The challenge of managing talent across borders – and how AI can help

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping international transfers and global mobility, and it can provide a wealth of features to support employees in their move and global mobility teams in their role. However, AI should be able to augment rather than replace the human touch. This was one of the key themes that emerged from AltoVita's Smart, Safe and Sustainable Summit, which took place in London and brought together business executives, HR leaders, and mobility experts together to explore the future of corporate housing and how smart technology is shaping the options for assignees. Attendees heard how, when used judiciously, AI can free global mobility teams from repetitive tasks and enable them to use their time and resources where they can make the most impact, and to do the work they most enjoy.The conference heard from AltoVita and other global mobility experts how integration, automation, and personalisation are reshaping the employee experience in global mobility and reducing friction and costs behind the scenes. When it works well, the end result is a better outcome for the assignee, a reduced workload for the mobility team, and a quicker, more efficient process in terms of administration. However, the human touch is still vitally important, as are partnerships with trusted providers, because the relocation process can often be logistically and emotionally challenging for assignees and their families who are moving long distances. Whereas some straightforward business trips do not need to be high touch, moving a family across the globe requires much more human interaction and assistance.

Global mobility - A more complex role and a greater workload

The Smart, Safe and Sustainable Summit looked at how global mobility roles have become more complex and time consuming. These roles often now encompass a workload that combines immigration and corporate housing as well as destination services and tax compliance. By using smart partnerships, data-driven ecosystems, and integrating AI into processes in a time-saving way, global mobility teams can use AI strategically to free up more time to concentrate on the actions that really make a difference to the assignee experience.This is a significant shift, because since Covid, the global mobility industry has had an increasingly large workload, created by the complexity of the geopolitical climate and the increase in requests for hybrid and remote working from many employees. Often it is the global mobility teams who are asked to sort out requests for remote and hybrid work, as well as organise traditional assignments. These requests can, however, trigger tax, legal and duty of care issues which employees may not be fully aware of and can take up a lot of time for the global mobility team.Now, AI is helping the industry move from reactive to proactive. It can flag delays in visa processing before they spiral into logistical nightmares and can “nudge” housing recommendations to consultants based on employee preferences and peer group behaviour. It can even help with sustainability tracking by measuring the environmental impact of different relocation decisions and integrate tax and legal advice.

Key takeaways from AltoVita’s Smart, Safe and Sustainable Summit:

• AI is making huge changes to the industry, particularly in terms of speed and efficiency
• Personalisation is becoming key to the assignee experience, with AI able to assist and provide recommendations to individual clients
• Automation can help reduce costs and workloads for mobility teams who have very heavy workloads since Covid and the rise of hybrid and remote working
• AI can help teams better manage budgets and direct resources where they are most needed and make the most impact
• AI can help organisations ensure they are meeting their obligations for employer duty of care
• New apps can enable assignees to settle in better at their destination, offer suggestions for services and amenities, and enrich the assignment experience

How digital transformation is impacting the world of global mobility

Among the lively and engaging discussions at the summit, there was an emphasis on how technology can make global mobility teams more effective, and how it can improve choice and outcomes for assignees and business travellers.In a conversation entitled: Will Real-Time Booking Ever Be Available in Corporate Accommodation? Jose Nunez, Corporate Travel Manager, AMC Networks International UK, and Jess Dunderdale, Senior Director of Client Partnerships, AltoVita, discussed what real time booking really meant, and what that meant for the world of corporate travel.Jose Nunez explained that when people booked their own private holiday, they wanted to choose accommodation that was comfortable, made them feel at ease and was easy to book. Those expectations were also affecting the way that global assignees wanted to choose their corporate and travel accommodation.“Real time means for me, if I want to sit in front of a computer or talk to a machine and say ‘book it’ and it is booked,” he said.Jess Dunderdale said that from Alto Vita’s perspective, real-time booking does not have a ‘one size fits all’.  She explained that demand for accommodation comes from different types of clients, including business travellers, global mobility assignments, intern programmes, projects, and music and events.“What we have learnt is that it is very specific to the unique needs of the programme,” she said. “You might have a business traveller who is going to business headquarters for seven days and so for them ‘real time’ means that they want an aparthotel with flexible check in options. Then you have got a family moving to Singapore for six months and what they want is a curated, vetted shortlist of accommodations that have been checked for suitability, availability and compliance before they can go ahead and confirm within a couple of hours.”She said that in terms of accommodation asset class, the list of potential assets had expanded, and there were lots of different types of accommodation that were now being considered, including aparthotels, hotels, traditional serviced accommodation, professionalised private homes, apartments, villas, and co-living spaces.“Each of those assets has its own availability logic and operational constraints,” she explained. So AltoVita’s approach is to use technology to blend automation with human support in order to tailor the options to the best needs of clients.

