International HR Adviser Winter 2018/2019 by International HR Adviser

WINTER 2018/2019

ISSUE 75

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International HR Adviser The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide

FEATURES INCLUDE: Short-Term Business Visitor Update • Business Traveller Management Immigration Post Brexit – Will There Be An Increase In Commuter Assignments? Creating The Business Case For Global Mobility • Global Tax Update • Recruitment In The Global Mobility Industry ‘Back To The Future’: Assessing The Predicted Mobility Trends Of 2018 Effective Transformation In Global Mobility

ADVISORY PANEL FOR THIS ISSUE:

The 2019 Global HR Conference FOR GLOBAL HR PROFESSIONALS ONLY

Monday 11th February 2019, from 12.30pm – 5pm The Adelphi Building, Smith & Wollensky, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT Places are limited, so delegates do need to pre-register. THE SEMINAR PROGRAMME IS AS FOLLOWS:

Localising Assignees: The Challenges And Traps To Consider

International assignment terms and conditions are, by their nature, not designed to be permanent. When cost pressures mount, there is an increased focus on the high costs involved, and questions on how soon an employee currently on an international assignment can be transferred to local terms and conditions. However, there are many potential obstacles to a smooth transition, with many companies struggling to apply consistency to their formal localisation policies and processes. This session will look at: • When and why you should consider localisation of an assignee currently on an international assignment • The different ways in which localisation can be achieved - finding the right pay approach • Challenges you might encounter when localising assignees and how to address them Hosted by ECA International

Using Technology To Improve Access To Healthcare For Your Globally Mobile Employees

Advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for many common conditions are taking place at an unprecedented rate. This, coupled with the increasing role technology is playing in care delivery and management, will necessitate healthcare players and providers to think differently if we are to deliver affordable, personalised global healthcare solutions. Dr Peter Mills, Associate Medical Director at Cigna explores some of the challenges, as well as the opportunities, healthcare players face over the coming decade.

Mobility Tax & Trends Update

A review of topical tax issues affecting global mobility specialists, together with an update regarding global mobility trends. Hosted by Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

Effective Transformation In Global Mobility

In this seminar, we explore the opportunities and risks for Global Mobility professionals, as organisations transform their purpose, structures and roles. We explored in our two-part White Paper ‘The future of work and the impact on Global Mobility’ that organisations are going through unprecedented change, as they move though cycles of globalisation, and continue to evolve their future digital business models. Hosted by John Rason, Santa Fe

Immigration Update

This seminar will cover the proposed roll out of the EU Settlement Scheme to support EU nationals and their families, and will include a brief overview of the position in respect of British nationals remaining in the 27 EU member states. Hosted by Ilda de Sousa, Kingsley Napley

Business Travellers - What You Need To Know

Traditional assignments are reducing, business travel is increasing. Do you know how to manage a mobile population? Do you have a process? Are you aware of the pitfalls? Jeanette Ryan Head of Research at GT Global Tracker will share her knowledge helping you to manage your business travellers to ensure compliance. Noncompliance costs, whether its financial or reputational. Hosted by Jeanette Ryan, GT Global Tracker

This event is free to attend so if you would like to join us for this educational afternoon please email helen@internationalhradviser.com with the name/s of those who would like to attend, along with their job title and email address.

CONTENTS

In This Issue 4

Workforce Mobility Experts Share Their 2018 Findings Lisa Johnson, Crown World Mobility’s Consulting Services

Immigration Post Brexit – Will There Be An Increase In Commuter Assignments? Nouran Zarroug, Worldwide ERC®

Global Tax Update Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

Taxation: Short-Term Business Traveller Update Andrew Bailey, BDO LLP

Recruitment in the Global Mobility Industry: Improving HR And Candidate Experience Sarah Kinnaird, Mobility People International Recruitment Limited

Immigration: A Risk Management Approach Dharmesh Kothari, Talent Mobility, Genpact

Business Traveller Management – What Service Model Should You Implement? Liam Brennan, GT Global Tracker

Creating The Business Case For Global Mobility: Seize The Opportunity Chris Debner, Strategic Global Mobility Advisory

‘Back To The Future’: Assessing The Predicted Mobility Trends Of 2018 Rumi Das & Danny Taggart, Global Workforce, Deloitte LLP

Effective Transformation In Global Mobility – A Board Game Or A Puzzle? John Rason & Peter Ferrigno, Santa Fe Relocation

Why The Gender Pay Gap Is More Than Just An HR Issue Sheila Flavell, FDM Group

Diary Dates

Directory

www.internationalhradviser.com HELEN ELLIOTT • Publisher • T: +44 (0) 20 8661 0186 • E: helen@internationalhradviser.com DAMIAN PORTER • Publishing Director • T: +44 (0) 1737 551506 • E: damian@internationalhradviser.com International HR Adviser, PO Box 921, Sutton, SM1 2WB, UK Cover Design by Chris Duggan In Loving Memory of Assunta Mondello While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information contained in this issue of “International HR Adviser”, the publishers and Directors of Inkspell Ltd cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither the publishers of “International HR Adviser” nor any third parties who provide information for “Expatriate Adviser” magazine, shall have any responsibility for or be liable in respect of the 3 content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any errors or omissions therein. “International HR Adviser” does not endorse any products, services or company listings featured in this issue.

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Workforce Mobility Experts Share Their 2018 Findings As companies look to increase retention and court new talent, they are eager to offer more employeefocused policies. This includes many aspects of business such as company culture, flexible work schedules, mentorship and career pathing, and even global mobility programmes. Crown World Mobility (CWM) recently hosted a webinar covering our 2018 Global Mobility Survey findings. The survey was open to global mobility and human resources professionals, providing key insights into the global mobility topics of flexibility and choice, employee-initiated assignments and self-managed moves. The data gathered from participants was anonymous and provided a valuable look at today’s global mobility landscape. Respondents of the survey covered a wide range of mobility professionals and programme sizes reflecting those managing fewer than 50 moves a year to those managing over 5,000 moves a year. Only 25% of respondents felt their programmes were “innovative” or “leading edge,” while 50% of respondents noted that their programmes and policies were traditional but working toward being more flexible and innovative. Survey findings indicated that mobility programmes are driven equally by an employee manager, human resources contact or global mobility team. There isn’t one standard role that handles employee moves.

Policy Flexibility And Choice

Why are flexibility and choice so important when it comes to global mobility programmes? It all comes down to being employee-focused. With personalisation as a key to employee wants and retention, it only makes sense that this would be the case for mobility policy as well. When asked if their programmes were flexible in allowing for this personalisation, 66% of survey respondents said that they did have a flexible programme or were planning to add one in the next year. Simply put, flexible programmes give managers and employees more options. They allow for segmented and targeted approaches to employee moves, and this can help meet the needs of both the employee and the business. The downfall in a flexible programme is inconsistency. Application of the flex programme may be applied based on current budgets or other business factors, meaning that the flex programme isn’t always

applied evenly throughout the company. That can mean that some employee needs are met, while others aren’t. “Flexible policy needs a higher skillset of consulting than standard policy to ensure stakeholders understand choices and apply accordingly”. – Participant Quote. The role of manager, human resources contact or global mobility team in a flex programme environment would need to transform into more of an advisory and consulting role. This would allow employees the freedom of flexibility and choice within a designated framework of making sure all items are completed and the move is smooth and efficient.

Employee-Initiated Assignments And Transfers

Employee-initiated moves are on the rise. These moves also offer a lot of flexibility and choice for employees, but can be challenging to manage from the company perspective. 56% of respondents noted that their company offered a specific employee-initiated move policy. These programmes can often be lower in cost, so employee expectations need to be appropriately managed. “Our employee-initiated moves offer lean services and, as a result, the expectation from the employee needs to be managed well”. – Participant Quote. Low-cost move policies and plans require a creative approach when naming the policy which manages the expectations of the employee. Many employees like these programmes because it allows them to move and explore a new area, either domestically or internationally, and they also offer some level of flexibility and choice. However, they are usually funded at a lower level than other assignments or transfers. Creative names that can help set expectations for this type of move programme are “Backpack Move”, “Adventure Move” or “Self-Initiated Move”.

Self-Managed Move Policy

The self-managed move usually comes in two different types, the lump sum and the managed lump sum. The lump sum move is a flat cash allowance for employee moves. This means the employee must get themselves from point A to point B within that allowance. This includes travel, immigration paperwork processing costs, shipping of items and any other expenses that are associated with the move. Employees are

able to keep any remaining funds, but if they spend over the amount provided the employee is responsible for those additional costs. 68% of respondents said that this type of move accounts for less than 25% of their total employee moves. The managed lump sum is a budget that can be used based on employee choices, where some items are already set aside (such as immigration paperwork fees or other specific steps and costs) and the employee can then choose the rest. Employees are not able to keep any leftover funds with this type of move. 67% of respondents said that this type of move accounts for less than 25% of their total employee moves. While this is the case now, it looks like lump sum and managed lump sum cash allowances are on the rise. Since millennials are becoming a major part of the global mobility landscape, their values are being put front and centre. Millennials value flexibility and choice (DIY), and are often early-career, low-cost moves. Additionally, there was a recent change in 2018 US tax law which eliminated historical tax benefits for companies covering relocation costs. This may cause a change in the way companies manage moves since there is no longer a tax benefit for them to absorb additional costs, possibly moving companies to providing a flat cash allotment. Finally, technology has made it infinitely easier for employees to manage cash moves and be organised and informed on their options. “Depending on the level, some are willing to do the heavy lifting and move themselves. Most like it. Executives are not willing to do any of that” .– Participant Quote. Self-managed moves are simple to explain, reduce administrative effort and give employees the DIY options they value. These types of moves work best for individuals who are single or have small households, are younger employees that enjoy moving and are lower-level or recent college graduates. The biggest concern noted regarding selfmanaged moves is the possible negative experience for the employee. These types of moves can be challenging and messy, and, without the knowledge held by management, human resource contacts or a global mobility team to lean upon, it could result in a poor experience for the employee. Other concerns respondents noted about self-managed moves were safety and security of employees and their belongings,

2018 GLOBAL MOBILITY SURVEY RESULTS impact on job productivity, company liability and tracking the employee’s whereabouts.

Communication Of Policy And Programme Information

The global mobility world is at a turning point for how policies should be developed and communicated. Mobility is not often at the forefront of changes being made at the companywide-level, but it should be as employees themselves note that mobility, flexibility and choice are essential. 50% of survey respondents admitted that their companies had not made policies more user-friendly. Why is that? Only 61% of respondents that reported their programme was “innovative” even have their policy guidelines online for employees to review. 83% of “innovative” companies still lean on email for mobility communication with employees and only 15% offer an application (app) to help employees with their moves. There is a lot of opportunity here to simplify and streamline policies while offering more truly innovate ways to communicate and help manage employee mobility.

Pack It Up

It’s time for mobility teams to make their policies and practices more appealing to employees and more user-friendly for all involved. These top 10 insights from the 2018

Global Mobility Survey could be helpful in outlining next steps: 1) Flexibility in policy to meet business and budgets needs to be the norm 2) Flexibility requires global mobility to be more consultative 3) Inconsistency is the biggest drawback to a flex programme 4) Employee choice policy is still emerging and developing 5) Employee-initiated moves are on the rise 6) Self-managed moves are described as challenging, messy, flexible and independent 7) Negative employee experience is the biggest concern for self-managed lump sum moves 8) Technology focus should be bigger for managed lump sum approach than lump sum 9) Global mobility policy format has not changed for most companies, while employee needs and preferences have 10) Programme communication needs to catch up, embracing more truly innovative paths. As companies look to the future of their mobility programmes, they should take a look not only at the level of flexibility and choice offered to employees, but also at the way policies are communicated and programmes are managed. Technology and

innovation should be embraced, allowing for an easier experience both from the point of view of the company and the employee. As self-managed moves become the norm, these flexible and innovative management tools will be vital to the success of any mobility programme. Visit www.crownworldmobility.com for further information.

LISA JOHNSON

Lisa Johnson is the Global Practice Leader for Crown World Mobility’s Consulting Services. She leads Crown’s global consulting strategy, including program and policy design and supporting clients’ mobility goals and she is a member of Crown Worldwide’s D&I stakeholder group. Lisa is responsible for Crown’s Perspectives article and webinar series, its research initiatives, and is a frequent presenter on the latest issues impacting our industry. Lisa is an innovator in Talent Mobility strategies. Born in Japan, she has lived and worked in Europe and Latin America and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Visit www.crownworldmobility.com

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Immigration Post Brexit – Will There Be An Increase In Commuter Assignments? After nearly two years of negotiations, EU-27 leaders endorsed a Brexit withdrawal agreement at a meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 25 November 2018. At the time of this writing, we await the UK’s 11 December Parliamentary vote to determine what happens between now and the ultimate 29 March 2019 departure deadline. There are clearly multiple changes ahead that will have an impact on the movement of talent – no matter what happens next. One possible post-Brexit scenario for global mobility professionals to consider is the prospect of a surge in the number of intra-European and UK commuter assignments, and the policy adaptations and responses that may be required to support them. Long before the Brexit referendum, the use of flexible mobility programmes in the face of changing employee demographics, family and business needs was steadily and rapidly growing. Now, as the exact details and ramifications of the UK’s departure from the EU take shape, it’s very likely that we’ll see an even greater increase in the demand for flexibility and innovative solutions. As business leaders across multiple industry sectors consider whether to expand existing, open new, or transition activities and talent from the UK to EU hubs like Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt or Paris, they’ll also require an array of solutions to meet new recruiting, hiring and staffing needs, with talent pools representing different types of work and travel eligibility.

Size And Scope

According to a 2017 fact sheet issued by the European Commission, 16 million Europeans were living and working in a member state other than the one of their national origin, and 1.7 million Europeans commuted to another member state every day. Take a clearly robust cross-border commuter environment and factor in potentially new payroll, tax, immigration, healthcare/insurance and pension ramifications for UK citizens going to work in EU locations, and vice versa, and the situation

becomes considerably more complex. And that doesn’t even consider the GDPR-mandated regulations around communication, personally identifiable information and security as those employees come and go, and employers and service partners track and monitor all of the necessary data associated with that to remain in compliance.

