cultural training, or more comfortable accommodations that make them reside closer to the locals.

When it comes to ROI, a global mobility manager can easily document, track down, and summarize how their assignee has performed and provided their deliverables. If they can tie it down to numbers like increase in efficiency or retention of clients due to the assignee’s dealings with them, it becomes easier to renew their recruitment campaigns come the budget season.

Finally, tax rules and regulations are an increasing concern for assignees — and they should be the same for the global mobility managers.

One of the stress factors that can dampen an assignee’s performance and enthusiasm is discovering during their first pay day the tax deductions that they had not anticipated and planned for. Sometimes, global mobility managers delegate the computation to their accountants or financial managers.

While a tax guru’s expertise is always welcome, the global mobility manager cannot remove themselves from this particular aspect of the job. They must know to the cent or nickel the taxes that the assignee will pay, the rules that apply to him which can come from his country of employment and/or home country, and the net pay that they will ultimately take home.

If there are new tax rules, then the global mobility manager must familiarize themselves with them as well. After consulting with the finance manager, they must be able to explain to the assignee how these regulations will impact their hard-earned pay.