Two new forums for professionals in the field of global mobility may not be making a lot of noise, but they are certainly gathering momentum, reports Jo Parfitt.

Have you noticed how quiet it is out there? Whatever happened to the big International HR conferences? It seems that the last two years have seen no sign of the Corporate Relocation News or European Mobility Forum events and even Global Living has bitten the dust. Maybe they just can’t get the sponsorship?

The Institute of Global Mobility

But while those conferences were going quiet, Brian Friedman was having a brilliant idea. Although his day job as CEO of Human Capital Practice at Ernst and Young, kept him busy enough, Friedman was itching to get his teeth into something new.

"I feel passionate about the field of global mobility," he says. "I believe that it should be seen to be a profession in its own right. No-one really provides a forum for all the experts who work in this area.

"If you look at the mega trends, you can see that many of the most senior people in companies are on assignment. Just under a third of the UK's top 50 companies have a non-Brit as a CEO and 98 percent have at least one non-Brit on the board of directors. Global mobility is not just about sending out engineers."

And so in September 2002, under the sponsorship of Ernst and Young, The Institute of Global Mobility was born. What is unique about the IGM is that membership is free. Every month, a First Thursday seminar is held in each of the member countries and attendance does not cost either. Member companies are encouraged to host an event now and again themselves.

Kim Woodlock was an IGM member from the outset. She is the International Assignment Co-ordinator at Smith and Nephew.

"I am keen to gain knowledge which will help me to manage international assignments (IA's) globally within Smith and Nephew," says Woodlock. "I was also asked to be a member of the London-based Steering Committee, and then later the Midlands Steering Committee, which I was glad to do."

Woodlock continues, "Thanks to IGM I get a tremendous amount of networking opportunities to which I would not normally be exposed and a wealth of information from the First Thursday Club. I get some recognition within the industry and the opportunity to shape what might be the recognised body for IA in the future.

"In my opinion the IGM is the only place that recognises international mobility as a profession. No other group provides such focus."

The Global Café

Andrea Bugari is a director of The Global Effectiveness Group, which has offices in England and America. All its members have previous experience of working in house in IHR. August 2003 saw the launch of what they call The Global Café. Events are held in the London area. This is a forum for the exchange of best practices and to develop new ideas among business leaders and HR business partners.

"The forum is only for corporate HR people," explains Bugari. "We want a peer to peer community of practice.

"I know first-hand how lonely it can be in IHR in small and medium sized companies. Many only have one or two people in the department. They do not have peers to talk to about best practices so need to find expertise elsewhere. I understand that although SHRM has 40 UK members there are no activities here. Members need to travel to the US for events.

"The Global Café is neither a conference nor a seminar; it is simply a community of practice forum. We have a speaker and then 80 percent of each event comes from the interaction between members.

"We focus on the softer issues: global leadership challenges, global diversity, corporate culture, knowledge management, global business ethics and so on."

And now the Global Café is going online to support its forums too. The Cafés discuss what the members want. For example their 'Babes in the Boardroom forum' was developed from a discussion about how best to promote women globally.

The next Global Café takes place on 29 September with the title 'HR as Global Business Partner: Fact or Fiction'.

These new caring, sharing forums may not be making a lot of noise, but they are certainly gathering momentum. Friedman is delighted to announce that the IGM now has 500 members in clubs all over the UK as well as in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and Australia, with the US and Poland coming soon. Member companies include Accenture, BP, shell, Unilever and Goldman Sachs. Their second conference is scheduled for March 2005.

July 2004

Freelance journalist and speaker Jo Parfitt is the author of 'A career in your suitcase', a book which focuses on the career of the accompanying spouse (http://www.career-in-your-suitcase.com).