The Leading Magazine For International HR Professionals Worldwide
FEATURES INCLUDE:
Preparing For M&A: The Critical Role Of Employee Data
Travel Smarter: Mastering The New 'E-Word' Rules
Bringing Families Together: New Zealand's New Parent Boost Visitor Visa
M&As: How Talent Mobility Helps Drive Success
Working From Anywhere Flexibility Versus Feasibility
Global Mobility & Climate Change: It's Not As Scary As You Think
Global Benefits Survey
• Minimising The Dark Side Of AI For HR With A Design Thinking Culture
ADVISORY PANEL FOR THIS ISSUE:
In This Issue
Preparing For M&A: The Critical Role Of Employee Data
Hayley Strachan & Louise Hunter, Deloitte LLP
Travel Smarter: Mastering The New 'E-Word' Rules
David Hugkulstone, Smith Stone Walters
Bringing Families Together: New Zealand's New Parent Boost Visitor Visa
David Hugkulstone, Smith Stone Walters
M&As: How Talent Mobility Helps Drive Success
Kristin White, Sterling Lexicon
Working From Anywhere Flexibility Versus Feasibility
Olivier Meier, Mercer
Global Mobility & Climate Change: It's Not As Scary As You Think Louise Jones, Auditel
Minimising
Mostafa Sayyadi & Michael Provitera
Preparing For M&A: The Critical Role Of Employee Data
Corporate transactions can be fast and furious. Often, as an HR professional, you will be asked to pull together information to provide to a potential buyer at very short notice and possibly without the full picture of scope and activity. The buyer is trying to understand your company, often in a very compressed timeframe and without full background or context. This will inevitably lead to questions as they analyse the information provided which you will also need to respond to rapidly. It can feel like a whirlwind. There is often very little warning that this ‘whirlwind’ is about to arrive, which is why many global HR professionals are putting M&A playbooks in place and cleansing data when there isn’t a live transaction, so that they are ready to go when it does happen. Playbooks often cover how to prepare data for a buyer during their due diligence phase, how to approach carving out a section of the business, or - from the other side - how to review and integrate a business being brought into the organisation.
In this article we will focus on the due diligence phase, when there are the shortest timeframes and thus the most benefit in preparatory work. We are also going to focus on the employee data that is provided to the buyer, as this will form the basis of a large part of their analysis. If there are discrepancies in the employee data or between question responses then this can quickly erode buyer confidence, potentially leading into a spiral of ever more detailed review. If a buyer is unconvinced that the employee population presented is accurate then this can also potentially lead to an adjustment to the purchase price of the transaction, as they contemplate the accurate population required in the future.
Being prepared with a ‘bulletproof’ global employee census can help stop value being eroded from the business in a transaction.
Employee CensusBaseline Position
In a transaction, typically an anonymised individual employee data file will be shared to explain the employees within the perimeter.
This file might include job title, location, fulltime equivalent presence, years of service, grade, department/function, employing entity, salary, bonus and benefit details. This is not an exhaustive list and the data available for sharing will depend on what information is captured in the HR system and the appetite for sharing this data with a potential buyer.
Data Quality
Being prepared with a ‘bulletproof’ global employee census can help stop value being eroded from the business in a transaction
Employee data is useful for a wide range of situations as well as in a transaction. However, it is in a transaction that an external party will likely crawl through data and identify issues with a more forensic approach. Some common data errors that could be cleansed in advance include missing data which makes it appear that service or age are infeasibly high, incorrect dates of birth, confusion in the department/function recorded or duplicate employee IDs. Data might also be missing or held across multiple files, for example right to work information or bonus records. Naturally, when sharing data across entities local data protection legislation should always be considered and adhered to.
Stitching Data Together
Based on this file, the buyer will be able to start understanding the company profile in more detail and analyse the make-up of employee costs that they will potentially inherit. As part of this analysis, a buyer might benchmark the size of back-office teams relative to the business as a whole, benchmark salary and bonus against the market and/or their own levels and consider real estate solutions for the future business. The buyer will ask questions to clarify points as they work through this analysis and may wish to talk directly to the HR team, including sub-functions, to understand how the data has been collected and validated.
Preparation in advance of a transaction to ensure global workforce data can be prepared quickly and accurately will help this process run smoothly. Although it may seem a simple request on the face of it, there are some common issues and questions to be aware of:
Employee data may be spread across several systems and formats, particularly where there have been previous acquisitions that are not fully harmonised and where there are populations in different countries. Combining data sets to achieve a holistic, global view can be difficult as data elements are often defined in different ways and the ‘unique ID’ may only be unique to one system/ country. A pre-agreed process can define how to assign a genuinely unique ID across the enterprise, for example, by combining country name or initials with in-country numerical IDs. The process can also agree which fields will be provided so that each country/system can work to fill in data gaps in the key fields and prepare reports which export only the required information. It may be possible to leverage work being done, and data being gathered, for other purposes, avoiding duplication of effort. A live example is that many organisations are currently preparing for the incoming EU Pay Transparency Directive (referenced in the Deloitte article - Summer 2025 IHRA edition), with activities including developing/reviewing a globally consistent job architecture, reward structures, data gathering and rationalisation etc., all of which would be highly complementary to the production of a global workforce census.
Different Categories Of Employees/Workers
There may be many different types of worker within a business – permanent employees, independent contractors, seasonal workers, interns, employees on a retirement
part-time plan etc. In a global company there will be even more variation by country in terms of how workers are engaged and who is considered part of the worker population. This can easily lead to data being skewed by, for example, one country including their interns (often all recorded in HR) and another not including anyone except permanent employees. A full exercise to understand the different categories of workers in each country and to define global principles for who is included in the employee census and who is reported separately will help minimise future questions and confusion.
Mobility Considerations
Linked to each of the points above, the presence of globally mobile individuals within the workforce brings a further opportunity for complexity. Establishing a consistent approach to defining and capturing these individuals will ensure no duplication or omission. For example, when compiling the employee data set, where will you record individuals who are employed in one entity but seconded to another? Does the financial data set capture assignment premium elements, e.g. cost of living allowance, and non-standard benefits such as schooling, immigration costs and tax support? Providing a global workforce overview, i.e. number and location of assignees, assignment start/end dates (important to quantify ongoing costs as the ‘tail’ can last for a number of years post-repatriation) and immigration and tax compliance status may appear simple, but is a challenge that few organisations can easily meet on demand.
Non-Standard Mobility – Extending The Perimeter Further?
It is increasingly common that global organisations allow international remote working to varying degrees – whether within the permanent employee group, e.g. extending time spent overseas on holiday to incorporate some working time, or via permanent cross-border arrangements which allow for work to be (wholly/mainly) performed in one location whilst the individual is resident, and may perform some work, in another. Many businesses now engage with Employers of Record (EORs) for a variety of reasons, including facilitating remote working arrangements where there is no business entity in the desired work location. There is a question for businesses to answer as to whether individuals engaged via an EOR are included in the employee data set. Buyers are increasingly aware of the risks (and costs) that international remote working arrangements may generate, whether in terms of overseas taxes, employer compliance obligations, and/or exposure to employment law issues, particularly relevant if it is anticipated that any transaction will
include or be followed by changes to employee numbers, or the termination of any bespoke or third party arrangements.
As the composition of the global workforce, systems, HR teams and typical requests in a transaction all evolve over time, this is an ongoing required exercise in familiarity and testing of employee data rather than a oneoff event. Agreed principles and processes in a handbook can provide a baseline for checking for anomalies and onboarding new teams and systems over time.
Agreed principles and processes in a handbook can provide a baseline for checking for anomalies and onboarding new teams and systems over time
Carve Out Of A Population
The considerations so far all apply to an entire business being analysed by a potential buyer. There is an additional level of complexity if part of your business is being carved out for sale and the buyer only needs to know about the specific population that they could be acquiring. Defining that population is in itself a difficult task, as some employees may work across both the target perimeter and other parts of your group (in particular backoffice support staff), as well as the logistical and practical difficulties of gathering and presenting the correct data.
To define the in-scope population, typically the starting point will be to consider how much time each employee spends working on the target business. This might be straightforward for direct employees but require a more in-depth time analysis or estimation for support staff. Other considerations might be the identity of the likely buyer (a corporate may be better able to supplement back-office support from
their existing business than say a private equity investor) and the plans and needs for the remaining business. HR professionals should consider the following complexities when defining and preparing the carve-out population data:
Legal Consultations
In many countries, work councils, unions, and employee representatives need to be consulted about any employee transfer. The initial draft of the in-scope population must not pre-judge this consultation process and any selection activities that may take place. This is especially important when there is a risk of redundancies as a result of the carve-out. The employee costs associated with the target business can be estimated on a grouped and role basis initially rather than considering individuals, for example by making an assumption that around half of the ten-person payroll team will go with the target and half will remain with the vendor so that each business has sufficient capacity to run payroll but without defining which people will be transferring.
