2010 Hydrogen Global Professionals on the Move Report

A recent research project focussed on global mobility by Hydrogen, the international recruitment agency and the ESCP Europe Business School has revealed a number of insights into the international relocation industry. The research is focussed on the demographic of professional-level employees rather than lower level or junior workers. The focus is on the professional disciplines of HR, Finance, Technology, Engineering and Legal occupations.

Key points of the report include:

94% of senior professionals involved in the survey are currently working aboard or would like to in the future. This shows an increasing trend of overseas experience becoming the norm for a successful, professional career. Obtaining an international perspective by working abroad is seemingly becoming a necessary addition to any talented, educated business person’s CV and in the future will lead to a growth in the international relocation industry.

The recession has not put qualified professions off moving overseas. Even though the global financial crisis led to a period of uncertainty in the international staffing industry, there was still clear evidence of career minded people wanting to move abroad.  60% of those surveyed stated that the recession has had ‘no impact’ on their desire to move abroad. 

Recruitment agencies are the most popular route to finding job positions abroad with 28% of those interviewed stating that they used one when moving overseas. 64% of people also claimed to use the internet for researching when planning to work abroad although the report highlights the fact it is not easy to be able to find high quality specialist advice on the internet when compared with recruitment agencies.

There is a preference for temporary international relocation rather than permanent relocation among this demographic. A period of up to five years is classed as the ideal placement.

Many international businesses prefer professionals with international experience as this provides greater chances of a placement being a success.

Salary increase is not the primary motivator to work abroad for the high level professionals. The mindset of this group is that the opportunity to learn and develop is more of an incentive. Furthermore, this demographic group are looking for a placement that fits their life plan and are looking for exciting, challenging new experiences.

There is a lack of correlation between places that high flying professionals want to move to and places with a high demand for their talent and skills. For example, the UK, the USA and Australia are preferred destinations for moving overseas to job posts whereas there is greater demand in Asia and the Far East.

In addition to the key points above, in summary, the report has found that companies have to increasingly compete for talent on a global scale and by understanding the mindset and attitudes of these high-level professionals, they can gain competitive edge with regard to attracting and retaining the best talent. International removals companies must be aware of future trends in the global mobility industry in order to provide companies with the right and most appropriate service for their needs.