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Building Resilient Mobility Programs in a Volatile World
"Geopolitical risk is now a constant feature of the business environment, not a sporadic shock." ~ Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group
As conflicts escalate, borders can tighten and business challenges increase. It can leave global mobility professionals asking themselves almost daily: --How prepared are we if things change dramatically overnight?
It’s common now for organizations to evolve and build increased resilience into their talent mobility programs—anticipating the next disruption.
Why This Matters Now
No region is immune and while conflict-prone areas like the Middle East or Ukraine remain high-risk, other seemingly “safe” zones are showing cracks. In the last 3 to 24 months, global companies have navigated a dizzying series of geopolitical challenges:
- Rising diplomatic tension and security concerns over Taiwan and the South China Sea
- Red Sea shipping attacks and threats
- India/Pakistan military actions
- Expanded U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions
- Protests, strikes, political unrest, and tension in Europe, North and South America
Each event carried a talent impact—delays, disruptions, emergency exits, and unexpected relocations. As business leaders increase overseas investment and global headcount, HR and mobility teams must now align with legal, risk, and compliance teams to proactively plan for what used to be unimaginable.
How Companies Respond to Shifting Risks
Even where safety isn’t the issue, volatility or the stress of a growing threat of volatility can upend global assignments. Companies are taking the following actions:
Talent Contingency Mapping: Organizations are auditing which key roles sit in high-risk areas and mapping a plan B scenario: alternate locations, local hires, or short-term remote coverage. This mirrors an approach similar to those used in other industries and applicable to talent safety and business continuity plans.
Flexible Assignment Structures: Some global companies are moving away from traditional long-term expatriate models toward more agility—shorter assignments, increased business travel. if affordable, or a hybrid home country-based model, if feasible. While not ideal, these may reduce risks in potentially volatile countries while retaining a global presence and business focus.
Cross-Functional Readiness: Mobility leaders are collaborating with legal, tax, security, and ESG teams to run relocation-specific scenario planning. Some with large global operations are building “geo-risk dashboards” for enhanced visualization to monitor and forecast disruption impacts on talent. [1]
First Steps: Policy Levers to Reevaluate
A resilient global relocation program requires mobility policies that are flexible enough to respond to real-time disruption without sacrificing compliance, cost control, or duty of care. Consider three levers progressive companies are using:
- Geopolitical Evacuations & Exit Clauses: Traditional assignment letters rarely account for unplanned exits. By embedding specific clauses or contingency language in them — allowing employees/families to exit or pivot to safer locations when political, environmental, or operational risk levels are met — companies protect both people and their business continuity. Such clauses should define the triggers (e.g., State Department advisories, security alerts) and include coverage for temporary housing, repatriation, and dependent care.
NEI Client Example – Ukraine: NEI supported clients at the onset of the Ukraine crisis by first, ensuring assignees were safe and understood that they were supported by their company. One client needed immediate assistance moving a group of employees out of Russia.
Result: Working with our DSPs on the ground, NEI took swift action and found a location where they could go without prior visa approval and moved twenty assignees and their families to Dubai. NEI arranged area tours and DSP services for their employees and arranged for someone to meet the families in Dubai. Another client evacuated families to Istanbul into temp living. Temporary housing was limited and Istanbul was the best option.
- Location Premiums / Safety Bonuses: To support moving key talent to certain locations, organizations need reliable data to help calculate fair and consistent compensation or hardship premiums for the mobile employees.[2] Some companies are revisiting the concept of “location-based differentials” or “incentive mobility.” These may include bonus pay, extended paid leave, additional insurance, or enhanced benefits for higher-risk areas, particularly for project-based roles or leadership placements in some emerging markets.
- Diversified Vendor Networks: If your relocation relies on a single provider in-country, you could be vulnerable—whether due to supply chain issues, sanctions, or sudden border closures. Proactive global companies are building supply chain back up plans that include near-country support for all markets they have current or frequent assignments in.
Second Steps: Identify Tools to Help You Stay Ahead
Managing geopolitical risk in talent mobility requires more than policy—it requires visibility, data, and decision support. Keeping our clients up to date on these matters is of utmost importance. NEI quickly provides clients with important updates about countries where they have employees, where they might send employees, or key industry developments—even if they have no activity in those locations—as well as for general industry knowledge if they do not.
