In an unstable economic landscape, in Europe and elsewhere, and with constant pressure on costs, companies face another major challenge: the talent shortage. And according to EY, mobility--provided it is “evolved,” meaning, based on advanced services or technologies to enhance and transform workers’ journeys--could solve many of the problems.

This was emphasised by the OECD in its report on skills in Luxembourg in 2023, when it identified the international mobility of talent as a strategic area for addressing skills shortages. The National Productivity Council’s report, too, highlighted the impact of worker mobility on the country’s competitiveness.

In its report published at the end of April, EY dissects the subject by interviewing more than 1,000 professionals. The Big Four firm identifies several key points to consider in order to develop a talent mobility strategy that is in tune with today’s world, its challenges and its needs. “Organisations need to see the current situation as an opportunity to confidently rethink mobility in the face of an uncertain future.”

EY thus gives concrete reasons for looking at the issue, such as demographics, whose developments “have created an age imbalance in a global labour market where the working population is larger today than it will be in the near future.” Another point of attention to be taken into account is the development of generative artificial intelligence, which is leading to changes in the world of work, with employees not always feeling ready to master them in the future.

But GenAI is also described by survey respondents as an opportunity to fill talent gaps. It is to be embraced as “a disruptive spark to achieve a ‘talent advantage’” and requires organisations to align their mobility operating models with broader business and talent objectives in order to “build more resilient and capable workforces.”

Efficiency and agility, for EY, are the watchwords. “Amongst employers, only 52% say it is easy for their organisation to find the international talent they need, and 74% say it takes more than a year to fill senior positions.” Workforce mobility can therefore be a solution to move talent to where it is needed most and accelerate an organisation’s growth.

A five-step approach

For companies that would like to effectively use the lever of mobility in this sense, EY stresses the importance of aligning mobility strategy with organisational and talent management objectives. In fact, 90% of the employers surveyed by EY see this as an advantage, but 70% fail to do so, due to “isolation from other functions, a lack of continuous data exchange and inefficiencies associated with a decentralised operating model.”

EY suggests a five-step approach:

—align the workforce mobility strategy with wider organisational objectives;

—use mobility to attract, retain and develop talent;

—extend the automation and digitalisation of mobility processes;

—demonstrate agility and flexibility in order to be able to offer personalised mobility experiences depending on the worker;

—opt for co-sourcing or outsourcing certain mobility processes.

In its report, EY highlights advanced mobility functions, i.e., all the digital services, HR tools and organisational policies that facilitate, optimise or support employees’ professional moves, job changes or retraining. They concern both internal mobility (within the company) and geographical or sectoral mobility (on the labour market). “Advanced mobility functions are 3.7 times more likely to say that their function contributes to solving talent shortages in the medium term, 1.8 times more likely to say that mobility contributes significantly to driving business growth and 1.7 times more likely to say that mobility contributes significantly to building organisational resilience,” says the report.

Also a way to cut costs

These more advanced mobility functions--in addition to meeting the challenges of attracting and retaining talent--also make financial sense, as “96% of mobility professionals said they were looking to reduce their costs,” notes EY. Some employers favour outsourcing or a supplier for payroll management, immigration-related procedures or multi-jurisdictional tax.

The use of technology is also not an option when implementing mobility policies, since “the number of mobility professionals regularly using generative AI has risen from 22% last year to 35% this year” and because “more than three out of four employers say they use generative AI in three or more ways to implement their mobility programme.” This can range from the simple drafting of emails to more sophisticated uses, such as monitoring employee assignments, flagging immigration risks or matching a profile to a position. This means training mobility professionals in these technologies.

But deploying workforce mobility--beyond the benefits--also entails a few risks that organisations should not underestimate. By way of example, EY cites risks relating to taxation, immigration laws, remuneration and even cybersecurity.

This article was originally published in .