Centralize Global Mobility Management for Large Organizations

Global mobility is no longer a niche HR concern. The majority of enterprises now regularly hire, relocate, and manage employees and contractors across borders, making it a normal part of daily operations.

As global mobility is a relatively new endeavour, many organizations are still finding their feet. You may support some employee relocations but find you’re not equipped to handle all the logistical and bureaucratic complexities and scale processes across multiple locations. Some markets and local talent pools remain out of reach for the time being.

However, there’s no need to wait until you’ve built out your global mobility function. New global services and advances in technology make it possible to develop a scalable, centralized strategy within months, if not weeks.

Our guide shows you how to solve common mobility challenges with smart tools and effective processes. We draw on Deel’s over ten years of experience to give you practical ways to centralize operations, reduce risk, and develop a reliable global mobility strategy.

Why do large organizations need centralized global mobility management?

Global mobility management makes large multinational companies more adaptable and resilient. When you can hire and relocate workers anywhere, you can enter new markets and access foreign talent pools quickly.

This gives your business a significant competitive advantage. Given the current economic instability and tight labor market, your ability to hire from anywhere could be the difference between sinking and swimming.

Almost two-thirds of enterprises rely on centralized mobility solutions. They ensure operations are consistent across every location, teams have a repeatable process to follow, and data is freely available. While regional models see some success, they’re not nearly as scalable.

Key pain points for enterprises when navigating global mobility

No matter which model your business uses, global mobility management introduces many logistical and bureaucratic challenges. Without the right tools and processes, these can prevent you from facilitating employee relocations at scale.

• High possible costs: Relocating employees across borders involves multiple expenses from business travel and accommodation to administrative support. Visa costs alone run into the thousands
• Lack of access to data: Operating across borders often leads to siloes and fragmented teams. 54% of enterprises say data is scattered across multiple locations due to globally mobile employees
• Constant changes: The success of employee relocations depends on various factors, like immigration policies and local economies. If any of these change suddenly without your team noticing, you may experience costly delays
• Process delays: Applying for visas and helping employees resettle in a new country is a long process. Any errors or unforeseen issues can stall the process, leaving vital roles unfilled and decreasing your productivity
• Increased compliance risk: Expanding globally calls for you to navigate international regulations. If you overlook or misinterpret legislation, you could open yourself to penalties or legal issues.
• Cultural integration challenges: Employees are likely to bring different expectations, attitudes, and working styles to your company. Unifying everyone and developing a cohesive culture is possible, but it requires time and resources.

Global mobility features and services that simplify expansion

While global mobility makes your large organization more complex, it significantly improves your agility. In fact, 51% of businesses say they’re investing in global mobility strategies to improve their adaptability and resilience.

The key is to leverage the right features and services to streamline key processes. Let’s look at the essential ones and their benefits below.

Visa and immigration management

Outsource visa and immigration to specialised services like Deel Immigration. Our team can handle all the variables, such as applications and fees, while giving you a centralized overview of every process.

Start by requesting visa and immigration support via the Deel platform. With just a few details about your employee, we can assess their visa eligibility and suggest next steps.

Afterward, the Deel Immigration team compiles paperwork, files forms, and arranges interviews. Both employees and employers can track the application status via the dashboard and get immediate updates when we reach a new milestone. If you have any queries, you’re still free to reach out to your customer success manager.

Once your employee’s visa is approved, Deel Immigration also makes it easy to upload visas and permits to our system. We store everything securely and give you the power to enable granular access and permissions so nobody sees anything they shouldn’t.

EOR and local entity infrastructure

Partnering with a visa and immigration provider with Employer of Record (EOR) capabilities takes your global mobility a step further. With the provider acting as the legal employer on paper, you can sponsor applications and hire workers anywhere they have an entity.

By outsourcing HR administration to the EOR, you also reduce compliance risks and the manual burden on your team. Reputable providers like Deel ensure contracts align with each country’s labor laws and regulations, manage global payroll, and navigate tax compliance.

