INDIA FOCUS
W
ith the Festival of Global People’s content resonating with news of WhatsApp’s decision to choose London as the base to develop its new payment service because
of its ability to attract multicultural talent – including from India, one of WhatsApp’s largest markets – the critical role of global mobility in driving global growth came into sharper focus with the Festival of Global People’s panel. In the next five years, India is set to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, which is having a significant impact on global mobility. For now, the story is mainly India outbound. “Mobility out of India has really taken off in the past few years,” said Rohit Kumar. “This means for global mobility the future will also be very different. In the next 5-10 years, more people will go on assignment, meaning there will be more and more different practices.” Holly Creed, global mobility manager at DXC Technology
– the client services company spun out of Hewlett-Packard in 2017 – is also already seeing how outbound mobility from India into Europe and the US is changing approaches to global mobility. “It’s quite clear there is a large shift in talent and more companies are looking at India, not just as a country to outsource back-office functions in, but as a source of talent and potentially a future workforce,” said Creed. “In the US in 2015, across multiple states, Indian nationals accounted for the third or fourth largest population. In Texas, this group is the second largest after Mexican nationals. It’s very clear that India is a force for the future.” With the outcome of government elections now clear and
returning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government seeking to deliver its “New India” agenda – one based on economic reform and greater global influence – we could now see more inbound assignments, too. “I know for a fact there are at least 200 US companies who are waiting to shift their operations from China to India,” said Kumar, highlighting the opportunities India promises.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FOR INBOUND INDIAN TALENT? Simon Johnston and his team are also involved daily with moving globally mobile populations out of India and inbound to the UK. Aware of the scale of opportunity and looking to improve practice, he identified three key issues; each a prospect to help make mobility work better for individuals and their employers. The first is the high demand for skilled people from India in the
UK and a shortage across most industries, including healthcare, but particularly IT. This means employers have to get talent mobility right to remain competitive. The second is the personal circumstances of many assignees.
“Relocating individuals inbound from India tend to be highly educated, fairly young professional people in what is likely to be their very first relocation,” observed Johnston. “This is a generalisation, but these are the broad characteristics of the assignees I’m seeing.” Delhi-based Kumar observed that for most outbound transferees
– around 90% – this assignment would be their first trip outside India or their home city. “Young people, therefore, need help to survive,” he said. “While sometimes this might come from friends and family already in Europe, employers and global mobility service providers also have important roles.”
Rohit Kumar, IKAN Relocations
THE FIVE Rs OF GLOBAL MOBILITY? The third issue Johnston identifies relates to the speed of relocation decision-making: one that in tandem with the first two challenges accents employers’ duty of care more than it has in the past. Johnston believes the often-rapid relocation demands a much more empathetic approach to assignment management. This ensures that as well as having the “right person in the right place at the right time” – the three Rs of relocation – they are in the “right mindset and ready for a positive repatriation” when the time comes. “People from India into the UK and Europe often relocate at
incredibly short notice,” he said. “Looking at some of our major clients, the lead time for getting their work permit to arriving here is just five days, on average. Thinking about that in relation to average times for other sectors, we have to give people extra duty of care.” Johnston continued, “These people are top-tier talent. We need
to back them up, be there for them and give people the support they need. They are an amazingly talented group and, as global mobility experts, we should be doing more to welcome them.”
CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS AND REALITY A new study from Weichert Global Mobility, Propelling India Mobility: Challenges, trends and best practices, cited by Creed during the panel, suggests that there is indeed a “significant” gap in practice between the support relocating employees are looking for and what is available. This is something Creed has been addressing at DXC Technology in conversations with leadership, winning the Relocate Award for Best HR, Talent or Mobility Initiative in the process. “Weichert’s study finds that mobility professionals are not
aligned with what their workforce wants in terms of assignment benefits,” she explained. “There’s a need to revisit processes and streamline policies, because a lot of deals are being made outside of existing arrangements.” Creed added: “If we want to manage this interesting workforce now and in the future, as professionals, we really need to start adapting and find out how we can align our policies with what people want.”
26 | RELOCATE | SUMMER 2019
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