Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of WERC.
For years, global mobility teams have been stuck making emotional arguments for operational budgets. They’ve cited retention anecdotally, shared satisfaction survey results, and leaned on “strategic enablement” as a proxy for impact. But in today’s environment—defined by cost scrutiny, talent volatility, and AI-powered transformation—those days are over. The only language that lands is return on investment. And for mobility, AI has become the key to making that case.
According to EY’s 2025 Mobility Reimagined Survey, 90% of employers agree that aligning mobility strategy to broader business objectives would provide significant value. But only 30% are actually achieving it. That gap is not just operational—it’s narrative. Mobility is still too often seen as a support function when it should be viewed as a business accelerator. The reason? Most programs lack the tools—or the storytelling frameworks—to prove their impact with clarity.
That’s changing fast. In the same EY study, evolved mobility programs—those that integrate strategy, talent, and technology—were shown to be 1.8 times more likely to drive business growth and 3.7 times more likely to solve medium-term talent shortages. In other words, when mobility functions get smarter, companies move faster. And increasingly, they’re using AI to do it.
From Sentiment to Scorecard
Legacy ROI conversations in mobility often hinge on sentiment. Leaders point to a well-executed move, a thank-you email from a transferee, or a dip in turnover but rarely connect those outcomes to real-time metrics. That approach is no longer tenable. Enterprise leaders expect a full stack of evidence, especially when relocation costs can run into six figures.
Today, with AI-enhanced dashboards and reporting systems, mobility teams can finally track what matters: time-to-productivity after a move, retention rates for mobile employees, cost-per-assignment, and satisfaction scores linked to support models. According to the EY report, evolved mobility programs are more than twice as likely to use performance ratings, revenue impact, and speed-to-fill as ROI metrics. The more mobility teams embrace quantifiable storytelling, the more credibility they earn at the budget table.
That expectation is echoed in KPMG’s 2024 Global Mobility Benchmarking Survey, which found that 72% of organizations now prioritize aligning mobility strategy with business growth. Mobility is no longer the back-end logistics function. It’s a front-line force for growth.
The New Standard for Enterprise Experience
There’s a parallel shift happening in employee expectations. Every day, professionals interact with AI-native tools like ChatGPT and Gemini—platforms that learn, respond, and adapt in real time. That creates a new baseline: If your weather app can have a conversation, why can’t your relocation platform do the same?
This raises the bar for enterprise mobility programs. Whether they’re core flex, lump sum, or fully managed, they now have to meet a new standard: responsive, tech-enabled, and personalized. Companies that still rely on static portals, hard-coded policies, and one-size-fits-all models aren’t just falling behind; they’re signaling misalignment with how their talent wants to be supported.
Mobility is often one of the first real experiences an employee has with a company’s infrastructure. If that experience feels manual, impersonal, or outdated, it casts a shadow on everything that follows. But when it’s designed with AI-powered personalization and real-time responsiveness, it becomes an asset. That’s how you turn a move into momentum—and signal to top talent that they’re valued from day one.
GenAI: From Automation to Anticipation
The most powerful transformation in mobility isn’t just about AI doing tasks faster—it’s about AI helping teams work smarter. The EY report found that GenAI use in mobility jumped from 22% to 35% in just one year, and evolved teams are 3.6 times more likely to deploy it routinely.
Mobility teams are already using AI to generate documentation, draft proposals, and surface risk scenarios based on employee profiles and destination complexities. These tools don’t just save time; they flag issues before they become costly, whether it's an immigration delay, a housing mismatch, or a tax compliance miss. This kind of predictive intelligence turns AI from a cost-saver into a risk-mitigator, and that’s a critical distinction for budget owners.
KPMG’s data reinforces this shift. In its 2024 survey, 51% of companies reported planning AI investments in their mobility programs, with 73% prioritizing automation for administrative tasks. That’s just the beginning. The true value of AI in mobility lies in its ability to surface patterns and shape strategy faster than human teams alone ever could.
Building the ROI Narrative With the Tools Talent Expects
As AI reshapes work, employees are becoming more discerning—and more vocal—about the tools and experiences their employers provide. In this environment, mobility has to be more than efficient. It has to be intuitive. High-performing programs are investing in four pillars of ROI: retention, time-to-productivity, cost efficiency, and experience quality. With AI, they can measure these metrics in real time and adjust service models accordingly.
But beyond measurement, the key is the message. The most effective mobility leaders aren’t just tracking ROI; they’re telling a better story about it. One that aligns relocation with leadership development. One that frames mobility as a mechanism for global growth. One that positions support as strategy, not overhead.
This is where evolved programs separate from the pack. They don’t just outsource tasks or digitize forms. They connect data, experience, and outcomes in a way that makes ROI undeniable—and mobility indispensable.
Mobility doesn’t have to argue its case with emotion anymore. It can prove its value with data. In a landscape where headcount decisions are scrutinized and budgets are justified line by line, the ability to demonstrate ROI isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a survival skill.
The future of global mobility will be shaped by the organizations that embrace AI, design with purpose, and connect relocation to outcomes that matter. Because in the end, mobility isn’t just about moving people. It’s about moving the business forward.