Mobility benefits remain one of the most visible - and expensive - parts of long-term international assignment packages. To help mobility professionals stay ahead of the curve, our recent webinar series shared insights from the latest Benefits for International Assignments Survey, covering how organisations are adapting approaches to flexibility, sustainability and family support. 

If you missed the live sessions, you can catch up now - we’ve made the recordings and key takeaways available to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve.  

Key takeaways:

• Flexibility – promise vs reality 
  Flexibility has been a hot topic in mobility for years, yet only 22% of organisations offer flexible benefits – almost unchanged since 2021. Those offering flexible approaches have to balance employee choice with duty of care, as well as corporate control with complexity of administration and vendor management issues. Furthermore, flexibility can have indirect costs as well as add to unpredictability in cost management as benefits preferred by an assignment may be more likely subject to tax, or taxed at a higher rate than the company’s default benefits structure or delivery mechanism. Smaller adjustments, such as replacing cars with public transport allowances where appropriate, show that flexibility is evolving in quieter ways outside formal schemes. 
• Sustainability – strategy or side effect? 
  Sustainability is increasingly present in mobility policies, though often as a by-product rather than the main goal. Economy flights for home leave and public transport allowances reduce emissions, while regional differences are evident in electric vehicle adoption, with European organisations leading the way. Relocation practices such as offering furniture allowances instead of shipping may become more significant in lowering environmental impact, depending on how assignees use them. The tendency of Asia-headquartered companies to favour furnished accommodation versus their global peers also has a sustainability by-product since it also contributes fewer containers being shipped around the world.  
• Family support in focus 
  While cost control is apparent and companies are reducing costs associated with mobility benefits in some areas - mostly evident in the increased embrace of economy class travel for all assignees irrespective of flight duration and seniority - companies have enhanced support elsewhere. The growing trend of supporting accompanying partners, covering pre-kindergarten education costs, and meeting the needs of children with special educational requirements reflects organisations’ recognition that family support is vital to assignment success. 
• What’s next? 
  The push for flexibility could eventually lead to a situation where too much choice prompts a shift back towards more structured policies. Sustainability momentum is uneven, with political and corporate realities slowing change even as reputational pressures grow. At the same time, new EU pay transparency rules will likely have an impact on some organisations, while concerns regarding the global economic outlook are likely to impact organisations as they review the benefits they provide to their assignees in the short- to medium-term. 

Webinar recordings  

Click below to access the full recordings: