INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE


These focused programmes were seen as drivers to working hard,


but they were also about instilling purpose and meaning. There was also something implicit about fairness and responsibility instilled in the organisation’s values that appealed to all demographics. On a note of caution, Ms Rhee emphasised that sometimes


people did things from naivety. Yes, employers wanted to encourage open minds, and Ernst & Young offered access to a global mindset webinar. It was very important to understand cultures and what was OK or not. The education aspect was critical. News Corp’s Becky Woods recounted how, in the past, Millennials


had been moved on developmental assignments, but now they were filling critical business needs. This had thrown up issues about operating differently. The first thing was technology. Millennials were used to seeing


peer reviews and looking for peer validation. For example, they saw a website with corporate housing and wanted to get a review showing what others thought. News Corp was also reviewing how people wanted to contact it,


and had found that Millennials preferred to text or message rather than email or phone. Social networking was also an important aspect. The organisation had discovered that it could do a better job of networking via social media and shared experiences demonstrating how others got on in a particular location. The other big thing was being able to track. For example, in


immigration, if assignees could see how many steps there were in the visa process, everyone would be happier. Organisations needed to work harder at matching the online experience we received in our daily lives. However, Becky Woods cautioned, compliance risks were


fundamental. Global mobility professionals needed to educate the business and employees that there was good reason to be cautious. Cultural understanding and savvy might be missing, she said.


Sometimes, the employer’s role was to be “a bit of a parent”. Morgan Wilcox Crosby, of relocation management company


AIRINC, offered pragmatic advice, having developed responses to some of the company’s clients’ and Millennial assignees’ ideas. In her experience, clients increasingly wanted to develop policies for those in the early stages of their careers. It was important, she emphasised, to create a succession plan


for all assignees, including Millennials. However, the policy had to match the programme. In the past, policies had sometimes been extremely prescriptive. Now, Millennials wanted to throw out the rigidity and were looking for more flexibility. Of course, for employers, it was still extremely important to take


care of their employees while somehow offering the Millennials freedom, flexibility and purpose. Millennials might want to bring a friend to the overseas location they were working in to experience what they were experiencing. Organisations needed to be a lot more thoughtful if they wished to retain and develop young talent. This logically flows through to technology, Morgan Wilcox


Crosby explained. However, the client still needed to spend money on the individual. Millennials liked to see equal access to benefits, and that was something that was really meaningful to them. Service providers could play their part by improving their


technology to meet the needs of the millennial generations. There would inevitably be compromises. The company, for example, might be willing, under its policy, to pay for an airfare and temporary living, but Millennials might want to spend the equivalent amount on Airbnb and destination services. The company might have concerns about compliance and duty


of care if employees stayed in an Airbnb apartment, but these could be allayed by thorough vetting of the selected property.


Accelerating women in leadership roles The session on women’s leadership was facilitated by Lauren Herring, CEO of Impact Group, with contributions from Emma White, employee mobility director at global power company Cummins. Ernst & Young has an equally forward-thinking approach to gender


balance and diversity. Director and global mobility leader Andrew Walker explained that 38 per cent of its expats were female, and that men’s and women’s expectations were different. This was one part of the wider gender parity agenda, and was about the whole organisation. Clearly, there were issues with unconscious bias about who


wanted to go on assignment – an assumption, for example, that a single mother with a child wouldn’t wish to do so. Organisations, Andrew Walker felt, needed to take a proactive stance. EY had been at the front with its Women Fast Forward approach. He asked how we could accelerate and make equality in the


workplace happen much faster. There were things that kept women back; they had to do with flexibility and visibility of opportunities. Emma White explained that Cummins took a best-in-class


approach to female assignments. Its policies were designed to help assimilation into the host country and were financially supportive. They also offered accompanying spouse/partner benefits, in the belief that help with employment for dual-career couples aided retention. This was something that Lauren Herring endorsed. Her


organisation specialises in supporting spouses and partners, and recommends needs assessment during the crucial initial stages of an international assignment offer. Ernst & Young sees gender parity as an economic imperative for


business in general. It argues that an organisation with 30 per cent female leaders could add up to six percentage points to its net margin. There is a lot of useful information on the EY.com website. See also Twitter #WomenFastForward. As the Ernst & Young website says, “To accelerate achievement


of gender parity, we need purposeful action by both men and women to recruit, retain and advance women in equal proportion to their numbers and commensurate with the limitless potential they offer the workplace.” This is a topic we will revisit in 2017. We’ll also explore developments and trends in supporting women on assignment.


See the Relocate Global Mobility Toolkit factsheet Business Case Principles – Key Diversity Issues and research summary Gender Diversity, on relocateglobal.com. Attend the Worldwide ERC Summit in London, 24 February (worldwideerc.org)


Peggy Smith, Worldwide ERC and panel members


relocateglobal.com | 49


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