New tools and platforms to monitor geopolitical changes are also emerging to support this need:
- Geopolitical Intelligence Platforms: There are a number of online subscription services that offer real-time geopolitical assessments, scenario planning dashboards, and regional volatility indexes.
- Critical Event Management: Platforms, such as those offered by companies that provide medical and security assistance to organizations and their travelers, are especially valuable for duty of care, providing a direct line to mobile employees and enabling rapid response if evacuation, shelter-in-place, or medical support is needed.[3]
- Generative AI-Powered Mobility Risk Forecasting: Emerging AI platforms use predictive modeling to simulate how conflicts, sanctions, or policy shifts may impact your global footprint.[4]
The Stakes are High: Act Now
As the saying goes: “An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer that the glass is twice the size it needs to be.”
The take away?... Corporations need to think a bit like engineers—practical, data-driven, and forward-looking.
Today is the best time to audit your global talent footprint, revisit mobility policy flexibility, and build geopolitical readiness into your relocation strategy. Not preparing for geopolitical disruptions can:
- Undermine employee safety and morale
- Interrupt business continuity and project delivery
- Damage employer brand in high-growth regions
- Lead to regulatory non-compliance or legal exposure
Organizations that plan proactively don’t just respond faster—they become more attractive to talent, reliable partners to business units, and strategic voices at the executive table.
Proactive Trends, Alerts, and Protocols
NEI helps clients stay informed and regularly updates you on the latest travel guidelines, alerts, protocols and your unique goals and cultural nuances. With additional planning, cross-functional collaboration, and agile relocation design, your mobility program can become a source of strength—not a vulnerability.
If you would like to discuss this or any other issue in greater detail, please reach out to your NEI Client Relations Manager or NEI Global Client Development contact at 800.533.7353 any time.
Sources:
- https://giscarta.com/blog/creating-gis-projects-with-infographics-using-dashboards
- https://www.internationalsos.com/services/workforce-resilience
- https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/02/13/leveraging-generative-ai-in-supply-chain-risk-assessment-and-mitigation/
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
Building Resilient Mobility Programs in a Volatile World
"Geopolitical risk is now a constant feature of the business environment, not a sporadic shock." ~ Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group
As conflicts escalate, borders can tighten and business challenges increase. It can leave global mobility professionals asking themselves almost daily: --How prepared are we if things change dramatically overnight?
It’s common now for organizations to evolve and build increased resilience into their talent mobility programs—anticipating the next disruption.
Why This Matters Now
No region is immune and while conflict-prone areas like the Middle East or Ukraine remain high-risk, other seemingly “safe” zones are showing cracks. In the last 3 to 24 months, global companies have navigated a dizzying series of geopolitical challenges:
- Rising diplomatic tension and security concerns over Taiwan and the South China Sea
- Red Sea shipping attacks and threats
- India/Pakistan military actions
- Expanded U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions
- Protests, strikes, political unrest, and tension in Europe, North and South America
Each event carried a talent impact—delays, disruptions, emergency exits, and unexpected relocations. As business leaders increase overseas investment and global headcount, HR and mobility teams must now align with legal, risk, and compliance teams to proactively plan for what used to be unimaginable.
How Companies Respond to Shifting Risks
Even where safety isn’t the issue, volatility or the stress of a growing threat of volatility can upend global assignments. Companies are taking the following actions:
Talent Contingency Mapping: Organizations are auditing which key roles sit in high-risk areas and mapping a plan B scenario: alternate locations, local hires, or short-term remote coverage. This mirrors an approach similar to those used in other industries and applicable to talent safety and business continuity plans.
Flexible Assignment Structures: Some global companies are moving away from traditional long-term expatriate models toward more agility—shorter assignments, increased business travel. if affordable, or a hybrid home country-based model, if feasible. While not ideal, these may reduce risks in potentially volatile countries while retaining a global presence and business focus.