Mobility Considerations
Global workforce mobility happens within and across group entities, therefore it is important to not only identify the in-scope population (applying the consistent set of principles for the mobile workforce already outlined above), but also to identify dependencies which may exist as a result of intra-group mobility. For example, if a business exiting the group provides visa sponsorship, payroll support or holds contracts with mobility vendors providing support to mobile employees within a remaining entity, there may be additional costs, resources and actions required to deliver services to the same standard post-transaction.
Bespoke cross-border or remote working arrangements, which may be supported by use of an EOR in some cases, are often used to engage key or senior talent. Buyers will wish to be made aware of bespoke arrangements or use of third parties in the provision of individuals they may expect to be within scope as regular employees.
Benefits Separation
The employee costs will be influenced by the benefits that are provided including pension, medical insurance, and company cars. Initial planning for the carve-out should identify if there are entangled group-wide benefits that will be difficult to separate and have a cost and timescale implication. One example of this might be identifying employees who are accruing benefits in a Defined Benefit pension plan as the inclusion of these employees in a carve out could trigger exit debt payments, the need to stand-up new future pension provision with associated cost changes, consultation requirements,
and pension trustee negotiations. If the census lists benefit enrolments, then these implications can be quickly identified and built into the planning, rather than needing to be cross-checked across multiple files.
HR Function Capacity And Alignment
The HR workstream needs to consider the employee population as a whole but also any split of the HR function. This will involve applying the same principles about allocation of time to HR function work on a sub-function basis. Global mobility teams are often found within the HR function rather than within the tax team, for example. However, the HR (and mobility) function will itself need to support the transaction and any subsequent change and transformation and so the capability and capacity to do this should be assessed. This may involve using external support to supplement the team for a short period of time through the transaction and/or it might direct more resource to one side of the business where future change is expected. This assessment and the expected costs will be important for the buyer to understand so that they can be comfortable the estimated HR function costs are sufficient but not excessive.
Once the carve-out population has been defined and well understood internally, there will still be a question of what information is shared with the potential buyer. This is often a debate during a transaction on when and how much to share. Earlier sharing of detailed plans may invite additional questions and scrutiny, and may also anchor the position too early before detailed work has been done to explore all of the implications and carry out consultations. However, sharing the detail too late in the process can mean that a buyer has low confidence in, and visibility of, the business they are acquiring, which might mean the transaction fails or is priced incorrectly. The principles for what will be shared and when, and the required caveats, assumptions and explanations that need to go alongside the data, can all be preliminarily agreed before the short timescales of a transaction itself.
Forward Planning Pays
Dividends
Spending time to improve the quality and consistency of global workforce data will be beneficial in many areas of the business, but particularly when faced with the short timescales of a transaction. On an ongoing basis, the different systems used to manage data in an organisation might be harmonised or improved to help produce data more quickly and efficiently. However, even without systems change there are steps that can be taken to review and improve data quality.
An M&A playbook setting out the principles for approaching a transaction,
the sharing of data and the process for separating an organisation is also a key part of preparation for a transaction. Building the playbook outside the short timescales of an M&A can allow time to discuss and debate the different approaches and obtain buy-in across the organisation. Understanding the likelihood of M&A activity, and agreeing with the wider business some core principles around approach to and timing of data sharing etc. is another argument towards the importance of strong relationships between HR, mobility and senior stakeholders from across the business.
In all areas of preparation, as well as in the heat of the transaction itself, we
HAYLEY STRACHAN
Director, Deloitte LLP
Global Employer Services
E: hstrachan@deloitte.co.uk
T: +44 1224 84 7385
Global Talent Mobility
recommend collaborating across different functional areas within the business to determine principles and produce required data. Different key questions and concerns will emerge from people working in HR to those working in tax, legal, pensions etc. By socialising the data and plans across different areas, you are more likely to uncover the key questions and be prepared with answers by the time a buyer raises them with you.
These areas might seem like simple steps and not urgent to address. However, from experience of many transactions these areas can hide deep pitfalls. Your future self, embroiled in an M&A, will thank you for the preparation time spent now.
LOUISE HUNTER
Director, Deloitte LLP
Strategy, Risk & Transactions Advisory
E: lohunter@deloitte.co.uk
T: +44 20 7007 0506
To address the most challenging business demands, multi-national organisations need to define and understand their global workforce footprint and deliver global talent deployment efficiently and compliantly. Deloitte’s dedicated Global Talent Mobility practice is a multi- disciplinary consulting group of tax, immigration, talent, HR and digital professionals who support clients as they navigate these complex global workforce challenges, developing focused strategies and delivering practical enablement.
OMG! The obsession with acronyms by government bodies just keeps going. The recent introduction of the three E’s - ETIAS, ETA, and EEShas left many travellers scratching their heads, desperately asking for help… ASAP!
The fact that these acronyms are so similar in spelling doesn’t make it any easier to tell them apart - adding to the confusion. But there are important differences that travellers need to know about. Depending on your nationality and status, one or more of these new abbreviations could affect your upcoming travel plans.
ETA - UK
Visitors to the UK need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) if they don’t need a visa for short stays of up to six months, and if they don’t already have UK immigration status. This includes European nationals, as well as US and Canadian citizens.
The ETA allows you to travel to the UK. It’s not a visa, so it doesn’t automatically grant entry. Applying for an ETA is straightforward. You just need to use the online GOV.UK portal or the dedicated app, providing your biographic, biometric, and contact details. There are also a few quick questions about your suitability and criminal history.
Like the US’s ESTA programme, once issued, the ETA is electronically linked to your passport.
If you replace your passport, you’ll need to apply for a new ETA. Keep in mind, being denied an ETA doesn’t automatically cancel your trip. Instead, you’ll need to apply for a regular visa, such as a visitor visa, for the Home Office to review your case in more detail.
EES - SCHENGEN
Starting 12 October, 2025, the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) will gradually roll out at border crossings, with full implementation by April 10, 2026. This digital border system will change the way non-EU nationals (including British citizens) travel to the Schengen area for short stays. Along with providing their name, nationality, and passport details, travellers
Acronym Name Description Link Date of introduction Nationals affected Action required Cost ETA Electronic Travel Authorisation Electronic Travel Authorisation gov.uk/eta/ apply Live since early 2025.
Over 80 nationalities including United States, Canada and all European states travelling to the UK.
When applying online or via the UK ETA app, have your travel document and payment method ready. You’ll need to provide personal details, an email address, and payment via credit/ debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
£16
EES Entry/Exit System Digital border control system travel-europe. europa.eu/ees To be introduced 12 October 2025.
All non-EU nationals (including British citizens) travelling to the Schengen area for a short stay.
ETIAS Electronic Travel Information Authorisation System Pre-travel authorisation scheme travel-europe. europa.eu/ etias To be introduced in late 2026.
Non-EU nationals from 59 visa-exempt countries travelling to 30 European countries.
You won’t need to provide any information before traveling. If flying into a Schengen country, EES checks will be done upon arrival. These checks may take a few minutes, so be prepared to wait during busy times.
When applying next year, you'll need your travel document and payment method. You’ll be asked for personal details. Applications can be submitted through the official ETIAS website or mobile app.
Free
will register biometric data - such as fingerprints and facial scans. You don’t need to do anything before arriving at the border, and there’s no cost for EES registration.
The system will replace manual passport stamping and will help the EU track when you arrive and how long you stay. It’s also designed to detect those who stay longer than the allowed 90 days within a 180-day period.
While some delays may occur initially as travellers and border staff get used to the new technology, EES aims to make border control smoother and more efficient in the longer-term. Each passenger registration is valid for three years. During that time, non-EU nationals will only need to provide their fingerprint or photo when entering and leaving, rather than re-registering each time.
ETIAS - SCHENGEN
Good news: the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) won’t be operational until late 2026. Once it launches, nationals of 59 visaexempt countries (including the US, UK, and Canada) will need to obtain pre-travel authorisation to enter the Schengen area.
The 30 Countries In The Schengen Area Are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
This authorisation will be linked to your passport and valid for up to three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
Since border checks will still happen, having a valid ETIAS doesn’t guarantee entry. However, under normal circumstances, you’ll
be allowed to enter these countries as often as you want for short stays - usually up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
Don’t
Suffer From FOMO
Acronyms can sometimes hide how important the actual rules are. But don’t let these “E-words” pass you by. Travelling across borders is never straightforward, and regulations are constantly changing. Taking a moment to check if pre-arrival authorisation is needed could save you from missing outor worse, FOMO.
DAVID HUGKULSTONE
David Hugkulstone is a Director at Smith Stone Walters, bringing extensive expertise in immigration and global mobility. After gaining valuable experience working within the Home Office Immigration Department, he co-founded the immigration practice Smith Stone Walters in 2001 alongside his business partners James Walters and Gary Smith. In 2024, Smith Stone Walters joined forces with Envoy Global to provide innovative solutions for managing international immigration matters. With a presence in over 15 countries and a comprehensive global network, Envoy Global offers a full suite of corporate services designed to streamline immigration and business visa management for a global workforce. For more information, please contact the team at info@smithstonewalters.com.
Bringing Families Together: New Zealand’s New Parent Boost Visitor Visa
For families eager to reconnect, share precious moments, and strengthen their bonds across borders, New Zealand offers an exciting new opportunity.