61% of its participants indicated commuters are handled within the overall mobility function AIRINC’s most recent Mobility Outlook Survey (2018) reports that “54% of companies anticipate an increased demand for crossborder mobility this year. The types of mobility are not all more of the same, though; companies continue to expand the way in which cross-border mobility is defined. The trend remains for companies to expand the range of mobility options available to meet different talent needs. 33% of companies plan to add a business traveller policy to their offerings this year, while 23% will add a policy for commuters, and 20% of companies expect to formalise their international oneway transfer approach”. The report further indicated that 30% of respondents anticipate an increase in commuter assignments within the next year. There are a number of different things that define a commuter assignment, including its overall duration, how far an employee travels and how many days he or she remains in the host location for work each week. EU law

currently defines cross-border commuters as those who work in one EU country but live in another, and return at least once a week, if not more frequently. Aires’ Pulse Survey – Commuters, conducted last May, confirmed that there seems to be no clear-cut definition of commuters at present, but respondents cited “living in the work location Monday through Friday” most frequently. In spite of wide variances and scenarios that create different types of commuters, there is one element that seems to be consistent: a large majority of companies report that their management and tracking falls under the global mobility umbrella. In the Aires findings, 61% of its participants indicated commuters are handled within the overall mobility function. There are multiple reasons for both employers and employees to deem commuter status more appropriate, convenient or appealing than a traditional or short-term assignment, or a permanent move. For employers, the types of skills needed, for how long and in which locations factor heavily into the decision. Employees tend to place considerable weight on their personal financial and lifestyle implications, the impact on the careers and/or the income support of a spouse or partner; a possible need for elder or child care, or the current ages and educational status of dependents when deciding whether uprooting is right for them. Cost is often the first thing to come to mind. But, as Andrea Duxbury of ECA International points out in Commuter Assignments – The Consequences Beyond The Financial Cost, “the financial implication is far from the only factor that matters when deciding if a commuting arrangement is right for both the employee and the company”. There are the “hard costs” to both parties - from accommodation and transportation expenses, to how meals and visits from a spouse, partner or other family members will be treated, and what, if any, home location expenses incurred as a result of the commuting arrangement will be covered. It’s crucial to have a realistic understanding of those costs. As Duxbury from ECA notes, “Not only is a commuter assignee likely to be living more ‘conveniently,’ and therefore expensively, in the host location than at home or when on a longterm assignment, but they may also be dining out more or shopping in small, more expensive

COMMUTER ASSIGNMENTS convenience stores in the city centre rather than large out-of-town supermarkets. On top of this, they will still be maintaining a household in their home country. Typically, a subsistence allowance or per diem will need to be paid to a commuter to cover their meals and the cost of other basic goods and services for the days that they spend in the host country. Alternatively, they could expense these costs, though this means administration for the company as well as for the employee”. Most participants in the Aires’ Pulse Survey (86%) indicate that they pay and reimburse actual expenses of commuters, with only 14% reporting providing a lump sum payment as the primary or sole benefit. But there are also certain costs that are harder to measure or quantify, such as the impact on an employee’s personal and family life. For the company, if the intent of the assignment is to build teams or immerse an employee in the culture of a new office, the disruption of coming and going on a regular basis and a lack of social integration may be counterproductive to the company’s overall business goals. Another area of tremendous variability seems to be in how companies determine the benefits that commuters will receive. The Aires study notes: “Overall, 66% confirm policy ‘always’ or ‘usually’ plays a

role; for those reporting that most of their commuters are company-initiated (vs. employee-initiated), all confirm the policy ‘always’ or ‘usually’ plays the biggest role”. The bottom line is that for many reasons, the best talent may be unwilling or unable to relocate to a new location for those companies considering post-Brexit alternatives. Where feasible and practical for both sides, flexible plans like cross-border commuter arrangements and telework may be a solution, as long as both parties fully understand the legal, tax, social and expense ramifications, which are highly complex and determined by a number of different factors. The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. For more information on what the different scenarios are that could unfold for the Brexit process, and how they are likely to impact mobility professionals, catch the free Worldwide ERC® and Altair Globalsponsored archived webinar - How Do You Want Your Brexit: Hard, Soft or Scrambled? on the Worldwide ERC® website. For an in-depth discussion around developing the best employee experiences, flexible solutions and commuter policies, among other current challenges and opportunities for global talent professionals, plan to take part in the Worldwide ERC® full-day Frankfurt Mobility Summit on 7 February, 2019.

NOURAN ZARROUG

Managing Director, EMEA, with Worldwide ERC®. Nouran can be reached at nzarroug@worldwideerc.org. Visit www.worldwideerc.org

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Global Tax Update AUDIT CONFLICTS IN A GLOBAL MOBILITY CONTEXT

Review of the audit market by regulatory authorities and the potential knock-on effect on choice of global mobility advisers. Historically, it was often the case that when expanding overseas companies merely asked their auditor for guidance on the tax and mobility issues arising. After all, who should know more about the company than the existing auditor? Those working in global mobility will have long been aware of the potential for conflicts of interest where the same firm is both the auditor and the global mobility adviser. The risk of a conflict and the possibility of prohibition on the provision of certain services is rapidly increasing. Within the mobility arena, we have often had to address how to deal with those individuals in Financial Reporting Oversight Roles (FRORs). The term "financial reporting oversight role" means a role in which a person is in a position to, or does exercise influence over the contents of the financial statements or anyone who prepares them, such as when the person is a member of the board of directors or similar management or governing body, chief executive etc. The US led PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) rules applying since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 have meant that you cannot deal with such individuals as auditors. EU legislation requires mandatory audit tendering after 10 years and enforced audit rotation after 20 years. Longstanding audit relationships need reviewing and in some cases will need to be changed. If the auditor has to change then at least two audit firms may be conflicted from undertaking international assignment services and the others may want to keep themselves clear of potential conflicts in order to challenge for future audit work. European Union Rules in relation to Public Interest Entities (PIE’s) came into effect after 2016. The meaning of a PIE has been redefined to include all companies listed on an EU regulated market and in addition, unlisted banking and insurance companies and groups, unless they are small. There is a limit in that non-audit services may not exceed 70% of the average group statutory audit fees over the previous 3 years for certain types of services, and total prohibitions apply to selected services, for example, payroll services – a feature of many international assignments. As these rules do not use retrospective data, this provision will

not fully apply until three years of audit fee data from 17 June 2016 are available. The above rules will limit choice of adviser for international assignee work. Which firms do you turn to when conflicts of interest present a restricted choice? The position may well become even more restrictive given further initiatives and public reviews occurring in the UK. In October 2018, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a review to consider and investigate whether the audit sector is working as it should for the economy and investors. In essence it will review whether there is sufficient competition given the significant market share of the four largest audit firms? The market study will consider choice and switching, resilience in the market given the market share of the biggest four firms, and the potential risk if they are considered too big to fail. The review will also consider incentives with auditors being chosen by companies not the investors – is there insufficient challenge? A separate, but additional, independent Financial Reporting Council (FRC) review led by Sir John Kingman is already in progress and to add to matters, on the 12 November 2018, the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee Chair, Rachel Reeves MP, launched a new inquiry examining the future of audit saying: "Misleading audits have been at the heart of corporate failures over recent decades. Recent accounting scandals at BHS, Carillion, and at Patisserie Valerie have shown accounts bearing closer resemblance to works of fiction than an accurate reflection of the true financial performance of the business. Repeated accounting failures have contributed to the collapse of major businesses and undermined public and investor confidence”. "The audit market is broken. The Big Four’s overwhelming market domination has failed to deliver audits which are fit-for-purpose. The lack of meaningful competition has bred conflicts of interest at every turn. The dice are loaded in the Big Four’s favour, as they snap up audit contracts while pocketing huge fees for consultancy work and providing advice on recovering failing businesses. A host of solutions are now proposed to boost competition and improve audit quality. It’s important that all options are on the table, including measures to break the stranglehold of the Big 4”. "The current inquiries by the CMA and Sir John Kingman are welcome and necessary.

But, too often in the past corporate and regulatory failures have been followed by reviews which have been left to gather dust rather than result in concrete action. Our Committee’s inquiry on the future of audit seeks to ensure these reviews are acted upon swiftly and effectively and that they genuinely deliver the improvements to audit quality and corporate governance which businesses, investors, pension-holders and the public expect". BDO Comment The above comments specifically from the BEIS Chair will undoubtedly be challenged and strongly refuted. Regardless of such representations, potentially the BEIS review could link in with the CMA and Kingman reviews and enforced changes to the market could occur. Naturally, where choice is being restricted it is incumbent upon others to step up, improve their offering and fill any gaps in the market. If you are working within global mobility and are selecting firms of advisers, are you aware of such potential changes to the market? Do you know who your auditors are and when audit rotation will be enforced? Do you know about all potential conflicts of interest? Are you aware of the restrictions that may apply to certain companies regarding the provision or limitation of non-audit services? Do you know about all alternative advisers in the market that could readily provide you with the service you seek? The only certainty is that some changes to the market are likely. BDO will keep you updated on such changes.

AUSTRALIA

Proposed overhaul of tax residency rules for individuals Tax residency has long been an area of confusion for people entering and departing Australia, even more so since the increase in global mobility in the modern working environment. Australia’s tax residency rules have remained unchanged since 1936, and most residency cases now rely heavily on case law to guide determinations. This situation was made more complex with the restriction of the foreign services exemption from 1 July 2009, which provided a tax exemption for foreign service income where the foreign service period exceeded 91 days. Prior to 2009, the question of tax residency was not so important where the individual’s foreign income was mainly from the foreign service. The current rules to determine residency

GLOBAL TAXATION comprise four tests that depend not solely on time spent in Australia, but the nature and substance of the individual’s connections to Australia. The current four tests are: 1. The Resides Test This a rather subjective test that takes into account a holistic review of the individual’s circumstances and gives weight to various factors such as: • Intention and purpose of their presence in Australia • Family and economic ties • Location and maintenance of assets; and • Social and living arrangements. 2. The Domicile Test If the individual does not ‘reside’ in Australia according to the first test, but is nonetheless domiciled in Australia, e.g. domicile of origin (usually the place the person’s father has his permanent home) or their domicile of choice, they are still considered a resident of Australia for tax purposes unless their ‘permanent place of abode’ is outside of Australia. 3. The 183-Day Test An individual is assumed to be a tax resident if they are physically present in Australia for 183 days or more and their ‘usual place of abode’ is not outside of Australia. 4. The Superannuation Test An individual is an Australian resident if they are a member of certain Government public service superannuation funds. The test also extends to treat the spouse and children under 16 as residents. The current rules often prove difficult to navigate and the contradictory judgements in the AAT and courts provides inconsistent guidance as to what factors should be given more weight than others. Recent case law has also placed significant emphasis on the concept of ‘permanent place of abode’ and has thrown doubt on situations that most would previously have considered fairly straight forward. The Board of Taxation in Australia has made suggestions to the Government to overhaul the old rules in favour of a less complex system. Simplification will improve certainty, reduce compliance costs and remove a potential barrier from Australia’s attractiveness as an investment location. The Board has proposed the following two test system: 1. Primary Test This test will automatically determine the residency status of the majority of individuals. The test is designed to provide a bright-line for individuals to be able to conclusively determine their residency status, based on time spent in Australia. The day-count system will likely differ depending on whether the individual is inbound or outbound. The Board’s preferred model is as follows:

Scenario

Description

Previously a resident of Austrailia

An individual that was previously a resident of Australia is a non-resident if they spend less than X number of days in Australia in any 12-month period.

Previously not a resident of Australia

An individual that has never been a resident of Australia is a non-resident if they spend less than Y number of days in Australia in any 12-month period (where Y is greater than the X number of days required for those previously a resident).

Working overseas

An individual that works full-time overseas is a non-resident if they spend less than a certain number of days working, or a larger number of days in total, in Australia in any 12-month period.

2. Secondary Test This test will be used for more complex situations and will take into account the individual circumstances. It may also apply differently to inbound and outbound individuals. The proposed test will have a clearer weighting system for the relevant factors to ensure greater certainty in determining residency than under the current rules. The Board considered the following factors crucial to determining residency:

It may also apply differently to inbound and outbound individuals

Factor

Description

Time spent in Australia

This factor is satisfied if a certain amount of time is spent in Australia, as per the primary test.

Immigration status

The factor is satisfied if the individual is an Australian or permanent resident.

Personal relationships

This factor is satisfied if the individual’s family is largely located in Australia.

Accommodation

This factor is satisfied if the individual has readily accessible accommodation (rented or owned) that they use regularly.

Economic ties

This factor is satisfied if the individual has substantial economic ties to Australia, such as employment, business interests, assets etc.

The Board has proposed that: • If the individual was previously a resident of Australia, X number of factors must be satisfied; or • If the individual was not previously a resident of Australia, Y number of factors must be satisfied. The Board has looked at other residency systems around the world, including the OECD standards, in designing the proposed new rules. They have also addressed potential concerns regarding a person being a ‘resident of nowhere’ and are considering only allowing the change in status from resident to nonresident if the individual can demonstrate that they have established residency elsewhere. If the proposed residency rules are legislated, it is intended that there will be clear outcomes for the majority of individuals, and a structured process to determine the more complex cases, resulting in a decreased need to apply for private rulings.

BDO Comment Public comments were invited up to October 2018, after which the Government will consider the Board’s recommendations. We will provide a further update if any changes to the rules are legislated.