Cross-Functional Readiness: Mobility leaders are collaborating with legal, tax, security, and ESG teams to run relocation-specific scenario planning. Some with large global operations are building “geo-risk dashboards” for enhanced visualization to monitor and forecast disruption impacts on talent. [1]
First Steps: Policy Levers to Reevaluate
A resilient global relocation program requires mobility policies that are flexible enough to respond to real-time disruption without sacrificing compliance, cost control, or duty of care. Consider three levers progressive companies are using:
- Geopolitical Evacuations & Exit Clauses: Traditional assignment letters rarely account for unplanned exits. By embedding specific clauses or contingency language in them — allowing employees/families to exit or pivot to safer locations when political, environmental, or operational risk levels are met — companies protect both people and their business continuity. Such clauses should define the triggers (e.g., State Department advisories, security alerts) and include coverage for temporary housing, repatriation, and dependent care.
NEI Client Example – Ukraine: NEI supported clients at the onset of the Ukraine crisis by first, ensuring assignees were safe and understood that they were supported by their company. One client needed immediate assistance moving a group of employees out of Russia.
Result: Working with our DSPs on the ground, NEI took swift action and found a location where they could go without prior visa approval and moved twenty assignees and their families to Dubai. NEI arranged area tours and DSP services for their employees and arranged for someone to meet the families in Dubai. Another client evacuated families to Istanbul into temp living. Temporary housing was limited and Istanbul was the best option.
- Location Premiums / Safety Bonuses: To support moving key talent to certain locations, organizations need reliable data to help calculate fair and consistent compensation or hardship premiums for the mobile employees.[2] Some companies are revisiting the concept of “location-based differentials” or “incentive mobility.” These may include bonus pay, extended paid leave, additional insurance, or enhanced benefits for higher-risk areas, particularly for project-based roles or leadership placements in some emerging markets.
- Diversified Vendor Networks: If your relocation relies on a single provider in-country, you could be vulnerable—whether due to supply chain issues, sanctions, or sudden border closures. Proactive global companies are building supply chain back up plans that include near-country support for all markets they have current or frequent assignments in.
Second Steps: Identify Tools to Help You Stay Ahead
Managing geopolitical risk in talent mobility requires more than policy—it requires visibility, data, and decision support. Keeping our clients up to date on these matters is of utmost importance. NEI quickly provides clients with important updates about countries where they have employees, where they might send employees, or key industry developments—even if they have no activity in those locations—as well as for general industry knowledge if they do not.
New tools and platforms to monitor geopolitical changes are also emerging to support this need:
- Geopolitical Intelligence Platforms: There are a number of online subscription services that offer real-time geopolitical assessments, scenario planning dashboards, and regional volatility indexes.
- Critical Event Management: Platforms, such as those offered by companies that provide medical and security assistance to organizations and their travelers, are especially valuable for duty of care, providing a direct line to mobile employees and enabling rapid response if evacuation, shelter-in-place, or medical support is needed.[3]
- Generative AI-Powered Mobility Risk Forecasting: Emerging AI platforms use predictive modeling to simulate how conflicts, sanctions, or policy shifts may impact your global footprint.[4]
The Stakes are High: Act Now
As the saying goes: “An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pessimist, half-empty; and the engineer that the glass is twice the size it needs to be.”
The take away?... Corporations need to think a bit like engineers—practical, data-driven, and forward-looking.
Today is the best time to audit your global talent footprint, revisit mobility policy flexibility, and build geopolitical readiness into your relocation strategy. Not preparing for geopolitical disruptions can:
- Undermine employee safety and morale
- Interrupt business continuity and project delivery
- Damage employer brand in high-growth regions
- Lead to regulatory non-compliance or legal exposure
Organizations that plan proactively don’t just respond faster—they become more attractive to talent, reliable partners to business units, and strategic voices at the executive table.
Proactive Trends, Alerts, and Protocols
NEI helps clients stay informed and regularly updates you on the latest travel guidelines, alerts, protocols and your unique goals and cultural nuances. With additional planning, cross-functional collaboration, and agile relocation design, your mobility program can become a source of strength—not a vulnerability.
If you would like to discuss this or any other issue in greater detail, please reach out to your NEI Client Relations Manager or NEI Global Client Development contact at 800.533.7353 any time.
Sources:
- https://giscarta.com/blog/creating-gis-projects-with-infographics-using-dashboards
- https://www.internationalsos.com/services/workforce-resilience
- https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/02/13/leveraging-generative-ai-in-supply-chain-risk-assessment-and-mitigation/
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
