20 Sep Supercharge Global Workforce Mobility with Scalable Assessments

In today’s data-driven business environment, industries like tech and retail gather vast amounts of data to enhance customer experiences, refine products, and optimize marketing. Similarly, global mobility professionals can use a data-driven approach to build stronger, more effective teams across borders.

Managing a globally mobile workforce requires gathering and leveraging employee data. This data offers key insights into the talent pool, ensuring the right people are placed in the right roles—whether in a new country or transitioning between international assignments.

People data, including performance reviews and assignment outcomes, enhances global mobility strategies by identifying key roles, assessing skills gaps, and determining the best placement for critical positions. These insights are essential for managing international assignments, developing global leaders, and aligning mobility programs with broader business goals.

To obtain this data, scalable assessments are crucial. They provide a comprehensive understanding of employee capabilities, ensuring that global mobility decisions are data-driven and based on real insights.

The missing link: comprehensive assessments for global mobility

Many HR teams have access to data from surveys, performance reviews, and HR systems. However, scalable assessments for global mobility remain underutilized. These assessments offer deeper insights into employee potential and readiness for international assignments.

Scalable assessments analyze skills, competencies, and leadership potential, making it easier to identify the best candidates for global roles. This data is especially valuable for long-term assignments or cross-border leadership roles, where it’s important to evaluate not only technical skills but also cultural adaptability and leadership capacity.

Without these assessments, talent mobility strategies can become imprecise, leading to misaligned assignments. A data-driven approach ensures employees are placed in roles where they can succeed and grow, while also supporting the company’s global business objectives.

Identifying the right employees for international roles is critical in global mobility. The specific data needed will vary depending on mobility program objectives. For example, when expanding into a new market, companies may need entrepreneurial employees comfortable with ambiguity—those who can act as pioneers in setting up new offices or leading initiatives abroad.

With the right assessments, HR teams can sift through people data to find employees with the right mix of skills, leadership qualities, and global mindsets. This ensures that mobility programs align with business goals and place employees in assignments that challenge them to grow while driving success.

Identifying opportunities and mitigating risks

Global mobility professionals face challenges in identifying both opportunities and risks. Assessments provide data needed to understand employee preferences, motivations, and growth potential, which is essential for long-term international assignments.

Assessments also identify high-potential employees ready for global leadership roles who haven’t had the opportunity yet. If not identified early and given opportunities, they may become flight risks, especially if they’ve been in the same role for too long.

Global mobility data helps mitigate risks by identifying employees who may struggle with international assignments or are dissatisfied with their current roles. Research shows employees are more likely to stay in a role if given opportunities to develop skills and advance, making data-driven insights essential for retaining top talent.

The success of global mobility strategies depends on understanding business goals and the skills needed to achieve them. Scalable assessments provide a clear understanding of workforce skills gaps and identify employees likely to excel in future global roles.

These assessments help develop tailored talent strategies. Whether upskilling current employees, reskilling them for global challenges, or hiring externally to fill gaps, people data guides these decisions. This ensures the workforce aligns with long-term business objectives.

Key questions for global mobility planning

When planning global assignments, companies should consider three key questions: Who is available today? Who is needed today? And who will be needed for tomorrow? Ideally, globally mobile employees should fit all three categories—they’re ready to take on international roles now and equipped to grow into future leadership positions.

However, if employees don’t align with future global strategy needs, difficult decisions must be made. Should the company invest in reskilling these employees for global roles or focus on hiring new talent better suited for international assignments?

By understanding people data, companies gain a comprehensive view of their global talent pool, enabling them to place the right individuals in the right international assignments. Once high-potential employees are identified, they can be further developed to prepare for leadership roles that drive the business forward globally.

With scalable assessments and people data, companies can adopt a more strategic, data-driven approach to global mobility, ensuring talent mobility programs align with global objectives and positioning organizations for long-term success in an interconnected world.

Ultimately, data-driven global mobility programs are not just about relocating people—they are about building a global workforce that can adapt, lead, and thrive in any market.