Our final Global Heads Huddle of 2025 tackled a deceptively simple question: does your team structure and reporting line actually impact your effectiveness? The answer, it turns out, depends entirely on asking the right question first - what's your mobility function actually for?
The Structure Snapshot
Our opening polls revealed a fascinating spread. The majority (58%) operate hybrid models, whilst a third run fully centralised COEs. Notably, nobody operates a fully regional/local structure, and just one team finds itself in transition - perhaps reflecting the ongoing challenge of getting organisational design right.
On specialists, the distribution proved revealing: a third have in-house tax specialists, another third have both tax and immigration expertise in-house, whilst a quarter outsource entirely. Just one organisation employs only an immigration specialist. This split highlights fundamentally different philosophies about building capability versus buying it in.
But here's where it got interesting: when discussing reporting lines, the room divided sharply on whether it matters where Global Mobility sits organisationally - and we love how it made for a great discussion!
The Person vs The Function
One crucial insight emerged: sometimes who you report to matters more than which function you report to. You could report to a Reward Director with Global Mobility experience who understands and champions your work - until they leave and get replaced by someone who doesn't. Many in the room had lived precisely this experience, watching their organisational influence shift dramatically not because their function changed, but because leadership did.
One member recently moved from reporting to mainstream HR into talent strategy - and believes it absolutely matters for becoming more strategic rather than remaining purely operational. Another operates as a completely standalone function precisely because Global Mobility crosses so many organisational boundaries that parking it anywhere creates limitations.
This prompted a slightly tongue-in-cheek observation I've made before on a previous blog: perhaps other functions should report to GM instead! After all, mobility touches everything - tax, reward, talent, immigration, operations. If cross-functional reach justifies being a leading function, why not flip the org chart? The point landed with knowing laughter, but it highlighted a genuine tension: how do you position a function that genuinely needs influence everywhere?
Purpose Before Structure
Others report to reward functions, operating as centres of expertise for cross-border matters. They're more reactive than strategic - but here's the provocative bit: that's actually fine for their business context on why they relocate employees. Why push your function to become something your company doesn't want or need?
The real insight emerged when the group explored purpose before structure. Global Mobility can serve vastly different purposes - from pure compliance management to employee experience enhancement to strategic talent deployment. Your optimal reporting line depends entirely on which purpose you're serving. A compliance-focused function might naturally align with legal or tax. An experience-focused one could sit with HR operations. A strategic talent mobility function? Perhaps talent acquisition or even directly under the CHRO.
The Trojan Horse Strategy
Business travel compliance sparked particularly innovative thinking. One member proposed creating a business travel risk steering committee bringing together various subject matter experts. But after hearing others' experiences during the call - demonstrating the real-time value of these peer discussions - they wondered aloud about a completely different approach: embedding their team members inside other functions as "trojan horses," infiltrating and influencing from within rather than coordinating from outside.
It's the kind of out-the-box thinking that flourishes in our safe space discussions. Yes, you might lose control of those "horses." Yes, it could create its own challenges. But what if strategic influence matters more than structural control? The group didn't reach consensus - but that's precisely the point of exploring uncomfortable ideas together. Consensus doesn't exist!
The CEO Recognition Question
One interesting data point emerged: recent survey research shows an increasing number of CEOs recognise Global Mobility as critical for growth going forward. But here's the uncomfortable question the group posed: do CEOs actually know what "Global Mobility" entails in their organisation? Does it include business travellers and remote workers, or just traditional assignments? If their definition encompasses all things cross-border - and those populations are indeed increasingly important - then perhaps that CEO recognition is well-placed.
But if mobility teams feel structurally constrained from being strategic, the group's sentiment was clear: sometimes you need to take the battle on yourselves rather than waiting for the perfect org chart. Structure matters, yes - but so does seizing the initiative.
The Skills Database Tangent
As with many lively discussions, we ventured into adjacent territory - the perpetual challenge of fragmented data. Members discussed consolidating information across systems before building ambitious global skills databases. One participant highlighted the disconnect between Workday's skills library (designed for project staffing) and Global Mobility's needs for talent relocation. The lesson? Optimise what you have before chasing shiny new solutions.
The Uncomfortable Truth
This session exposed something important: there's no universal "right" structure or reporting line for Global Mobility. Your reporting line should serve your function's purpose - but sometimes you need to forge your own path when the functions you report into lack their own strategy. Look above them. Align to company strategy directly if you must. And remember: the person you report to might matter more than the box on the org chart.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to such rich discussions throughout 2025. Here's to continued honest conversations in 2026! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!