The intent is noble. Mobility wants a seat at the table. But the math often leans on variables we don’t control – performance scores, market share, or innovation pipelines we’ll never have sightlines into.
Every relocation tells two stories: one about getting talent where it’s needed, and another about what it costs the planet to make that happen.
At a recent conference, I attended a session on Measuring ROI in Global Mobility. The title promised substance. Instead, I got a parade of phrases built to impress an executive’s ear: revenue risk, million-dollar launches, speed to market.
For years now, it’s been getting harder to convince employees to take U.S. assignments. The reasons aren’t just cost or logistics; they’re deeper and more human.
Why Housing Differential Subsidies Save More Than Just Money
When companies relocate employees between cities, there’s a dirty little secret…
It’s September, the laptops are back open, and relocation isn’t happening in a vacuum—it’s happening inside two very different housing markets. Relocation is only as smooth as the market allows—and right now, it’s anything but smooth.
Even when employees receive a Miscellaneous Allowance, they still ask for exceptions.
“Can I expense the cost of licensing my vehicle in the new province?”
“What about the hook-up fee for internet?”
“Can you cover the dismantling of my home gym?”
These aren’t strange questions. They’re reasonable ones. But they create friction—case-by-case exceptions, follow-up approvals, and ambiguity for everyone involved.
So the pitch from your transferee who is set to work from temporary accommodation at destination for 60 days is: “Let me spend one week on-site in Calgary, then one week at home in Toronto. You cover the flights, and I’ll skip the second week of hotel. When I am in Toronto I will work Calgary hours.”
Why available trucks don’t always equal healthy mobility—and how it can pinch your transferees
The Doritos Sucker Punch economy: I once wrote about the Pancake Economy, where I noted that those slightly lower on the income ladder in the United States were turning away from eating out at Denny’s, Applebee’s and others, which was leading to restaurant closures. Then I wrote about the Campbell’s Soup Economy as Campbell’s announced a notable increase in soup sales, proving that the American consumer had indeed left Applebee’s and was making their own soup for dinner. Now we are what I call the Doritos Sucker Punch economy.