BELGIUM

Belgian administration takes new position in the social security treatment of equity incentive plans Many companies now give their employees equity incentives, such as restricted stock and restricted stock units. Recently, the Belgian administration took a new position concerning the social security contributions that may apply to equity incentive plans. Previous Position According to the administration’s previous position, equity incentives were subject to Belgian social security contributions if

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

the incentives were granted by the Belgian employer. If the incentives were granted by a foreign company the administration still considered them as being granted by the Belgian company if the latter actively intervened in the stock allocation process, or if the costs related to the equity incentive plan were charged by the foreign entity to the Belgian company. Very often, these conditions were not met. Foreign companies often did not charge the costs related to the plan to the Belgian company. As a result, in many cases the equity incentives were not subject to Belgian social security contributions. New Position In the instructions to employers, the Belgian administration changed its position. As of now, the equity incentives will be subject to Belgian social security contributions if they are granted for services provided by an employee in the context of his/her employment contract or if they are related to the employeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s function with his/her employer. As a result of this new position, equity incentives will almost always be subject to Belgian social security contributions for employers and employees. This will result in an extra cost for the employer of 25%. Another outcome of this new position is that the equity incentives will also have to be included in the base for calculation of the holiday pay on the variable wage. This will result in an extra cost of more than 15% for employers. It is important to note that the above mentioned is not a change in Belgian legislation but a change in position of the Belgian administration. One can raise the question of whether this new interpretation of the law by

the social security administration is still in line with the text of the law itself. However, until this position has been successfully challenged before a Belgian court it is advised to follow it. On a final note, it is important to mention that the Belgian government is also working on a new legislative proposal concerning withholding taxes. Income taxes must be withheld by the Belgian employing company if the local employer grants the awards or is involved in the administration of the plan. In the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legislative proposal, the equity incentives granted to Belgian employees by foreign companies will also most likely become subject to Belgian withholding taxes. Details of these grants will have to be reported in the monthly wage income tax return and annual summary statements. This proposal however, is not yet final. BDO Comment Considering the new stance adopted by the Belgian administration foreign companies who want to implement an equity incentive plan for Belgian employees are advised to consider the extra costs that may now arise.

NETHERLANDS

Maximum term of 30% ruling reduced As you may be aware, changes will be coming into place as of January 2019, regarding the maximum period the 30% ruling can apply. This maximum of 5 years will apply to both existing cases as well as new cases. There will be no transitional provisions for existing cases. This change extends to the scheme opting for partial non-resident taxpayer status for income tax purposes, since the right of option can only be applied during the term of the 30% ruling.

The Cabinet has decided to introduce transitional provisions for tuition fees payable for international schools with effect from 1 January 2019. Under these transitional provisions, once the term of the 30% ruling has been reduced, the tuition fees payable for international schools for the 2018/2019 academic year can still be reimbursed or defrayed, provided these tuition fees are reimbursed or defrayed before the end of the original term of the 30% ruling. Interestingly, the existing transitional provisions for employees subject to the 30% ruling on 31 December 2011, under which the maximum term of 10 years applies, will also end. This is because it is an established fact that the maximum term for these employees will have ended by 1 January 2019. In June 2018, the Dutch tax authorities sent the affected employees and withholding agents a letter containing information about the planned change. No substantive changes are envisaged for employees who are posted abroad. BDO Comment There have been many changes to the 30% ruling since its introduction. The facility has been very effective in reducing the effective rate of tax applying in the Netherlands. The only certainty is that further tinkering to the ruling may occur in future years. BDO will keep you updated on any such developments. Prepared by BDO LLP. For further information please contact Andrew Bailey on 0207 893 2946 or at andrew.bailey@bdo.co.uk

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Short-Term Business Visitor Update Introduction

We continue to see an increase in the number of short-term assignments, cross-border commuter roles and international business trips. This global trend is gathering pace with far fewer longer-term assignments. In line with this trend, globally tax authorities are taking an increasing interest in the compliance issues arising for both employers and employees from these shorter arrangements. Do remember, it is not just the wage withholding/PAYE equivalent issue that tax authorities are concerned about as corporate tax, transfer pricing, permanent establishment issues and immigration are a few associated additions to their ‘hit list’. Recent initiatives such as Common Reporting Standards (CRS), allowing for the automatic exchange of information between jurisdictions and institutions, and Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) legislation in the UK making it a criminal offence not to put in place necessary measures to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion globally, make it even more important for employers to be compliant. Despite the difficulties in tracking an internationally mobile employee population there is now an onus on employers taking all appropriate measures and utilising technology to do so, thus remaining compliant globally. This article will revisit the issue and look at the latest updates from a UK perspective, as well as compliance issues arising from business travel for multinational employers.

Background

The legislation governing compliance for Short-Term Business Visitors (STBVs) in the UK is nothing new. A disconnect between the income tax rules, their interaction with Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs), and PAYE regulations, often mean that an individual working in the UK for a period of less than 183 days can be subject to tax in the first instance even if ultimately exempt once all facts are known and all filings concluded. Even in cases where the individual is ultimately exempt from UK income tax, an obligation to withhold PAYE can still arise on the UK host employer from as early as the first day that the individual is present in the UK for work purposes. In recognition of the administrative burden placed on UK host employers in adding STBVs to the UK onto a payroll, and in many cases then filing a UK self-assessment tax return to reclaim the PAYE in full, HMRC introduced a relaxation to the strict rules via the ShortTerm Business Visitor Agreement (STBVA or EP Appendix 4).

This agreement allows for a relaxation of the PAYE requirements when an individual will ultimately be exempt from UK income tax under a DTA. As part of the agreement, the UK host employer makes a commitment to track all STBVs into the UK and file an annual report containing all specified details with HMRC by 31 May following the end of each tax year. A further relaxation was introduced with effect from the 2016/17 UK tax year, in the form of a PAYE special arrangement (PAYE Manual para 81950) for STBVs where no exemption from income tax is available under a DTA. This may apply to STBVs from a country with which the UK does not have a DTA, but more commonly applies for STBVs employed by a non-UK branch of a UK company. These STBVs are deemed by HMRC to have a UK legal employer and therefore do not meet the exemption test contained within most DTAs. This relaxation allows for a single payroll submission to be made by 19 April, following the end of the UK tax year for any of these STBVs who had no more than 30 workdays in the UK during the tax year, rather than being added to the payroll in the first month that they have taxable duties in the UK. In May 2018, HMRC launched a consultation with a view to extending this relaxation, with HMRC providing an update in the November 2018 budget, which is considered later in this article.

Employer Compliance Obligations, Risks And Challenges

The categories of individuals who could potentially create a PAYE withholding requirement by working in the UK are wide ranging and include, but are not limited to: • Employees employed in one country who travel to the UK for work purposes • Commuters, who live outside the UK but travel to the UK in a settled pattern or for a defined period or project • Employees who have a regional role (e.g. EMEA wide) and spend time working in the UK • Secondees or assignees, whether seconded into the UK, or are on secondment outside the UK and return to the UK for work purposes • Contractors who are resident outside the UK (please note this complicated area is not covered by this article) • Non-resident directors and nonexecutive directors (however, again this is a complicated issue and additional care should be taken). In order for a PAYE obligation to arise, it is

first necessary to assess whether the business that the individual is working for the benefit of has a presence in the UK (PAYE Manual para 81610) or if the individual is deemed to have a UK host employer (s.689 ITEPA 2003). Typically, this will be the case, however; this should be the first consideration. If a PAYE obligation exists, then PAYE should be operated on taxable earnings in the UK under the usual RTI rules unless an STBVA or PAYE special arrangement is entered into with HMRC. Failure to do so constitutes a PAYE failure and penalties of up to 100% of the underpaid PAYE, along with interest, can be levied for non-compliance. Advance approval for the STBVA must be sought from HMRC, and it is insufficient to merely selfassess or self-determine that there is no PAYE liability nor an eventual personal tax liability. We are seeing HMRC undertake an increasing number of employer compliance reviews, each review including an increased focus on internationally mobile employees. Whereas previously employers may have taken a light touch to STBV compliance due to perceived difficulty in remaining compliant, HMRC are now expecting all employers to take all necessary steps to track and report on their STBVs into the UK.

STBVA And Treaty Exemption

In order to be included on an STBVA for a tax year and therefore exempt from PAYE, the STBV must meet the relevant conditions of the employment income article in the DTA that the UK has with the STBV’s home country. The wording in each treaty can differ and needs to be read on a case-by-case basis; however, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) model treaty is more typically being followed and sets out the conditions as: • The employee is present in the UK for a period not exceeding 183 days in any 12-month period starting or ending in the fiscal year, or 183 days in the fiscal year concerned depending on the applicable treaty, AND • Remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an economic employer that is not resident in the UK, AND • Remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment that the employer has in the UK. For treaty purposes, presence at any point that day, no matter how brief or for what purpose, counts as one day. By concession, HMRC will not consider the economic employer or recharge position for any STBVs that are in the UK for 59 days or

TAXATION less (more commonly known as the ’60 day rule’), whether in that UK tax year in isolation or as part of a more substantive period. For individuals who spend 60 or more days in the UK, then both the economic employer and the recharge position must be considered. Whereas HMRC have always looked at who is the economic, and not just the legal employer of an STBV, we are increasingly seeing overseas jurisdictions following the OECD model, and this may need to be considered for your STBVs to other countries who may create a tax and reporting liability. Which entity is acting as the economic employer is subjective and needs to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. When considering who is the economic employer consideration must be given to factors such as: • Who bears the risk and benefits from the reward of the duties being undertaken? • Who has control over the duties performed? • Who does the individual report to? • If performing duties for a client, whom is the client engagement held with? If it is deemed that the individual is economically employed in the host country then treaty exemption is no longer available. For UK purposes, this would mean the individual would then need to be added to a UK payroll and PAYE withheld in line with the RTI regulations. Whether or not remuneration costs are met by a permanent establishment in the host country is also not always straight forward. This does not have to be a direct recharge of salary costs, a recharge can also occur where it is included in a larger management charge for a project, or in arrangements such as cost plus where an individual is working for a client. The introduction of Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) now puts increasing focus on where costs are ultimately borne for crossborder workers. While predominately a corporate tax and transfer pricing initiative, BEPS seeks to ensure that revenue and costs are recognised for corporation tax purposes in the jurisdiction that they arise. Previously, a commercial decision may have been made to keep remuneration costs in the home country; whether for tax or other reasons. BEPS will result in recharges having to be made to the country in which the duties are performed, therefore eliminating any potential income tax exemption under a DTA. Again, for UK purposes this would result in a PAYE obligation arising for the STBV in question.

PAYE Special Arrangement

For varying reasons, a common corporate structure for UK companies is to have branches outside the UK. For UK tax purposes, a non-UK branch of a UK company is considered an extension of the UK company. As a result, any employees of

the non-UK branch are considered to have a UK legal employer, meaning that treaty exemption is therefore not available under a DTA. Similarly, if the STBV is visiting the UK from a country with which the UK does not have a DTA (e.g. Brazil), then there is no exemption available from UK income tax (and therefore PAYE). In recognition that this is a common occurrence and administratively burdensome to be compliant, HMRC introduced the PAYE special arrangement scheme with effect from the 2016/17 UK tax year. This allows for a single RTI submission to be made by 19 April, following the end of each tax year, rather than captured on a monthly basis under the usual RTI provisions for any STBVs in this category who have spent no more than 30 workdays in the UK in the tax year.

Under current EC regulations an A1 certificate can be obtained for anyone working within the European Economic Area While a welcome relaxation, employers and advisers felt that this did not go far enough. In May 2018, HMRC launched a consultation seeking to either align the rules for non-UK branches with non-UK companies, or to potentially extend the PAYE special arrangement further. In the November 2018 budget, it was announced that as a result of the consultation, despite representations made to align the rules for branches with companies, that the PAYE special arrangement would be extended so that STBVs from non-UK branches, or non-DTA countries, could be included as long as they had spent no more than 60 workdays in the UK during the year. Additionally, an extension of the deadline to 31 May to make a submission under RTI is to be introduced, providing welcome additional time for a submission to be made and to align it with the annual STBVA reporting. These changes will take effect from the 2020/21 tax year.

Social Security

This article has focused on income tax requirements; however, social security is also an important consideration. Under current EC regulations an A1 certificate can be obtained for anyone working within the European Economic Area. In light of Brexit, at the time of writing we are awaiting confirmation of any changes to this approach. For individuals from outside the EEA but from a country with which the UK has a bi-lateral social security agreement, then a Certificate of Coverage can be obtained to keep that individual in their home country social security system and exempt from UK contributions; and vice versa. Individuals coming to the UK from nonagreement countries may benefit from a 52-week exemption from UK National Insurance. While this should cover most STBVs, it is important that this is tracked, notably for regular visitors to the UK. There is nothing in the regulations providing a de-minimis period for when a certificate should be obtained. For EC workers, any individual working at least 5% of their time outside their country of habitual residence falls into the multi-state working rules and an A1 should be obtained. For STBVs it is typically recommend that a certificate is applied for any visits in excess of 30 days; however, if in doubt, it is prudent to obtain a certificate.

Employer Considerations

While entering into an STBVA or PAYE special arrangement with HMRC is relatively straight forward, complying with the obligations remains complex, with there being no ‘one size fits all’ solution suiting all multinational employers. Tax and payroll withholding are not the only issues arising from international business travel. Immigration compliance to ensure the right to work in a location is key, alongside the welfare of the employee undertaking the travel and the ongoing duty of care that the employer retains over their employee. The most challenging aspect of STBVs and the resulting reporting requirements is the actual tracking of the STBVs themselves. In order to be compliant an employer must have accurate records of who is travelling, and for what purposes. Where travel booking is centrally managed this can assist; however, this may not provide completely accurate information should any bookings be made personally, or if, for example, travel is made by car and several borders can be crossed in one day in an EMEA wide role. Additionally, for treaty purposes, presence in a country for any reason counts as one day towards the 183 day count. It is therefore also important to be able to capture any personal trips such as holidays, as thresholds may be unwittingly breached.

INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Increasingly, there is now an expectation from tax authorities that employers will seek to use the latest technology in order to assist them with their STBV obligations. In their commentary on tracking travellers (in the context of BEPS) the UN offered their view that “requiring enterprises, even large enterprises with multiple projects, to keep records with regard to the countries in which their employees and independent contractors are working does not appear to be unduly onerous or unreasonable – especially in light of technological advances”. It is recommended that potential solutions to assist with tracking, STBV reporting and compliance be explored. There are many potential solutions, which assist with tax, social security, immigration and duty of care, and link in with smartphone technology and GPS to ensure that all global travel is captured in real time. For example BDO’s QuickTrip. Once data is captured it must also be analysed in order to assess what compliance actions are required. As well as STBV reporting this can include visa or work permit applications or renewals, requirements for social security certificates to be obtained, payroll withholding, income tax return filings etc.

