Re:locate magazine, spring 2007

Recruitment now: what it takes to get ahead

With our online recruitment service now firmly established on the website, we take a look at some of the key positions of interest to our readers. Here, International Assignment roles, also known as Expatriate Management or Global Mobility roles, come under the spotlight.

Frazer Jones, the HR recruitment company, has been publishing its Reward Salary Survey for over two years and its 2006/7 edition makes interesting reading. As the report states “Global mobility specialists have seen a year of feast and famine since 2005. There were a couple of high profile campaigns, employing large numbers of such specialists over a relatively short space of time. The end result of this was that very few candidates remained in the market, and employers found it increasingly difficult to find the talent they required.”

Frazer Jones admits that response rate to their survey from Global Mobility specialists was not high. However, salary levels were not very different from the Reward roles included in their survey, with in-house corporate teams having less levels of seniority than Reward teams and the relocation consultancies paying more or less the same salaries across the sector.

For anyone looking to move into this area or for companies wanting to recruit, the key competencies and responsibilities outlined in the survey form a useful checklist:

Entry Level Position: Global Mobility Adviser – role includes:

• Upholding company mobility policy
• Pre-departure and post-arrival briefings
• Annual compensation review for the internationally mobile population
• Responding to ad-hoc enquiries
• Liaison with third-party providers with respect to taxation, social security, immigration regulations etc.
• Administration of work permits
• Language skills are often an advantage in this role
  
  Salary range: £25,000 - £40,000

Head of Global Mobility – role includes:

• Global Mobility Manager
• Management of Global Mobility Advisers and their responsibilities
• Review and development of Global Mobility policy
• Dispute resolution and policy interpretation
• Maintaining a working knowledge of international taxation and social security is often imperative
  
  Salary range: £45,000 - £100,000

We asked Andy Shaw of JAM Mobility Solutions for his view of the current market. “The market at present is particular buoyant and has continued to grow over the past few years. As organisations become more global in their efforts, this will continue to have a positive impact on the market. As always, there will be more entry level/middle management opportunities, however there are always a small number of key senior management and Director-level vacancies available.”

Sue Shortland, leading academic at London Metropolitan University and CIPD tutor, has noticed significant changes in the competencies required for international assignment roles: “Global mobility managers are expected to have a range of competencies that sets them apart from their domestic counterparts. While a decade ago the emphasis lay on such competencies as interpersonal and communication ability and intercultural effectiveness, plus the ability to handle complexity and diversity within a framework of understanding of local legislation and the business environment, today the picture has become both broader and deeper. Global mobility managers also have to act as business partners, requiring the ability to build business credibility and to have a focus on adding value. Communication still remains at the heart of success but the emphasis has shifted more towards a leadership role and towards the communication of measured results. Competencies therefore required include business acumen, relationship management and personal effectiveness. Global mobility managers must gain professional knowledge and skills and be able to deploy these in different value systems. In addition, they must be able to build relationships and work within teams across space, time and culture. Personal effectiveness requires the ability to work at the highest level in complex, demanding and changing environments with a wide variety of stakeholders.”

CIPD/KPMG’s latest Labour Market Outlook Survey report of winter 2006-07, based on around 1,400 responses, found that 82% of employers surveyed would be recruiting staff during winter 2006/7, with 15% recruiting to HR roles. Forty-two per cent intended to recruit additional staff, ie over and above replacement recruitment, and 46% anticipated having recruitment difficulties. Of the 61% planning pay reviews during the winter to spring quarter, around a third expected pay to rise by 3-3.5%. John Philpott CIPD’s Chief economist commenting on the latest Office for National Statistics employment and pay figures released in February said the labour market remained subdued at the end of 2006, with still no sign of a surge in wage pressure backing the findings of the CIPD/KPMG report. He noted, “...a marked degree of uncertainty on the part of employers when hiring staff at present”.

CIPD/KPMG Quarterly survey, see www.cipd.co.uk. For the Frazer Jones survey 2006/07, see www.frazerjonesreward.com. Click here for online jobs.