Welcome to Mobility Minute, a newsletter published every Friday byWorldwide ERC®for the benefit of members and the global mobility and relocation industry. Here’s a quick glimpse of what you’ll find in this week’s issue:
How Worldwide ERC Is Meeting the Moment in 2023
The Benefits and Challenges of Blind Recruiting
Travel Restrictions Continue to Change
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How Worldwide ERC Is Meeting the Moment in 2023
Following a year that saw dramatic developments in trends driving the future of the global workforce, Worldwide ERC has hit the ground running in 2023 to support the critical role talent mobility professionals play in how, where, and when work happens around the world.
We are redefining how we lead on issues most important to our members, which I have taken to calling the 2C’s and 2S’s: cost, compliance, supply chain, and sustainability. Our four policy forums take a deeper dive into these issues, and we are recruiting experts to advance public policies around the world that support work from anywhere, allow employers and workers to be agile, and that are attentive to the changing needs of the workforce—a formula that we know will support growth in our post-pandemic world. We are following issues that impact the 2C’s and 2S’s, ranging from tax and real estate to immigration and data privacy—and look forward to sharing results of our work and impact.
In today’s ever-evolving landscape, there are various recruitment strategies that prioritize diversity. One such example is blind recruiting, an effective technique to eradicate hiring bias and promote inclusivity. This technique involves removing certain components of a candidate's personal information in order to protect them from potential bias that could lead to an unfavorable outcome.
Why is this important?
Research supports that diversity is beneficial to the bottom line of any business, including those in the global mobility industry. A team with a wide range of worldviews can inform and educate employees and clients, and uncover new customer segments. As employers search for ways to build their workforce from a broad pool of candidates, they must consider if blind hiring will actually yield the outcomes they desire.
After three long years of COVID-19-induced travel restrictions, China finally opened its borders on 8 January by abolishing all quarantine requirements for incoming travelers. After the policy shift—set off by widespread public unrest—certain Western nations have expressed their apprehension that a surge of Chinese COVID-19 cases may create potentially harmful coronavirus variants.
Why is this important?
In the first week of January, the European Union collectively decided on a strategy that entails pre-flight testing and wastewater surveillance. Several other nations that recently imposed COVID-19 entry regulations are now requiring all travelers from countries such as China and Hong Kong, to be tested for the virus upon arrival. In a move of retribution, China has imposed restrictions on travelers from countries with travel restrictions against Chinese citizens. The Chinese government has ceased issuing certain visas for South Korean and Japanese citizens.
Webinar: Car Services – How to Manage Assignees’ Global Transportation Needs — This session, held 28 February, will explain how to create and manage a Global Transportation Plan. We will discuss the challenges international assignees faces in new locations and how to overcome these. And how you can manage and centralize all your global transportation expenses. Learn more and register.
Global Economic Snapshot
Builder sentiment in the single-family housing market posted an unexpected gain in January, rising for the first time in 12 straight months. Economists had predicted a slight decline. — CNBC
Europeans have dialed down their heating this winter, apparently heeding government calls to conserve energy amid the Ukraine crisis, with some delaying switching it on by almost a month and setting the temperature lower, data shows. — Reuters
Presented at the Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos (16-20 January), the latest Chief Economists Outlook finds almost one in five respondents (18%) considers a global recession to be extremely likely this year—more than twice as many as in the previous survey in September 2022. A further 45% consider it to be somewhat likely. — World Economic Forum
The price of airfares soared at a record rate in December, while the cost of coach travel jumped, according to new data. Airfares rose by 44.1% in the year to December, the largest increase since the late 1980s. Analysts said the main reason for the fare rises was aviation fuel prices.
Why are plane tickets more expensive?
Airlines, like households and many other businesses, have been hit by significant rises in fuel costs in recent months. Fuel accounts for around one-third of an airline's operating costs and prices have been rising.
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