Often this data is analysed after the event and this can be too late for certain compliance actions. Having a solution to provide you with real time information and pre-trip assessments can help flag potential risks and action required in advance, adding significant value to your STBV compliance and helping you proactively manage any potential risks or associated costs for non-compliance.

Summary

As internationally mobile employees and cross-border working becomes more common, the compliance headaches arising from them will not disappear, merely increase. Despite STBVs being a challenging area to get right, technology solutions exist in order to help manage and track your employees and proactively assist your management of such employees. Initiatives such as Common Reporting Standards, Base Erosion Profit Shifting and Corporate Criminal Offence Legislation, highlight the focus with which tax and immigration authorities will exchange information and expect employers to be taking steps to be compliant globally. Historically, this issue this may have been perceived as a ‘low risk’ area of compliance but those days are now gone.

ANDREW BAILEY

Andrew Bailey is Global Leader for BDO International’s Global Employer Services team. He has over 30 years’ experience in the field of expatriate taxation. BDO is present in over 162 countries and is able to provide global assistance for all your international assignments. Andrew is indebted to Daniel Howse for his significant contribution to this article. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other expatriate matters, please do not hesitate to contact: Andrew Bailey on +44 (0) 20 7893 2946, email Andrew.Bailey@bdo.co.uk or Daniel Howse on +44 (0) 20 7893 2915, email Daniel.Howse@bdo.co.uk

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Recruitment In The Global Mobility Industry: Improving HR And Candidate Experience HR Business Partners and internal recruitment teams are often stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to balance the changing requirements of business needs with the expectations of candidates. Recruitment teams tend to be responsible for the first impression of the employing company and necessarily represent the organisation’s culture, communication, and how the candidate may be treated if and when they are employed. As operational practitioners in the mobility industry before moving into recruitment, our experience - based on recruiting for our own teams and as specialist providers of recruitment services – suggests that there are a few key areas in which greater clarity and definition would improve both the HR and candidate experience, and ultimately enhance the employer’s reputation.

Clarity Around The Role

This is an issue which is not exclusive to global mobility, but is certainly one that crops up repeatedly. While an experienced recruiter may have a clear idea of which functions a Consultant or an Adviser is required to perform, roles which are termed ‘executive’ can encompass a broad range of operational duties, from largely administrative team assistant roles to a senior leadership functions. While this may not matter a great deal within the framework of the employer’s own organisation, it is important that the level of seniority and extent of duties are clearly delineated to potential job applicants. To illustrate, two close competitors in a specialist field of the global mobility industry both employ Consultants and Coordinators, but the roles have inverse levels of seniority and it can take some time to convince candidates that they’re not applying for a role that is a step back! The key to clarity is a well-thought out job specification. A specialist recruiter can be helpful in assisting an employer with the clear

description of a role, relative to its place in the hierarchy of the organisation and within the industry. Perhaps most importantly, the process of defining a role specification provides an organisation with an opportunity to think about what it really requires from the prospective employee, and his or her place in the established team. For the professional recruiter, a clear job description is invaluable in discussions with prospective candidates and accelerates the recruitment process.

For HR, the hiring manager and the professional recruiter, the key is to ensure that all stakeholders are in agreement regarding the intent of the hire, particularly where several parts of the business are involved in the interviewing process Lack of clarity around the purpose of the hire can be a source of frustration for

all involved. For example, when backfilling a role, is the business certain that the role constitutes precisely the same position as before, or have business requirements or the dynamic in the team changed? Perhaps there is now an opportunity to consider something a little different, such as job sharing or project work. When a role is advertised and then seems to disappear, because the hiring manager realises their needs have changed, it can be hard to explain to a candidate what has happened. Indeed, it can make candidates wary of applying for future positions at the same organisation. For HR, the hiring manager and the professional recruiter, the key is to ensure that all stakeholders are in agreement regarding the intent of the hire, particularly where several parts of the business are involved in the interviewing process. In addition, it certainly assists the external recruiter in driving the hiring project, if it is possible to have open lines of communication with both hiring managers and HR professionals in the same organisation.

Improving The Experience Of The Interview Process

The perceived speed and efficiency of the hiring process has a great deal of influence on how the applicant will perceive the employer’s working environment and culture. If a candidate is impressed at interview by a charismatic hiring manager, who assures the candidate that they will have autonomy, control and the capacity to make a big impact on the business, only to have to wait a prolonged time for further interviews to be scheduled or an offer to be made, they are likely to grow dubious about the connectedness of the organisation and may even drop out of the process. This situation can be avoided by ensuring that the timescales, number of interviews and decision making processes are agreed internally in advance, and then clearly communicated to the candidate. This is a good opportunity to ensure that the process is commensurate to the seniority of the role – a junior, consultant-level role, typically can have a more condensed process, than a senior or managerial role. Should this process be changed for any reason, this

RECRUITMENT should also be communicated as quickly as possible to the candidate. Sometimes, and in particular where the organisation runs matrix management structures, several business stakeholders in different areas of the business may wish to get involved in the hiring process, especially if the role in question is senior, or new. Keeping control of the number of interview stages and, if possible, consolidating the interested parties into panel interviews will reduce the time investment of the employer and ensure that the recruitment process is not frustrating for the candidate. A specialist recruitment company should be expected to conduct face-toface interviews wherever possible with candidates before submission to the employer, and, where a strong and trusting relationship exists between the business and the recruiter, the initial vetting stage can be outsourced to the agency. As in everything, recruiting fashions come and go, but, generally, the hiring style that works best for an organisational culture is likely to be retained in the long-term, be it the use of psychometric assessments, competencybased interviews or role-plays. In terms of the candidate experience, it is certainly preferable to have consistency in the approach used by each interviewer. Many organisations have turned towards more relaxed, less formal interviews in recent times: while compliance is key in the mobility world, the industry is ultimately a people-oriented environment, and less formal interview styles can be useful in determining the communication style and approach of a candidate. It is important, therefore, that hiring managers are guided in the organisation’s interview protocol, however relaxed this may be, and do not accidentally stray into inappropriate or irrelevant lines of questioning, for example, around family arrangements, which they wouldn’t necessarily touch upon in a more formal setting.

Feedback Feedback Feedback

The professional recruiter can sometimes feel like Billy Crystal leaving Meg Ryan a voicemail in When Harry met Sally: ‘If you're there please pick up the phone, I really want to talk to you. The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe you're either (a) Not at home, (b) Home, but don't want to talk to me, or (c) Home, desperately want to talk to me, but trapped under something heavy. If it's either (a) or (c), please call me back.’ Lack of feedback from hiring managers during the interview process is as frustrating for HR professionals as it is for the candidate and the recruiter. Frank and detailed feedback on a candidate’s performance not only shows respect towards the applicant, but also allows the recruiter to refine their own research specifications. Importantly, it

also reflects favourably on the organisation as a prospective employer. One of the advantages of working with a specialist recruiter is that the message to the candidate can be managed appropriately and in a way that hopefully leaves everyone on good terms for future collaborations. In summary, the common thread throughout, in our experience, is clear communication – in terms of the role, the process, and outcomes, whether they are negative or positive. We hope that the above illustrations can provide support for HR Managers when next reviewing processes with key internal business partners.

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SARAH KINNAIRD

Director Recruitment Services, Mobility People International Recruitment Limited. Sarah has almost 20 years’ experience as a global mobility and recruitment professional, successfully managing relationships with mobility, procurement, human resources, operations and finance teams, as well as with assignees. Starting her career as a Mobility Consultant with the Crown Worldwide Group in Paris, France and working as Global Account Manager in Switzerland and the UK, Sarah’s roles have included managing global contracts for clients in the finance, pharmaceutical and professional services sectors, where her award-winning teams exceeded performance measurements and secured client references. Sarah says “Listening to my clients’ needs in client services, I established a strong understanding of the importance of having the right team, in place, at the right time: that’s really the best way to galvanise partnerships with corporate and private clients.” With an MA Cantab in French and Russian, working in global mobility has matched Sarah’s personal desire to work internationally, to service clients and to apply her language and intercultural communication skills. Tel: 0845 463 8990 Email: sarahk@mpirecruitment.com Website: www.mpirecruitment.com

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INTERNATIONAL HR ADVISER WINTER

Immigration: A Risk Management Approach A business risk is defined as anything that threatens an organisation’s ability to generate profits at its target levels. These business risks include strategic risks, compliance risks, operational risks, financial risks and reputational risk. The changing pace of the regulatory landscape has made immigration one of the top 10 business risks of the organisation and mobility leaders now observe a significant increase in the face time with the C-suite of their organisations informing or updating the stakeholders on the impact of changes. The objective of this article is to examine immigration in light of the various types of risks mentioned above. a) Strategic Risk - The immigration regulations of the day can have substantial impact on the growth plans of any organisation. Changing regulations may make it difficult to deploy senior talent to another country to expand operations if there are requirements of a local vs foreign national ratio to be managed to be eligible to obtain work visas. The current trend of tightening of immigration processes by governments requires careful consideration whilst planning for growth in certain geographies. b) Compliance Risk - The lack of compliance or ignorance of regulations can expose the organisation to interest and penal consequences. It can also have a significant business impact where the business includes bidding for government contracts where such immigration non-compliances can disqualify the organisation from bidding. c) Operational Risk - Frequently changing regulations may require organisations to significantly improve or change their processes to comply with new requirements. For example, change in minimum salaries for certain countries like the UK, or replacement of the immigration systems in Australia. Further Government authorities across various countries are integrating the data obtained by their immigration departments and labour departments to have a more comprehensive oversight on compliances of social security regulations. Such an approach makes it imperative for the

organisations to ensure that processes are integrated to ensure proper control of data and full visibility of its mobile population for necessary actions. This would also include business travellers, as it has been observed that there is an increasing trend of regulators requesting this data in light of emerging international tax regulations. d) Financial Risk - Any non-compliance leads to penal consequences by way of interests and penalties on non-payments or delays in payments. It can also expose the organisation to litigation. It can also lead to delays in revenue recognition arising from delays in obtaining visas in geographies where there has been a non-compliance. e) Reputational Risk - Any non-compliance has a potential to get negative publicity for the organisation and could divert a huge level of resources to manage the reputation of the organisation. Mobility leaders can support their organisation to effectively mitigate, if not eliminate the risks arising out of immigration regulations. We can evaluate an “inside-out” approach to examine this issue. 1) Mobility Leader: The mobility leader needs to set up an operational framework which can ensure timely updates of all regulatory changes are received and evaluate its impact for business stakeholders. The most crucial aspect is communication with stakeholders which requires that changes are explained in layman’s language to the stakeholders and its impact easily understood. Mature mobility processes now have a communications professional as a part of a mobility team to help drive this change. 2) Mobility Team: The mobility team needs to demonstrate proactiveness, curiosity and speed in examining and implementing all the changes in the regulations. This will support the mobility leader to evaluate the granular impact of the changes to subsequently inform the stakeholders. The team must leverage global tools, whether built in-house or through a vendor, to ensure control on data and use of analytics, to ensure timely actions such as extensions and renewals of visas. This will avoid any disruption in the business operations. The operations have potential to become smarter by use of RPA (Robotic Process Automation) to enable the team to reduce time on repetitive operations and focus on risk mitigation and control.

3) Immigration Service Providers: The immigration service providers are an extension of the mobility team in managing the immigration risk. They need to understand the culture and the needs of the mobility team to effectively support the team by way of being proactive in assessing the impact for their clients, or keeping them updated on current and forthcoming regulatory changes. The approach from the service providers has a significant impact on the ability of the mobility team to be proactive to their business stakeholders. 4) Peer Network: An effective way to identify and mitigate risk is to have a strong peer network of mobility professionals where one can share the best practices and discuss emerging challenges in immigration, either at a granular process level or at a broader strategy level. 5) Government Authorities: Mobility leaders must leverage the opportunity to influence the policy making process of the government by actively participating in sharing their views on white papers on proposed changes issued by the Government to seek feedback from the business stakeholders, for example, MAC recommendations for changes to immigration regulations in the United Kingdom, or registration requirements for petitioners seeking to file H-1B petitions issued by USCIS in USA. An effective approach to managing immigration as a business risk would be to have a comprehensive and an integrated framework incorporating all the above stakeholders and implement it in a concurrent manner.

DHARMESH KOTHARI

Vice President, Talent Mobility, Genpact Dharmesh is the Global Talent Mobility Leader at Genpact. He has 20 years of experience managing talent mobility across geographies from a regulatory compliance perspective. He is a trusted business partner and has previously worked with global organisations – Deloitte, EY, Capgemini, Siemens and Goldman Sachs. His role is to provide business solutions and manage compliance/ reputation risk for the organisation arising out of talent mobility across geographies. Email – Dharmesh.Kothari@genpact.com

BUSINESS TRAVELLER MANAGEMENT

Business Traveller Management What Service Model Should You Implement As the Business Traveller problem gathers pace companies are researching how they manage the issue within their companies. Many are preparing business cases for internal consumption on why and how they will manage this sometimes complex issue. Companies differ in culture, operational practices and technologies and quite often knowing where to start can be an issue. One element to examine is the service model to deploy in the company. In this article we will examine a number of different models that can be deployed in order to bring about the optimal solution for the company.

