Why every company should think globally

Introduction

Imagine this: a tech company from the USA wants fast global growth, especially in Europe. But despite their efforts, it doesn’t work and they fall short of their potential. They conduct an internal analysis that reveals a national, rather than global, mindset and a lack of cross-border HR processes, meaning they are not visible in the market.

This is where a holistic people mobility approach becomes extremely beneficial.

What is People Mobility?

“People & Culture” is the latest synonymous term for Human Resources or Human Relations. But there’s another transformative concept on the horizon – People Mobility.

Let’s explore exactly what we mean by People Mobility.

The Evolution from Global Mobility

While many people might think it’s yet another “buzzword” or term to learn about, People Mobility is actually the natural evolution of the well-established notion of Global Mobility. The term Global Mobility was originally created by corporations with international employees or expat employees sent on long-term assignments.

With the rise of globalisation and increasingly interconnected markets and supply chains, even medium-sized companies quickly adopted global mobility practices.

Startups and small businesses looking for tech talent jumped on the trend by relocating talented candidates to the company’s HQ from abroad.

Expanding Horizons and Understanding People Mobility

Global mobility predominantly revolves around compliance matters like visa and permit requirements, taxes, social security and international payroll. And these are still essential steps in any relocation process and must not be diminished. But the global working landscape also underwent a significant shift during the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting a reevaluation of international HR practices.

Both companies and freelancers are curious about this new way of working. We’re going to answer 5 of the most common questions about People Mobility and developing a global mindset.

Why is the right attitude important in today’s environment?

Today’s workforce faces an extremely dynamic landscape. Having the right attitude is crucial.  Leading think tanks in international HR like the RES forum, People Mobility Alliance, and the GMindset Center for Global Education, blend academic research with practical insights on relevant topics and trends in international HR management. Their expertise draws on extensive data from companies and research findings from reputable universities.

Here are 3 reasons having the right attitude is vital for global and people mobility:

1. Diversity: A Driving Force for Sustainability and Growth

Diversity, in all its forms, is a primary driver for sustainability, growth, profitability and mitigating labour shortages. International HR management must focus on promoting and implementing cultural diversity within an organisation. Embracing a workforce built from a variety of diverse perspectives and backgrounds only enriches the company and fosters further innovation.

According to a 2022 BCG report, companies with a strong, intentional focus on diversity are twice as likely to become world-class innovators and 2.5x more likely to achieve fast growth.

2. Cultural Diversity and its Impact on Attitude

The embrace of cultural diversity and internationality within a company is a matter of attitude.

This is particularly pertinent for traditional and organically grown companies, often small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that possess a deep-rooted connection to their home country.

Inevitably, the workforce often has questions about this very topic including:

  • How do I effectively communicate with colleagues both locally and abroad?
  • Can I trust the agreements made in cross-cultural settings?
  • Will my message be clearly understood?
  • What is the background of the new employee joining our team?
  • Is the training period for international employees time-consuming?
  • How do I deliver appropriate feedback across cultural boundaries?
  • What are the best practices for leading individuals and groups from different cultural backgrounds?

3. The Social Relevance of Attitude

When thinking about how important attitude is, both on an individual and company level, its social relevance should not be underestimated. Societies that embrace openness, international networking, agility, courage and entrepreneurship gain a competitive edge over those societies more influenced by vested interests, declining wealth, fear and anxiety.

In conclusion, fostering the right attitude is paramount in navigating the intricacies of a globally interconnected world. By embracing diversity and maintaining an open and forward-thinking mindset, individuals, companies, and societies can adapt and thrive in today’s ever-evolving environment.

How do I develop holistic and inclusive thinking in my company?

Fostering holistic and inclusive thinking is vital for companies looking to adapt and grow in today’s ever-changing business landscape. However breaking free from familiar behaviour patterns can be a challenge for many companies.

To effectively navigate this process, you can implement the standard process for change management, as follows:

  • Initiate the change process with leadership-driven support.
  • Empower the People & Culture Team to implement the change and communicate with the works council and employees.
  • Involve employees in the internationalisation of the company and the transformation program.
  • Prioritise effective communication of the vision and overall operational strategy to engage and generate understanding among staff.
  • Provide insights into the existing and expected competitive environment and macroeconomic conditions.
  • Embrace a Global Mindset, enabling effective functioning in complex cultural and business environments.

Here, a Global Mindset refers to the ability to effectively and easily navigate high cultural and business complexity. Leaders with a Global Mindset are often more open and exhibit a higher degree of cosmopolitanism. They excel in managing diverse employees and globally distributed teams in complex, ambiguous and often rapidly changing contexts. This also includes leadership of virtual teams in the digital realm – an increasingly relevant aspect since the pandemic.

Find out more about how Global Mindset can improve your business performance here.

How do I develop an individual Global Mindset?

Developing a global mindset is a crucial part of strategic transformation programmes, often overseen by the HR team. Achieving a global mindset on an individual level involves a variety of different building blocks. Oftentimes, talent management, talent development and/or talent mobility departments play important roles in development strategies.

When it comes to further education and training, being offered the opportunity to impart existing skills and abilities via upskilling is of huge importance. An effective way of doing this is international secondment, which is a global mobility programme designed to promote the following skills:

  • Adaptation and dealing with cultural differences.
  • Forming new habits, ways of working, patterns of thinking, and patterns of behaviour.
  • Encouraging employees to be open to change and reflect on their previous habits.
  • Acquiring language skills to facilitate effective global communication.

