29 Sep Redefining Global Mobility: Building Agile Workforces for the AI Era

In an age defined by disruption, agility is no longer a choice—it’s the backbone of survival. Yet as artificial intelligence transforms how work gets done, many organizations are finding that agility doesn’t come easily. What was once a challenge for HR has now become a critical frontier for global mobility leaders—the professionals tasked with helping organizations deploy talent across borders, reskill their workforces, and build resilience in an unpredictable, AI-driven world.

A joint study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and HR Executive found that more than one-third of business leaders view constant change—whether driven by AI or economic uncertainty—as “a threat,” “fatiguing,” or “overwhelming.” Only 31% saw it as “expected and manageable.” According to Kevin Oakes, co-founder of i4cp, in his interview with HR Executive, companies that embrace change as opportunity, not disruption, consistently outperform their peers. “Those that hold negative views of change tend to be lower-performing,” he said.

For global mobility leaders, this insight resonates deeply. Agility is no longer just about moving people efficiently—it’s about moving capabilities strategically. In a world where AI can perform cross-border analysis, language translation, and even creative tasks, human adaptability has become the defining competitive advantage.

“Companies like Blockbuster and BlackBerry failed not because they lacked resources, but because they lacked agility,” Oakes noted in the HR Executive interview. Today, that same fate could befall organizations that treat AI as a threat rather than a tool.

The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence recently released a landmark study showing that AI isn’t just taking jobs—it’s also making it harder for young people to find work, particularly in traditional tech roles like software development.

In an NPR interview, Sinead Bovell, founder of the tech education company WAYE, explained that many people misjudged the pace and scope of AI’s impact. “The big misconception was that routine, predictable workflows would be the first to be automated,” she said. “But now, creative and analytical tasks—everything from writing and marketing copy to the first draft of a legal brief—are also in the line of fire.”

This shift forces global mobility teams to rethink not just where talent sits, but what roles still make sense to move, reskill, or redesign. If AI can perform 70% of a job’s tasks, relocating someone for that role may no longer be justified. Instead, mobility programs must pivot toward developing and deploying employees with the judgment, adaptability, and deep thinking skills that AI cannot replicate.

The human edge in an automated world

Bovell told NPR that the most valuable skills in an AI-driven economy will be profoundly human: “judgment, communication, deep thinking, adaptability.” She illustrated the point vividly: “If a supercomputer can give you 15 great answers, which one is the best for your context? The judgment skills there are profoundly challenging.”

That’s where global mobility can play a decisive role. By exposing employees to new markets and cultures, mobility assignments cultivate contextual intelligence—the ability to interpret complex situations and make sound decisions under uncertainty. It’s a form of judgment no algorithm can reproduce. Cross-border experience also builds empathy and flexibility, sharpening the qualities that AI can’t simulate.

Oakes similarly emphasized that agility begins with leadership. “When you ignore the leadership team, what’s happening in the workforce could outpace leadership’s understanding of AI,” he warned in HR Executive. Global mobility can close that gap by designing international learning assignments for executives, immersing them in emerging markets where AI adoption is accelerating. These experiences don’t just build technical understanding—they strengthen the strategic awareness needed to guide organizations through change.

Measuring agility beyond movement

Traditional global mobility metrics—relocation numbers, cost savings, assignment completion—no longer tell the full story. The i4cp study found that about 20% of organizations don’t measure agility at all, and Oakes suspects the real figure is higher. Those that do often rely on engagement or efficiency metrics.

To build true agility, mobility leaders should instead track learning velocity (how quickly employees gain new skills), talent redeployment rates, and innovation adoption across regions. These reveal how effectively an organization is responding to change—not just how it’s managing logistics.

As Bovell told NPR, the shelf life of technical skills has shrunk to about 2.5 years. “There’s no one-time upgrade for AI,” she said. “These tools will keep evolving, and so must we.” For global mobility, that means designing assignments that foster continuous learning and adaptability—not just fill current business gaps.

The traditional notion of a linear career—learn, work, retire—is disappearing. Bovell described this as “the mindset shift” of the future of work. She said the next generation must see themselves as portfolio professionals: adaptable, interdisciplinary, and globally fluent. “If you can think deeply, learn quickly, communicate well, and adapt, that’s a fierce toolkit for the future of work,” she said.

Global mobility programs can help build that toolkit. By reframing assignments as learning journeys rather than relocations, mobility becomes a catalyst for lifelong learning—where each experience sharpens resilience and adaptability.

Building agility as infrastructure

Ultimately, agility isn’t a project—it’s infrastructure. Bovell reminded NPR listeners that AI is a “general-purpose technology,” one that will become foundational to every industry. “General-purpose technologies become infrastructure,” she said. “We rebuild our societies on top of them.”

For global mobility leaders, that’s the real takeaway: agility must be embedded into every part of the organization—from how talent is identified and deployed to how success is measured. The goal isn’t simply to move people across borders, but to build organizations that learn faster than technology evolves.

In the AI era, the future of global mobility will not be defined by how many people move—but by how many people grow. Agility, in the end, isn’t about reacting to change. It’s about preparing for the world AI is already creating.