Exploring Maura Carey's 5 Trends in Global Mobility

We are checking out Maura Carey's latest blog post on the Dwellworks website, looking into "5 Trends We're Watching in Relocation". Coming out of the pandemic, the big speed bumps to increasing mobility activity have been economic concerns spurred by the fear of a possible recession and companies focusing on efficiencies and cost savings. The phases of the return to office evolution have added to the hesitation as business initiatives flip back and forth in the winds of economic data that keeps coming in.

Our experts at Plus not only agree with these 5 trends, but we also feel that they are worthy of exploration and consideration. Here are each of these trends and why they're important right now:

1. Employees Want Options As Mobile as They Are: It is interesting that relocation policies are really becoming relocation menus where more options are available and the employee has a greater degree of choice and flexibility. As Maura points out, Dwellworks is seeing that 80% of transferees who are given a choice are opting for ongoing virtual engagement vs a single-day, all-at-once experience. They are preferring digital and virtual support. We are also seeing a greater preference for relocating employees to select benefits that work best for them. Mobility programs going forward are going to need to include more options and allow employees more control in the process. It doesn't need to cost more either. Consider the "mobility response" to talent trends #1 and #3 that we wrote about in this recent post.
2. US Rental Markets are Stabilizing as the World Catches Up: For a long time, rents have been escalating due to the overall demand in so many rental markets that put significant pressure on supply, availability and hence, price! But Maura points out that supply is expected to improve, Dwellworks is already seeing some stabilizing in rents. We too recently posted on the rental situation across the U.S. and Canada. While we agree that it looks like there is some stabilizing, it can still be very different from location to location!
3. DEI Needs to be Part of the Policy Conversation: In this trend, Maura references Morgan Crosby from AIRINC and that she had mentioned "an exception in advance" policy approach. Morgan just appeared on our recent Spotlight webinar and discussed this same idea. In our discussion, she referenced an "adaptability benefit" that a particular client decided to include in their policy to allow an employee the ability to deploy it as needed for their specific needs. It makes sense from our point of view to consider providing as much ability to personalize the benefits to each employee's needs. This raises and elevates the DEI impact of mobility.
4. Technology is Helpful; Expertise is Essential: Most of our clients say that want high tech tools available to them all of the time, with a high-touch, human approach where it's needed the most. The best mobility programs provide both of these along with benefits that matter. We're seeing right now that the best technologies not only provide access to information and insights but also let mobility teams and relocating employees manage their move processes at their own preferred pace.
5. Relocation is Not Over, it’s Resetting: 2023 has been a quieter relocation year than 2022. But we agree that mobility will continue to matter and will help companies move forward on critical business initiatives and help talent develop into more highly skilled, engaged, and loyal employees. Consider this data from AIRINC that we referenced in a previous post:

When the business was asked what the most valuable aspects of mobility are:

• 79% strongly agreed “to offer professional development of employees”
• 62% strongly agreed “to meet long term talent objectives” 

This is compared to only 38% who strongly agreed the most valuable aspect of mobility is “to fill open roles”.

When employees were asked why they took an international assignment or transfer:

• 86% strongly agreed “it was for their long-term career development”
• 84% strongly agreed “it was to gain professional skills”

Whereas only 10% strongly agreed they took an assignment or transfer for financial gain.

Right now, many programs are highly engaged in benchmarking multiple policies, looking at their supply chains, and evaluating where they can remove inefficiencies and maximize their mobility spend. We think this is exactly the reset that Maura is talking about.