Developing an individual Global Mindset is a key component in preparing employees for the challenges of a globalised world and enhancing the overall organisational readiness to thrive in diverse international contexts.

What is a global team and what do I need to do to achieve the highest performance with the greatest satisfaction?

Global teams stand out due to their diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. These teams either collaborate on-side or remotely, offering unique opportunities, as well as challenges, for organisations.

There are various options available to organisations in order for them to fully leverage the benefits of having a global team. These include:

  • Establishing and defining a global corporate culture that unites team members worldwide.
  • Encouraging exchange and integration among employees to bridge the intercultural gaps.
  • Using functions like Global Mobility to organise effective global workforce management.
  • Defining and communicating clear rules and guidelines for global collaboration.
  • Implementing and harnessing digital solutions to enhance efficiency.
  • Focusing on holistic employee journeys to emphasise flexibility, self-determination and individualism.
  • Offering additional development paths alongside traditional internal career progression.
Global Mobility Prozess

Adopting these strategies can help nurture collaboration, innovation and agility within global teams, thus leading to enhanced growth and success for the organisation on an international scale.

What technology is available to help facilitate people mobility functions?

There are numerous systems, tools and applications to help facilitate people mobility functions and support global processes and collaboration.

In 2021, Josh Bersin published an interesting thesis on this in his “The Definite Guide”, bridging the gap from purely business-relevant solutions to user-centric technologies.

International HR Tech

  • Global Talent Management
  • Global Benefits Management
  • Payroll Management
  • International Remote Work (EoR – Employer of Record)
  • Workplace Management
  • Posting management
  • Relocation
Global Mobility - International HR Tech

Work Tech

There are also a number of innovative solutions available to help improve collaboration, learning and understanding within a global workforce:

  • Email, video conferencing and chat tools
  • Learning platforms
  • Lifestyle, Health, Wellbeing tools
  • Career & Family solutions
  • Benefits systems

The market offers countless solutions in both HR and Work Tech. The exponential growth of this development has resulted in user-friendly applications with self-service features and flexible functionalities to enhance the user experience.

Global Mobility - Work Tech

Global Mobility and Talent Mobility become People Mobility

The term “Talent Mobility” represents the fusion of company-driven Global Mobility initiatives with the individual career plans of employees, further reflecting the evolution of global mobility in the international HR world.

Beyond ensuring compliance, Talent Mobility aligns closely with Talent Management. Because secondments often have a strategic development objective, the focus of talent management is to empower the employee to take control of their career, ensuring their best possible employee journey.

Today’s definition of Talent Mobility refers to employee deployment:

  • Inside and outside the company,
  • Both domestically and internationally,
  • Transitioning between functional roles and business units,
  • Both in physical on-site and remote work settings.

Talent Mobility is not only driven by companies. It is also a deeply rooted personal matter, emphasising the need for a global mindset that transcends conventional corporate career paths.

Global Mobility - Talent mobility deployment

In addition, the rise of the gig economy, digital nomads, freelancers, combined with rapid technological advancements have redefined the concept of “being at work,” enabling individuals to work from anywhere.

Companies must now think in new ways about work dynamics. Additionally, global megatrends like climate change, sustainable thinking, and mass migration further underscore the need for cultural adaptability on an unprecedented scale.

In short, global mobility and talent mobility both require one thing at their core: people. People mobility is now a vital ingredient for success in the ever-evolving global economy.

Conclusion

Let’s return to the original question of this article: Why should every company think globally? In short, to overcome recruitment challenges, enhance employee satisfaction, and foster seamless digital collaboration.

People Mobility is an inclusive and holistic approach to this. It prioritises individuals and their unique skills while leveraging global talent pools and cutting-edge technological advancements.

A global mindset, supported by the Global Mobility department, ensures structured and efficient processes, including regulatory risk management and vendor oversight, with the right technology selection, implementation, and monitoring.

Global, digital and collaborative are the main keywords needed for satisfied employees and entrepreneurial success.

So, what happened with the US software manufacturer we met at the start of the article?

Over an 18-month period, we were able to create transformative change. We helped reshape staff attitudes, develop functional design and adjust processes. Leadership seminars at executive and middle management levels also played a vital role in sustainable implementation.

Furthermore, the introduction of a remote work policy and other short-term opportunities greatly increased employee satisfaction. Further efficiencies and regulatory compliance were realised with the adoption of a technology-based global payroll service provider.

Over the coming months and years, we will follow the developments and measure progress using clearly defined key performance indicators.

Daniel Zinner

Author Daniel Zinner

27. July 2023

Franziska Nippold - Das Team CLEVIS

Author Franziska Nippold

27. July 2023

About the authors

Daniel Zinner, Associate Partner, and Franziska Nippold, Junior Consultant, focus on global HR management and transformation consulting at CLEVIS Consult. In addition to digitalisation and HR strategy consulting for HR, CLEVIS is also a sponsor of the People Mobility Alliance. This brings together like-minded people who put people at the centre of their actions.

CLEVIS – HR Consulting, HR Digitalisation, Business Transformation, HR Strategy Expertise in rethinking, realigning, digitising and repositioning HR