The international mobility of workers continues to increase, as both businesses and employees realise the benefits that international experience can provide, according to recruiting experts Hays.

Businesses with operations across a number of countries could benefit from encouraging employees to work in other geographies, as it allows organisations to plug skills gaps and gives workers the opportunity to expand their experience and skill set. This approach has also been adopted by City Football Group, the owners of Manchester City and New York City FC, as they have encouraged their own staff to embrace international experience.

Dean Stallard, Managing Director of Hays Hong Kong, shares four ways businesses could benefit from global mobility, with some examples taken from City Football Group.

1. Talented employees in the right place
Many businesses across the globe are struggling with skill shortages and failing to operate to their full potential as a result. Being able to bring in talent from overseas is an effective short-term solution to the issue.

Dean comments, “Not only can global mobility help organisations that are struggling to fill roles locally, it can also be extremely beneficial to employees too, as it can provide them with a broader range of opportunities. Gaining this valuable experience can also help to accelerate their career.”

2. Knowledge exchange
Embracing global mobility can benefit organisations through the exchange of expertise and knowledge between their different regional offices. One example of this from City Football Group is former player, Patrick Vieira, who after finishing his playing career accepted a training and youth development role with Manchester City, following which he was appointed Head Coach of New York City FC, taking a team of staff from Manchester to New York to help him.

“Patrick has been a big part of City Football Group, both in Manchester and now in New York,” says Tom Glick, Chief Commercial Officer of City Football Group and former President of New York City FC. “He understands the values which drive our Group, but also the importance of all our Clubs having a strong and authentic local identity and relationship with our fans.”

3. Greater diversity
It is important international businesses reflect their global presence through a diverse workforce, this will help to ensure business needs are met in each country. Diversity can also help an organisation benefit on a number of other fronts.

Dean says, “People are shaped by their own individual experiences. Having a diverse workforce can be a huge creative advantage, as people from different backgrounds will see a problem and find a solution differently to one another.”

Businesses must also ensure the knowledge from more experienced workers is passed on to the more junior colleagues.

Tom Glick, Chief Commercial Officer of City Football Group, adds, “Many football managers have reflected on the benefits of pairing youth and experience. If it’s not something they’re doing already, business managers can take some inspiration from this by identifying opportunities to mix up the team, recognise who the mentors and stars of the future are, to help bridge the gap between those with experience and younger workers.”

4. Increased loyalty
Offering employee’s the opportunity to experience new cultures as well as the chance to further their career through international experience can create loyalty with those key employees.

Dean adds “Providing staff with the opportunity to fulfil their potential will create a greater allegiance to that company. It gives them the chance to up-skill themselves and knowing that their employers are willing to support that will do wonders for their loyalty to that business.”

Dean concludes, “Businesses who are able to tap into a wider workforce can reap the long-term benefits, as it is an effective way to develop talent while improving business capabilities. If done properly it can be a win-win situation for all involved.”

This content originally appeared as an article on the partnership page of www.haysplc.com
 

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Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

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Hays is located in Hong Kong at 6604-06, 66/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong.

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2017 the Group employed 10,000 staff operating from 250 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:

– the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million;
– the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA

About Manchester City Football Club

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, four League Championship titles, including two Premier League titles (2012, 2014), and five FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of four teams comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs.

Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

For more information, please visit www.mancity.com

About New York City Football Club

New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference of the league. It was announced as the league's 20th franchise on May 21, 2013 and is the first and only MLS Club located within the five boroughs of New York City. Majority owned by City Football Group, New York City FC plays its home games at Yankee Stadium, which is also home to minority owner, the New York Yankees.
New York City FC kicked off their inaugural MLS season in March 2015 and has former US National Team captain Claudio Reyna as its Sporting Director and former World Cup winner Patrick Vieira as its coach. In November 2016, construction began on City Football Academy New York, the Club’s elite training facility featuring one and a half grass fields, team offices and medical and welfare facilities, due for completion in early 2018. Design of the facility was overseen by New York based architect Rafael Viñoly, who designed the training facilities for New York City FC’s sister-clubs Manchester City FC and Melbourne City FC.