Latest Global Mobility Highlights: Decrease in Long-Term Assignments

When talking about expatriation we tend to think primarily about traditional long-term assignments, which are two to three years in duration and imply an employee relocation to the host country. These are the assignments that we readily relate to attractive compensation and benefit packages, career enhancing moves, and profound cross-cultural experiences. However, in spite of all these attractive traits, there is evidence for this traditional type of assignments to be decreasing.

According to a recent KPMG survey, which looked into the attitudes of senior executives towards global mobility, the value of long-term assignments is being questioned with other forms of assignments becoming more relevant and thought after. Based on data of 200 senior executives, KPMG argues that just 25 percent of executives believe that long-term assignments are still a business necessity. Moreover, these executives argue that only about 15 percent of younger employees view such assignment types as a good career move.

Moving for a shorter time and more frequently

The lack of necessity to relocate for a lengthy period of time to a single foreign destination may be attributed to advances in ease of travelling and Internet communication; instead, it is about moving around for a shorter time and more frequently. Whereas two decades ago the implementation, support and follow-up of some international project required physical presence of an international employee, today all the possible mobile devices, network connections, high-speed trains and sheer endless airline routes enable constant communication and frequent visits no matter when and from/to where.

Indeed, Marc Burrows, partner and head of International Executive Services at KPMG, notes that today ‘parachute style’ projects are on the rise, which expect employees to be ready to switch geographical location on short notice and for a short time.

Another reason for the decrease in popularity of long-term assignments relates to the matter of employee retention. As the KPMG survey results indicate, organizations are fearful about losing their staff to foreign employers as a result of their overseas assignments. As commonly discussed within the topic of repatriation, a lengthy stay abroad does weaken the social and professional ties with people back home, which is why it is often so difficult to get involved back with work and social life upon return.

At the same time, several years in a host country create a need to adjust and integrate into the local life, which by the end of the assignment may lead to a situation in which the host country becomes more familiar and entails more career prospects than the home country. This notion is supported by several global mobility survey findings, such as the difficulties to provide repatriates with a valuable employment position upon return to the home organization.

Global mobility: different forms of assignments

Although the KPMG and many similar findings suggest that companies start decreasing the amount of long-term assignments, there is no implication for an overall decrease in the scope of global mobility. Instead, companies just switch to different forms of  assignments, often of shorter duration, and according to the PWC Talent Mobility 2020 study global mobility is even expected to grow by 50 percent by 2020.

Finally, in light of these changes towards shorter but more frequent international projects, KPMG highlights the risk of creating a nomadic workforce. Due to high mobility and, hence, frequent absence from the home country, this group of employees may fall out of HR-related talent plans and initiatives, and may experience other possible difficulties. The specific challenges faced by frequent travellers, or so-called flexpatriates, is described in one of my previous posts.