Faster responses to booking problems across the industry

In a sponsored panel by Relocity: From Chaos to Clarity: Integrated Ecosystems in Global Talent Mobility, and moderated by William Taylor, Senior VP of Partnerships at Relocity, a panel of global mobility experts discussed how AI is already transforming back end operations. It is doing this by finding relevant housing options faster, predicting employee needs and preferences based on historic patterns, and automating repetitive tasks that were normally done by administrative staff. These new efficiencies create space for human teams to spend more time building trust, solving problems, and delivering support during what for many is a complex and often emotional life transition away from family and friends to a new life abroad.The panel was comprised of Natascha Clark, Director of EMEA Business Development, Bristol, Khadeeja Islam, Head of Global Mobility, Aggreko, and Beverly King, VP of Client Partnerships, Alto Vita.Starting off the discussion, William Taylor introduced the concept of an “integrated ecosystem”, which would make a seamless experience out of what is ultimately a fairly complex journey.“As someone who has also been in the industry for 25 years, the industry as a whole has talked in depth for years about this seamless experience, and I think we are finally at that point where the technology, the commitment from the partnerships, we are really starting to see some advancements along that integrated ecosystem,” he explained.Explaining the complexity of moving assignees, and how different aspects of the transfer need to work together in order to ensure the move is a success, he asked the panellists to reflect on how the integration of digital platforms had really transformed the way their organisation collaborated with partners, and how it had started to drive a better experience.“It is not easy to move a family from one point to another across the border and make that a great experience and get them set up for success,” he said. “It takes many different individuals, systems, platforms, content, support throughout that journey, and so as we look to the future, this integrated mobility ecosystem is really going to start driving greater efficiency and really best in class relocations.”Natascha Clark, Director of EMEA Business Development, Bristol, said that integrating the different aspects of the move was highly beneficial.“When we think of the experience of the employee and the family who is going through the journey of moving from A to B, there are so many touch points in their lives,” she said. “We want to make that journey for the individual and for the family, really smooth and exciting, so that when they hit the ground running at the host location, they are ready for whatever is coming next.“I believe the integration of all the ecosystem partners in an ideal way would reduce those touch points and therefore give a huge advantage to the individuals and to the corporations as well.”Khadeeja Islam, Head of Global Mobility, Aggreko, explained what a corporate buyer was looking for in a relationship with a partner.“We are actually looking for seamlessness,” she explained, “and anything that will automate and take away manual effort from all of the different stakeholders involved in the whole process, end to end.“Having an integrated ecosystem will allow us to be able to do that, and from a corporate buyer's perspective, and it will allow us to focus on value added activities, knowing that our trusted partners can take care of the rest of it. It just doesn't take a global mobility advisor or Global Mobility Manager to do it alone, it takes a whole village, and so bringing all of our partners together in one seamless way will improve the process for everybody,” she said.

