b"VOX POPAnother important value is supporting mobility and immigra- That's a year before being able to move someone in where you've tion programs and being involved in the recruitment process got a blanket L VISA already in place but cant act on it. Based providing all relevant information before a candidate accepts anon talks with our immigration providers and different embassies offer to relocate, thus managing expectations and increasing theand consultancies, consular staffing has been down to 20 to 30 success of the relocation. There are a lot of factors to considerper cent of traditional levels, which isnt helping matters.before you hire foreign talent, so our value with Ubisoft is beingOf course, this is an opportunity to be creative. For example, able to communicate and manage any issues to avoid surprises,Australia's closed right now and it's impossible to get a consular ease the relocation and integration process, and have appointment, so we're flying people to Thailand or Brazil to get successful hires. their L1s for the U.S.Another challenge is that it costs way more to move people. That What are the most immediate challenges includes moving household goods. We've seen the prices at about or opportunities facing global mobility 170 per cent of what they've been in the past, and timelines of up professionals? to three months for an air shipment. That being said, challenges EGAN:There are several major challenges and opportunities,around household goods can be overcome; it's just the stuff, it's all of which are reflections of the current business environment.not the talent. You can find furnished accommodation, or you can One is the ongoing inflationary environment that brings a lot ofbuy furniture. If you've got the financial resources, you canpressures and worries about a recession and economic downturn.fix that.There's a challenge for mobility professionals to find the right roleAgain, these challenges all pose opportunities for mobility profes-for mobility in terms of cost containment or select investment. sionals to produce new solutions and workarounds. We have Another challenge stems from the fact that many companiesthe chance to be a centre of excellence and a trusted keeper of are concerned about the reliability of their global supply chains.updated information related to mobility processes, timelines and They're deliberately creating new supply chains to build in redun- immigration rules.dancies and back-ups, so they have more assurances with respectPROVENCHER:We are faced with a shortage of talents while the to the reliability of supply. In that respect, there's a tremendousdifferent components of global mobility are more challenging: need for global mobility professionals to help build out dealing with the evolving travel restrictions is resulting in long those chains. and unpredictable immigration processing times. Then, you There is also a genuine trend toward vertical integration withinhave a global shipping crisis that's been ongoing for over two select businesses, such that companies can take more respon- years, making the movement of household goods more chal-sibility for their sources of supply, including components, rawlenging. Added to that, there is less temporary housing available materials and value accentuators. They want more control andthan before the pandemic. You can look at these challenges as assuredness that all those things are in place. I believe mobilityopportunities for global mobility professionals to reassess internal professionals will be called on to assist with those efforts. mobility policies and programs to determine if there is anything that can be done to maintain the top employee experience we aim And we can't forget that there's still an ongoing war for talent.to offer and be competitive while remaining compliant with tax, There's still a real demand for identifying talent, relocating talent,immigration, and labour laws. encouraging the settlement of talent, and creating pathways from temporary to permanent status. That's all going to remainvery important.FAHLMAN-SMITH:The biggest challenges are supply chain disruption and the global war for talent. All employers are looking to hire the best of the best, and that war for talent is not going anywhere; in fact, it will only increase as we move forward. Other challenges we're seeing include growing inflation, which is increasing the costs of having a mobile workforce substantially, and the complexities and delays around immigration.The biggest opportunity is for global mobility professionals to show they can think outside the box. If COVID taught me anything, it's the importance of being able to adjust quickly at the drop of a hat to meet changing world conditions and understand that what works for one client might not work for another. We have an opportunity to demonstrate that and create programs that encompass all our employees, no matter their situation.HOUCK:Number one is immigration. We were able to get every-body back during the pandemic because nationals were allowed back into their home country, but outbound movement across those same lines has been met with unprecedented delays in every corner of the world. Take India, for example, where we're looking at a 40 to 50-week delay for a consular visit before we can start on immigration.20PERSPECTIVES Fall 2022"