Your Guide to Global Mobility Services: Ensuring Smooth International Relocations

Global mobility companies deliver comprehensive support to organizations and their employees during international relocations.

Global mobility services go beyond moving household goods. A full-service global mobility solutions provider can assist with immigration paperwork and work permits, legal compliance, tax issues, cultural adaptation, family support, and more—all the critical pieces that make an international relocation successful.

If you’re looking to create a smooth, efficient international relocation program within your organization, partnering with a global mobility service provider can offer significant advantages.

In this comprehensive guide to global mobility solutions, we’ll walk through:

• What are global mobility services?
• What are the benefits of hiring a global mobility solutions provider?
• What major challenges come with moving employees internationally? (And what’s the best way to solve them?)
• What should I look for in a global mobility service provider?

What Are Global Mobility Services?

First, let’s define global mobility services in case you’re not familiar with the term.  

The services that DeWitt Move Worldwide provides—moving household goods internationally—fall under this umbrella.

However, complete global mobility solutions go beyond logistics to cover all aspects of an international relocation, including:

• Immigration and Visa Support: Navigating immigration and visa requirements can get complex—fast. Global mobility providers can assist with securing necessary work permits, visas, and legal documentation so an employee can start their new job as soon as possible.

• Tax Compliance and Financial Planning: Moving abroad can result in complex financial situations, both for employees and employers. Global mobility providers can assist with expert tax advice and administration.

• Cultural Training and Language Support: Helping employees—and any family members relocating with the employee—adapt culturally to their new international assignment is key. Global mobility providers can either provide or coordinate cultural awareness training, language instruction, and local orientation to help individuals and families adjust quickly.

• Relocation and Logistics Services: Our team knows first-hand how stressful moving can be. We’ve also seen how being able to set up a home with familiar belongings can help relocated employees settle in quickly. Global mobility solutions providers can assist with the logistics of an international relocation, including the paperwork for securing duty-free clearance of household items.

• Assignment Management and Support: Some providers even offer ongoing support throughout an employee’s assignment, including repatriation planning, performance tracking, and assistance with extension or reassignment if needed.

Partnering with a global mobility service provider can reduce the friction and uncertainty associated with relocating internationally for work, which has benefits for both employees and employers. We’ll discuss those next.

The Benefits of Hiring a Global Mobility Solutions Provider

For organizations operating on an international scale, the ability to move employees across borders efficiently and effectively can improve operations, reduce risks, help attract the best of the best international talent, support long-term retention, and even maximize investments in employee relocations. 

In today’s fast-paced global business environment, getting the right employees to the right workplace at the right time can be crucial for keeping your operation moving forward. A global mobility service provider can facilitate all the details for maximum efficiency in your international relocations, simplifying the relocation process for your employees and reducing the strain on your in-house team. 

Providing international job opportunities can be an effective way to attract top talent globally. Additionally, global mobility programs can help employees feel cared for during their transition, creating good will and supporting long-term retention. On the flip side, rocky relocations can damage trust and create dissatisfaction with a new assignment before it’s even started. 

Problems with work permits, visas, or tax compliance can damage a company’s reputation and strain employee relations—not to mention the potential fines or legal consequences. By putting these tasks in the hands of experts, you’ll reduce risk for your organization, continue to foster positive relationships with relocating employees, and lighten the load on your in-house team. 

Relocating employees internationally can quickly become expensive. Global mobility experts can assist by sharing best practices for cost control and advising on realistic budgeting practices. The expertise you’ll access through a global mobility solutions provider will help you make informed decisions about when—and how—to move employees within your budget.

Four Major Global Mobility Challenges—and Solutions

Now that we’ve looked at the benefits of engaging with a global mobility solutions provider, let’s review some of the challenges organizations face when relocating employees internationally. Examining these challenges can help you decide whether it’s time to engage a global mobility company to assist with your employee relocations.

1. Immigration and Legal Complexity

One of the biggest hurdles in relocating employees internationally centers on securing the right work permits and visas for your employees—quickly and effectively. Additionally, immigration policies can change frequently, so staying compliant requires constant attention to detail.

