5 Reasons Universities Need Global Mobility

In an increasingly globalised world, universities are welcoming the opportunity for international projects and global academic research. To keep up in a highly commercialised environment, universities must look beyond their campuses and national borders. As covid restrictions begin to show tentative signs of easing, how can universities utilise global mobility solutions to maintain a competitive edge and internationalise their campuses?

With 25 years of experience assisting the educational sector with their global mobility needs, here are Mauve’s top five reasons why universities need global mobility now more than ever.

1. To cover multiple locations

In our modern international world, universities regularly have research and faculty staff spread across the world. Although it is vital for modern universities to embrace internationalism, the practicalities of a displaced workforce can become hard to manage. Whether universities have staff members based permanently overseas or staff on lengthy global assignments, having global personnel spanning multiple locations can be hard for HR teams to manage in-house. Universities may not have the entities to facilitate various global employment needs or the time and resources to understand and research the specific employment needs in each location.

There can also be quirks and complications when it comes to visas and immigration. When it comes to university-specific global mobility, many countries have different visa requirements for graduates. Even when these workers are in-country, tax laws for graduate or temporary project-based staff can also vary significantly from one country to the next.

2. To ensure international compliance

Individuals working in a different country to their employer will need localised contracts, employment benefits, and local payroll. When international employment compliance is needed over several locations, it can become tricky for smaller HR teams to navigate. Thorough research is needed to ensure those working overseas are meeting local employment standards and tax criteria. Funding restrictions can also complicate matters for universities – utilising global employment solutions can be a way to ensure all funding is being used in the most cost-effective way.

When it comes to global employment, compliance is key and failure to meet certain local employment standards or legislation can be met with hefty fines and penalties around the world. Professional employment services can give universities the peace of mind that all local regulations are being properly upheld, and all international workers are compliant.

3. To maximise resources

Careful planning for global projects is needed in order to maximise university resources. Universities often have specific funding structures and there is rarely a one size fits all solution to their global mobility needs. For those institutions that don’t have a dedicated global opportunities team or those that have time constraints on their international needs, global mobility services can help to maximise resources and funds.

The early stages of the pandemic made things especially hard for universities’ global mobility. At Mauve, we assisted many universities in ensuring their staff could be virtually present despite being stranded across the world due to COVID travel restrictions.

Consulting global employment specialists not only helps ease the administrative burden but can also cut costs and shorten timeframes.

4. To facilitate complex global assignments

It can be difficult for any one entity to manage multiple employees across multiple locations – but this can become even more complex when these individuals need to move between multiple countries within one assignment. University research projects or short-term global assignments often mean workers need to be able to move between multiple countries while ensuring they maintain compliance in each. Visa restrictions and complications can make moving between countries during one assignment challenging.

At Mauve, we have over 25 years of experience in finding solutions to global mobility challenges, meaning our immigration experts can advise on these more complex global assignments. This helps to ensure that resources and personnel are being managed cost and time effectively.

5. To guarantee global employment benefits

It’s important to ensure workers do not miss out on the employment benefits they would be getting if they worked locally at their university. Being aware of a country’s statutory benefits is also important as they can vary from country to country, and they often don’t match the benefits that would be offered locally. Complications can also occur with benefits packages when staff is working remotely, and adjustments to employment contracts may need to be made depending on working location.

Strict employment laws on things such as working hours vary around the world. When all these things need to be cross-referenced and standardised across international staff, it can become time-consuming and complicated for university staff. Mauve can provide full guidance on the benefits available in-country and can even offer some that we have negotiated in-house.

Utilising a global workforce solution can ensure these elements are taken care of when planning and implementing a university’s global mobility policy. At Mauve, we take care of everything behind the scenes so you can look after your global people and projects.

Interested in engaging one of Mauve’s global solutions for your university? Access hiring support that meets your efficiency needs with a human touch – watch our video here or speak to Mauve’s global experts here.