Find an immigration solution with global EOR services to maintain centralized operations. For example, Deel EOR has wholly-owned and managed entities in over 100 countries, including the US, UK, and Spain. We don’t rely on third-party providers, so we can keep the quality of services consistent.

If you hire freelancers, ensure your immigration solution has Contractor of Record (CoR) capabilities for compliant hiring. This ensures you can keep working with every member of your team as they relocate or travel around. For example, Deel CoR enables you to classify workers, create local contracts, and pay workers compliantly in over 150 countries.

End-to-end immigration support

Global mobility is about more than visas and air travel. Comprehensive immigration solutions like Deel assist you through every stage from verifying eligibility and getting sponsorship licensing through to bringing employees back.

Deel Immigration manages the following processes through its combination of services and features:

• Localized contract generation
• Background checks
• Digital signature collection
• Onboarding
• Benefits enrollment and contributions
• IT asset management
• Tax filing
• Visa updates and renewals
• Offboarding

In every case, Deel Immigration handles the process through our local experts and powerful automation tools, or your employees do via our self-service features. However, HR teams don’t lose oversight or control. You can always track progress via the dashboard and receive notifications and alerts for approvals.

Deel also offers discounts for relocation services from our trusted partners, including travel, pet transport, and housing. You can use this to offset some of the upfront costs of moving workers.

Flexible payroll and benefits

Prioritize finding an immigration solution with built-in global payroll capabilities to manage compensation for workers across multiple jurisdictions. Whether you’re using an EOR model or owned entities, you can pay teams, navigate tax requirements, and provide localized coverage everywhere you employ workers.

For example, Deel Global Payroll ensures you comply with all the relevant tax, labor, and employment laws. Our advanced automation enables you to calculate wages and taxes and file returns based on each worker’s location.

Likewise, our benefits management means you always meet the minimum coverage for each country. Our flexible, cafeteria-style perks mean you can add to that and let employees choose what’s relevant to maintain their lifestyle and support their families.

Communication and feedback integrations

The best visa and immigration providers come with powerful HR and engagement features, so it’s easier to support employees through all stages of relocation. This helps alleviate stress, boost morale, and develop a unified culture throughout your organization.

For example, Deel HRIS enables you to onboard hires overseas and manage their time off, expenses, and scheduling from afar. This helps keep processes organized for employees even as they’re traveling or settling into their new location.

Here’s what Deel offers as part of its Engage plugins with Slack:

• The time-off plugin to track, request, and analyze PTO usage
• The connections plugin so teams can catch up and discuss watercooler topics
• The one-on-ones plugin to prepare, run, and track their 1-on-1s
• The pulse surveys plugin for collecting feedback
• The announcements plugin to send bulk messages and track acknowledgment
• The kudos plugin to recognize individual and team accomplishments
• The org chart plugin for more visibility around reporting structures

Real-time compliance and cost tracking

Global mobility management requires constant oversight of changing regulations and expenses. Platforms like Deel Immigration give you access to a centralized dashboard where you can review the following metrics in one place:

• Headcount
• Time to onboard
• Attrition rate
• Payroll costs
• Visa application status counts
• Overdue compliance tasks

Plus, our data analytics lets you create custom reports, allowing you to evaluate your global mobility programs from every perspective.

As you can’t leave compliance up to chance, Deel Immigration has an always-on compliance monitor that tracks regulatory changes impacting your workforce. This notifies you about upcoming policies and gives you time to prepare. Of course, the Deel team will be on hand to advise you and help you implement the changes effectively.

Streamline and simplify global mobility with Deel

With Deel Immigration, your organization can easily navigate mobile workforce management. Bureaucratic and logistical challenges will no longer impact your long-term strategies.

Deel’s combination of Global Immigration, Payroll, and EOR services enables you to centralize operations and allocate resources more effectively. Plus, our team of 200+ local experts worldwide can advise you on unique challenges or specific goals.

Sound like the ideal solution? Book a free consultation to learn more about how Deel Immigration supports global mobility management at scale across over 150 locations.