b'STRATEGIC ROLESkip ahead to today and it is a somewhat different story.talents and gauge what they need to power up their roles. Were While mobility professionals still enjoy a seat at the table ingoing to have exercises where attendees will do some introspec-some respects, some see their roles once more becoming moretion and explore what skills they have now and what theyll operational and less strategic. The CERC 2023 Employeeneed to develop in order to get in front of their own leaders and Relocation Policy Survey captures this perspective: 60 per centimprove, says Connell by way of example.of respondents said a majority of their time was being spent onConnell wont be by herself on the CERC dais. The session will operational-related activities while 78 per cent were eager toinclude a diverse panel of mobility professionals who will share get back into the strategic side of their business. their experiences and perspectives on shifting mindsets in the Another trend to consider is that mobility professionals aremobility space. One of the confirmed panelists is Genevieve shouldering more responsibilities than ever before and, inMartin, senior manager of employee relations and mobility with some cases, are under more pressure to control costs andLedcor, who says shes excited to be part of the conversation, resources. Moreover, says Connell, they are expected tonoting, To me, shifting towards a strategic mindset is a shift become jacks of all trades when it comes to immigration,towards being more proactive in the mobility experience we are tax, legal, compliance, human resources, and other issues.providing to leaders and employees. Its about having the skills to Right now, mobility managers have all these different stake- create alignment with our organizations on all aspects of talent holders calling them up looking for different things, whethermobilitybe it relocation, immigration, tax or remote workthats business leaders, employees, supplier partners, or reloca- because this helps to build a scalable and consistent experience tion management companies, Connell says. for our employees.LEVELLING UP Now is the time for that shift, Martin insists. The mobility The job description for mobility professionals is becomingenvironment has become more complex, and its increasingly more complex by the day. Yet, as the Level Up Your Game!important for organizations to attract and retain talent from a session at this years CERC Conference will explore, reloca- wider international pool. Without a strategic mindset, mobility tion specialists have an opportunity to adopt the skills andprofessionals are unable to get out of the day-to-day firefighting.mindsets that will enable them to play a more vital and stra- Connell agrees that now is the time to get mobility professionals tegic role in their respective companies. in the same room to talk about what it means to move people in What are those skills, exactly? On the one hand, levelling upan increasingly complex hyper-digital age. Importantly, she adds, requires a firm grasp of the soft skills required to collaboratesessions like the one she will be leading at the upcoming CERC with a broader range of stakeholders (e.g., communication,Conference are valuable in reinforcing the community part of teamwork, adaptability, creative problem-solving, etc.). It alsomobility: The big takeaway we want to leave with people is that they are not alone and that there are always resources out there requires becoming a more adept storyteller to promote theto get them to whatever level they want to reach.value of strong employee relocation strategies. That means not only offering insights based on past experi-ences and anecdotal evidence but also coming to the table with cold, hard data that supports mobility strategies. Leaders will always want data to make the decisions, says Connell. So the biggest skill mobility managers are going to need moving forward is the ability to tell their own stories using not only what theyve seen and heard themselves, but the data theyre collecting and analyzing with the technologies that have come into play.To that end, mobility professionals hoping to play a more strategic role will need to be skilled in using tools like artificial intelligence and data analytics platforms to wield data in ways that support their storytelling. But thats where we have to take a step back and ask, what does that look like in practi-cality? says Connell. How do they gain these skills on top of their busy, everyday work? Its going to require taking time away from their day-to-day job and learning as they go, which is also something we need to consider.THE NEXT STAGELevelling up in any profession comes with growing pains, but the mobility community has a knack for supporting itself in times of transformation. Events like CERCs conference, regional meetings, and other networking initiatives have proven effective in bringing mobility specialists together to discuss how their roles are changing and what is needed to stayahead. Connell hopes her upcoming session will serve a similar role. In it, she plans to lead conversations and workshop activities that will give attendees opportunities to take stock of their Fall 2024PERSPECTIVES21'