Report Reveals Global Mobility Response

A new report has revealed that the ‘golden age’ of workplace technology is being ushered in by the pandemic.

The ‘Now, Next, and Beyond: Global Mobility’s response to COVID-19’ report co-authored by Cranfield University Professor Michael Dickmann found that numerous companies were not equipped with crisis response plans and are now having to rethink their methods to keep their operations going and support employees.

In the report that surveyed 53 multinational companies, Global Mobility is defined “as the function that manages the logistics and the needs of employees who live and work, or travel frequently, to different countries.”

It revealed that less than half of corporations had a fully implemented major incident response policy. Additionally, one-third anticipate a drop in assignee satisfaction due to changing information from their organization and 76% expect that business travel will drop in the years to come.

 “I was surprised to see that many companies did not have business continuity plans or crisis strategies in place – which meant they were caught out when COVID-19 swept across the globe,” said Michael Dickmann, Professor of International Human Resource Management. “Although corporations adapted quickly, many expect their assignment goals to not be fulfilled. This is partly due to the valid concerns for employees’ mental health and wellbeing; and it’s also due to the restrictions on normal networking and business action.”