Solution: Outsource this function to a global mobility solutions provider or a global expansion provider offering work permit and visa services. Choosing a full-service global mobility solutions provider offers a simpler, one-stop shop solution to all your international relocation needs.

2. Cultural Adjustment

Without the right support, employees and their families can experience culture shock or intense feelings of isolation as they struggle to adapt to a new culture, language, customs, and way of life. These challenges can significantly impact an employee’s outlook. This can, in turn, impact their productivity and job satisfaction. It could even lead them to quit or request a new assignment.

Solution: Cultural training and language courses can help prepare an employee for the new lifestyle in their new home country. If it’s within your budget to include your employee’s spouse, consider it. Employees who are worried about their spouses may struggle to focus at work.

3. Complex Tax and Financial Implications

International assignments can trigger tax liabilities in multiple countries, potentially leading to higher tax liabilities and reducing employees’ take-home pay.

Solution: Ask any potential global mobility service partners whether they can connect your employees with seasoned tax advisors to assist with complex tax situations. Employees left to their own devices may get frustrated and, in the most extreme cases, request to return to their home countries earlier than expected.

4. Budgeting for—and Controlling—Costs

The costs to relocate employees’ household goods can add up. Additionally, since costs can vary considerably from destination to destination, it can feel challenging to accurately budget for this aspect of your employees’ international relocations.

Solution: Discuss best practices for cost control and budgeting with any global mobility service providers you’re considering. At DeWitt Move, we offer our global mobility partners transparent, all-in pricing for every move so there are no surprises. We also work with employers who offer programs like lump-sum relocations, which give employees a set budget to use.

What to Look for in a Global Mobility Provider

As you interview global mobility solutions providers, look for a trusted partner who can assist both your organization and your employees navigate all the complexities of cross-border moves.

In particular, I’d suggest seeking out a global mobility service provider with:

1. A Proven Track Record

A significant history of managing global relocations across a variety of industries and regions is an absolute necessity. When you’re dealing with international moves, nothing substitutes for real-world experience. Additionally, if you have plans for relocating employees to specific areas of the world, look for a provider with expertise in those regions. They’ll know how to easily navigate the local regulations and quirks that can pop up.

2. A Global Network of Trusted Partners

Through decades of experience across 100+ countries, we’ve developed our own network of trusted logistics providers around the world. We know they share our commitment to customer service, and we trust them with the local end of our customers’ moves.

Your global mobility service provider should have the same kind of network they rely on—not just for household goods, but also for things like clearing customs, assistance completing paperwork and other customary procedures with local municipalities, housing support, and school placement. The deeper your provider’s network, the more likely they’ll be able to deliver excellent assistance for your employees in their new country.

3. A Comprehensive Suite of Services

You might not need to take advantage of every service a global mobility services provider offers right off the bat. However, it’s to your advantage to choose one with a complete portfolio of global mobility solutions. That way, if your needs expand, you won’t need to find a new provider.

That said, make sure that the provider you choose is willing to customize their solutions to your organization so you’re not paying for services you don’t need.

4. Excellent Communication

Communication is critical to the success of any smooth international relocation. Choose a provider that’s skilled at keeping you—and your employees—informed. Ideally, they’ve invested in technological solutions to automate notifications, offer real-time tracking, and deliver program analytics.

Poor communication can add uncertainty and frustration to any international relocation, even if everything is operating efficiently behind the scenes. Pay attention to how a potential partner communicates during the discovery process, and ask them how you and your employees will stay updated throughout the course of your work together.

By vetting providers against these four criteria, you’ll be better positioned to select a partner you can trust to fulfill the promises you’ve made to your employees and their families.

Are Global Mobility Solutions Right for You?

If your organization moves a significant number of employees internationally—or is considering it—it might be time to consider engaging a global mobility solutions provider. The right partner can streamline your operations, reduce stress on your in-house team, and help you create a smooth international relocation that delivers a number of benefits to your organization.

If you’re looking for an expert team to move your employees’ household goods internationally, the DeWitt Move Worldwide team would love to assist. We’ve worked closely with corporate clients, relocation management companies, NGOs, government agencies including the U.S. Department of State, and other organizations to move tens of thousands of individuals and families across the globe.