While the topics were varied, one theme emerged throughout the day: organisations must balance agility, compliance and employee experience if they are to attract, retain and deploy talent successfully in a changing world.
Move Confidently
Kraków Global Mobility Forum 2026
On 30 September, K2 Group and Aon welcomed Global Mobility, HR and business leaders to Aon's Kraków office for the Move Confidently Kraków Global Mobility Forum 2026.
The event brought together professionals from across Kraków's Global Mobility community to discuss the trends shaping talent movement today, from employee experience and workforce planning to immigration, compliance, AI and the increasing complexity of moving talent across borders.
Setting the Scene
Max Newbigging welcomed attendees to Aon’s Kraków office and opened the Forum. Richard Rutledge then introduced K2 Group, sharing an overview of the Group and its global relocation ecosystem.
Luc Jones followed with an introduction to K2 Relocate, describing the service brand as the “engine room and heartbeat” of K2 Group. He explained that successful relocation goes far beyond the practical logistics of moving people, with global reach, local care and a personal approach all playing an important role in the employee experience.
Kraków's Place in a Changing Talent Landscape
The day began with Romek Lubaczewski, who shared his perspective on the evolution of Kraków's Global Business Services sector and the factors that have helped position the city as one of Europe's leading business hubs. Discussions explored the growing importance of skills, workforce planning and organisational adaptability as businesses prepare for the next phase of change.
Attendees reflected on the challenges employers face when balancing talent availability, changing workforce expectations and new technologies, while ensuring Kraków remains an attractive location for investment and growth.
Looking Beyond Policy to Real Life
Joanna Smieja from Aon brought a human perspective to the mobility conversation, exploring relocation through the experiences of employees and their families.
The discussion highlighted the reality that while organisations often focus on policy, relocation is ultimately experienced by people. Attendees explored the importance of flexibility, communication and personalised support throughout the relocation journey, as well as the often-overlooked challenges associated with repatriation and long-term family integration.
Immigration as a Strategic Workforce Issue
Jesper Albrekt from K2 X Border examined the changing immigration landscape and the growing influence of politics, labour shortages and economic priorities on immigration policy.
The session explored how many countries are becoming increasingly selective in their approach to talent migration while continuing to compete for highly skilled workers. The discussion reinforced the importance of immigration planning as part of wider workforce and talent strategies rather than simply a compliance requirement.
Flexibility, Compliance and Managing Risk
Tax and compliance specialists Ed Hobern and Tom Gee from KPMG explored the challenges many organisations face as workforce models become increasingly international and flexible.
Discussions centred on balancing employee and business flexibility with tax, payroll and compliance responsibilities. Attendees shared experiences of managing cross-border working arrangements and considered how stronger governance, planning and oversight can help organisations manage risk while supporting evolving workforce expectations.
Supporting Business-Critical Talent
Dan Natoli from K2 Bespoke focused on business-critical and non-standard assignments, highlighting situations where traditional mobility approaches may not fully meet the needs of organisations or relocating employees.
The conversation examined how tailored solutions, careful planning and close stakeholder management can help organisations support complex relocations while balancing urgency, employee experience, risk and commercial priorities.
The Future Impact of AI
The final session of the day saw Dr Mac Misiura from Red Hat provide an accessible introduction to artificial intelligence and Generative AI.
Rather than focusing purely on technology, the session encouraged attendees to consider the broader implications of AI for organisations, skills requirements and future workforce planning. The discussion highlighted how emerging technologies are expected to influence the way businesses operate, while reinforcing the continued importance of human expertise, judgement and decision-making.
Key Takeaways
Several themes resonated strongly throughout the Forum:
- Employee experience remains central to successful mobility programmes.
- Immigration is becoming increasingly strategic and closely linked to workforce planning.
- Flexibility must be balanced carefully with compliance and risk management.
- Organisations are increasingly looking for tailored approaches to complex mobility scenarios.
- AI will continue to influence how organisations attract, manage and deploy talent globally.
- Collaboration between Global Mobility, HR, tax, immigration and business leaders is becoming more important than ever.
The event concluded with a panel discussion, updates from the K2 Foundation and Aon's community initiatives, and networking that continued long into the evening.
As Global Mobility continues to evolve, the discussions reinforced the importance of bringing practitioners together to share experiences, challenge assumptions and explore practical solutions to common challenges.
Organisations that successfully combine employee experience, workforce planning, compliance and adaptability will be best placed to move talent confidently in an increasingly complex global environment.
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