Allowing employees to move abroad could boost recruitment and retention

Many employees have used the freedom of remote work to move within the U.S. to more affordable or less populated states without sacrificing their jobs. But they're quickly figuring out that the same theory could apply for international locales, too. 

Ninety-three percent of employees said an international assignment could be life-changing for them and their families, according to a recent survey conducted by accounting firm Ernst & Young. And it's not just employees who see a benefit: 88% of HR professionals are considering mobility programs as a way to address global talent shortages. 

"In the past, mobility was just an operational function to get a person from A to B for work," says Joost Smits, EY's Global Mobility Leader. "But if you look at the current demographics you can really see there's been a shift of power toward employees who are expressing the need to experience a cross-border experience for themselves." 

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Although the pandemic didn't expressly create the desire to move abroad in employees, it has empowered them to decide what it is they want out of their workplace environment and what role employers can have in enriching it, Smits says.

"Two years of working from home made employees realize: 'What do I want from my career? What do I want from my experience?'" Smits says. "The focus on elevating the workplace experience has grown to the point where they've realized that an experience may be more important than higher pay or a promotion."

Employees' demands are not falling on deaf ears, either. In fact, 74% of employers consider the ability to support employees abroad crucial for business continuity, and 90% said they plan on sustaining or increasing the organization's scope of international mobility over the next three years. Still, only 47% of businesses currently have a consistent mobility policy that addresses increasing demands for flexible and agile working. This could be tied to the risks associated with such programs, says Smits.  

Eighty three percent of HR teams' list cyber security risks as the most prevalent danger in having remote employees abroad, according to EY's findings, followed by loss of management oversight and data privacy. Seventy-eight percent of businesses are also concerned about their ability to place employees in a new position upon their return. Safety also plays a role, as just  29% of companies said they can deal with geopolitical conflicts employees may encounter.

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"There is also a financial consequence of getting these programs off the ground," Smits says. "Companies need to have an entire team in place to run it. But imagine if a business' retention goes up by even 50% because of the impact of the program and they're able to keep more talent in a volatile market. The cost of not doing this is much higher than the investment it takes to build out such a program." 

To build out a successful cross-border mobility program, employers will have to first and foremost communicate with their team; figure out what it is that their employees want from the program and decide how it aligns with their current flexibility offering. For example, a company may not be able to support moving an entire family abroad for three years, Smits says. Instead, it may mean combining business travel for short term assignments with virtual work as a first step. 

"The companies who are going to continue approaching mobility as a business need are going to fail to grow their talent and are going to face issues going forward," he says. "The companies that are going to be successful in the future are the ones that meet talent demands in a smart and sustainable way."