14 May Things Global Mobility Professionals Do That Make Their Big Boss Stand Up and Notice

If there’s one thing a global mobility professional doesn’t know yet, it’s that he is a superhero.  At the drop of a hat, depending on what the situation calls for, he can be asked to translate a document, deal with difficult immigration lawyers, find candidates for an international hard-to-fill position, and be a shoulder of strength to an assignee who is acclimatizing himself to his new country of work.  And when global mobility professionals do all these competently (as they should), sometimes even their most supportive colleagues, like their bosses, can assume that achieving the superhuman is just another day at the office.

Still, there are things that global mobility professionals do that can make even their most jaded boss stand up and notice.  If you’re bucking for a promotion or an assignment in a choice global destination, you might want to consider what some of your more ambitious and forward-thinking colleagues have done.  Following in their footsteps may turn out to be a good idea.

Creating and complying with budgets is one of your job descriptions.  But bringing revenue in is not.  So watch the jaw of your boss drop when you do point to an increase in savings or a new stream of profitability that only you have discovered. Reducing unnecessary spending and maximizing each resource can lead to a very healthy bottom line. Or you can think out of the box, which is what Cartus CEO Kevin Kelleher has done. In relocating thousands of assignees and their families to comfortable accommodations throughout the years, he won  the Global Mobility Professional Award in 2015 from the Forum for Expatriate Management.

Another way to get the boss stand up and notice is to recruit top talents who are not just good at what they do, but can prove to be pretty flexible in the long run.  Getting competent, driven executives should be a no-brainer for you at this point.  But what will make you stand out is if you get leaders and managers who, regardless of their nationality, background, and experience, can prove to be pretty adaptable.  Bonus points if they can multi-task. The value of an assignee is enhanced if he or she can show themselves adept to any challenge that can happen at work, beyond their core skills.  They can also evolve into candidates for another position should it suddenly become vacant.

That saves you and your company time, money, and resources in looking for another assignee when the one you have just might fit the bill.  Complexity of tasks, assignments, and cultures is shrouding the recruitment playing field, and if you can cut through all that fog to develop a pool of talent who can perform and prosper in whatever challenging sphere you can place them in, you would have shown yourself to be a cut above your colleagues.

Relocation of an assignee to various parts of the globe is still the name of the game.  While your boss expects you to accomplish it, the more skilled, speedier, and more efficient you are in doing it, the more your value increases.

Bosses of global mobility professionals have come to expect the usual griping and gnashing of teeth should they find themselves in front of a cultural or legal roadblock.  But if you can prove that you can go around this particular hurdle with the least amount of complaining or well-intentioned venting, your boss will start recognizing your strengths as only someone who truly cares for people do; that is, it’s all about being human, even if it feels like you have superhuman powers.