1 - Manual Management Of Traveller Data

Most companies that are employing elements of business traveller management are working on a manual management of data extracted from the traveller or various systems such as travel agency data. Employees that are asked to complete internal excel forms or Tax provider calendars can do so haphazardly, or not in a timely manner, so the ability to stay ahead of compliance risk can be compromised. Travel agency outputs are vast and travel agencies very rarely parse or sort the data to present it in a meaningful way. Travel agencies manage travel on a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;one wayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sector basis so a single travel trip can appear on multiple lines, and the trips need to be joined up before any meaningful analysis can take place. Certain legs of trips may be booked outside of the travel agency system so the ability to get a full picture of events can be limited. Most travel managers will regard that 80-90% compliance with booking tools are a success. The Global Business Travel Association also claims only 40-50% of companies used a managed travel programme. Many other companies implement travel policies and allow travellers to book within certain classes of service or spend limits in hotels etc. If the data has been gathered then this is only the first stage of the process. The data now has to be analysed and checked against prevailing legislation. Many mobility

managers will have a good grasp of their domestic legislation but may struggle to keep up with the ever-changing global legislation in Tax and Immigration. An expert in the UK Appendix 4 system may struggle with the Nordic Multilateral Treaty regulations. A further difficulty lies with the consistency of this approach. Most business travel regulations are predicated on cumulative travel within a set period so the need to manage and keep the data consistent is critical if thresholds are to be managed. Doing so can involve advance Excel skills but even then, the analytic element of the output is only as strong as the knowledge set of the person analysing the data.

Most business travel regulations are predicated on cumulative travel within a set period so the need to manage and keep the data consistent is critical if thresholds are to be managed

2 - Analysis Of Data By Rules Engine/Technical Software

If the first model is employed to collect the data it makes sense to analyse the data by using an industry rules engine. Many Tax Providers and Immigration companies provide such systems as part of their standard product provision and there has been a surge in this product area recently. If we take the extension of the first model now to include the rules engine element we can then get greater data and information based on the algorithms present in such systems. In this model the data can be analysed without a change management programme or introduction of new processes for travellers. Existing data sources can be harnessed and directed to the rules engine. The rules engine will deal with the accumulation of travel data and when a certain threshold or trigger is reached an alert can be sent to the relevant Tax or Immigration team. This can be run as a background process while mobility teams get on with higher value tasks. Automating takes away the tedium associated with the manual analysis of the data. As alerts are issued mobility teams only have to deal with actual incidents rather than analyse extensive data and find no issues. Levels of automation can be as simple as Excel files upload on a daily / weekly basis all the way up to full automated integration with Travel agency systems to set up an Automated Programming Interface (API) with the rules engine. Explore with your service provider whether they can provide a tax and immigration rules engine.

3 - Supplement Data Gathering With Traveller Input

The next model seeks to enhance the data quantity and quality by supplementing the travel agency data with direct entry by the traveller via a smartphone or portal service. In this way the data that may be missing from travel agency systems can be collected and added to the existing data set. If previously booked travel data changes then any corrections can easily be applied at the smartphone level. Within continental Europe or the US much business travel can take place in personal

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vehicles or travel modes not available in travel agency systems. Similarly travel agency data really only means that a traveller booked a ticket – not necessarily that they actually travelled to that location. In many travel events the final location may not actually be the location of the destination airport. By booking a flight to Dusseldorf for instance, a traveller could be in three different countries within an hour by hiring a car. As the traveller is mobile they may not be able to access company systems or VPNs to update information, but almost every traveller will have access to a smartphone, allowing them to update travel information. By communicating the personal nature of tax and immigration breaches in a change management programme, adoption can be high if the traveller understands the minimal effort needed to update information via a smartphone. Several short button presses can be less cumbersome than dealing with a tax audit or immigration breach. In the same way as model 2 the accumulated data can then be analysed by the rules engine and the outputs examined. Companies can decide whether alerts or notice of thresholds are communicated to the traveller or managed in the background by tax or immigration teams. This model allows for a greater use of data analytics to feed into resource planning and scheduling as potential tax or immigration breaches can be managed and communicated to lines of business. This model has particular application to project driven companies such as those in the Oil & Gas or Construction industries. Employees that are constantly mobile or rotate in employment can easily satisfy company compliance objectives with simple smartphone access. Data from this model also has implications for payroll accuracy by recording accurate details of travel and activities.. By collecting the variable nature of rotating tasks and activities a simple data feed to payroll systems can remove significant administration.

4 - Addition Of Pre-Trip Authorisation

The final model introduces a stage prior to travel where pre-trip authorisation and assessment is added. While not every trip may need authorisation certain hotspots or difficult locations could be mandated as requiring authorisation prior to booking travel. In this way Tax teams could analyse double tax treaty availability or risk of Permanent Establishment creation. An example from the project management field could be a construction project in Algeria where the Irish unit may be selected to carry out the project. As Ireland does not have a double tax treaty with Algeria any taxable income in Algeria could qualify as an

additional cost to the project, whereas the French unit could carry out the task as taxes could be offset back in the home location. Tax teams can advise operational teams of potential costs that may not be initially apparent when committing resources. Permanent Establishment risks can also be predicted by analysis of accumulated travel across multiple business units. One division in a company may not be aware of travel / activity in a destination being carried out by another part of the company. Pre-trip analysis by a Tax team could analyse the overall risk to the company and advise accordingly. Immigration teams can also advise on the correct work permit or visa status that would apply to the project.

Immigration teams can also advise on the correct work permit or visa status that would apply to the project By routing a simple questionnaire from a smartphone or online portal to the subject matter experts in tax or immigration, these teams can provide higher quality advice prior to travel rather than being reactive to resolve issues that occur during a project. Applying a rules engine to the pre-trip assessment can enhance the quality of advice given by the subject matter expert. Once travel is approved then the previous models can apply as the live trip is monitored by the system. Projects can overrun, and the initial advice given would be based on the scenario presented to the specialist teams, but as operational realities come to pass, work permits or visa accreditation may need to be changed, renewed or extended. Doing this in a timely manner can aid the operational performance of the company.

So Which Model Will Work For You?

Each model described above can be an evolutionary step for companies. Moving from manual analysis of data to an automated rules engine should be the initial goal. As each company has a different culture and practice

the choice of model to implement can deliver the necessary analysis of data with or without a change management programme with the traveller. If the data exists within a company and travel booking processes are established, then implementing model 2 could work by redirecting the travel agency output to the rules engine. Communicate with your travel management colleagues to see how you can harness this data and submit it to a rules engine. If a company has a culture of smartphone adoption or usage, then model 3 can be applied. Ultimately model 4 will give the greatest level of protection and compliance by being pro-active rather than reactive to issues that have already taken place. If pre-trip processes are already in place for budgetary control – for example, by an expense management or travel booking engine, this data can also be harnessed and directed to the subject matter expert. If the company culture exists for budgetary management, it is a simple step to add tax and immigration compliance to that existing process. To move forward with implementing a business traveller management programme reviewing the potential service model is a good place to start. Talk to your travel management colleagues and tax and immigration providers to see what level of automation or rules engine they may be able to supply. Taking the manual analysis out of the equation is achievable – without too much change within your existing company processes. Each of the models above can ‘plug-in’ to your existing company processes and you can achieve the ultimate goal of managing your compliance obligations.

LIAM BRENNAN

CEO & Founder of the GT Global Tracker, an award winning software platform that powers many of the mobility industry’s business traveller management platforms. Liam has over 25 years’ experience in the global travel, relocation and internet services industries. For more information on how to use technology to manage your business travellers visit www. gtglobaltracker.com or contact Liam on liam@gtglobaltracker.com.

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Creating The Business Case For Global Mobility: Seize The Opportunity There are many ways to look at mobility and sometimes it takes a shift of perspective to become inspired. A new perspective that I will explain in this article will support mobility functions to position themselves in a more effective and efficient way towards the larger HR community and the business. The current context of HR challenges is creating an opportunity that should be seized. From my frequent talks with Mobility Heads, I understand that their aim is often to become more strategic, to be taken more seriously by the business and to obtain a seat at the table. There is often a feeling that the complexity of mobility – if HR was Athletics, mobility would be the Decathlon – is not understood and neither appreciated by HR and the business. Too often I am witnessing that mobility functions are still seen to be purely administrative and even overlooked in large scale HR transformations. A lot has been written and done about mobility becoming more strategic in the past decades, by aligning with company objectives and HR strategies, listening to stakeholders and liaising with other HR functions such as talent management and workforce planning besides other initiatives. I was inspired to gain a new perspective when I was asked to present on behalf of a mobility team to their whole HR team (25 people), with the aim to show the complexity and strategic relevance of mobility. Whilst I speak predominantly to mobility audiences, it required a new angle to capture the interest of the various HR functions. In preparing for the session it became clear that I first need to educate them a bit about mobility and so I presented the primary reasons, why there is mobility in the first place.

Primary Reasons For Mobility

• Leadership Development • Resourcing/skills shortages • Training and development • Creating a global mindset. My next step was to look the biggest

challenges that HR faces currently and to make clear that mobility – as a function that is part of HR – is also delivering a strategic contribution to these challenges. And when looking at the current and future HR challenges it became very clear to me how conducive the current context and future outlook is for mobility to present a more solid business case.

A lot has been written and done about Mobility becoming more strategic in the past decades, by aligning with company objectives and HR strategies, listening to stakeholders and liaising with other HR functions such as talent management and workforce planning besides other initiatives

By looking at the key HR challenges, we will be able to identify also secondary reasons, beyond the ones above, why mobility has the right to be an integral part of an HR Strategy.

Attract And Retain

The Conference Board found in their 2018 C-Suite Challenge that ‘Attract and Retain’ are the primary business issue in Asia Pacific and the Americas, and the second issue in Europe after Technology. This informs us that leadership sees the importance to be an employer that manages to attract and retain the right talent like almost never before.

HR Technology & Data

The technology market for HR is growing rapidly, aimed at offering more efficient processes and better user experiences besides new functionalities. Data analytics is also a growing and related field that promises to create better answers for the questions HR has.

Next Gen/Changing Workforce Needs

Multiple surveys, discussions and anecdotal evidence is gathering that Next Gen expects to go on an international assignment earlier in their career, and that they are even more willing to gather international experience than other generations.

Employee Experience

Employee experience is already the top focus of multiple companies, and a buzzword in 2018. It is needed to attract and retain talent, but also to create engagement and drive performance. The employee experience will change in a similar way that Customer Experience changed our lives.

Workforce Shortages For Skilled Labour

Korn Ferry’s Global Talent Crunch study from 2018 shows the emerging threat of global talent shortages for skilled workers. They even speak of a looming crisis when by 2030 the demand for skilled workers will outstrip supply. Now back to mobility, what does mobility have to do with all that? If it is not yet evident, here are a few arguments that show how mobility is a strategic pillar for HR to overcome these challenges.

CREATING THE BUSINESS CASE • There is an increasing amount of mobility technology available on the market, that enables better employee experiences and helps to streamline processes and compliance efforts. Data analytics can also support mobility in making better decisions • In order to attract and retain Next Gen Talent, mobility needs to be offered at all career stages • The most impactful experience during an employee journey from hire to retire, is the moment when an employee and their families are sent on assignment. • Mobility functions are already supporting the hiring of foreign talent to fill positions where they cannot find adequate talent on the local market. With the expected talent crunch this practice will only intensify in organisations. This perspective enables a new understanding for mobility by HR, because it shows on one hand how mobility supports the challenges that HR is facing and on the other how there are truly more than just the primary reasons that justify the existence of mobility.

Anecdotal Evidence

I learned about a telephone call that a Head of Mobility of a large multinational

in Germany received this year, which was received through the switchboard: Future Talent: Hi, name is Oliver Smith, are you the Head of Mobility? Head of Mobility: Yes, that is correct. Future Talent: I am student who graduates later this year and I wanted to ask if you have policies in place that allow new recruits to go on an assignment within their first year on the job? Head of Mobility: …moment of silence… Future Talent: Because if you don’t, I will not even apply for a job with you… A cynic would say that the war for talent is over and that talent won!

Bottom Line

In summary, talent mobility will only become more important in the future, with a higher demand from the Next Gen to be sent around the world and higher expectations for a good employee experience, and finally the importance that leadership attributes to attract & retain, and the need for companies to overcome talent shortages for skilled talent by sourcing it globally. With these arguments, mobility should be able to build better business cases for further investment in mobility and for the inclusion of mobility as a strategic pillar of HR.

CHRIS DEBNER

Strategic Global Mobility Advisory Chris Debner is an award-winning Mobility Thought Leader and frequent speaker who is providing Strategic Global Mobility Advisory and Coaching Services. He has 20 years of experience in Mobility advisory and worked in over 35 countries across all industries. Chris runs his own consultancy for Strategic Global Mobility Advisory out of Zurich, Switzerland. Email: chris@chrisdebner.com Phone: +(4)1797 966908 Visit : www.chrisdebner.com

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‘Back To The Future’: Assessing The Predicted Mobility Trends Of 2018 As the old year closes out and a new one starts it is often a time when we look back and reflect on the challenges, achievements, joys and pains of the previous twelve months. This is true in business as well as our personal lives, and affords us the opportunity to cast our minds back to the predictions and trends forecast for 2018, and to assess the level to which they impacted. In this article we have focused on three key trends predicted to impact global mobility in 2018, each a product of the digital disrupters, talent models and socio-economic forces which continue to shape the future of work. Before we dive in, let’s remind ourselves of what we mean by ‘the future of work’ and how it relates to global mobility. Driven by accelerating connectivity, new talent models, and cognitive tools, work continues to change. As robotics, AI, the gig economy and crowds evolve and grow, jobs are being reinvented, creating the ‘augmented workforce’. This requires employers to reconsider how jobs are designed and work to adapt and learn for future growth. We often focus on the impact of technology when considering the future of work, but we need to look beyond technology, drawing in the impact of changing demographics and careers. Only by understanding the connections and interdependencies across all

of these dimensions can we understand what we need to do to prepare for it. This isn’t about tweaking talent strategies, or changing a few job roles. This is about fundamentally reimagining work as we know it today. Considerations include how work is delivered, how business is organised, how people experience work and how work is enabled.

Why Is The Future Of Work Important To Global Mobility?