Starting 29 September, 2025, the country will introduce the Parent Boost Visitor Visa - a game-changing pathway that allows parents of New Zealand citizens and residents to spend extended periods with their loved ones. This innovative visa benefits families and enriches New Zealand’s diverse community and cultural fabric. Let’s explore what this visa entails, who qualifies, and how it can help families create lasting memories in one of the world’s most beautiful countries.
A New Way To Spend Quality Time In New Zealand
Imagine being able to live and bond with your children in New Zealand for up to five years at a time, without the constant worry of renewals or short-term visits. The Parent Boost Visitor Visa makes this possible by allowing eligible parents to stay in New Zealand for an extended period, with the flexibility to leave and re-enter as often as they wish during the visa’s validity. For families separated by distance, this offers a meaningful way to bridge the gap and strengthen relationships.
Parents wishing to spend even more time can apply for a second five-year visa, extending their stay to a total of up to ten years. While this visa does not lead directly to residence, it provides a legitimate means for families to enjoy long-term visits and shared experiences without the complexities of permanent residency.
An Alternative Path To Residency
For parents seeking to make New Zealand their permanent home, there is the **Parent Resident Visa** - though it is limited in number. This visa allows parents to live permanently with their child, provided the child is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident. However, it has a limited annual quota of 2,500 visas issued each year, making it highly competitive.
Benefits For Families And New Zealand
The Parent Boost Visitor Visa offers numerous advantages. It enables families to celebrate milestones, support loved ones during important life events, or simply enjoy everyday moments together - often difficult with short-term visits. Parents can participate in school functions, family gatherings, or caregiving, becoming an active part of their children’s daily lives.
From New Zealand’s perspective, welcoming visiting parents fosters cultural exchange, strengthens community ties, and enhances the country’s reputation as a family-friendly destination
and enhances the country’s reputation as a family-friendly destination. It encourages multicultural interactions and mutual understanding, enriching local communities.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford sees this as a sensible, economically beneficial move. "The Parent Boost Visa strikes a balance by making New Zealand more attractive for those wanting to call this country home, without adding strain to public services". she said.
Who Qualifies For The Parent Boost Visitor Visa?
Eligibility criteria ensure the visa is granted to genuine visitors who intend to comply with all rules and maintain strong links with their home country. Applicants must:
• Be outside New Zealand when applying and upon approval
• Meet health and character standards
• Be sponsored by an adult child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident
• Demonstrate sufficient funds or income to support their stay, or have sponsors meeting income requirements
• Show genuine intent to visit temporarily and retain ties with their home country
• Not have dependent children, as this is a specific eligibility requirement.
Applicants must also demonstrate financial self-sufficiency and health coverage. They are required to provide evidence of 12 months’ health insurance, maintained throughout their stay, to ensure they are protected and do not strain New Zealand’s healthcare system.
Financially, applicants need to meet income and funds thresholds. Sponsors typically need to earn at least the median wage (currently NZD 104,707.30) or combine incomes with joint sponsors. Alternatively, parents must show available funds of at least NZD 160,000 (single parent) or NZD 250,000 (couples) - money genuinely belonging to them to support their stay.
From New Zealand’s perspective, welcoming visiting parents fosters cultural exchange, strengthens community ties,
Once approved, the visa allows parents to arrive within six months, with the five-year stay starting from their first arrival. During this time, they can leave and re-enter New Zealand multiple times, offering flexibility and convenience.
A Progressive Approach
The Parent Boost Visitor Visa reflects New Zealand’s progressive approach to welcoming families and fostering international connections. It provides a practical, familycentred pathway that benefits both visiting parents and local communities. By reducing barriers to long-term visits, it emphasises the importance of family bonds and facilitates these relationships.
As this visa opens on 29 September, 2025, families worldwide are encouraged to consider this opportunity to deepen their ties to New Zealand. Whether celebrating
milestones, supporting loved ones through health challenges, or simply enjoying everyday moments, this visa offers a pathway to create lasting memories in one of the most welcoming countries in the world.
If you’re planning to visit New Zealand or contemplating a longer stay, the Parent Boost Visitor Visa could be the perfect solution. With Smith Stone Walters now part of Envoy Global, we can deliver a complete range of immigration services to the Asia-Pacific region. To find out more about the enhanced level of global immigration services available, please contact us today.
DAVID HUGKULSTONE
David Hugkulstone is a Director at Smith Stone Walters, bringing extensive expertise in immigration and global mobility. After gaining valuable experience working within the Home Office Immigration Department, he co-founded the immigration practice Smith Stone Walters in 2001 alongside his business partners James Walters and Gary Smith. In 2024, Smith Stone Walters joined forces with Envoy Global to provide innovative solutions for managing international immigration matters. With a presence in over 15 countries and a comprehensive global network, Envoy Global offers a full suite of corporate services designed to streamline immigration and business visa management for a global workforce. For more information, please contact the team at info@smithstonewalters.com.
M&As: How Talent Mobility Helps Drive Success
With all the global geopolitical, regulatory, trade and economic ups and downs shaping business decisions right now, it’s hard to choose just one workforce-related topic to explore. In fact, maybe it’s time we all agree that this roller coaster ride is our new norm, and nuanced challenges will be present at every climb, dip, twist and turn.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t be ready – or at least attempt to enjoy the thrill of the ride. With that in mind, let’s look at what’s happening in the world of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) – and what global mobility professionals can do to support success. The goal here is to equip everybody to get on board with confidence and avoid that terrified, white-knuckle grip on the safety bar.
First, Some Market Perspective
Regional and industry sector data reports vary, but multiple sources show that for the most part, global M&A volumes are generally down or flat from what was initially predicted for 2025, while values are up, particularly in the US and APAC. Figures may be inflated by “megadeals” – or those transactions valued at US$10 billion or more – but it’s an interesting trend to note, as business leaders and private equity (PE) firms may be more focused now on much bigger deals that can yield longerterm gains.
Despite the chaotic news of on-again, off-again tariffs coming from the United States, and global financial markets’ reactions, business leaders know that to survive and grow, they must stay focused on transformation. The current conditions arguably make valuation harder, but AI’s advancements in data review and predictive analytics are significantly bolstering dealmakers’ ability to source and prioritise their best targets, and facilitate the due diligence and integration processes.
Key Considerations For Workforce Mobility
What does all this mean for HR and global mobility professionals? With so much at stake, it’s critical that we are equipped to handle the talent ramifications with
thoughtful planning and communications that are as transparent as possible. At a time of great disruption and employee unease, it’s essential to have a strategy for not only how you will handle differences across benefits, allowances and compliance risks, but also how you will address employee reallocation and satisfaction while minimising critical talent flight.
C-Suite, HR and other business line leaders need to work closely together on establishing the integration and communication plans, talent retention and attrition goals and how to identify and address duplication of skills or roles
C-Suite, HR and other business line leaders need to work closely together on establishing the integration and communication plans, talent retention and attrition goals and how to identify and
address duplication of skills or roles. Here are a few of the essential workforce mobilityrelated things to consider if your organisation is engaging in M&A activities:
1. Relocation policies and service providers. As with any of your other employee benefits, it’s likely that each company will have its own approach to relocation policy, shaped by workforce priorities, company culture, budgets, regional operations and employee demographics. Multiple different mobility providers and management teams may also be currently providing relocation support. Conduct a comprehensive relocation audit to help you assess:
• The number and types of policies across the organisations
• The current overall relocation budget
• The status and locations of all current, in-flight and planned moves
• A catalogue of all service providers. Decide on a standard set of criteria or a scorecard approach for how you will capture consistent data on their capabilities, technology solutions and performance scores
• All existing contracts and terms
• Who will ultimately make relocationrelated decisions going forward.
Once you have a clear understanding of the mobility landscape, you can make informed decisions about the next steps, including when and how to communicate with your employees and service providers, grandfathering in affected associates, timelines and processes for merging benefits or suppliers, and any re-negotiations you want to consider. Harmonising benefits can be especially challenging if you have multiple global assignees at different levels, with complex compensation and pension packages across a wide range of locations with varying reciprocal agreements. Complete visibility and careful planning are essential ingredients for success.
It may be tempting to default to the more generous policies or the provider serving the larger of the two organisations/mobility programmes. But the same due diligence that led to the merger in the first place is needed here, too. It’s important to truly understand pricing models, where providers excel and where there may be potential gaps in services or geographic reach.
Given that these are generally times of major upheaval and change, a phased-in approach typically works best, avoiding midstream disruptions wherever possible. Finally, take the time to document your findings and decisions – not just on the financial or performance metrics, but on the cultural or philosophical priorities that shaped them. This will help you demonstrate that you’ve genuinely attempted to honour the values and employees of both organisations.
2. Talent and project plan mapping to determine how relocation teams can best support reallocation of skills or enhance geographic strengths. Mergers inevitably create duplicate roles across similar functions. However, blending companies and reallocating talent requires strategic thinking that goes far beyond mere reductions in force. The goal is to optimise your workforce while retaining valuable expertise and maintaining business continuity.
Just as with the relocation audit, a comprehensive talent mapping exercise across both organisations will help you identify similar roles, skillsets and performance assessments. It requires a significant investment of time and resources, however, so it needs to be carefully planned, and involve team members with the right skills from both organisations. When done well, it can help you fully understand what skills you have where, and assist with possible future immigration and movement eligibility insights. High-performing employees in duplicate roles might be perfect candidates for expansion into new markets or specialised functions.
Mergers can also create unique opportunities to optimise talent distribution across geographic locations. You might discover one company has stronger talent in certain regions while the other has better infrastructure in different ones. Or, an accountant in New York might be redundant from an org chart perspective, but their local knowledge and client relationships could be invaluable for operations in another location. Consider developing compelling alternative roles for high-value employees facing redundancy. This might include lateral moves to growth areas, project leadership opportunities, or international assignments. The key is to present these changes as career advancement opportunities.
Successful talent reallocation requires exceptional change management and communication. Employees facing potential relocation need clear information about their options, timelines, and the support available. Develop individualised communication strategies for different employee groups. High-potential employees might receive
one-on-one career counselling, for example, while broader groups may benefit from town hall meetings and FAQ resources.
Develop individualised communication strategies for different employee groups
3. Technology integration. Major differences in technology can wreak operational havoc during mergers. Placing a priority on systems integrations early on can help you avoid manual workarounds that can cause significant delays, or increase your costs and risks for errors. Be mindful of the information you’ll need to retain from both organisations for compliance records and year-over-year activity and cost data.
4. Extended business travel (EBT). As companies integrate operations and share expertise across locations, it’s highly likely that multiple team members will be frequently travelling before, during and after the transaction is complete. It’s worth considering whether you need a dedicated EBT plan to help you properly manage, classify and monitor all activity directly related to the merger. The time spent in each location and the types of work performed are critical to track. Your tax provider can help you educate your stakeholders on the risks of triggering residency or PE status and how to document all activities appropriately.
5. Success metrics. How you assess the success of your relocation programme integration following a merger might look a little different from some of the more typical measurements HR and global mobility teams might use. Things like employee engagement, morale and job satisfaction can be heavily skewed during the upheaval of a merger. In these unique circumstances, it might be best
to assess progress by tracking things like productivity, retention, business continuity, preservation of high-potential employees through reallocation and talent mobility’s contributions to profitability.
Moving Forward With Confidence
There’s no doubt that mergers and acquisitions present complex challenges for relocation professionals, but they also create opportunities to build stronger, more efficient programmes. Success requires strategic thinking, careful planning, and flawless execution across policy alignment, service partner management, extended business travel oversight, and talent reallocation.
Position relocation not as a cost centre to be minimised but as a strategic capability that enables business transformation. When employees feel supported during transitions, they become advocates for change, and when policies are fair and consistently applied, they build trust across the newly merged organisation.
The key is to start your merger relocation planning early, involve stakeholders across all functions, and maintain focus on both business objectives and employee experience. With proper attention to these critical areas, you can position your organisation for integration success while building a foundation for future growth – and hopefully enjoy the ride!
KRISTIN WHITE
Kristin White is Director, Communications & Thought Leadership with global relocation management company, Sterling Lexicon. She has more than 30 years of experience in the workforce mobility industry, including several as an expatriate. She can be reached at: kristin.white@sterlinglexicon.com.
Working From Anywhere Flexibility Versus Feasibility
Observations
The rise of international remote working has transformed the traditional workplace, offering employees unprecedented flexibility regarding where and how they perform their jobs. The move to a “working from anywhere” model has rapidly transformed this previously uncommon benefit into a must-have perk for employees. Twothirds of companies now allow temporary international remote working through established policies or on an ad-hoc basis.
According to Mercer’s 2025 Talent Mobility Outlook, 43% of organisations feel this topic will continue to grow in importance, while a further 23% consider it stable.
Although the feedback on international remote working policies tends to be encouraging, companies face the tricky task of balancing flexibility with accountability and limited HR resources. Despite the potential advantages of international remote working, concerns persist. HR teams often report inconsistent policy application, inadequate communication and issues related to resource allocation.
Solutions such as employer of record (EOR) services have emerged, providing potential assistance in certain situations. However, these solutions aren’t onesize-fits-all. Variations in local laws mean such solutions may not work equally well in every country. A lack of a coherent strategy can lead to grudging acceptance of international remote work requests, driven more by the fear of losing key talent than by any clear strategy. More critically, ambiguous communication increases the risk of misalignment between employee expectations and organisational policies.
The absence of a universally accepted definition of “working from anywhere” further complicates matters, as organisations must navigate diverse crossborder scenarios and employee needs.
The Dilemma
At the core of this issue lies a tricky question: How can organisations offer employees flexibility without risking compliance or overwhelming HR teams?
This challenge encompasses three critical dimensions:
1. Compliance
Working from diverse jurisdictions introduces intricate challenges, as labour laws, tax
regulations and immigration policies vary significantly by location. Noncompliance can lead to severe repercussions, including legal disputes and financial penalties. Companies must also navigate data protection and privacy regulations to safeguard sensitive information accessed from multiple locations.
2. Resource Allocation
Granting flexibility requires reevaluating resource distribution. Organisations may find that supporting a dispersed workforce requires investment in various resources, including technological infrastructure, compliance guidance and communication tools. It places an additional burden on HR teams with already-limited resources.
3. Strategic Direction
Beyond compliance and resources, organisations must clarify the purpose behind their remote work policies. Organisations need to assess how these policies influence talent attraction and retention, ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned with their broader goals.
Resolving The Dilemma
Post-COVID, most organisations have simply reacted to employee requests without
Features
Working from home/remotely
Temporary international remote working
Permanent international remote working
Virtual/hybrid assignment
Flexibility to work partly or fully from home or a location other than the office
Flexibility to work remotely from abroad for a limited period; “workation”a lifestyle benefit
Working remotely from another country permanently
Replacing part or all of an international assignment (international relocation) with a period of remote working
establishing consistent strategies. HR teams must now establish transparent and comprehensive remote work policies that clearly outline the parameters of the “working from anywhere” model. These policies should encompass several key factors:
Establishing A Clear Remote Working Typology
The remote working debate influences company culture and management’s willingness to allow flexible work. However, international remote working comes with different and more complex cross-border compliance issues. There is also a difference between short “workations” requested by employees and extended periods of international remote working initiated by the company for talent-sourcing purposes. Organisations need to establish a definitive perspective on these different types of remote work. Cut through the noise with clear communication to all stakeholders. Robust definitions and objectives should clarify whether remote work is an additional benefit, a talent sourcing strategy, or a provision for special cases and emergencies.
Temporarily or ongoing
Recurring/yearly
Ongoing; no fixed duration
A few days per week or full-time
Limited number of days per year (typically five to 90 days)
More than one year
Hiring from anywhere
Remote from onset
One-time or multiple assignments
Limited duration (a week or up to two years)
One-time assignment Permanent
Setting Clear Criteria For Filtering Requests Is Essential To Ensure The Work-FromAnywhere Model Remains Viable
Exclude requests that would trigger excessive compliance and liability issues for the company and employees. Clearly defined eligibility criteria, communication expectations, performance metrics, and compliance requirements will help manage both employer and employee expectations, providing a structured foundation for remote work.
Exclusions can include specific jobs for practical or datasafety reasons as well as tax liabilities; for example, a head of business signing contracts is more likely to trigger a permanent establishment ruling than a more junior backoffice employee
Type of approval Process
Laissez-faire
No approval or declaration is needed.
Smart organisations will steer clear of locations that could create serious compliance issues. These include countries with strict tax liabilities and those in which the company does not have a legal entity
Simple declaration
Approval
Exception only
For tracking purposes, the employee must submit a declaration with details of remote working, but formal approval isn’t required. Remote working may be limited to pre-approved locations (low-compliance-risk countries).
The employee must obtain formal approval from line management or HR before starting remote work. This requirement applies either to all remote working requests or medium-risk countries only (requiring further compliance checks).
The employee must obtain formal approval, granted only in limited cases and/or subject to review by top management. This may include the option to limit remote working in general or only to selected high-compliance-risk countries.
and faces a “permanent establishment” ruling risk (that is, the remote worker triggers a new tax liability for the entire company). Countries can be categorised as low risk, medium risk (subject to additional review by a tax advisor) or high risk (likely to create significant challenges and unsuitable for remote working arrangements).
Exclusions can include specific jobs for practical or data-safety reasons as well as tax liabilities; for example, a head of business signing contracts is more likely to trigger a permanent establishment ruling than a more junior back-office employee.
Finding The Most Effective Approval Process
Finding an effective approval process requires striking a balance between compliance rigour and simplicity to minimise administrative burdens. A completely laissez-faire approach poses compliance risks for both the company and its employees. A streamlined approach could rely on formal approval or declaration for pre-approved destinations.
Ignoring popular remote work trends can be risky, but allowing work from every location is simply unrealistic. Establish clear processes and leverage technology to find the right balance between offering employees the options they want and ensuring compliance.
Find out more about managing risks related to working from anywhere: https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/ solutions/more-mobility-solutions/ technology-solutions/work-fromanywhere-platform.
Learn how to get started with international remote working: https:// mobilityexchange.mercer.com/insights/ guides-and-whitepapers/getting-startedwith-international-remote-working.
Ignoring popular remote work trends can be risky, but allowing work from every location is simply unrealistic
out more at
Global Mobility & Climate Change: It’s Not As Scary As You Think
Cards on the table: A few years ago, I was asked to consider how Global Mobility (GM) could align with broader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments.
Like many HR professionals, I could see the link with the ‘S’ and the ‘G’-but the ‘E’?!? Well, that filled me with dread.
My mind went straight to flights and shipment of household goods (HHGs)neither of which (at the time) felt particularly planet-friendly.
Back then, I was Head of Global Mobility. Fast forward a few years, and I now work in Climate Action as a Carbon Specialist, advising organisations on all things ‘Carbon’, such as how to measure and reduce their carbon footprints.
Since making that transition, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how my two specialisms, Global Mobility and Climate Change, fit together. One thing that I have absolutely noticed; there’s now a wealth of literature and practical advice available on how GM teams can reduce the carbon emissions associated with International Assignments (IAs).
In this article, I’ll explore how environmental considerations, particularly climate change and carbon reduction, can be embedded across the full assignment lifecycle. From pre-departure planning to repatriation, every stage offers opportunities to align with your organisations broader ESG commitments. Whether your team is just starting its carbon journey or fluent in sustainability strategy, this piece offers practical, accessible tips to evoke action, deepen understanding and reinvigorate purpose.
But first, let’s clarify a few terms: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- There are 17 SDGs outlined by the UN in 2015, covering everything from Zero Hunger to Gender Equality to Climate Action. Think of them as a blueprint for ESG. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)- A framework for measuring an organisations impact on the world. Environmental factors assess planetary
impact, including carbon footprint; Social factors consider employees and communities, including issues like modern slavery and Governance refers to the systems and processes governing a company's operations. Carbon- Often confused with Carbon Dioxide (CO2). “Carbon” in climate discussions usually refers to the 7 greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to global warming: Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). These are measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e).
Remember; personal environmental responsibility matters: but it is the employer who holds the key to driving sustainable practises
Carbon Footprint- A measurement of the carbon emissions generated through the activities of an individual, organisation, event or product.
You can’t reduce what you haven’t measured: Practically speaking, GM teams looking to reduce the carbon emissions associated with mobility activity, must start by understanding their carbon footprint and
that of the wider organisation. Measurement is the first step.
Looking at this through the lens of the full IA lifecycle is crucial and data is key. If this is new territory for you, start small. Take a handful of your more frequent country combinations and assignment specifications and calculate an estimated carbon footprint for each scenario.
Like the GM ROI processes, you can refine the calculation after the relocation has taken place, and continue to count emissions throughout the assignment period, until the assignee has repatriated. This will give you a picture of the carbon emissions associated with a particular IA.
Finding the data to complete a carbon footprint may feel daunting (I totally get it!). Use that discomfort as a catalyst to implement more robust processes for capturing emissions data’ and embed these into your ongoing GM operations. Going forward, this will alleviate the data capture fear and frustration.
Once you understand the current carbon footprint of GM activity, you can then begin identifying ways to reduce it.
A word of caution; spend data is often used as a shortcut for carbon counting but widely viewed as an inaccurate measurement and unlikely to meet professional verification standards. Beware of Greenwashingcredibility matters!
Embed environmental responsibility from the assignment initiation stage: From business-driven to developmental assignments, challenge assignees and their line management (home and host) to think critically about how they can minimise their environmental impact while gaining international experience.
Importantly, include “environmental considerations” as part of the IA business case. Ensure it is reviewed through an ESG lens and has leadership sign off via the approval process. To further embed sustainability into IA management, measure its success as part of your ROI processes following repatriation.
To strengthen the ESG thread across GM activity, consider linking the IA business case to the assignees departments annual ESG commitments. If the team is sending
a member on IA, can their international department collectively identify ways to reduce emissions- counterbalance!
Securing leadership buy-in at this stage, will reinforce GM alignment with your organisations broader ESG commitments and ensure these values are woven through your GM strategy.
Let’s face it: many employees are environmentally aware. As HR professionals, we know that our organisations ESG commitments, when aligned to strategy and values, are key drivers to attraction and retention (as are IAs!!).
Remember; personal environmental responsibility matters: but it is the employer who holds the key to driving sustainable practises. Use your supply chain: Many GM vendors are active in the climate action space. Work closely with your procurement team to ensure your organisations ESG commitments are woven through your tender and vendor selection processes and includes evaluation of the respondees sustainability performance.
From sustainable travel options to conscientious shipment of HHGs, ask your current providers about their ESG commitments. Ask them if they currently measure their carbon footprint, and what reduction strategies they have in place, how they work with other clients in this space and how you can work together to reduce carbon emissions. Share knowledge, exchange ideas and build working partnerships with vendors who share your sustainability commitments. Policy: Yes, I know, reviewing GM policies seems constant. But that’s the nature of the ever-changing GM landscape.
The question is; is your policy flexible enough to support sustainable choices? If we’re asking the assignee to invest their time into thinking about how they can reduce their environmental impact at the initiation stage, we surely need to enable them to make sustainable choices through policies and processes.
Does your policy allow for furniture hire or local purchase rather than shipment of HHGs. What about class of travel? Economy is significantly more carbon efficient that first class. I know assignees generally want comfort, but hey, they’re getting an international experience - travelling economy class is surely a good trade in for the experience? From everyday decisions to embodying the 3 R’s- reduce, reuse and recycle. Small changes lead to big impacts.
In the host country, consider how the assignee will commute and travel. Eco-friendly transportation is a hot topic, can EV’s be used, can public transport be utilised. These aren’t just operational details, they are opportunities to reduce carbon footprints and embed sustainability into everyday decisions. GM is not an Island: Okay, we may send people to Islands, but Global Mobility itself,
is not one! Environmental strategy can’t be left at one departments door- to make this work, and to make it sustainable, it must be company-wide.
Work with leadership to ensure that GM strategy aligns to the firms wider ESG annual plans. If you know you have a busy year ahead, perhaps due to growth or a new international office opening, then collaborate with other teams to ensure that carbon is being reduced elsewhere in the organisation. If travel related emissions are set to rise, balance them with reductions in other areas. This is Strategic Sustainability.
Let’s be
honest, reducing emissions during an IA may be difficult, but offsetting them internally, is possible
Let’s be honest, reducing emissions during an IA may be difficult, but offsetting them internally, is possible. Yes, emissions will increase just through the very nature of physically relocating a person, their possessions and their workplace. But consider the opportunities to reduce elsewhere and to counterbalance.
The bottom line: GM is complex (groundbreaking news, I know!). Alongside the intricacies of multi-country regulations, we’re supporting individuals, and often their families, through a major life transition. Moving house is said to be the fourth most stressful life event- add “internationally” into the mix, and the stress can only multiply.
Use this “change” opportunity to your advantage by embedding sustainability into the assignees everyday thought processes and behaviours. It’s widely recognised that when an individual experiences significant change, such as relocating internationally, they become more adaptable to change as a wider concept.
Incorporating environmental awareness and specifically carbon reduction into GM process and policy may feel overwhelming.
Why not empower a team member, who’s been looking for a personal development opportunity, to become your team “Carbon Champion” and lead the charge. In addition, being able to socialise that you are active in this area and committed to reducing and understanding your carbon footprint speaks volumes.
I truly believe that GM remains essential for organisational growth, development and connection. Sustainability shouldn’t shrink that; it should shape it. It’s about planning, understanding and making informed decisions. Let's reduce carbon emissions through better processes rather than sacrifices. Let’s try and focus on how we can still move people, but in an environmentally friendly and responsible way.
Let’s not blind everyone with science and overly complex processes. Where we can simplify, share ideas and collaborate, we should! Why? Because when Global Mobility embraces climate action, it’s not just a business enabler (which we absolutely are, aren’t we!?!), but a force for sustainable change.
LOUISE JONES
Louise Jones is a Carbon Specialist with Auditel, helping organisations measure, manage and reduce their carbon footprint with credibility and clarity. Before retraining in climate action, Louise spent 15 years working in the world of Global Mobility, which included time being an expatriate herself.
Her global experience and strategic HR background give her a unique lens on embedding sustainability into global operations. Bringing together people, purpose and planet.
Minimising The Dark Side Of AI For HR With A Design Thinking Culture
We are in t he new age of AI disruption and uncertainty, and if we do not create a transformation in corporate culture, our business will be in chaos. Customers and employees prefer smart homes, smart workplaces, smart friends, and most importantly, smart bosses. Customers and employees also experience interaction with technology as more intuitive, innovative, and enjoyable. Organisations need to analyse these new needs of customers and adapt their corporate culture in-house to these new needs in order to better meet customers' emerging needs. Creating a design thinking culture is what today's organisations need to understand what delights customers and employees more as organisations build customer and employee loyalty. Herein, HR executives can play a critical role in developing a design thinking culture. Much of what we share in this article comes from our consulting experience at Tesla and Toyota in Australia.
Companies highly require very big changes in the new era of AI disruptions. As companies change and design a more effective corporate culture, they focus on downsizing or rightsizing to cut expenses, but unfortunately, this can lead to low morale and, then, a lack of creativity and innovation. To right organisational corporate culture, employee innovation is what is very important today. The only way to keep employee innovation is to utilise, implement, and nurture a design
Tesla and Toyota as two great examples successfully linked these three factors as the best in the automotive industry to drive the
Electric Vehicle Revolution
thinking form of corporate culture. HR executives can help senior executives and CEOs follow and implement the design thinking principles that manifest themselves in investigating customers' and employees' new needs, challenging the current situations, fostering innovation, and creating new solutions to both old and new problems. Linking these three factors that are tantamount to today's business success is building an inside-out culture, developing innovation across the board of internal and external exploitation, and using design thinking to break old mindsets and create new paradigms. Tesla and
Toyota as two great examples successfully linked these three factors as the best in the automotive industry to drive the Electric Vehicle Revolution.
Peter Drucker is famously credited with saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Lou Gerstner, the CEO behind IBM's turnaround in the '90s who himself was a former strategy consultant, came around to Drucker's way of thinking when he said, “Culture is everything.” - John Morgan, Forbes Council Member (2022).
Our new model of corporate culture is the cornerstone of future-oriented design thinking for a corporate innovative culture. HR executives can accordingly provide an alternative way for organisations to develop an effective design thinking culture to re-emerge with sustenance. By leveraging a design thinking culture, businesses can better understand customer and employee experience and provide more effective and innovative responses to their needs. We explain this new phenomenon in this article because we need this paradigm shift in corporate culture before it’s too late in the future with AI. This article is not to present the data, but alternatively explain the key codes that have made Tesla and Toyota the most successful companies in the AI era.
Minimising The Negative Impacts Of AI For HR With A Design Thinking Culture
Various in-vogue tools and methods, such as knowledge management and TQM, have helped organisations change during the last few decades and have caused improvements in the performance of HR and organisations. But with the emergence of very complex technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, organisations need a more updated approach. Artificial intelligence has enhanced organisations in some ways but also created much more complexity when innovating and creating new products, features, and services. The complexity of artificial intelligence is increasingly impacting all sectors of business and society. Accepting this paradigm shift and its inherent complexity is beginning
to emerge as a core competency. According to MIT, Management Executive Education, The cornerstone of Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a futuristic sci-fi trope, it’s here now, and it’s here to stay. Innovative technologies are revolutioinising business as we know it, and they’re more accessible than ever. When organisations understand the complexities of artificial intelligence, they become more intuitive in their capacity to change.
Design thinking principles not only play an important role in simplifying the complexities of organisational performance in the AI age but can also highly increase the potential to innovate for employees. By adopting design thinking ideas and principles, members of the organisation can better begin to release their creative energy more dynamically and more effectively, and also show much more flexibility toward innovative ideas. This flexibility, coupled with releasing creative energies, cannot only enhance managers and leaders to create innovation but also break obstacles that prevent new products, features, and services in organisations that are extremely important today. For example, Tesla and Toyota, one successful company that has simultaneously developed
By preparing an organisation for a better understanding of customer and employee experience, it ensures more effective and innovative responses to customer needs
AI infrastructures and design thinking culture, have minimiorganisationaled the potential negative impacts of AI disruptions on employees and customers and are now ranked among the most valuable companies in the world.
In Conclusion
By preparing an organisation for a better understanding of customer and employee experience, it ensures more effective and innovative responses to customer needs. Organisational culture is the glue that keeps organisational members together. A design thinking culture can ensure the development of HR innovation and business success in the AI age. The solution presented above touches on the keys for the effective development of a design thinking culture in the age of AI. The solution can provide new insights for HR executives to help companies continuously develop design thinking and provide more innovative solutions to respond to customer and employee needs using a continuous improvement perspective in real-time.
MOSTAFA SAYYADI & MICHAEL PROVITERA
Global Benefits Survey
The findings of the Aon 2025 Global Benefits Trends Study are drawn from a survey of global benefits professionals, conducted from January 27 – February 28, 2025. The intent of the study was to understand the global benefits trends associated with multinationals around the world and to gather insights about the roles, responsibilities and evolving priorities of global benefits professionals in multinational companies. Participation included respondents with benefits responsibilities for employees in more than one country. 518 survey responses were submitted from participants across: Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Asia Pacific (APAC) United Kingdom (UK) North and South America.
In 2025, AON looked at the strategic priorities in Global Benefits of their respondents’ companies, and saw 6 major shifts from last year. However, this year’s more robust data set is built on a much larger respondent base than 2024 and moves the results a giant step closer to the truest representation of industry sentiment, providing added credence to the findings globally, regionally, and by industry.
Ensuring efficient cost management is unsurprisingly the number one strategic priority across all segments, regions and most industries, rising from number three globally last year. Ensuring that employee benefits are highly valued, which did not appear in the top four in 2024, came in at number three this year. For “leading companies”, this is the number one strategic priority.
Rolling out global minimum standards ranked number four (not ranked in 2024), demonstrating that the commitment that multinationals indicated in the 2024 survey (i.e., to almost double the prevalence of minimum standards by 2026) is real.
Looking at the regional trends, In EMEA, surprisingly, managing compliance does not rank in the top five, despite the fact that reporting under the EU Pay Transparency Directive (which includes employee benefits in its definition of pay) will begin in 2027, and there several significant pension regulations
that have been announced in that region (e.g., the Netherlands, Italy).
APAC - which had amazing representation in this year’s respondent pool, with 103 APACheadquartered companies participating - is the only region putting the health and productivity of their employees as a top five priority. UK-based companies are putting higher emphasis on ensuring employees value their benefits and minimum benefits standards than on the general competitiveness of their programmes.
When asked, “What are the strategic global benefits objectives for your organisation over the next 1-3 years?”, the response that broke into the top Global Benefits Trends Study 2025 this year was “ensuring employees value their benefits”. This underscores that multinationals are balancing both how to manage cost effectively in uncertain times (the number one priority this year) with ensuring that this benefit spend, which can be significant, is recognised and appreciated by the very people for whom these programmes are designed. Interestingly, leading companies have indicated that delivering value is a very close second, with cost management at the top, and they are almost twice as likely as other multinationals to say that this is a priority area. Organisations with more than 50,000 employees, companies who reinsure their employee benefits to a captive, and those in the life sciences and hospitality industries, also place a higher emphasis on ensuring that employees value their benefits, making it their number two priority as well.
Technology and the financial service firms – which traditionally have rich benefits programmes – did not rank this objective higher than number three. However, this may be because they have already solved the perception and value equation. Geographically, the UK is the only region where ensuring employee value is a top two priority, as compared to other regions where this objective is number three or lower. This invites the question, what type of approaches are multinationals taking to deliver and enhance value?
Expanding Personalisation
We know that the opportunity to choose benefit programmes that best suit their needs drives value in employees’ eyes with 65 percent of employees at multinationals willing to sacrifice some current benefits for a better choice of benefits. 65 percent of MNC employees would sacrifice some current benefits for a better choice of
benefits. Only 14 percent of multinational companies provide guidelines for how to introduce personalisation in benefits. For the multinational organisation – offering choice in a consistent manner around the world can be complex due to variations in market readiness, carrier capabilities and the tax and regulatory landscape. This is reflected in the fact that this year’s study indicated that 43 percent of companies say that the decision to introduce choice in benefits is generally a decision taken at the local country level. In contrast, only 14 percent of multinationals have issued global benefit guidelines setting out the need for local countries to introduce / consider personalisation or choice in benefits. However, another 43 percent of multinationals are silent on the topic altogether when it comes to their global benefits strategy. Is this a missed opportunity?
Embracing Personalisation
In contrast, leading multinationals are over two times more likely (32 percent) to say they have global guidelines in place requiring that local markets introduce benefit choice. Tech industry, UK- and APAC-headquartered companies were also slightly more likely to have these types of guidelines in place, likely due to the higher prevalence of choice programmes in these two regions. For multinational companies that do allow personalisation of benefits, this ability to customise is generally focused on (in order): medical programmes, defined contribution plans, risk benefits, preventative programmes and wellbeing. This compares relatively well with the findings from the Employee Sentiment Survey, where employees for both multinational companies and all companies globally said that the benefits they valued the most were (in order):
• Medical Coverage/Health Insurance
• Annual Leave/PTO
• Work-Life Balance
• Retirement Savings Programmes
• Career Development Programmes.
What Are Multinationals Doing?
By taking a look at the data side by side, two key opportunities jump out: the opportunity for multinationals to be allow for flexibility around annual leave (via the ability to buy additional vacation days or, even bolder, providing unlimited annual leave) and incorporating career development programmes within their global benefits package (via reimbursement of professional development courses, access to coaching or education reimbursement programmes).
