26 Jan Technology is Make or Break for Global Mobility Specialists

Technology helps global mobility specialists deploy talents, but how does one use it? Let us count the ways by which Pwc has done it over the years. It also boils down to being cost efficient as possible. It’s what the firm calls future-proofing your mobility function and processes.

In 2010, Pwc began a five-year, $10 million of program of innovation to re-imagine how it works with clients and assignees. It launched a global organizer called myTaxes. The following year, it launched myTravel and TravelWatch to make companies’ mobility programs more automated. It also started a technology solution for gathering compensation and payroll tax reporting.

In 2013, it formed a strategic alliance with Microsoft.  In 2014, it processed calculation for share plans. And last year, it launched the convergence of many tools and capabilities to create a self-service technology platform that can handle the many aspects of talent mobility.  

Indeed, technology can help a company improve its mobility capabilities but it should primarily be an enabler, not the be-all and end-all solution. It should help find people, identify and address compliance matters, measure data and accrue vital information. Well-integrated tools and systems should work for even the most tech-challenged global mobility specialist.

In terms of using technology to assess metrics, Deloitte has got it figured the following ways: quality (as measured by defects per million), costs, employee satisfaction, critical incidents, number of support calls, throughput times, and use of self-service tools.

Industry-standard systems and tools are clearly needed by more firms. Anchored on technological innovations, the global mobility industry can be more efficient than ever before.

For Pwc, for instance, short- and long-term assignees, frequent business travelers, intra-regional, and virtual assignees, all create a need for a secure, self-service technology platform that handles the many aspects of talent mobility with ease and confidence.

Beyond structures, though, how does one use technology to find talents? It’s as simple as picking up the phone. Lexington reported that 63% of its market still uses mobile phone followed by a laptop and other electronic devices. But when it comes to sealing the deal, one needs built-in technological solutions for global mobility specialists to round all the things he needs. It’s about speeding up the process at minimal costs–or another global mobility specialist could snatch up your talent. (DC)