2024 KPMG Global Mobility Benchmarking Survey

A complex combination of geopolitical uncertainty, impacted global supply chains, disruptive new technologies and shifting economic pressures has accelerated the pace of global pace of innovation.

The comprehensive 2024 KPMG Global Mobility Benchmarking Survey provides timely and revealing insights into global mobility’s evolving role. The global mobility function’s contribution to strategic value for the organization is taking precedence: being recognized as a trusted advisor to the business is the way forward.

Global mobility leaders will need to ensure that their service delivery model, team and technology are set up to meet new demands and continue demonstrating the value their functions bring to their organization.

Key themes

Alignment with the broader business strategy continues to be the critical driver behind most global mobility program goals. This emphasis reflects the evolving role of global mobility, accelerated in a post-pandemic world, to act as a strategic enabler to the business.

This growing need for business adaptability is expected to influence how global mobility leaders anticipate their functions to be supporting in the future.

Alignment with talent remains one of the most significant opportunities for global mobility and is widely perceived by leaders as an area where the function can have the greatest strategic impact within their organizations.

Selecting the appropriate service delivery model to facilitate global mobility strategies and drive effective policies and behaviors is essential for the success of the function. When designing a structure, leaders should consider both current and future needs of the business.

As leaders prioritize operational efficiency and seek to speed up processes to meet the changing needs of the business, global mobility functions are exploring various technology solutions to optimize operational efficiency and automate tasks to accelerate processes.

‘At a glance’ findings

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Alignment and adaptability with business objectives

72 percent of respondents highlighted the alignment of mobility strategies with broader business objectives as being their top priority, with the need to be adaptable to business requirements (51 percent) being noted as the third highest priority. This underscores the critical role of global mobility in achieving organizational goals and driving business growth.

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Focus on developing, attracting and retaining talent

70 percent of respondents consider the development, attraction and retention of talent within the organization a top priority for mobility. This reflects a strategic shift towards talent within global mobility policies and practices, ensuring that employees are not only internationally mobile but also continuously enhancing their skills.

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Formal policies for international remote work

67 percent of organizations that support international remote work have a formal policy in place. This proactive approach helps structure and formalize remote-work capabilities, ensuring compliance with tax and immigration laws.

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Centralized and regional models for service delivery

Nearly two-thirds of organizations rely on a centralized or regional model for global mobility management. These models help enhance consistency, control and responsiveness to regional dynamics and needs.

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Use of technology in global mobility programs

76 percent of businesses use technology tools to manage international assignments and 62 percent use them for cost projection preparation. This emphasizes technology's strategic role in simplifying complex logistical tasks and quantifying relocation and administrative costs.

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Integration of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in mobility programs

57 percent of respondents admit to having only a basic level of DEI integration in their mobility programs, and 73 percent do not collect or report on the DEI data of their mobile workforce. This highlights a need for more structured and strategic global mobility approaches that better incorporate DEI.

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AI and technology investments

51 percent of businesses are looking to leverage AI in the short- and long-term. This indicates that AI adoption is on the rise, with many organizations planning future AI investments, particularly to help with the automation of administrative tasks (74 percent).

2024 KPMG Global Mobility Benchmarking Survey

This report presents an overview of selected key findings and offers informative insights for global mobility professionals on the future evolution of the function.

Download the report