Organisations are continually looking towards their global talent pool in order to create a dynamic, future-proofed workforce that will provide them with the competitive advantage and flexibility to address the everchanging external landscape. Based on the 2018 Deloitte Human Capital Trends Survey which included over 11,000 business and HR leaders across 124 Countries, 68% of organisations agree that a mobile workforce was an enabler of business and talent strategies1. Yet, only 5% consider themselves as ‘world class’ in managing such a population, which means that for many organisations there’s still a long way to go to bridge this gap. Organisations today are increasingly judged on the basis of their relationships with their workers, customers and communities, as well as their impact on society.2 This dynamic results in a need for global mobility to ‘up its game’ and create a stronger brand that boosts performance of global employees,

entices more employees to move globally and generates a higher organisational return on talent investment. Employees expect more, while businesses expect better ROI and retention from global moves. Over the last 12 months, we have seen a huge shift in mindset across many leading organisations, recognising that a positive global mobility programme expands beyond just the mobility team. Shared ownership and collaboration between all stakeholders and vendors is essential in order to embed a world class mobility service.

The Three Big Global Mobility Trends Predicted For 2018

Let’s take a look back at some of the trends that were predicted in 2018 in global mobility and assess the impact that they have had.

Trend 1 - Diversification

Mobility today includes a broader array of employee types and a multitude of locations, with numerous talent traffic lanes. This has driven the need for closer alignment between move types and support levels, as well as more flexible and agile service delivery models that meet the requirements of a changing, diverse population. The graphic below shows an example of the evolutionary path of mobility types from the more traditional, formal ‘assignment packages’ to the range of more flexible options that have become available over time. We have

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also provided an illustrated example of the variations in move types over time.

Progress In 2018:

2018 continued to see flexibility in approaches related to global mobility service delivery and policy, adapting to the diversity of moves and employee requirements. While traditional policybased fixed mid and long-term assignments remain an important and often used relocation model, the deployment of shorter and more flexible approaches, such as short-term policies, business trips, immersive experiences and commuter models, continue to gain traction. The top three growth policies in 2018 were:3 • Companies deploying individuals on oneway assignments (46%) • Companies deploying more short-term assignments (43%) • Companies relying on increased business travel (33%). Moreover, it is evident that cost conscious organisations with sufficient talent pools ‘in-country’ are turning to domestic relocations and external local hires to meet skills gaps. Organisations are also increasingly utilising technology to mitigate the need to physically move people across borders with the availability of improved real-time communication tools, video conferencing and in some cases even AR (Augmented Reality) being harnessed to support ‘virtual teaming’, a

trend that we will see continue to rise in 2019. In addition to the diversification of talent, global mobility’s scope is also diversifying. 2018 saw an increase in activities that were supported or led by the global mobility function, including international recruitment, global workforce planning and location strategy. We believe that this trend will continue in 2019. These additional responsibilities will continue to reinforce the role that global mobility plays as a strategic business partner, talent enabler and employee coach.

Trend 2 - Human-centricity

2018 saw an anticipated trend in employers becoming more employee-centric in designing and operating their mobility programmes. Central to this is providing a personal experience whereby the employee feels that their needs are at the centre of the equation, rather than secondary to corporate policy. Enhancing the employee experience remains critical to success in this area, being voted the top strategic priority by mobility professionals4 this year, with over 80% of executives rating employee experience as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ 5. For employees, this has meant a heightened focus on wellbeing, development and recognition. At the same time there has been a mind-set shift in the way employees perceive global mobility. Where compensation was

previously seen as the primary incentive for global moves, a human-centric global mobility experience needs to engage the individual and provide validation on both a personal and professional level. A personalised, agile, holistic experience is essential to attracting, motivating, and developing the global workforce, and will typically result in improved engagement between employee and employer.

Progress In 2018:

Organisations who have experienced success in designing a human-centric global mobility programme haven’t simply considered employee needs, but have also taken into account the end-to-end experience for all stakeholders involved, including the business, HR, vendors and the global mobility function itself. By engaging with all stakeholders early in the process, employers can gain a more rounded understanding of what ‘good’ employee experience means and the role that each stakeholder can play in delivering on that objective. Often this engagement can unearth process and experience improvements for these other stakeholders too. Although this particular trend has been high on the priority list of many employers, it is often difficult to break out of the day-to-day operational aspects of running a busy mobility programme to focus on it. We believe that a problem solving philosophy

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using design thinking methodologies which focuses on people will create offerings that are intuitive and deliver value; key in cultivating an irresistible mobility experience. We predict that employee experience and embedding a human-centred global mobility programme will continue to be a key priority focus area for many leaders in 2019. In our view, organisations who wish to address and improve employee experience successfully should focus on four core aspects within their design, including operational support, personal wellbeing, professional engagement and financial welfare. It is critical that these four aspects should also be continuously measured to validate enhancements.

Trend 3 - Digital

Global mobility by nature is complicated, distributed, and expensive. Mobility data is being exchanged at a greater frequency and across more jurisdictions than ever before, with regulatory uncertainty presenting hurdles in compliance. As the world embraces the future of work and exponential technologies, and open talent options continue to expand and extend work, companies have the opportunity to completely rethink their global mobility programmes, whilst simultaneously embedding digital processes within the organisation. True pioneers are radically transforming mobility digital architecture and related processes to maximise the value for both organisations and the individual: • Digital accelerators can be infused throughout the mobility life-cycle to help solve a specific need and change the way things are done • Stakeholder convergence enables the elimination of silos and creates

a coordinated digital ecosystem by enhancing cross-functional collaboration • A digital platform enables assignees, as well as internal and external stakeholders, to experience and manage the overall endto-end lifecycle more seamlessly.

Progress In 2018:

Digitisation (moving to more digital formats) and Digitalisation (strategically shifting to digital processes and activities) of the mobility function have been a major focus for many organisations over the last twelve months and we believe this will continue to be very high on the list of priorities in 2019. Activity of course depends upon the organisation in question and where it, and the mobility programme therein, sits on the digital maturity scale. At one end of the spectrum, mobility teams are deploying simple digital proof of concepts, for example, using robotics to automate simple but repetitive manual tasks (‘Exploring digital’). At the other end, some mobility functions are actively planning or deploying a formal digital strategy (‘Becoming or being digital’). Be under no illusion, the age of ‘digital mobility’ is upon us. RPA, AI, AR are all actively being used in the global mobility space today. Just as we continue to adapt to the evolving augmented workforce, we are also witnessing the embryonic stages of the ‘augmented mobility function’. Watch this space!

New Year’s Resolutions For Global Mobility

There is no doubt that 2018 was a year in which the trends discussed above have started to truly infiltrate global mobility and

enhance capabilities and services. The future of work is of course evolutionary – changes and enhancements do not start and stop within a finite twelve month period - thus the diversification, human-centricity and digitalisation of mobility services will continue apace and no doubt morph into new areas of service and application during 2019. New themes and trends will emerge, some anticipated, others perhaps unknown at present. That however, is a topic for another day - in the meantime, now is the time to start thinking about our resolutions for the year ahead. For us, the focus will be to adopt a refreshed mindset that will enable us to continually challenge the way we approach our work, guided by three key principles: • Design led – changing the way we view business challenges by ‘falling in love with the problem, not the solution', and having a relentless focus on the end-to-end experience for all users • Data driven – proactively gathering even wider and more diverse data sets with a view to moving towards predictive cognitive modelling and impactful organisational insights • Digitally enabled – having an unbounded curiosity to explore and constantly reimagine the ‘art of the possible’ by infusing digital accelerators throughout everything we do. More generally, here are some other suggested New Year’s resolutions for 2019: 1. Learn something new. This doesn’t have to be directly related to your day job, but could perhaps be applied to the global mobility world. 2. Talk to your stakeholders (the business, HR, employees) regularly – get to really understand the key moments that matter to them.

INTERNATIONAL HR STRATEGY 3. Network with colleagues outside of your immediate team and peers outside of your organisation. Don’t underestimate the value of knowledge sharing. 4. Focus time on thinking about your own personal objectives as well as the overall objectives for your mobility programme. 5. Dare to dream, and be bold! What would you do to re-imagine your programme if time, resources, money were no issue? 6. Develop a roadmap for 2019, in line with this ultimate vision. Plan for short, medium and long-term deliverables and benefits. 7. Promote global mobility regularly and consistently among the wider business, HR and employees – be proud of your achievements, and celebrate success! We hope you had a restful holiday period and are looking forward to the exciting challenges that 2019 will no doubt present! References: 1 2018 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey 2 2018 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey 3 2018 AIRINC Mobility Outlook Survey 4 2018 Deloitte Future of Mobility Survey 5 2018 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey 6 2018 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey

RUMI DAS

Director, Global Workforce, Deloitte LLP, 2 New Street Square, London, EC4A 3BZ D: +44 20 7007 0433 rudas@deloitte.co.uk www.deloitte.co.uk/globalworkforce

DANNY TAGGART

Director, Global Workforce, Deloitte LLP, 2 New Street Square, London, EC4A 3BZ D: +44 (0)20 7007 1447 dtaggart@deloitte.co.uk www.deloitte.co.uk/globalworkforce

DELOITTE’S GLOBAL WORKFORCE PRACTICE

Deloitte’s Global Workforce team partners with organisations to establish future-proof global workforce strategies, tailored to client specific business and talent objectives. We embrace design thinking to help clients reimagine and transform their approach to talent mobility, focusing on areas including policy and process design, strategic and operational transformation, global talent strategies, digital innovation, planning and deployment, and workforce analytics. Find out more here www.deloitte.co.uk/globalworkforce

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Effective Transformation In Global Mobility A Board Game Or A Puzzle? In this new Report, we explore the opportunities and risks for Global Mobility professionals, as organisations transform their purpose, structures and roles. We’ve seen in our previous White Paper ‘The future of work and the impact on Global Mobility’ that organisations are going through unprecedented change, as they move through cycles of globalisation, and continue to evolve their future digital business models.

So, What Is New?

The evolution of the human resources profession over the past two decades and the impact of unprecedented change has required new ways of contributing to the organisational agenda. At a generalist level, the HR function has made progress to achieving greater commercial engagement as Allan Boroughs at Orion Partners1 reflects on the evolution of HR models. “What does all of this spell for the future of the HR operating model? Overall, our research suggests that HR has developed a greater commercial awareness and has invested heavily in an incremental ‘professionalisation’ of the function as a direct consequence of the Ulrich model. However, there is a clear limit to the benefits to be derived from excellence in HR operations and it seems clear that the next ten years must bring an increasing focus on the commercial opportunities offered by effective talent management if HR is to deliver on its true potential”. Our findings highlight that business leaders are looking for human resources and Global Mobility professionals to refocus from compliance-based activities to support strategic initiatives in the areas of talent planning and innovation to drive employee engagement and employee experience acquired from international work arrangements. Whether Global Mobility initiate transformation or these are imposed from board level, we explore the dynamics and wider considerations in selecting partners

and suppliers through formalised selection and tendering processes. Depending on the scope and scale of this exercise, it is often a complex, resource sapping project and thus deserves robust preparation to determine with clarity, the desired outcomes, expectations and aspirations. If the goal is a win-win result for all concerned, investing in the right due diligence will pay dividends as the transformation evolves into a transformed service model. As an addendum, we provide a Checklist to support the transformation process.

How Do We Get There?

Realising the desired benefits from operating in a transformed Global Mobility environment is often comprised of a variety of factors. We explore in this Report, ways that organisations can improve the success rate of embedded new operational models that deliver success for all internal and external stakeholders. As organisations adapt to a continuously disrupted geopolitical environment, this organisational context is reflected in Fig. 1 (below): The future of work and the impact on Global Mobility (part one of two) 2. Digitisation impacts not only the traditional industries.

The same can be said for the Global Mobility industry, where there are challenges to existing business models. While some services and markets may be better served by technology, others will more likely remain a balance of human and digital interventions. Employee experience and engagement equates to talent competitive advantage and what works for one generation, may not work for another. With five generations in the global workforce, satisfying their requirements is certainly no easy task and when the international work arrangements are overlaid, it is evident that creating a future-proofed Global Mobility team requires substantial due diligence. The fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres in this fourth industrial revolution [Wikipedia] has allowed several regions of the world to be well placed to take advantage. Using the Euler Hermes Enabling Digitalisation Index (EDI) 2018, which illustrates each country’s ability to provide the necessary environment for business to succeed in an increasingly digitalised global economy, the US are on top of the ‘digitagile’ world, while Asia and Western Europe rank highly in their indices3.

Fig. 1: Milestones impact globalisation

GLOBAL MOBILITY Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist at Euler Hermes provides a very succinct summary of the opportunities that lie ahead as we move towards the end of another decade: “Developing digital regulation, building human capital, using pivot sectors and territories, banking on smart logistics, and reducing digital inequalities are five successful strategies to top EDI ranking”.

The transformation of HR and Global Mobility roles: “We are the business”

The consequence of re-calibrating business models is the requirement to innovate and review the organisation’s capability to remain structured and agile. There will be pressure to undertake change for a variety of reasons; corporate cost optimisation initiatives, HR restructuring, changes in business and talent requirements and importantly a need to demonstrate more value using business analytics. Supporting this perspective, a recent LinkedIn Interview by Adam Bryant Merryck & Co.4 22 October 2018 demonstrates the leading-edge thinking required by global HR leaders. Strategic CHRO: Leena Nair of Unilever on HR’s Role: “We are the Business”. Q. What does being a strategic CHRO mean to you? A. To me, there’s no other way to do this job than to be strategic. In order to be a good CHRO, you have to be ahead of the curve and thinking of changes before they happen. I get annoyed by all these articles that say HR is in service of the business. That’s such a regressive way of looking at it. We are the business. HR should be leading the business to the right place instead of running behind the business and filling the cracks. HR has to be central, front-facing and literally lead the transformation of the business, because so much of what we do can impact culture and the right behaviours and mindset to take the company forward. Q. What are the biggest challenges in your industry? A. Everything about our sector is changing. There’s a huge fragmentation of consumers, and you can’t see them as one big mass entity anymore. Consumers are basically saying, “I want what I want when I want it and where I want it, and if I don’t get something I need on Amazon Prime in two hours, I’m already annoyed". It’s about thriving in an upside-down world. Everything we have believed about how work is done is being challenged.

of the transformation process. Whilst there may well be clarity at executive board level, the potential for diluting the vision increases as the mandate for change is cascaded through the organisation. As an example of this, the Santa Fe Relocation 2018 Global Mobility Survey5 results graphically illustrate a potential mismatch between executive’s perception of Global Mobility’s role and the actual role that mobility teams self-report. Further considerations will typically include industry sector and the human resources organisation structure. The work of Professor David Ulrich6 over the past two decades has seen many organisations with sufficient scale and global footprint implement some form of matrix HR Business

Partnering model based on either business, product or geographic lines. As this has been adopted and adapted over the past 20 years, Global Mobility teams have had diverse reporting lines, traditionally more anchored to reward centres of excellence and more laterally reporting into talent or VP HR generalist. Global Mobility functions are increasingly coming under the spotlight to integrate into more strategic, talent advisory teams. While this has been widely reported, the rate of change and the achievement of successful integration depends on a variety of factors that we explore further in this Report. Specifically, focusing on the future roles of Global Mobility professionals, Fig 4. on the next page, organisations with sufficient scale can

Fig. 2: What activities Global Mobility professionals currently spend their time on versus what they should spend their time on - a comparison between the views of Global Mobility professionals and business leaders

Global Mobility: Evolutionary Journeys: Implementation Or Transformation?

