Every three years, Aires’ annual trends survey of mobility programs focuses on permanent global transfers. These include any current or newly hired employees who are permanently relocated from one country to another. These moves are commonly referred to by several names, including permanent transfer, local hire, one-way move, or local-plus. The survey was conducted in late 2021 and included 95 multinational organizations (including a mix of Aires clients and other organizations) with established global permanent relocation programs of widely varying sizes.
Programs Continue to Rebound but Challenges Continue
While the pandemic has certainly had a major impact on mobility programs (due to challenges such as closed/restricted borders, travel restrictions, and supply chain issues), the outlook within the industry remains positive based on feedback received. Organizations that participated in the survey report rebounding volumes and fewer delayed relocations compared to research conducted in mid-2020.
Even though the outlook is trending in a positive direction, organizations are still dealing with the effects of the pandemic. While some global mobility programs are operating near pre-pandemic levels and many organizations expect to relocate as many (if not more) global transferees in the future, some organizations have shifted to partially or fully remote work forces, which reduces anticipated future permanent move volumes for some employees. The survey responses regarding the impact of remote work indicated:
- 63% – No decrease in annual permanent international relocation volume
- 20% – 10-20% decrease
- 8% – 30-40% decrease
- 6% – 50% decrease
- 3% – more than a 50% decrease
Additionally, some companies are faced with employees who are still waiting to be moved. Of the survey respondents:
- 25% have no international permanent relocations on hold
- 61% report fewer than 25% on hold
- 11% report between 25% and 50% on hold
- 3% report more than 50% on hold
An increased focus on Duty of Care
Traditionally, the concept of duty of care has focused on a safe work environment and basic protection from harm. As a result of the pandemic, duty of care now commonly includes provisions for personal protective equipment (PPE), interim accommodations, remote work flexibility, and an increased awareness of personal needs. The actual impact on mobility policies varies between organizations, with only 18% of survey respondents reporting they have added to or modified their policy to account for more duty-of-care benefits. The most common support offered in this regard centers around travel flexibility, quarantine requirements, and testing.
In addition to formal policy changes from roughly one-fifth of respondents, several firms stated that situations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Although the policy may not have been updated, additional support is being considered. The many types of support offered include immigration, quarantine, and testing support and approvals related to household goods shipment delays, extension of temporary family split benefits, and additional tax support.
View the Full Survey
In addition to COVID-19 pandemic trends, the full Global Transfer Survey covers many other topics, including top destinations, numbers and types of policies, core-flex programs, lump sum moves, repayment agreements, and many different policy provisions. For a complete copy of the results and analysis, please contact your Aires representative.