Barriers to international mobility: before the move and beyond

Despite the strategic importance of global mobility (GM), many companies struggle to get the right people to say "yes" to international opportunities. Even when they do, assignments don't always succeed as planned. In the first blog of this three-part series on the barriers to mobility, we examine the key factors hindering recruitment for international assignments, as well as what is causing moves to fail. 

Money talks in international mobility 

When it comes to initial reluctance from candidates to accept international assignments, compensation concerns dominate the conversation. ECA’s latest Managing Mobility Survey, backed by over 30 years of historical data, shows that the proportion of organisations encountering situations where candidates consider compensation insufficient has been on the rise over the past decade, to the extent that it is now the top barrier to securing acceptance for international moves. Candidates for assignments are looking to ensure that the financial package not only covers the practical costs of relocating but also provides adequate compensation for the disruption and risk involved. 

Given that compensation plays such a crucial role in the assignee selection process, it's surprising to see where it ranks among reasons for early assignment endings. Unmet compensation expectations actually sit near the bottom of failure causes, with only 13% of organisations reporting this as a frequent contributor to assignment failure. 

This suggests that while compensation concerns create significant friction in the recruitment phase, most organisations are seeing success in both building suitable compensation packages and communicating their value so that they do not break the employee’s experience once on assignment. 

Family matters: a persistent challenge 

Although compensation concerns are the most common hindrance to hiring for international moves, family issues also represent major barriers to hiring international staff, with almost half of organisations often encountering such concerns. Unlike compensation though, family-related concerns present a consistent challenge throughout the entire assignment lifecycle. In the 2025 edition of the survey, difficulty adapting – whether for the employee or their family – ranked as the second most common reason for assignments failing or ending earlier than planned. 

Over a quarter of organisations reported adaptation issues to be a frequent cause of assignment failure – over double the proportion of those frequently seeing employees’ compensation expectations not being met, despite similar numbers seeing these issues during the recruitment phase. 

This persistence distinguishes family concerns from purely financial ones. While compensation packages can be negotiated and settled before departure, family adaptation is an ongoing process that continues throughout the assignment. A spouse may struggle to find meaningful work, children may have difficulty adjusting to new schools, or the family unit may simply find it harder than expected to build a new life in an unfamiliar environment. 

Overcoming international mobility barriers 

The experience of the survey respondents shows that the barriers faced in getting people to accept assignments are not necessarily the same challenges that will determine whether those assignments succeed. Financial concerns, while significant upfront, have in most cases been resolved through proper negotiation and package design. When it comes to the more persistent and complex challenges revolving around family, there is clear room for improvement. Offering a competitive financial package is increasingly not enough on its own. Success depends on how organisations support the whole assignee experience, especially the parts that can’t be settled before departure. 

The next post in this series will examine family issues in more detail, looking to understand the nuanced nature of the challenges and exploring the support strategies that make the difference between assignment success and failure. 

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