Is Mobility A Key To Retain Your Key Talent?

In today’s workplace, there are seemingly no boundaries to an office. As organisations expand globally, this also means that employees have the opportunity to work remotely or perhaps move to other locations for work. While this might mean more logistics for the HR department, it also opens up more career growth opportunities for employees.

Given that the workforce today is increasingly made up of Millennials, this also means that there is a shift in the factors that attract and retain talent today. In an survey conducted by the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers community, most Singaporean millennials are willing to move overseas for work. At the same time, amongst 177 Singapore aged between 18 and 35, about 7 in 10 have said that they would be willing to do so to advance their career.

Work relocation might be logistically challenging both for the employee and employer but these relocation opportunities can in fact be a great way to motivate and retain key talent.

Move to grow

Based on the survey results from the World Economic Forum, most employees are willing to relocate overseas to advance their career. This is certainly understandable given the myriad of benefits that relocation brings about to one’s career. It provides the opportunity to develop critical career skills such as working in a new work culture, learning to work with various people, problem-solving skills and communication skills. This geographical career movement is viewed as a growth to employees, particularly for Millennials who are hungry to climb the career ladder.

Help with the change

Relocation is no doubt a huge challenge for employees as well as the HR department given that there are numerous administrative matters to take care of. However, helping employees to navigate through this change can provide some form of relief to employees and makes them willing to deal with the tons of paperwork involved. When organisations are able to manage relocation smoothly and successfully for employees, employees are more willing to relocate and this serves as an attraction tool for key talents to the organisation.

In addition to competitive remuneration packages and attractive benefits, relocation opportunities is a great attraction and retention tool for all generations of employees. For the Gen X and Baby Boomers, it is provides them the opportunity to expand their horizons before they advance into retirement phase. As for Gen Y and Millennials, it serves as the stepping stone for career advancement.

However, to ensure that mobility truly serves its purpose as an attraction and retention tool, organisations need to ensure that there is a proper communication channel as well as a robust support system. This is to ensure that employees are aware of these relocation opportunities and can be assured that the organisation will help to manage the potential complexities involved in relocation. With proper mobility management programs in place, this then becomes a win-win situation for both employees and the organisation.

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