Inclusive mobility

Global changes and challenges require new approaches to business and talent

Complexity, competition, and change in the global business and talent landscape are creating new challenges for businesses and their leaders. Now more than ever, organizations need diverse global talent who can flex and move to address these challenges at home and abroad.

In this report, we propose that aligning diversity & inclusion (D&I) and global mobility (GM) offers an opportunity to mobilize diverse talent to help drive individual and organizational performance on a global scale.

A clear business case for "inclusive mobility"

D&I today is no longer about just “checking the box” or “doing good.” It’s about driving strong business performance and results, and mounting evidence confirms that diverse and inclusive organizations outperform the competition. Similarly, GM today is evolving from an operational function and transactional “people mover” to a strategic business and talent partner.

D&I and GM are natural partners for unleashing people’s potential globally, yet they are generally disconnected within organizations. However, aligning D&I and GM can increase the ROI and strategic impact of both efforts by bringing an organization’s inclusive culture and talent priorities to life.

The costs of limited participation in global mobility

Statistics tell a story of obstacles to participation in international opportunities by “non-traditional” profiles.

Recognizing these obstacles is important, as limited participation in GM can:

• Close the doors to leadership roles and narrow the leader pipeline;
• Negatively impact the talent brand and ability to attract and retain diverse employees;
• Signal to local offices, customers, and communities that the organization is not fully committed to diversity; and
• Impede getting the best and the brightest talent to key markets to address challenges and stimulate innovation.
  

Inclusion across the global mobility life cycle

Using three mobile employee personas, we consider representative individual experiences to understand obstacles and opportunities for inclusive mobility across the GM life cycle. Solutions include: Inclusive culture, leadership, and accountability, bias mitigation, HR/GM knowledge of local D&I landscapes, inclusive mobility processes, flexible programs and policy provisions, and role modeling and mentoring.

Inclusive design can remove barriers and make international opportunities more accessible to diverse individuals. However, broader alignment and increased collaboration between D&I and GM is required to bring inclusive mobility design to life. Our maturity model describes key indicators for D&I and GM alignment, which business, HR, D&I, and GM leaders can use in considering their current and desired states.

Getting it right—Getting started

In addition to making international opportunities more accessible to diverse individuals, aligning D&I and GM can help organizations position themselves to realize an array of business and talent benefits, including: Reach new and diverse talent, deploy capabilities to address priorities faster and better, mirror changing talent and customer demographics, build a pipeline of diverse globally minded leaders, advance D&I strategic impact, and increase ROI in GM.

To set your organization on the course for inclusive mobility and unleashing talent on a global scale, we recommend:

1. Get D&I and GM leaders and team together and talking,
2. Understand current participation in GM within your organization, and 
3. Review GM practices for inclusive design.