How AI can help with accommodation challenges in global mobility

William Taylor, Senior VP of Partnerships at Relocity, introduced the theme of how AI can help match temporary housing solutions with the unique needs of relocating employees and business travellers. He highlighted how it was about understanding the needs of the individual, making recommendations for them, and helping to make their stay more meaningful and more relevant.“That is one of the good things that AI can help with – to create personalisation from the employee experience side,” he said.Beverly King, VP of Client Partnerships, AltoVita, explained how using AI to create a menu of potential housing solutions that fitted the profile of the client meant global mobility teams could concentrate on building relationships and partnerships.“If AI helps us generate pricing and availability faster, the people at the touchpoints have more time to do what matters—interact meaningfully with the transferee,” she said.She explained that at the back end, AI can help providers, (including those dealing with accommodation solutions, the relocation management companies, and even the housing providers themselves) to create options and present solutions much faster and in a way that matches the pricing, preferences, and availability that clients need.“That means they can have a more meaningful relationship with the people they are serving, because they are not bogged down in admin, sourcing and managing a higher level of workload,” she said.“They are getting more time to do the stuff that they enjoy, which I know from speaking to our customer success managers is the interaction - whether that is your relocation consultant in a global mobility relocation management company, or a direct corporate or travel management company. In addition, the speed and agility of getting those solutions out there is going to cut down cost. We all know that cost is a big thing for everybody at the moment. It does not matter where you are, cost is a huge focus.”William Taylor noted that the debate around cost savings comes up every year and has been a theme in global mobility “for the past 25 years”.Beverley King also explained how AI could help to nudge customers towards solutions that were based on the specific needs of the employee, based on other stays that other employees within the same organisation have had, and which could really help to speed up the process by prioritising those recommendations that were most likely to fit the profile of the assignee’s needs.“What is really amazing about AI and the automation that is all happening right now is that it really does free up the humans in our business to think proactively,” she said.

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Why personalisation and the human touch are so important

Beverley King of AltoVita explained that there are various levels of integration that happen between the various service providers when they are supporting a business travel or mobile worker.“That is when we can really start to personalise and curate that experience, because as we share what is most important to those families with those individuals, we can address that by providing the right solutions, whether it's corporate housing, destination services, and we are all learning together.”William Taylor from Relocity emphasised how AI could not provide all the human aspects but could drive greater efficiencies in administration and logistics.“AI is not going to drive the sick intern to the hospital,” he said. “It is not going to create community events to drive engagement amongst the interns, but the Customer Service Managers (CSMs) on your team can think about that now, because there is more space in their day and in their brain to deliver this.“We know that our industry can be fuelled by a lot of tactical administrative work that is important, but as we build out these integrations and really look for ways to drive curation and personalisation, I think it creates a lot of exciting opportunities.”A key theme of the summit was how AI can provide an enriched experience for globally mobile employees and can drive efficiencies while providing a more personal experience. For example, AI can play a key role here in helping providers deliver curated recommendations, from housing and schooling to pet relocation services and area tours, based on actual user behaviour and preferences.

An app to help assignees make the most of their stay

AltoVita also unveiled their new mobile app, AltoStay at the summit. The app is for travelling or relocating employees and is designed to streamline the accommodation experience and boost employee satisfaction. From real-time information and push notifications to smart AI-driven local recommendations and extension requests, AltoStay was built to help assignees deal with the practice aspects of their stay, minimising back-and-forth communication and reducing friction throughout the guest journey. AltoStay has push notifications with check-in details, check-in info, door codes, and WiFi passwords, so there is less friction an inconvenience for assignees when they arrive. They will not need to search back through past emails to find all the details of their trip – it will be immediately accessible within the app. AltoStay also includes recommendations for local amenities such as restaurants, grocery stores and supermarkets, local parks, pet services, and other options based on their preferences. It takes away the need for assignees to search Google Maps when they arrive, and gives them the option of making a booking directly through the app. The more an assignee uses it, the better it understands their  preferences and their needs, and the smarter and more tailored it becomes. It also includes  thorough assessments of neighbourhood safety and 24/7 emergency response capabilities through phone, WhatsApp or live chat, just by a few taps.

Why human empathy still matters in a high-tech world

In conclusion, the panel emphasised the irreplaceable role of people in crisis response, community engagement, partnerships and nuanced decision-making, but explained how AI can augment and enhance the service being offered to assignees through efficiency and cost savings.What’s more, AI and automation can help streamline bookings and services, reduce manual touchpoints where they are not necessary, and shift time and resources towards higher-impact work such as coaching, emotional support and problem-solving. It can also help with the challenges of meeting the needs of clients and assignees in terms of budget, support, and duty of care.For the global mobility community, this is not just about convenience, but goes to the core of efficiency, insight, and experience. The relocation management company or corporate buyer can save time and money, while transferees get access to a personalised, intuitive front-end experience. For global mobility teams, the panel highlighted how AI offers the opportunity to have more time to focus on the meaningful parts of the global mobility role. It is not just about reducing costs, but about adding value, so that the assignee has the best possible experience, adding to the likelihood that the assignment will be a success.

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