Employee Mobility and Why it is Important to Your Business
As the world progresses, there is a constant need for changes in the labour market. Employees today seek out organisations that respect their lifestyle and undertake various initiatives to improve general work quality. Many employees want to work from home full-time (or at least in a hybrid way), but there are also many globetrotters who are willing to relocate. Developing an employee mobility strategy and targeting people from all corners of the world can be an easy way to attract new talent.
Employee mobility in the past and now
In the past, the term employee mobility had a rather pejorative meaning. It usually referred to employees who were forced by their supervisors to move to another city, permanently or for a certain period. Today, companies with a developed employee mobility strategy and units located in different cities or countries, are sought after by young and dynamic employees who want to travel the world and experience many cultures before they settle down.
Why do I need the employee mobility strategy?
Recruiting skilled employees who are engaged and respect company culture has always been one of the biggest challenges business owners face. Developing a well-thought-out mobility strategy can be a remedy to this problem, as it can help you reach the unlimited number of employees who live overseas.
It is also important to realise that in most sectors, employees do not always need to always be physically present at work – they can work from home. In recent years, we have observed the rising popularity of mobility programs combined with hybrid working. Thanks to them, employees can relocate and have time to gradually soak up the atmosphere of their new place of living.
Challenges of employee mobility
Acquiring employees from distant regions and foreign countries is a huge undertaking for both the company and the people concerned. As a business owner, you should help your new staff accommodate and predict all possible issues that may come around.
One of the steps you should take early on is to develop a detailed strategic plan. It should include all stages of employee mobility – from legal employment and onboarding through medical and tax formalities to pension and benefit schemes.
How to improve employee mobility experience?
The right choice of mobility solutions can facilitate the transition of your business and increase the number of experienced job candidates who are ready to relocate. Most importantly, the strategies and digital tools that you choose should be oriented toward your employees’ convenience.
Once all legal formalities are settled, it’s now time to boost your employee experience of working at your business and living in a new place. There are many ways to achieve it. Let’s now focus on some examples.
Flexibility
If you want to hire employees who come from far away, you should take into consideration that they may need more flexibility than other team members. At the very beginning, they will need to get used to the new place and people, as well as settle formalities related to their stay. It all takes time, so you shouldn’t throw them into the deep right from day one. Introducing a hybrid employment model can be a pretty good start.
Support
Although global employee mobility is something younger generations look for in the labour market, moving to another city or country can be problematic in many areas. Finding a flat to hire, learning a foreign language, or legalising the stay are only a few examples of issues employees may be struggling with. As an employer, you should always provide support to the new hires, but how? You can, for instance, designate a particular staff member to look after them as a part of their professional daily duties.
Everyday convenience
Employees who are satisfied with their life, are better workers. Satisfaction with the living environment depends on many factors such as accommodation, food, commutes, entertainment, and medical care. You have a significant influence on at least some of them, e.g., commutes.
If your new hires use their private cars to get to the office, you can improve their parking experience by implementing technology that makes parking simpler. Parkalot – an innovative solution for parking space reservation – revolutionises the way we all think about corporate car parks. How does it work? Parkalot enables your employees to book in advance a parking spot every time they go to work. What is more, the system makes it possible to allocate some particular parking spaces to the newly hired staff. This way, employees who visit the office for the first time can have their parking space booked by you.
Self-development
Providing your employees with opportunities to improve their skills and increase their qualifications translates into higher employee retention. Online language courses, skills training, or hands-on workshops maximise employee potential and show your staff that you care about them. By delivering expertise, knowledge, and skills to your employees, you can instantly increase the profitability and efficiency of the organisation.
Proper introduction and free time
The overall well-being of new hires who are alone in the city depends mostly on how they get along with their colleagues. It is, therefore, crucial to introduce relocated employees to the rest of the team, organise an orientation session and simply make them socialise. To make it possible, consider scheduling an informal integration meeting after working hours or adding some team-building activities to the working routine.
As you can see, a proper employee mobility strategy can be extremely beneficial to your organisation. Thanks to attracting employees from other regions and countries, you can build multicultural teams with different skills and various insights that fuel your business growth. If you want to keep them in your company for a long time, you should try to make them feel like at home. Begin with small steps like implementing Parkalot, our state-of-the-art solution for parking space reservation.
Start using Parkalot within an hour. Allow your colleagues to commute by car, and park in the parking spaces assigned to those who are working from home.