AI is reshaping how we work. Restructures and redundancies have become the norm, not the exception. Teams are leaner, budgets tighter, expectations higher. We're being asked to do more with less - and to do it while the goalposts keep moving.And when the pressure mounts, the human side is the first thing to slip. The time to think. The space to develop. The care for our own people - and for ourselves.Which brings me to the uncomfortable truth at the heart of all this.The risk isn't the global mobility industry changing. The industry will change, with us or without us who work in it. The real risk is us not changing with it.

The hamster wheel

Mobility professionals are extraordinary. Capable, dedicated, endlessly resourceful and genuinely lovely people. But so many are running on a hamster wheel - heads down, firefighting, delivering, driving transformation with no time to lift their eyes and ask: where is all this going, and am I going with it?The irony isn't lost on me. We spend our careers helping other people navigate change - relocations, transitions, the upheaval of a new country, a new role, a new life. We are change professionals. And yet how often do we apply that same care to ourselves?When did you last invest in your skills? Nurture your network, beyond the people you already know? Step back and ask whether the role you're in is still the role you want - or whether it's time to shape a different one? If the honest answer is “I don't have time,” perhaps that's exactly the problem.

Transformation is a people game

My whole career has been focused on HR and global mobility transformation. And if there's one lesson that's held true every single time, it's this:Transformation isn't really about systems or processes. It's about people.The data backs this up. Research widely cited by McKinsey suggests around 70% of transformation and change programmes fall short of their goals - and when they do, the cause is rarely the technology. It's the human side. In fact, Gartner's 2025 research found that only 32% of leaders say the last change they led achieved healthy adoption by their people, and that 79% of employees have low trust in change. McKinsey's own work shows that organisations which prioritise the organisational and people side of change are several times more likely to succeed than those focused on technology alone.You can buy the best technology, design the slickest operating model, write the most elegant strategy - and it will still fail if you don't bring people with you and involve them in the change process, from the beginning. What makes transformation actually stick is the human side. The adoption. The behaviour change. The trust. The willingness to let go of the old way and step into the new.It's why evolution and agility can't just be organisational buzzwords - they have to become personal. The organisations (and the professionals) who thrive aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or the newest tools. They're the ones most willing to adapt.“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change.”  - a line often attributed to Charles Darwin.We know this instinctively when we're transforming our functions. So why do we so rarely apply it to ourselves?Because the same principle holds. Staying relevant isn't about acquiring a certificate in AI or adding a buzzword to your LinkedIn. It's about a mindset shift. A genuine willingness to evolve - your skills, your thinking, your sense of what's possible.

Transforming the experience, not just the function

This matters because transformation in our world isn't only about us. It's about reshaping the entire mobility experience - for our teams and for the people we move.For years, we've been transforming our operating models: moving from reactive and manual to strategic, data-led and digital-first. Automating the transactional. Outsourcing what doesn't need to sit in-house. Freeing our teams to do the higher-value, advisory work that technology can't. Done well, this doesn't diminish the human side - it creates space for it.But here's the part we can't automate. Our clients - the expats and assignees we move - are navigating one of the most disruptive experiences a person can go through. A new country. A new role. A new identity. The logistics matter, of course. But the thing that makes or breaks an assignment is rarely the shipping or the visa - it's whether the person feels supported, settled and able to thrive.So as we redesign our operating models, the question isn't just “how do we become more efficient?” It's “how do we use that efficiency to deliver a more human experience?” The best transformations do both: a smarter, leaner function and a more supported, more successful assignee. Technology for the transactional; people for the personal.That's the real prize. Not change for its own sake, but transformation that makes us better partners to the business and better advocates for the people we move.

What happens if we don't change?

Let's be honest about the alternative. The professionals who don't evolve don't usually fail dramatically. They just quietly get left behind. Overlooked for the role. Sidelined in the restructure. Watching the industry move in a direction they no longer recognise.That's not a failure of ability. It's a failure to adapt. And it's entirely avoidable.Because here's the hopeful part: the future of global mobility is rich with opportunity for those willing to evolve. Our skills - stakeholder management, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, navigating complexity, managing compliance, project management, leading through change - are some of the most transferable, in-demand capabilities in business today. We just have to be willing to reframe how we see ourselves, and where we add value.

Supporting our people - and ourselves

So what do we actually do about it?First, we support our teams through change properly - not as an afterthought once the system goes live, but as the core of how we lead. Change done to people fails. Change done with them sticks.Second, we get off the hamster wheel - daily. Even ten minutes to think, to reflect, to lift our heads. It's not indulgent; it's how you stay relevant.Third, we invest in ourselves with the same seriousness we invest in everyone else's moves. Our skills. Our networks. Our mindset.

So, where do you start?

You don't need to overhaul everything. You need to begin.Pick one thing. One skill to build. One connection to make. One hour this month to step off the wheel and think about where you are heading.And ask yourself the question: what does staying relevant mean to you? I don't think there's one right answer. But I'm certain the worst answer is to stop asking the question.Because our industry is changing. That part isn't in question.The only question that matters is whether we as Mobility professionals change with it.

About the author

Kat helps Global Mobility Professionals and Expat Leaders navigate change through executive/ team coaching and consulting. Kat has 19+ years living, leading and transforming Global Mobility - as an expat, a consultant and a transformation leader. Find her at katosborn.com or on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynosborn.

Sources

McKinsey & Company, research on transformation and change success rates. Gartner HR research (2025): healthy change adoption and employee trust in change. Darwin quotation widely attributed but of disputed origin (often traced to Leon C. Megginson, 1963).

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