Beyond the Bottom Line: Redefining Savings in Global Mobility
In global mobility, cutting costs at the expense of value is a false economy. True cost savings are those that reduce spend while preserving, if not enhancing, the employee experience.
Leveraging Technology and Advisory for Intelligent Cost Engineering
Modern platforms like VMware AirWatch, SOTI MobiControl, and IBM MaaS360 are changing the game. These solutions centralise mobility processes, integrate automation, and provide real-time cost intelligence. Equipped with the end-to-end visibility that they provide, GM/HR teams can forecast, scenario-plan, and manage spend dynamically, shifting from reactive management to proactive optimisation. Companies adopting integrated automation can make average cost savings of up to 30% within five years of adoption (paper from McKinsey & Company), and can achieve a reduction of up to 40% in time spent on administration (survey by Deloitte), all while boosting employee satisfaction by up to 68% (thought leadership piece from Microsoft).
Truly intelligent cost engineering requires technology to be deployed in tandem with advisory services. A strong advisory programme should include:
• Developing a mobility strategy aligned with business goals
• Conducting stakeholder interviews to capture real needs
• Designing and reviewing policies and processes for efficiency
• Considering Core Flex models which give assignees greater choice and control, but all within a robust costings framework
• Benchmarking against industry trends to spot improvement areas
• Modelling cost scenarios to forecast and contain spend
• Reviewing and selecting partners based on transparent, data-backed criteria
Building these elements into a mobility programme ensures that cost savings are engineered proactively and holistically. This prevents service quality and customer experience being compromised by tight timelines and a lack of perspective.
Transitioning from Hidden Costs to Full Transparency
Hidden costs such as partner mark-ups, administrative surcharges, and currency conversion charges are a significant threat to ROI. Full transparency is the simple solution:
• Advanced analytics dashboards now track assignment costs, partner performance, and relocation timelines, making anomalies and hidden fees immediately visible.
• Automated expense tracking and digital invoicing expose supplier mark-ups, while partner management tools ensure pricing structures are clear and auditable.
• Contract audits and transparency clauses in partner agreements require itemised billing and periodic reporting, holding partners accountable.
With a powerful partner management programme and a commitment to analysing data on a granular level, companies can identify and contain/eliminate hidden costs throughout the mobility life cycle. Full visibility leads to greater confidence in a budget, which in turn leads to an increased willingness to make positive, value-adding changes.
The most resilient global mobility programmes don’t simply cut; they protect and optimise. By leveraging technology and advisory, organisations can achieve sustainable cost efficiencies without eroding the assignee experience. They can also identify hidden costs, giving GM/HR teams the opportunity to carry out granular analysis and then make informed decisions. When it comes to cost savings in global mobility, the bottom line isn’t the end of the story; beyond it lies customer experience, which must be protected (if not enhanced) if a saving is to deliver real and sustainable value.
Download our guide, ‘Beyond the Bottom Line: Delivering Cost Savings which protect the Customer Experience’, for further insights.
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