BACK TO CONTENTS Short and sharp placements


In a poll of companies carried out by KPMG, 75% of respondents1


said long-term foreign


assignments were becoming less necessary (or that they could be reduced) and yet 76% of those taking part also expected to see an increase in international placements over the next fi ve years.


These apparently contradictory fi ndings refl ect changes in the way that companies are moving staff. What we’re seeing is fewer of the traditional long-term assignments and a rise in shorter, fl exible and project focused assignments. This is particularly true for retailers. In the retail sector, it is essential when entering new geographies, that the brand is positioned and established in the right way. This usually requires someone from the ‘home’ country to be assigned to the new location to establish the ethos of the brand and ensure it’s placed on the right footing. However, local customers will generally want to be served by local staff in-store, so there is quickly a move to recruit locally.


Hand in hand with that has been an abandonment of the traditional ‘colonial’ assignment model. Once a business might have sent a senior manager from London, Paris or New York to run a national division in an emerging market. Today, skills are being identifi ed and nurtured within emerging markets with a view to deployment around the world. Placements are therefore conducted through a matrix rather than running out from the centre.


1


Source: Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey 2013, KPMG International


© 2014 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member fi rm of the KPMG network of independent member fi rms affi liated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.


In retail, this ‘matrix’ is typically created due to the requirement that buyers must have a good understanding of the local market, to predict emerging trends and react quickly to changes in consumer demand and then move from country to country to seek out new products and opportunities. Buyers therefore come from a wide range of ‘home’ countries to bring that specialist knowledge.


It should be expected that increased mobility, increases risk – the risk of increased costs, the risk of non-compliance with local laws and regulations and the risk of creating a disengaged, nomadic workforce. So how do you minimise these risks whilst enhancing business performance and talent management?


Global oversight


The fi rst step is to ensure there is global oversight. More than half of the managers taking part in our poll said they used spreadsheets and manual systems to organise assignment demographics and pay, rather than dedicated assignment management software.


It’s a fi nding that refl ects one of the major challenges facing multi-national businesses. There is a need to deploy staff strategically, but the demands of the trading environment, coupled with a trend towards more fl exible placements, means that managers must often move quickly in moving staff on a needs-must basis. The use of decentralised systems to manage these quick moves suggests many assignments take place under the radar. Indeed, our experience suggests that many


FOCUS 23


75%


of respondents said long-term foreign assignments were becoming less necessary


assignment decisions are devolved to line managers rather than administered by HR at a higher level. This makes it extremely diffi cult for companies to analyse the effectiveness of their global mobility programmes.


Businesses are right to react quickly and there is a clear need to move people rapidly to wherever they are needed, but that does not have to mean constant improvisation. Systems can be put in place to facilitate global oversight which will allow businesses to obtain accurate information and make informed decisions.


MOBILITY


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