Interestingly, leading multinationals were more likely to say that they allowed for choice in annual leave, indicating that they may be more attuned to what their employees truly value. However, delivering benefit flexibility in multiple countries can be administratively complex, and 41 percent of companies report that technology plays a critical role in delivering a personalised experience. This compares to 60 percent of leading multinationals, which rely heavily on technology to enable this offering.
The data may however, indicate that bulky and long employee benefit handbooks may not be the most efficient use of resources. While they may be preferred communication approaches, the key question is: are they working? They appear to be more efficient than 2024 as there has been a 50 percent increase in companies saying employees understand their benefits well - currently 27 percent, up from 18 percent. However, while the trend is positive, this is still not an overwhelming majority, indicating that the opportunity remains there for multinationals to seize.
More Multinationals Are Utilising Total Reward Statements
One approach that companies have taken to help employees understand the true value of their benefit package is via total rewards statements. There has been an increase in multinationals implementing these in 2025 (up from 27 percent).
UK- and EMEA-headquartered companies are more likely to take this approach, potentially due to pay transparency and reporting requirements. Interestingly - and demonstrating the commitment to enhancing the perception of benefits and driving value - one out of two leading multinationals has total reward statements in place. This correlates clearly with higher level of understanding and appreciation of benefits, as these types of companies are twice as likely as other multinationals to say their employees understand their benefits programmes. When considering ways to enhance perception and relevance of benefits, one area of opportunity is to leverage advances in technology and AI to hyper personalise communication and the overall employee experience. This year’s study found that leading multinationals, together with companies in the tech industry, were more likely to be early adopters of AI. These companies used AI to support with answering employee queries related to employee benefits, to provide support with the selection of relevant benefit programmes and even to make recommendations on personalised programmes that would support an individual’s wellbeing. Looking forward, other organisations are looking to catch up and proactively leverage AI to enhance the
employee experience, with 28 percent of companies indicating they have plans to consider and/or implement similar solutions.
But what about leveraging the power of AI to support the role of the Global Benefits professional? The study indicated that this is not yet commonplace, with only one in six multinationals currently using AI to support the design and delivery of their employee benefits. This Global Benefits Trends Study 2025 number is expected to nearly triple to 48 percent by 2027.
A potential barrier to better use of AI to support strategic decision-making may be the lack of integrated data around the world, with 82 percent of companies indicating that data remains a challenge.
A potential barrier to better use of AI to support strategic decisionmaking may be the lack of integrated data around the world, with 82 percent of companies indicating that data remains a challenge
Embracing Equity
A key finding from the 2024 study was that the implementation of global minimum benefits standards was expected to expand substantially by 2026. One year in, companies seem to be hard at work, with “implementing global minimum standards to drive global equity” ranking as a top 5 global strategic priority. Multinational companies with captives are twice as likely to be focusing on implementing global minimum standards – the captive arrangement likely acting as an enabler for the implementation
of insurance-related minimum standards. Additionally, food, agribusiness, and beverage firms, professional and business services companies, and UK headquartered companies (ranking as the number three strategic priority in that market) are outpacing their peers in implementing global minimum standards. The study also asked about organisations’ plans as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) ambitions have historically been one of the catalysts for implementing global minimum standards. However, “ensuring benefits support the diverse needs of employees around the world” has fallen dramatically as a stated priority for multinationals, from number five in 2024 (60 percent) to number eight in 2025 (18 percent) – likely driven by announcements of rollbacks in DEIB programmes from US-headquartered companies.
This trend is, however, having a knock-on effect, with similar patterns seen across the regions and industry, regardless of company size. The one exception appears to be the financial services industry, where this priority has actually risen from fifth place in 2024 to fourth in 2025.
Future Plans: Inclusive Benefits Strategies
Despite US government pressure to change or abandon their DEIB policies, most US-headquartered companies indicated no change in strategy (46 percent), with 40 percent indicating plans to actually increase the number of inclusive benefits offerings. A similar pattern emerged for non-USheadquartered companies, where 40 percent indicated no changes, and 41 percent shared plans to increase such initiatives. regardless of company size.
Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of leading companies are planning to increase inclusive benefits offerings. Life sciences and retail companies were also more likely to increase their number of inclusive benefit offerings. This continuous focus on companies driving equity via the roll out of inclusive benefits aligns well with employee sentiment, with employees indicating they would like their employers to offer more financial education, wellbeing support and women’s health programmes.
Call For Action For Directors
• Define what value means to you and your employees
• Consider what value means to you and your employees and how to best deliver this
• Take the time to understand the programmes and offerings that are truly meaningful for your employees and their families
• Consider how to leverage total rewards statements to be transparent about the value delivered to your employees
• Prioritise opportunities to enhance value
• Explore different avenues to deliver value
• Introducing benefit choice, pushing for global minimum benefits standards, and promoting more inclusive benefits are just three of many options available
• Get creative with how or to communicate with your employees
• Become attuned to the ways your employees prefer to receive messaging
• Explore opportunities to leverage new technology to hyper-personalise messaging and enhance perceptions.
While “ensuring compliance and competitiveness” was the number one strategic priority last year, that focus has given way to cost management in 2025. This was true for all multinationals, regardless of region, industry and company size (70 percent of companies say this is their first strategic priority), who are bracing themselves for a period of economic uncertainty. Overwhelmingly, Global Benefits professionals point to high medical inflation as the primary driver of benefit costs, with 70 percent of participants saying it has a “high” impact (as compared to 19 percent expecting “aging workforce” and 17 percent expecting “regulatory burden” to have high impacts on benefit costs).
While APAC- and EMEA-headquartered companies also view medical inflation as the biggest cost driver to manage, participants from these regions seem to have a more balanced view of the drivers of medical trend, putting more weight on the impact of aging, pay equity legislation and regulatory changes. With this in mind, strategies to mitigate costs remain basic and short-term in view, focusing primarily on hard negotiations with insurance carriers and other vendors. 77 percent plan to negotiate with existing vendors, and 67 percent plan to go to RFP.
Only one in four multinationals is considering reducing benefits that are less valued by employees as a means to manage costs. Could this be because companies don’t know which benefits are less valued? As mentioned in section one above, this is an opportunity Global Benefits Trends Study 2025 for companies to better align the benefits they are offering with the benefits their employees expect and value most. 25% of multinational companies are considering reducing benefit levels for benefits that are less valued by employees. US companies are focusing more on shared accountability and exploring new ways of delivering health programmes (e.g., variable copay programme, benefit exchanges, etc.), while EMEA and UK companies are banking on flexible benefits as a mean to drive cost sustainability.
The latter trend is interesting given that flexible benefits/choice is both seen as a way to add value but also as a way to drive cost sustainability. 37% of multinational companies are considering implementing
wellbeing initiatives. Implementing global and local wellbeing initiatives, which arguably could have a longer-term impact, is being considered by only 37 percent of companies. This finding is consistent with the fact that employee wellbeing as a strategic priority fell from number six to number seven in 2025. This year’s study confirms the benefit remit of Global Benefits professionals continue to expand, with typical scope including risk benefits (94 percent), health benefits programmes (92 percent), leave policies (75 percent), wellbeing programmes (74 percent) and defined contribution (73 percent versus 46 percent having oversight for DB). With so many benefits typically within the remit of the Global Benefits professional, and so many areas for potential savings, it does call into question the efficacy of cost saving efforts that focus primarily on medical programmes and short-term strategies.
plans in the US and the UK may also drive some efficiencies and savings to Global Underwriting Non-US organisations, and thus may be worth exploring.
The Role If AI In Cost Containment
While there is optimism around the adoption of AI as a means to improve the employee experience in company, Global Benefits professionals do not seem to use data and AI for their own day-to-day purpose (e.g., to anticipate future needs, for support with forecasting and addressing long-term cost trends, etc.). This is likely driven by the continued struggle for data.
Ambitious Strategies
While “ensuring compliance and competitiveness” was the number one strategic priority last year, that focus has given way to cost management in 2025
While medical costs are increasing exponentially with global medical trend rate expected to be 10 percent in 2025/26, the impact of longevity as well as the increasingly complex regulatory environment should not be underestimated by multinationals. Having a good understanding of the potential impact of these trends on an organisation’s overall employee benefit portfolio.
Assessing readiness to appropriately respond to changing legislation should not be discarded as longer-term cost mitigation initiatives. New multi-employer programmes for defined contribution
The benefits future continues to be ambitious and broad with multinationals reviewing their global benefits. As mentioned earlier, strategies are also broad in scope, including pension, wellbeing, leave and allowances. Close to 50 percent of companies have indicated that they already have a global benefits strategy, and one in five multinationals further indicates that they are currently developing a strategy. The level of companies reviewing the global strategy annually is rising, with 41 percent reviewing their strategies annually, up from one in three in 2024. So, while multinational companies are very clear on how a global benefits strategy will help them better compete and differentiate in the market, only one in two companies have their global strategy documented and communicated appropriately. We further observed that the larger the company was, the more likely they were to have this strategy documented, although this is still not the vast majority of companies. As we learned in the 2024 study, executing on an ambitious global benefits strategy is still a struggle for most multinational companies, as is ensuring that the governance framework is effective.