The challenge for organisations is to really understand their desired outcomes as part

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Fig. 3. An example of the classic Ulrich Model: Who does what?7

re-align the roles of the Global Mobility team with the activities that they must deliver internally (which may be all or in part, for example, strategic adviser and global talent manager). Where organisations have scale, then the ‘SAFE’ model becomes easier to implement, assuming existing employees have the required skill-sets and competencies. Other organisations are using this type of framework to decide what should be their internal core competency and what could be better delivered by an external supplychain partner(s)?

Global Mobility Transformation - A Board Game Or A Puzzle?

Increasingly, taking into consideration the impact of organisational restructuring and the need for Global Mobility teams to become more engaged in value-based activities highlighted in Fig. 3. and Fig. 4., the net result is likely to be a call to action for business transformation in the internal role of Global Mobility professionals. As organisations move toward agile, lean structures, there is likely to be more reliance on flexible mobility models, reducing fixed internal overhead costs and partnering with external supply-chain specialism to mobilise the internationally mobile workforce. When implementing an Ulrich model into mobility service delivery, many organisations combine an HR transformation with implementing an outsourced service delivery model. This shift has created many challenges in organisations, and a fair percentage of outsourcing arrangements end up being brought back in-house within a generation of HR leadership change. Our practical experience over the past decade of what differentiates the successful from the unsuccessful suggests that the number one critical success factor is the clarity over whether the primary organisation focus is to outsource a process through a projectmanaged implementation or is intended to be a strategic business transformation.

Fix And Shift Or Shift And Fix?

If on the other hand, the prime business driver behind the outsourcing process is a current state based on minimal policy/ process infrastructure or sub-optimal delivery of Global Mobility services, it is possibly, a risk-laden path to go to market to outsource internal issues in the expectation of an immediate panacea to the current problems - whether they be risk, compliance, governance, employee experience or lack of internal skills to effectively manage

internationally mobile employees. Whilst a bidding supplier may be aspirational to win the tender, promising a full implementation in a short-scale to ‘fix the problems’ could potentially be folly for all stakeholders.

Global Mobility Implementation

Implementation: ‘The process of putting a decision or plan into effect; execution’. To make this crystal clear, outsourcing a programme that has issues with governance,

Fig. 4. The RES Forum 2018 Annual Report: Safe roles of Global Mobility: Agile - Living the purpose and increasing value8

GLOBAL MOBILITY compliance, policy or process failures (or indeed starting with nothing in place) and expecting the preferred suppliers to implement is likely to involve a protracted time to effectively build or re-design the programme onto a supplier’s operating platform (service model and technology et al.). This is effectively shifting programme issues with an expectation they will be resolved, where in reality it is only displacing them without resolution. Implementations typically involve replicating or migrating processes that would have been delivered in a certain way, for example, by an internal Global Mobility team. This may also be the case, when an organisation has already gone through outsourcing but decides to change providers. This is primarily a project management exercise, as the change protocols would have been managed in the original transformation. Where the transformation has already taken place and an external supply-chain extended to full or enhanced Global Mobility outsourcing, the process of changing an external partner is more likely to require an implementation process, possibly with some re-configuration for technological or scope change such as outsourcing expense management.

Global Mobility Transformation

Transformation: ‘Business transformation is a change management strategy which can be defined as any shift, realignment or fundamental change in business operations. The aim is to make changes to processes, people or systems (technology) to better align the company with its business strategy and vision’. Any potential transformation will likely involve new roles and workflows and an expectation of enhanced management information reporting when partnering with new external supply-chain. Transformation also requires bravery in some cases, as the transformation may have on-going repercussions from ‘veteran’ international assignees who are savvy at navigating policies and the workflows. This is why effective stakeholder engagement and ownership are key at the earliest stages - acquiescing to demands for exceptions can impinge on the long-term goals of the transformation. As much as robust communication planning can alleviate concerns and preconceived bias, there will always be dynamics that will impact any transformation especially where accountabilities and roles are re-allocated. • In parallel, there may be other major projects being considered such as implementing a new global HRIS platform that will require many of the same stakeholders to invest their time on that too • Effective transformation requires; • Thorough due diligence • Realistic resource/time planning • Stakeholder engagement (especially in

decentralised environments) • Robust governance. These principles are critical in ensuring that the original executive leadership outcomes are delivered not only as an immediate shortterm outcomes solution but also ones which are sustainable over a period of years.

Balancing Transformation Ownership: HR Or Procurement?

Strategic supply-chain management is a key player in enabling organisational change and, in many cases, work hand in hand with the commissioning function such as HR or Global Mobility.

Strategic supply-chain management is a key player in enabling organisational change and, in many cases, work hand in hand with the commissioning function such as HR or Global Mobility A Strategic Procurement Definition9

Strategic sourcing is an institutional procurement process that continuously improves and re-evaluates the purchasing activities of a company. Modern supply chain management professionals have placed emphasis on defining the distinct differences between strategic sourcing and procurement. Strategic sourcing focused more on the effectiveness and sustainability of supplychain, whereas procurement has traditionally focused more on cost optimisation of the supply-chain. It seems therefore, that a balance of the two approaches are relevant for partnering in Global Mobility transformation. While there should be an expectation

that both the procurement and HR (Global Mobility) teams will have aligned objectives and outcomes, there are several factors for consideration such as understanding of the function (both scale and scope). Many organisations have procurement functions adept at managing professional service tenders. However, some do not, and a common mistake is to apply the same methodology to choosing an outsourced mobility service provider as would be applied to the purchase of headlight bulbs for SUVs. The wrong bulbs will need replacing, but one top brand will work similarly to another. The risk, governance, and engagement of your assignee population is impacted by buying the wrong mobility service, and service delivery models are never like-for-like. Thus, the transformation journey starts long before any partner(s) have been chosen and successful transformation requires substantial resource investment to ensure that the desired outcomes, that may have filtered down from the executive board, remain aligned with the strategic objectives. At the end of this Report, we provide a Checklist for transformation planning.

Effective Due Diligence, Prior To Formal Tendering: A Wise Investment

Meeting with potential suppliers before embarking on a Request For Proposal (RFP/ tender) is likely to be of more value than inviting numerous suppliers to submit tenders without having met with them. Having a simple Request For Information (RFI) as a preliminary stage will enable providers to understand what is available. This simple step is often omitted in transformations, and the ability to use the considerable experience of vendors who have advised other customers on similar transformations is lost or overlooked. An RFI before the transformation is started allows the potential providers to provide some input to the final outcome, potentially saving time and money later, whether just by reducing the number of RFPs that need to be screened, or by avoiding expensive mistakes that competitors have made in implementation. Without exception, organisational culture is key to creating competitive talent advantage through highly engaged employees, and if the organisation is looking to outsource some of the employee experience to an external organisation, then culture fit must be high on the ‘must haves’ partner evaluation agenda. Having informed ‘due diligence’ meetings with long-list suppliers, which then whittles down to a short list of a maximum of four potential partners with clarity on scope, operational, geographical and technological capabilities, ensures that the initial time investment is returned in full by having a

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Fig. 5. Discovery framework to establish an enhanced knowledge base, pre-tender

clear vision of what to expect partnering in a transformation, most likely for a period of several years. One of the biggest challenges in tender evaluations is making sure that in scope and pricing terms, it is like for like and not ‘apples and pears’ pricing comparisons, and suppliers are transparent regarding any commissions or referrals received from their own supply-chain. In Fig. 5., drawn from the Johari Model10, we highlight the relationship dynamics in establishing a full current state of the Global Mobility programme. Dependent upon the engagement with external suppliers and remaining objective to all ideas, there may be insights and discoveries that could re-frame the tender process. The client - supplier relationship can often be like a puzzle, where both sides have data and knowledge that both may jointly have and some which becomes available through objective and collaborative discussions. Arena - both organisation and supplier have factual data about the internationally mobile employee demographics, locations and even some visibility of up-coming projects. Blind spot - the client may not have full vision of the supply-chain pricing, especially in decentralised operational models, have allegiances to one or more suppliers through longevity rather than value creation or dismiss potential value-creator suppliers through perceived past rather than current factual knowledge of their capabilities. Hidden area or facade - there may be important factors that if shared, could enable either more rapid or enhanced solution delivery, for example, the client may need temporary resourcing support to manage an unexpected surge in relocations for a group move or project that has been undisclosed for commercial reasons. Unknown - there could be a variety of factors that could be significant to the transformation for the organisation and prospective suppliers. By having a more transparent discussion during the tendering process, important capabilities that the supplier could deliver may be over-looked in a desire to keep to a predetermined scope

agenda. Or, in the case of decentralised mobility service models, a lack of governance resulting in compliance breaches, could impact the success of the transformation. Transformation therefore, is effectively a board game in which the Executive leadership seek continual advantage through leading practices and lean operating structures and the cascade process to effect change often requires a ‘jigsaw puzzle’ approach to ensure the future puzzle picture has the right shapes and pieces!

Building A Winning Tender Team

These activities potentially have differing goals but successful planning can align these better. Procurement - are likely to focus on managing risk, negotiating deals that demonstrate some form of cost reductions and validation of the quality and sustainability of the preferred supply-chain partner(s) and a scorecard that requires demonstrable value innovation or often just cost saving. Strategic sourcing - clearly has a role in the transformation and while it is recognised that supplier fees need to be cost optimal, it is also important to adopt a more holistic approach to partnering. Would an FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) source a supplier that they know will not be sustainable due to the terms of the contract? Full transparency has more bearing in the negotiations than merely focusing on pricing rather than the desired employee experience and strategic change drivers. Global Mobility - may share these objectives, but place more weighting on the inter-personal dimensions of who may become their new partner. If the mobility programme is currently managed regionally or even by a country/business unit - there may be multiple ‘must-have’ partners, which will require objective assessment criteria to make final choices. Technology - underpinning transformation and understanding how this could integrate with existing internal systems, reporting and enhancing transparency of work flows needs to be considered. If the transformation involves multiple external partners, will these

enable one point of data consolidation? Governance/compliance - establishing legal and finance interests in the tender process are important in understanding important contractual and broader fiscal implications.

Establishing A Holistic Approach

The Mobility Survey highlights that only 37% of respondents articulate their total programme costs. While external supplier pricing will be a significant decision-making factor, it is noteworthy that procurement teams may be unaware that in a fully outsourced Global Mobility transformation, the suppliers’ assignment management fees are likely to represent between 1% to 3% of the total global programme costs. Focusing on one or two cost elements in the transformation of a Global Mobility programme may be appropriate, especially for the procurement team, but recognising the relative cost of the services as a percentage of the total provides more context. In Fig. 6. on the next page, we provide an example of a total programme cost model. Transformations must therefore be cost effective, but surely the focus should be more on creating competitive advantage through engaged talent undertaking all forms of internationally mobile work arrangements? With a typical population of assignees on salaries of €60-100,000 going on a two to three-year assignment, with the total cost close to an industry standard of 2-3 times base salary, the assignment can cost anything from €250,000 to €1m plus. Spending excessive procurement time reducing the outsourced mobility vendor’s fees down from 0.5% of that total to 0.45% of the total may look like a 10% saving from procurement’s scorecard, but if the assignee has their concentration and focus in their new job compromised for even half a day, all of that saving and more has been lost.

Conclusion

Organisations are evolving and so too are business expectations of their professionals, and increasingly organisations will shift from functions to roles, and whilst the rate of change will be differential, the end game is

GLOBAL MOBILITY

Fig. 6. Example of a traditional long-term assignment programme - total cost model

that robotisation and expectations of value creators rather than facilitators will be the mission and purpose of those employed inside the organisation. Therefore, the evolution of assessing the right cultural and technical supply-chain fit is critical. The views and models we have referenced affirm the direction of travel for professionals - and this equally applies to others in finance, procurement, marketing and so forth. The digitalised world requires one to re-learn how to thrive and grow in this fourth industrial age. A large-scale tendering process can take a year to achieve the final decision, another six months undergoing transitionary activities and if, after ‘go live’ the operational model, service capabilities, pricing or some other significant dimension fail, will there be an audit trail as to why this occurred? If the transformation is desired over the longterm, there is a pitfall in expecting instant gratification and overlook that partnership is evolutionary?

