AI + Global Mobility

What can tip the scales of success or failure for an international assignment does not necessarily depend entirely on the assignee. There’s an overwhelming amount of data and information that needs to be processed, usually by a network of different people specialising in one specific field, all relying on each other to successfully complete their part. Under any circumstances having a chain of people efficiently complete a task will take some time, so what can be done to effectively meet the increasing demands required in Global Mobility?

This is where the exciting part begins, the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with an inhuman capacity to crunch numbers, unabatedly learn, predict and follow through with global mobility requirements may be set to revolutionise the industry.

But Why A..I?

Understandably, there’s a lot of pressure from different angles when it comes to an international assignment. Global Mobility professionals can attest that there are a significant number of hurdles that must be overcome, simply from a logistical perspective, that must be considered before the employee even arrives in their new country. Without focusing too much on any facet specifically, there’s Tax, Immigration, Social Security, Destination Services, Cultural and Language Training and the potential need for Corporate Housing (depending which avenue the employer decides to go down). This is without even mentioning political and socio-economic considerations.

Big Data

Most businesses in general utilise ‘big data’ as a resource to remain competitive. To explain what this means simply; ‘big data’ is huge quantity of both structured and unstructured information that is analysed and used to build predictions based on people’s online behaviour. The theory is, it means that companies can make better strategic business decisions rooted in a more complete picture of their target demographic. But here lies the problem, it takes a significant amount of computing power to achieve such a feat, with the sheer amount of information there would be to comb through, it’d take the average employee far too long for the task to be cost effective. This is where an AI can step in, the calculations are automatic, fluctuations are accounted for and adapted to through a process of machine learning.

The usefulness of AI within the Mobility space is already being recognised, as highlighted by Matt Crockett of Crown World Mobility;

“It’s what can be done affordably with AI that has changed so much in the last five years, with the rise in computing power and big data.” “The overwhelming amount of information available online, and the increase in computing power, make it possible for AI algorithms to enable predictive analytics and support smarter service provision.”

Chatbots

Providing support to an employee whilst on an international assignment comes with some logistical issues. Time differences and employee availability to name a couple, however with the power of AI this problem can be solved with the introduction of a chatbot. Readily accessible from anywhere in the world with a stable internet connection, a chatbot can be there to function as point of contact for the international assignee, 24 hours a day 7 days a week to answer and resolve any enquiries that may arise. The usefulness of a chatbot is compounded when you consider that the more it becomes familiar with questions being asked of it, the more effective it becomes at resolving issues.

People assisted by AI, both are required

However, this miracle tech is not to diminish the value of people. AI can be used to assist Global Mobility professionals in executing their job with a more precise approach, but the human element is still required to fulfil the emotional requirements typically involved with international relocation. A friendly Mobility Consultant‘s familiar voice may go a long way to supporting an international assignee based so far from home, especially if there is a family to consider. Alchemy previously explored to topic of ‘helping children to adjust on international assignment’, follow this link to learn more:

https://www.relocation-jobs.com/blog/helping-children-to-adjust-on-international-assignment 

Where do we go now?

We live in a very exciting time where the technology available to us, if used correctly; can exponentially increase the manageability of the global mobility process workload, highlight opportunities that haven’t been initially apparent and provide simple outsourced solutions to issues which will effectively streamline the entire process involved with international assignments. Whilst in the scheme of things, AI can be deemed as still relatively new to mobility, it can be said that the sector is ripe for the disruption that increasing use of this technology may bring. The fact that there are continuing technological developments and implementations means that all industries will inevitably benefit in new and innovative ways.

Written by Mourelle Josiah – Wong – Team Assistant at Alchemy Global Talent Solutions.