Enhancing Mobility Relationships with Technology

The key to success in all aspects of human resources work is in the name. Genuine and understanding human-human contact is essential for our line of work. So why then, is this so frequently forgotten or side-lined in exchange for other priorities? Many in the industry are rightfully concerned that businesses are using technology to chase profits and efficiency over every other aspect of the job, even if this results in poor outcomes. Short-term thinking such as this is not going to provide the industry with lasting success, or a positive reputation with employees, who should be the focus.

Removing the human from the resources

Although we need to bring the sector back to focus more on the people it is there to serve, to ignore the modern developments that have made the HR industry the huge and well-oiled machine it is today would be ridiculous. How then, can we strike a balance between the two sides of the coin? Between providing a streamlined and high-throughput service, while still offering a high-quality and human approach for our employees?

Mobility-focused technology has been given a bad reputation in recent years for providing a host of new options for automating our procedures and smoothing our workflows, specifically by cutting down on the need for human-human contact. The global mobility sector is also guilty of this, and it’s easy to see why with so many services, stakeholders and regulations to juggle on top of communicating with the assignee.

This, however, is causing big problems for organisations in the longer-term, but negative relocation experiences seriously compromising good-will and company loyalty within the staff pool. Assignees who are subject to poor global mobility experiences are much more likely to leave the business following, or during, assignment, and also tell their tales of woe to their colleagues, further harming company morale.

Reintegrating the human

Therefore, when considering how to integrate technology into the mobility lifecycle, an important question to ask yourself is how the assignee will be brought into the flow? Will they be on the side-lines or fully integrated into the process so they can offer their input and feedback throughout the process? The best option will depend on your business, but most will see a very successful outcome from brining the assignee further into the fold and more central to the assignment process.

All good relocation technology providers will offer employees a great online experience through their web browser portal, or ideally through a mobile app. These tools allow you to easily and effectively delegate tasks to the transferee in a way that makes it easy for them to handle, reducing the stress on the individual in question. They can answer all your questions, upload their documents and make home and school search choices directly from their mobile device, wherever they are.

Making choices like these when it comes to choosing how to integrate technology into your mobility program can help to eliminate the feeling of alienation that communicating purely via technology can bring to some individuals. Leveraging a specifically human service, such as a buddy system for new transferees, can even provide a more personal touch than there was before so much technology was available.

Using your time

One of the biggest benefits of integrating technology appropriately throughout the global mobility lifecycle is the time savings that can be found across the board. If used correctly, your software can take a lot of the long-winded and monotonous tasks associated with human resources processing. How you use this extra time to your advantage can have a hugely significant impact on the success of your mobility programs.

One way to ensure that you are doing this through your technology is to take a step back before implementation and ask your team what tasks are holding them back from focusing on the human-element of relocations. Then, find the right software to solve that need for you. Whereas some see mobility technology as a replacement for humans in many cases, it should instead be seen as a bridge to better facilitate the flow of people and information in the industry.