Global Mobility Professionals

• Global Mobility and human resources teams should invest time in understanding their future role expectation - being strategic and tactical at the same time is unlikely to be a workable solution and importantly what contribution does the business expect from Global Mobility, post transformation? Will this require investment in acquiring new skills and competencies - for example, in strategic and talent advisory consultancy? • Establish clarity on how Global Mobility fits into the broader transformed organisation - has this been communicated and agreed with internal key stakeholders in the business? Post transformation, the business needs to be clear on how and why the focus existing internal Global Mobility role has changed • Taking time to seek the views of both suppliers, the business/line management and other industry peers before embarking on a formalised tender process will

assist in debunking ‘myths, rumours and preconceived views’ and provide a strong platform for asking the right questions and assessing the right combination of culture, people, process and technology that will build, from day one, the foundations of a successful transformation • Scope - operational consistency offered by a supplier may also mean inflexibility and charging for every extra request. Ideally, the new partnership will have sufficient trust and governance for a mature approach from both parties to agree when additional fees for new services or project fall outside of the contract • Transformation or implementation? As we have explored, clarity and honesty by all parties on the realistic outcomes and over what timescales • Success for everyone - entering a new partner relationship(s) will involve some level of bedding in the processes, workflows and preferred operational approach - this is a long-term investment

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not a short-term gain, although an effective transformation should yield dividends at an early stage • Communicating value to the business from the transformation ensures momentum behind the change process - whether it is improved reporting, enhanced satisfaction from relocating employees, or releasing time for Global Mobility teams to focus on their new organisational roles.

Sourcing/Procurement

• Taking time to fully understand the current and future state of the Global Mobility contribution is key to supporting the selection of sustainable Global Mobility suppliers. If Global Mobility/professional services are exceptional projects for the procurement function, seeking to negotiate predominantly on price and volumes, misses the opportunity to understand the complexity of services, regional variations, available technology and competitive advantages of Global Mobility programmes • Pricing - be aware of the relativities of the services being procured within the total programme costs. Selecting the right partner who is sustainable must be the priority, and while pricing will be market competitive, why would any organisation expect their suppliers to operate on unsustainable margins? If this is case, how will quality of service be delivered? The Global Mobility industry has gone through waves of maturity and with technology and the availability of suppliers across the continuum, the days of opportunistic pricing in some areas of Global Mobility have not completely disappeared, however, they are now the exception to the norm. Therefore, any tendering process needs full planning and education for all parties. We are living in a world of unprecedented change and uncertainty that is stimulating organisations to re-think their purpose and contribution. Technology forms an unrelenting catalyst for change and redefinition of how we thrive and survive in a new world order the fourth industrial revolution. As employees across five generations come to grips with their new work/life expectations, Global Mobility continues to become an everimportant dimension of how organisations

remain vital. Equally, the Global Mobility and HR professionals are faced with changing roles and changing rules both internally from their leadership and externally as governments tighten legislation to filter immigration, capture non-compliance for breaches covering employment and taxation legislation. References: 1. The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2015 ‘A collection of thought pieces’ provide insights on HR models. ‘Ulrich comes of age’–a study of the impact of 18 years of the Ulrich model’. 2. Santa Fe Relocation Part one (of two) The future of work and the impact of global mobility). Fig. 1. Milestones: Impact on globalisation. 3. Quote by Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Euler Hermes, March 15 2018 Euler Hermes Global ‘Enabling digitalisation index 2018: Measuring digitagility. 4. LinkedIn interview by Adam Bryant, managing director Merryck & Co., New York 22 October 2018: Demonstrates the leadingedge thinking required by global HR leaders. Strategic CHRO: Leena Nair of Unilever on HR’s role: “We are the business.” 5. Santa Fe Relocation Global Mobility Survey 2018. React: Transformation in the age of uncertainty. 6. Professor David Ulrich, Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. 30 October 1996. Publisher Harvard Business School Press 1997 ISBN 0875847196, 9780875847191. 7. Henley University of Reading: HR models lessons from best practice, 2009. 8. The RES Forum Annual Report 2018: page 27 safe roles of Global Mobility: Agile - Living the purpose and increasing value. 9. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/strategic_sourcing. 10. Luft, J.; Ingham, H. (1955). ‘The Johari window, a graphic model of interpersonal awareness’. Proceedings of the western training laboratory in group development. Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles. To read more Mobility Insights from Santa Fe Relocation, visit: www.santaferelo.com/en/mobilityinsights/white-papers

JOHN RASON

Group Head of Consulting, Santa Fe Relocation Recognised as a thought leader and speaker on strategic international HR, talent management and Global Mobility, John has 15 years of global consultancy experience. Having previously held senior HR leadership roles in numerous global businesses across a range of industry sectors, John now works with global organisations to create value and improve the structure of Global Mobility programmes; focusing on aligning strategic objectives with operational delivery. John can be contacted at john.rason@santaferelo.com.

PETER FERRIGNO

Group Strategy and People Director, Santa Fe Relocation As a highly experienced Global Mobility consulting practitioner, Peter has more than 25 years’ experience in the big four, establishing and building Global Mobility practices across Europe. Peter has worked as a senior advisor to many of the world’s largest companies, solving their most complex cross-border HR challenges. Since joining Santa Fe Relocation in 2017, Peter has worked directly with our largest clients to strategically align our service delivery with each client’s individual needs and mobility transformations. He has recently added responsibility for Group HR within Santa Fe Relocation.

The 2019 Global HR Conference FOR GLOBAL HR PROFESSIONALS ONLY

Santa Fe Relocation are sponsoring the following seminar on Monday 11th February:

Effective Transformation In Global Mobility To register your free place at this conference, please email helen@internationalhradviser.com Please note this event is for Global HR Professionals only 34

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Why The Gender Pay Gap Is More Than Just A HR Issue The gender pay gap is one of the most pressing issues that businesses face today and one which is rapidly being elevated to the top of the boardroom agenda. After it was made mandatory to report gender pay divides in the UK for organisations with over 250 employees, this issue became globally recognised as something that needed to change, however, it soon became clear that this is easier said than done. Tackling this problem requires companies to recognise that the gender pay gap is more than just a HR issue. It cannot be solved by quick-fix quotas or a shift in company recruitment strategy, the divide is often embedded deep within the organisation and thus requires attention from the senior leadership team. There are many reasons why gender pay gaps exist within large organisations. It is all too easy to assume that this occurs due to a culture of discrimination or negligence, when this is far from accurate. In many cases, women earn less than men because they have taken time out to care for family, meaning there are less women in more senior roles. Inevitably, this creates a divide in terms of salary, with women losing out. So, addressing the issue requires an honest assessment of the facts. Instead of sweeping the problem under the carpet, it is vital that companies take proactive steps to ensure pay rates are fair, regardless of personal circumstances. Interestingly, a recent report by the Department for Education (DfE) and Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that women who have a degree earn little more than men who have not taken degreelevel qualifications. This is concerning as a university education is fundamentally supposed to lead to a better starting salary and a boost up the career ladder. Whilst this was an issue, the report did also find that women in the UK are overall much more likely to benefit from getting a degree and that with this qualification, they earn on average 28% more than those women without one. A key thing to note from the gender reporting process is that many businesses

which had large gender pay gaps defined this as being because not enough women were in senior positions, compared to males. The latest published DfE figures actually prove that across the board, the issue is deeper than just an abundance of men in senior roles. If women with degrees are only earning slightly more than men without a degree, there is a clear pay challenge from the outset of their career. Dealing with the gender pay gap is no easy task. It has to start at the board level and trickle down. The first step is starting to recognise that an organisation has an issue with gender diversity and pay discrepancies. Once the problem has been addressed, all members of the board will need to work together to rectify this problem – both men and women. At FDM Group, we are proud to operate with a 0% gender pay gap, but this was not achieved overnight. We, as a management team, had to work hard to introduce new policies, systems and returner programmes to ensure more women returned to work at our company, on the pay level they deserved. Moving forward, companies need to think about salaries for new joiners, especially recognising that women starting out in professional positions with the relevant qualifications deserve fair pay and career opportunities. Business leaders must also review their training programmes to ensure that all employees are given equal opportunities in the world of work. Encouraging lifelong learning by giving staff access to the latest flexible courses and qualifications is particularly important for an employee’s ongoing development and keeping their skills relevant. I urge companies to work closely with academic institutions like universities to enrol staff on courses to increase their skills, whilst in full-time work, without jeopardising their career progression. Additionally, it is important that businesses recognise that time out of the office should not lead to significant pay discrepancies. Everyone has the right to a career break or maternity leave, without promotions and pay rises becoming out of reach. With the digital skills gap leaving organisations extremely short of tech talent, we must work towards creating a culture where these skills are valued at the highest level. What message are we sending to future STEM graduates if they dedicate

years to academic study and yet find themselves disadvantaged once they enter the world of work? This is not the solution to fixing the digital skills gap. We need to see more collaboration between industry organisations and universities to solve this issue by delivering bespoke courses that bring skills to businesses and provide high quality employment opportunities for the next generation of workers. The gender pay gap isn’t just an issue for the HR team, the board or the government, it’s an issue for us all.

SHEILA FLAVELL

Sheila Flavell is Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Board Director at FDM Group, with circa 30 years of experience in both the public and private IT sectors internationally. Sheila also sits on the main board of techUK and the Women in Tech Council, is the Chairwoman of the Institute of Coding’s Industry Advisory Board and is a liveryman and court member of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. She has received numerous awards throughout the years for her contribution to enhancing diversity in the workplace as well as championing women in technology.

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JANUARY 2019 Worldwide ERC® Hong Kong Summit

17 January 2019 New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel, Kowloon, Hong Kong This full-day programme in the heart of APAC will help you cultivate new ideas and build future-ready policies for your company. From local hires, to in-region transfers and expatriate assignments, we’ll be exploring the toughest challenges, offering insights on the latest information and updates on regulatory developments, and engaging in roundtable discussions with experts in their fields. HR mobility practitioners are eligible for complimentary registration. Visit www. worldwideerc.org/events

Managing Globalisation and De-Globalisation: Working in the Post-Global World

22 January 2019 Complimentary Worldwide ERC® webinar, sponsored by TRC Global Mobility Explore how cultures and companies are adapting and responding to the new post-global world, as evidenced in their talent management, mobility and relocation strategies. Tune in at 14:00 US ET. Learn more at www.worldwideerc. org/webinars

HR Analytics, Metrics and Measurement Conference 2019

30 January – 1 February 2019 Zurich, Switzerland In the start of a brand new year of 2019, the HR Analytics, Metrics and Measurement Conference: Linking People, Culture and Performance with Analytics will mark the global gathering of senior decision makers and thought leaders from around Europe to discuss and debate about practical and innovative approaches to analytics and how it may be used to enrich and empower strategic decision making process to resolve some of the most pressing and challenging issues in today’s human capital management. For more information and registration, please visit http://claridenglobal.com/conference/ hr-analytics-zurich-2019.

FEBRUARY

Worldwide ERC® Frankfurt Mobility Summit

7 February 2019 InterContinental Frankfurt Hotel, Frankfurt, Germany In a new location and with new programme features, Worldwide ERC® is bringing together industry professionals, disruptors, start-ups and pioneers to explore the employee mobility experience. With a combination of policy design workshops, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities, we’ll be discussing

changing assignee demographics and policy responses, technology and innovation, effective use of data, immigration post-Brexit, and whether commuter assignments will be on the rise, and change management, among other things. HR mobility practitioners are eligible for complimentary registration. Learn more and register for the full-day programme at www. worldwideerc.org/frankfurt.

International HR Adviser Conference 11 February 2019 – 12-5pm Smith & Wollensky, London WC2 This free one-day conference is for Global HR professionals only. Further details are on page 1. To register your free place, please email helen@ internationalhradviser.com The topics that will be covered at this free conference are: Localising Assignees: The Challenges And Traps To Consider – ECA International Using Technology To Improve Access To Healthcare For Your Globally Mobile Employees – Cigna Mobility Tax & Trends Update – BDO LLP Effective Transformation In Global Mobility – Santa Fe Immigration Update – Kingsley Napley Business Travellers – What You Need To Know – GT Global Tracker

MARCH

FEM Global Mobility Conference Amsterdam

7 March 2019 Hotel Okura, Amsterdam After a sell-out launch in 2018, don’t miss the opportunity to attend the FEM Global Mobility Conference in Amsterdam this March 2019. Ensure you reserve your place and join Global Mobility leaders and trailblazers to share best practice and develop your professional connections. Discover more at https:// amsterdam.forum-expat-management.com/

HR Summit – Digital HR & Analytics

18-20 March 2019 RACV Royal Pines, Australia Join the HR Summit - an exclusive annual event bringing together delegates and solution providers from the HR industry on-site to have a mutually beneficial discussion through our unique one-to-one business meetings. Our delegates consist of C-suite HR executives with minimum $3m+ budget with at least 500 employees & interest in purchasing products & services for their organisations. For more information contact Shahlini at ShahliniM@marcusevanskl.com.

International Conferences & Trainings - 2nd Annual International HR Forum in

28-29 March 2019 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Here we will focus on Key Topics such as The Battle for Top Talent, HR Analytics, The Race to Digitalise HR, Agile, HR and many others topics in collaboration with companies like Virgin Pulse, Coca Cola, Philips, Deutsche Telekom, Adidas, Cipla, Nestle, Forbes Marshall, AS Air Baltic Corporation and Special Presentation by representative of the European Commission. https://ict-solutions-hu.com/2nd-annualinternational-hr-forum Early Bird is now open with Group prices up to 40% OFF so please reach out to us at info@ict-solutions-hu.com.

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22nd Annual Financial Sector Compensation and Benefits

20-21 May 2019 London, United Kingdom Compensation and benefits is one of the top priority areas within any financial institution. This marcus evans event will focus on ensuring banks are successfully balancing the need to stay on top of and properly manage the regulation in this space, while improving transparency and fairness of pay across the institution to stay competitive in this market space. The correct management of this department will not only ensure compliance with all necessary regulation, but also drastically improve the recruitment and retention of staff through correct compensation structures while limiting the impact of excessive risk taking activities firm wide. Attending this Premier marcus evans forum will Enable You to: • Ensure proper compliance with ongoing compensation and benefits regulations, including a focus on CRDV, the definition of identified staff and sales compensation • Embrace the impact of cultural changes through increased transparency and visibility for compensation and benefits frameworks • Understand how digitalisation is affecting attraction and retention of staff and the use of data analytics for workforce planning • Improve diversity through equal pay and ensure you avoid system biases For further information visit the website www. marcusevans-conferences-paneuropean. com/marcusevans-conferences-eventdetails.asp?EventID=24972 or email Anastasia Zardili at anastasiaz@marcusevanscy.com.

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