In the Spotlight: Innovation and the Transformation of Global Mobility

Global mobility is in the midst of a transformation. Organizations are challenging mobility leaders to explore how they deliver programs to meet the needs of today’s mobile population. BGRS’s Rob Martini, Vice President, Strategic Products & Talent Mobility Practice Leader, discusses how technology and innovation translate into new solutions contributing to mobility’s transformation In the Spotlight.

Mobility is an evolving industry in many ways. What solutions are being introduced in the industry to drive innovation?

Rob Martini: While innovation and technology are not technically synonymous, in today’s fast-moving global environment technology advances are truly the primary drivers enabling industry innovation. This is true in the relocation industry as well, where almost every mobility and talent-focused event and forum has some focus on digital influence on the programs administered by companies, third parties and suppliers. There is a heavy emphasis on changing how mobile employees access and consume information and services. Intuitive, self-navigable solutions that allow the mobile employee to make informed choices around what services they consume and how they access those choices are continuously introduced to the market.

There is also an increasing ability to incorporate employer policy requirements and machine learning into solutions. This will ultimately allow for the creation of sophisticated, well-governed and digital marketplaces across all key service lines supported by the mobility industry. An increasing number of these solutions are underpinned by crowdsourced quality information to help relocating employees navigate the numerous aspects of their relocation, while enhancing the employer’s ability to control cost and ensure an enhanced employee experience.

How are these solutions contributing to companies embracing digital workplaces and digital mobility more broadly? 

Rob: The introduction of these new technologies is making the idea of managing the relocation or assignment logistics from anywhere more obtainable.

The ability to easily integrate systems, data and content across multiple organizations has led to the ability to develop broad data and content ecosystems. Increasingly, we see these systems integrate into a unified front end, designed to help administer complex relocation programs. Almost everything we are doing in terms of integrating new tools into our service delivery model is built with a variation of this concept in mind.

Additionally, process enhancement using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is gaining traction across many solutions offered in the talent and mobility functional areas. As these tools start to manifest themselves more broadly, they make the idea of an increasingly digitally driven mobility experience, untethered by conventional time and place assumptions, more realistic every day.

BGRS has recently announced new strategic partnerships and tools to expand its suite digital offerings. Can you speak to these initiatives, and share how they are enabling organizations to meet their talent mobility objectives?

Rob: We have developed strategic relationships with several key partners, representing each of the core lines of service we support. The systems developed as part of these agreements enable BGRS to develop our own digital ecosystem, feeding our tailored, unified front end, which will support mobile employees, clients, service delivery consultants and suppliers through the relocation process.

Additionally, we have entered into relationships with other digitally driven firms that have helped us to develop products such as a social connectivity app, a crowd sourced orientation platform and a learning reinforcement app.

Each of the solutions that underpin these relationships targets enhancing our service delivery model in a new and critical way for our clients’ and their mobile employees. Each of these dynamics will empower us to help our clients solve complex human capital challenges and drive more ROI into their programs while creating a better, more dynamic and tailored approach to how they support their employees while on assignments.

How do these new solutions play a role in the transformation of Mobility?

Rob: One of the most interesting elements of being so involved in this rapid industry change has been the constant adaptation of the standard concepts and requirements of doing business. As we adopt new technologies and strategies and develop new relationships, there is a constant need to rethink assumptions and practices that have been in place for many years. Managing risk and compliance is a very timely example of this. The very nature of innovation work is to experiment with new and often untested solutions. As a by-product of this environment, we have developed new risk mitigation techniques, business continuity concepts and supplier management approaches. Almost every aspect of the mobility industry, including our thought process around engaging strategic partners to support business development, is adapting to accommodate the pace of change.

What do you see as the next steps in transforming global mobility?

Rob: For both clients and employees, I think the industry is evolving in a few key directions, but one specifically is an entirely new mobility experience tailored to unique customer personas and preferences to utilize benefits much like a consumer experience. The other is the advent of predictive analytics, which enables clients to develop data-driven policy and budgets, anticipate outcomes and adjust as needed.

In the main, innovation that drives results for clients and improves employee experience is at the heart of every technological advance and digital application, and BGRS is committed to continuing our focus and investment to drive these goals forward