Now is the time to enhance your mobile employee experience

When you’re managing a global mobility program, everything ultimately comes back to the employee experience.

You can have the most streamlined and cost-efficient program possible, but if the needs of your relocating employees aren’t being met, you’re going to end up with serious engagement and retention issues internally.

While this is always a fact of life within global mobility, it’s even more important these days amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing has become the norm, and that has meant a big rise in remote work — an estimated 88 percent of organizations have encouraged or required employees to work from home due to the coronavirus.

This type of isolation can be challenging enough for employees who are in a familiar environment. For employees who may be on assignment or who have recently relocated for work, the stress of being isolated can be even more intense in an unfamiliar location. It’s vital that employers care for and support these employees every step of the way.

As the article below notes, this rise in remote work is forcing companies to look at employee experience as something much broader than just “perks” in the physical office space, as many of us aren’t going to the office right now (and may not return at all).  

I think a broader view of employee experience is good news for those of us in global mobility. For one, it (hopefully) means that more and more companies view this experience holistically, and include relocation and onboarding in their definitions. Secondly, our industry already largely deals with perks or benefits that go well beyond a physical office. We’re more attuned to the fact that the employee experience doesn’t really start on day one of the new job. There are plenty of important touchpoints before then.

That’s why now is such a good time to really examine the experience of your mobile employees and make improvements as needed. The care and support you’re able to provide in a challenging environment will speak volumes to these employees about the type of experience they can expect moving forward with your company. And if their relocation experience is a negative one, that speaks volumes, too.

For more, I’d encourage you to check out “Challenge, Accepted: How to Overcome Obstacles and Support Your Relocating Employees” for some guidance on navigating a challenging mobility environment. You can also reach out to us if you want to start a conversation on how to take your program to the next level.