b'STRATEGIC ROLESHIFTING THE MOBILITY MINDSETBy Matthew BradfordNow more than ever, mobilityI ts safe to say the global pandemic redefined the role of a mobility professional. And now that the dust has cleared, its important to take stock of the skills needed by strategists, professionals need to work atservice providers and people-movers across the reloca-tion industry for them to maintain their seat at the decision-maintaining their strategic rolemakingtable. at the decision-making table It is a big conversation to tackle, but one that Jennifer Connell, vice president of advisory services with Weichert Workforce Mobility, is keen to lead at the 2024 CERC Annual Conference during a panel session called Level Up Your Game! Shifting towards a Strategic Mindset and Taking Action. This session idea stems from the fact that during the pandemic we saw a lot of mobility directors and managers being tapped on the shoulder by the leaders in their organizations for their direct assistance to get people back home or redeploy them into different areas, by necessity, Connell tells Perspectives. Virtually overnight, mobility professionals became the go-to work-force strategists during a time of unprecedented workforce disrup-tions, and the ones with the mobility know-how, the networks, and the expertise to keep their organizations in motion. Suddenly, [mobility professionals] had that seat and voice at the table. And then, immediately following the pandemic, they still had a seat at the table because they now had to help the companies work through the remote work issues, notes Connell.20PERSPECTIVESFall 2024'