Ice Breakers

Once again we kicked off our Club 100 Huddle with an icebreaker which would really get everyone chatting: what's the most outrageous situation you've had to deal with in GM? War stories filled the room. Did you hear the one about the shipment with live grenades in it? What about the one where the company paid to move the CEO's Maserati?

Dynamic Policies

Our first session of the day was an exploration of the latest GM neologism (that's a buzzword to you and me!) – dynamic policies. It seems the idea is so avant-garde that it hasn't caught on with our Club 100 members yet. Whilst there was general agreement that there are upsides to the employee experience, there was significant concern that the administrative effort might prove too challenging. One member did wonder whether they might inadvertently be almost adopting this approach by dint of having a 'guardrails' approach as opposed to a formal policy. Possibly this tech-first approach will need some time to embed itself into common practice. This is definitely a space worth keeping an eye on.

Corporate Update

Our next session was a fantastic corporate update from the very talented Dan Erwin. Dan gave us a whistle-stop tour of the transformative path Global Mobility has taken at Baillie Gifford — moving from being reactive and transactional, through structured and aligned, to becoming a proactive strategic partner. Dan's session was highly engaging and prompted a range of follow-up questions from our members. There's nothing better than hearing exactly what other GM professionals are up to and how they're approaching their work. We were also very interested to hear the extent to which the industry sector and corporate culture influence the GM approach. In Dan's case, the large number of business travellers, diverse workforce, low risk tolerance culture and drive towards AI and process automation have all helped to shape GM priorities and structure.

Hot Potatoes

During the ever-popular hot potatoes session, members dug into three key questions.

First up was a query about US citizens or green card holders employed locally outside the US and whether companies typically run US payroll purely for tax compliance. The broad consensus was that most don't – tax returns and foreign tax credits are left to the individuals unless there are complicating factors, such as a US branch or FICA obligations, or if they also have US board duties.

Next, the group discussed aligning global mobility (GM) with talent strategy. Several companies noted they use GM to support leadership and early career development, although some felt their talent teams weren't quite ready to integrate mobility strategically. Others stressed the need for a robust talent process to make sure moves support long-term career goals rather than reacting to urgent talent gaps. One participant described a legal-sector trainee mobility programme where mobility and talent closely collaborate to fill critical roles.

Finally, the session explored how to incentivise a permanent transfer of a US citizen to the UK, where a lower local salary created reluctance. Ideas ranged from offering capped home-leave benefits for the first two years to an upfront bonus bridging the salary delta. Others recommended focusing on the personal and professional opportunities and using a clear net-to-net salary comparison to help make the move more appealing.

Mobility Managers Going Mobile

Having drawn on the collective wisdom of the room, we jumped straight into our next challenge. This was an opportunity for members to get hands-on with Workia's tech, navigating through the app to find different pieces of data. This was a fun exercise that challenged the notion that tech must be difficult to implement.

A Risky Business

Following a hearty lunch, we held a candid session on supporting mobile employees in an unpredictable world. Members shared emergency response stories – from natural disasters to personal crises and geopolitical flare-ups. We also had some fun designing our own GM health and safety signs!

So Little Time

Next up, Grant Thornton's Katy Bond and Heather Smallwood took us on a round-the-world trip, taking in key updates from the US, UK, Spain, the Netherlands, France, India and Australia, as well as highlighting changes in EU and OECD policies. This absorbing session sparked a lot of interest in the application of the EU's Pay Transparency Directive.

Perspective Playground

We've been having a lot of fun with our closing session, Perspective Playground, where two teams debate a contestable motion – in this case, "Dynamic policies are just a lazy way of doing Global Mobility." Global Mobility professionals are rarely found wanting when it comes to a battle of wits, and this session was no exception. With both teams over-extending a fine dining restaurant analogy, it momentarily looked like Remy the rat from Disney's Ratatouille was the guiding beacon of policy design. Fortunately, we got back on track and settled the argument amicably.

Before heading off for drinks and networking, there was just enough time to present Claire Bourke with our Regional Key Contributor Award. Voting has opened for our Global Mobility Community Champion Award to be announced at September's Cirque du Mobility Conference. We were also delighted to announce our Regional Star Learner for our GMPD programme, with Chris Green taking top spot.

Thank You

As ever, our Club 100 Huddle was a brilliant opportunity to connect, share and learn. A huge thank you to Grant Thornton for hosting and to our fantastic sponsors – Gerson Relocation, Newland Chase, and Workia – for their expert insights and support.