Only six percent of companies with a global benefits strategy document say this is fully adhered to by their markets around the world, while 12 percent of companies say their governance structure fully meets the objectives of their needs. This means that multinational companies cannot simply execute on everything they want to do. This low level of adherence is a challenge that cuts across all industries; no industry has indicated that it has solved for it. Even companies with captives are not more likely to have full adherence to their strategy. That being said, multinationals with captives are more than twice as likely to say that their governance structure supports their objectives. Contrary to what we would expect, smaller companies do not have an advantage or better control in this area. Companies with fewer than 5,000 employees globally have similar levels of adherence to their global strategy as those of larger multinational companies (greater than
20K employees). The one area that is seeing comparatively strong adherence to governance frameworks is the largest companies (over 50K employees). They are more likely than their smaller multinational peers to have strategy documented and better adherence.
Finally, the survey considered the teams delivering and executing on the global benefits strategy and found that Global Benefits teams at leading multinationals are 67 percent more likely to have Global Benefits Centres of Excellence (COEs), although average team size is only slightly larger than market practice (five versus four). More likely to have team members with diverse backgrounds, as they are two times more likely to hire externally. They are also more likely to support many different approaches to training for their team members beyond on-thejob training – from mentoring, coaching and internal rotations to leveraging.
Call to action for employers:
• Revitalise your global benefits strategy. If you haven’t done this recently, take the opportunity to dust off your global benefits strategy and consider how this could be further expanded and socialised to drive engagement and excitement from leadership, regions and local businesses. consultants and supporting external qualifications
• The number of individuals at a company managing global benefits globally varies greatly, from one to 38 associates. This wide range may reflect a growing trend to have a hybrid reporting model, with global COEs and local benefits leads reporting to countries in all/key markets. Small team size could potentially hinder a company’s ability to govern benefits and react quickly to changes. However, these companies have assessed their governance structure to be highly effective. This may be because these companies are 40 percent more likely to share regulatory burden risks with external consultants versus prioritising tasks in-house
• Scrutinise your governance model
• What can you learn from leading multinationals that may be relevant to your organisation?
• Is there an opportunity to review engagement with leadership, internal communication and change management processes or reporting approaches that could tip your governance model from “ineffective” to “effective”?
• Outsourcing of Specific Functions. Global Benefits teams at leading multinationals are almost twice as likely to outsource management of insured benefits and pension programmes and to have looked into and/or implemented multi-country solutions. In contrast, one out of three multinationals have not even looked at outsourcing insured benefits, and one out of two has not looked at outsourcing pension programmes
• Global benefits professionals unite! Global Benefits professionals are ambitious and know what they are looking to achieve. However, resources and stretched, and teams are constantly shrinking. Is there a new model your Global Benefits team could adopt - or is there an opportunity to work smarter by outsourcing key core tasks?
So, while multinational companies are very clear on how a global benefits strategy will help them better compete and differentiate in the market, only one in two companies have their global strategy documented and communicated appropriately
Conclusion: Navigating The Future Of Global Benefits
For organisations operating at scale, the ability to attract, support and retain talent in a predictable, value-driven, and cost-effective manner remains central to long-term performance. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the context. The Global Benefits industry faces technological advancements, rising costs, growing regulatory scrutiny, complex global footprints, and a workforce that expects more - from their benefits and their employers.
Through the insights gathered from global benefits professionals worldwide,
the 2025 Global Benefits Trends Study offers readers a path forward to address the industry’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. Multinationals are increasingly focusing on delivering value to employees through personalised benefits, enhanced communication, and strategic equity priorities, such as global minimum benefit standards. Cost management has emerged as a critical goal, yet the ability to manage costs effectively varies widely among organisations. A thorough examination of governance models can revitalise global benefits strategies, encouraging organisations to learn from leading multinationals and explore opportunities for improvement in engagement, communication, and change management processes.
The Global Benefits industry faces technological advancements, rising costs, growing regulatory scrutiny, complex global footprints, and a workforce that expects more - from their benefits and their employers
THE 2025 GLOBAL BENEFITS TRENDS STUDY
The 2025 Global Benefits Trends Study serves as a valuable resource for organisations seeking to navigate the complexities of global benefits management. By leveraging the insights and recommendations provided, businesses can unlock potential, drive sustainable growth, and create a better future for their company, employees, and the communities they serve. www.aon.com
INTERNATIONAL HR CONSULTANTS
DELOITTE LLP
1 New Street Square, London
EC4A 3HQ, United Kingdom
Contact: Danny Taggart
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7007 1447
E-mail: dtaggart@deloitte.co.uk
Website: www.deloitte.co.uk
To address the most challenging business demands, multi-national organisations need to define and understand their global workforce footprint and deliver global talent deployment efficiently and compliantly. Deloitte’s Global Employer Services practice is a multidisciplinary consulting group of tax, immigration, talent/HR, payroll, reward and digital professionals who support clients as they navigate their complex global workforce challenges, providing advisory services, developing focused strategies and delivering practical enablement.
RELOCATION ASSOCIATIONS
ASSOCIATION OF RELOCATION PROFESSIONALS (ARP)
9&10 Diss Business Centre, Dark Lane, Diss, Norfolk, IP21 4ND
Contact: Tad Zurlinden
Telephone: +44 (0)1379 651 671
Fax: +44 (0)1379 641 940
Email: enquiries@arp-relocation.com
Website: www.arp-relocation.com
The ARP is the professional association for the relocation industry in the UK. The ARP’s activities include seminars throughout the year, an annual conference, the publication of an annual Directory of Members and a website, which is updated regularly.
THE EUROPEAN RELOCATION ASSOCIATION (EuRA)
9&10 Diss Business Centre, Dark Lane, Diss, Norfolk, IP21 4ND
EuRA is an industry body for Relocation Professionals in both Europe and Worldwide. EuRa have launched The EuRA Quality Seal, the world’s first accreditation programme for relocation providers. This pioneering initiative provides a straight forward, cost effective audit to reflect your company’s excellence in providing relocation services.
SCHOOLS
TASIS THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN ENGLAND
Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Surrey TW20 8TE
Contact: Sarah Travis Telephone: 01932 582316
Email: ukadmissions@tasisengland.org
Website www.tasisengland.org
TASIS England's diverse student body includes over 50 nationalities and many in the school community have experienced the challenges of relocation. Along with well-established welcoming programs, families receive ongoing support as they cope with the practical and emotional aspects of their transition to life in the UK. Taught in small classes, students (ages 3–18) benefit from a balance of academics, arts, athletics, activities, and service leadership. Excellent exam results and oneto-one college counselling enable 97% of TASIS graduates to gain acceptance to their first- or second-choice university in the UK, the US, and worldwide.
SERVICED APARTMENTS
THE
ASSOCIATION OF SERVICED APARTMENT
PROVIDERS (ASAP)
Suite 3, The Business Centre, Innsworth Tech Park, Innsworth Lane, Gloucestershire GL3 1DL
Contact: ASAP Office
Telephone: +44 (0)1452 730452
Email: admin@theasap.org.uk
Website: www.theasap.org.uk
Twitter: @ASAPThe
LinkedIn: The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers
ASAP is in the industry association representing, promoting and improving the serviced apartment sector. Our 124 members including serviced apartment operators and agents represent in excess of 25,000 serviced apartments in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada. When booking your serviced apartment, look for our Quality Accreditation kitemark which confirms the operator is fully compliant with all the core legal, health and safety practices and means you can book with confidence.
TAXATION
BDO LLP
55 Baker Street, London, W1U 7EU
Contact: Karen McGrory
Telephone: 020 7893 2460
Fax: 020 7893 2418
E-mail: karen.mcgrory@bdo.co.uk
Website: www.bdo.co.uk
BDO LLP is the award-winning, UK Member Firm of BDO International, the world’s fifth largest
accountancy network with more than 1500 offices in 162 countries.
We have a partner-led approach, which delivers the highest quality of service by using short, functional chains of communication to aid decision-making. Clients benefit from our fresh thinking, constructive challenge and practical understanding of the issues they face. Developing strong, personal relationships with our clients is at the forefront of our service approach.
Tax advice is just one of our award-winning services and our expatriate team give practical and direct advice, delivering solutions which suit your needs.
GLOBAL TAX NETWORK LTD
1st Floor, Andrews House, College Road, Guildford, GU1 4QB
Contact: Richard Watts-Joyce CTA, ATT Telephone: +44(0)20 7100 2126
Global Tax Network Ltd is the UK member of Global Tax Network (GTN), an international affiliation of professional firms in over 100 countries specialising in global mobility tax consulting. We provide assistance to employers with the tax administration of international assignment programs and private client services to high net worth individuals, non-domiciles, professional sportspersons and entertainers. Our consultants include members of the Association of Taxation Technicians, Chartered Institute of Taxation, and US Enrolled Agents.
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