Wladimir Sardinha - Consultant - BGRS

Name: Wladimir Sardinha

Position: Consultant

Company: BGRS

Professional Background

BGRS, Consultant (United Kingdom): 2017 – Present

Crown Worldwide Group, Mobility Executive (United Kingdom): 2016 – 2017

Team Relocations, Relocation Manager (United Kingdom): 2013 – 2015

EMS, International Move Specialist (United Kingdom): 2012 – 2013

Santa Fe Relocation, Global Move Specialist (United Kingdom): 2008 – 2012

Career Insider

Q: Why global mobility, and how did you get started in the industry?

A: When I started 10 years ago, I was coordinating household goods moves, and wasn’t aware of how big the world of mobility actually is. As time passed, I learned the ins and outs of the industry, and found myself motivated by how the correct management of a move impacts the lives of people during a crucial transitional phase. The diversity of case scenarios and working with people, also make it challenging and exciting at the same time.

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Q: Has your own experience as an expat contributed to your work at BGRS?

A: Somehow, I’ve always found a connection between my challenges and my work. Prior to working in mobility, I had an opportunity and was asked to start a new role in a new location without much preparation. Now that I know what I know, I wish I could have received intercultural training beforehand to make me more aware of the change process I was about to experience. This knowledge has made me stronger and gave me the ability to put things in perspective to help assignees in different ways. Leaving the comfort zone of your country, family and friends, language, food, culture, and even weather, those are huge things and will have an impact on any person’s life.    

Q: What advice would you give to someone looking to build a career in global mobility?

A: You need to be a people person, have a global mind-set and be a critical thinker.

Industry Insider

Q: What do you think is the primary thing hindering the global mobility industry's progress?

A: Detachment of the economic interests of any given company from the heart of what the mobility industry is about.

Q: What is the most important strategic tip you can give to companies handling global mobility?

A: Invest in people, training (and more training), as well as strong supply chain management, and information technology.

Q: What kind of tech or software would you suggest for global mobility processing?

A: I believe that companies need to utilize flexible software that enables varying service delivery circumstances to be taken into consideration. At BGRS, technology is intertwined with what we do and it’s important that it enables productivity, ensures service excellence and empowers us to stay focused on the bigger picture with our clients and customers.  

Visionary Insider

Q: How can global mobility professionals ensure that they are handling issues of diversity and inclusion appropriately?

A: These topics are a top priority for many organizations; I think ongoing training around diversity and inclusion is absolutely necessary.

Q: What more can be done to improve current global mobility practices to benefit talents on the move?

A: Focusing on flexibility of global mobility practices is the name of the game.

Q: What are the major developments you currently see happening in the industry, and how do you feel about them?

A: This is not limited to mobility, but the digitization of the industry is a major development and continues to change. It’s great though, because technological advancements are changing many fields, resulting in new platforms, processes, ways of thinking, innovation and so on – it keeps our minds open.  The difference in our industry – and especially at BGRS – is we believe in the power of the human touch and that cannot be replaced.

Either/Or…

• Short-term or long-term assignment? Both
• Airbnb or serviced apartments? Serviced apartments
• Excel or global mobility software? Both still. Perhaps in the near future only mobility software.
• Lump-sum or flex-ben? Flex.
• Facebook or LinkedIn? A bit of both.
• Outlook or Gmail? Outlook
• Taxi or Uber? Uber
• iOS or Android? iOS
• Mac or PC? I love Mac but PC has it’s working benefits.
• Computer or tablet? A tablet that is a computer. Despite of some claims, we don’t have that one yet on the market.
• Work hard or play hard? One leads to another and vice versa.