Global

K2’s Frontline Knowledge Series:

A year of change. Eleven insights. Countless conversations.

July 8, 2026

min read

Over the past 12 months, K2 Group has published 11 Frontline Thinking Papers, each exploring a key trend, challenge or opportunity shaping the global mobility industry.

Together, they form our Frontline Thinking Paper Series - a growing library of expert insight designed to challenge thinking, spark meaningful conversations and help HR and Global Mobility professionals navigate an increasingly complex landscape. To mark the first anniversary of the series, we've brought together a concise summary of every Frontline Thinking Paper, revisiting the key questions, insights and guidance each one explored. Many of these topics continue to shape today's global mobility agenda, even if a few months on they are no longer considered to be trending. Whether you're revisiting a familiar topic or discovering one for the first time, this collection offers a snapshot of the conversations influencing our industry and the thinking that continues to drive it forward.

July 2025

Beyond the Arrival: Redefining Success in Global Mobility

Traditionally, a successful relocation was defined as moving an assignee to a new location on time, within budget and in line with all compliance requirements. But today, what follows after the move – i.e. how the assignee and their family adjust to their new environment and integrate into their new community – is increasingly becoming the measure of success. We explore:

The average cost of a failed assignment & stats associated with strong post-move integration
How high-performing organisations are shifting investment from move logistics to post-relocation experience
How over 70% of mobility teams are looking to introduce more personalised services

Download the guide: Redefine what success in your programme looks like

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August 2025

The AI Effect: Trends Shaping Human-Centric Global Mobility

As mobility teams across the industry begin to integrate AI into their service model, the most powerful emergent trend is that AI is most valuable when it is used to create efficiencies and fill information gaps – e.g. pulse check assignee sentiment in real-time. When it is used to replace human interaction, it compromises the customer experience. We explore:

Current AI adoption trends, including pattern recognition in feedback and outcomes, chatbots for the triaging of assignee questions, and policy benchmarking tools
How AI can make the assignee experience more personal
The necessity of human interaction/judgement in particular scenarios, including VIP relocation, when policy or logic are not enough, and when emotional or cultural complexity are at play

Download the guide: ‍How AI is affecting mobility

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September 2025

Next Horizon: Shaping Global Mobility for a Changing Workforce

As late Gen Z move into senior roles and early Gen Alpha prepare to join the workforce, global mobility is changing in response to these generations’ experience of life, particularly socio-economic challenges, cultural disruption and technological immersion. In addition, opportunity is critical to both generations, further driving the shift that we are already observing away from mobility as an obligation towards mobility as an experience. We explore:

Socio-economic currents including financial security and purpose/job satisfaction
Cultural realities including Pandemic disruption, the influence of social media and easy access to a multitude of services via apps
How technology is underpinning the obligation > experience mobility shift.

Download the guide: Future workforce readiness

October 2025

Resilient Global Mobility: A Practical Guide to Duty of Care in a Changing World

THIS WAS A HOT TOPIC!

Duty of care should not be a box-ticking exercise, rather a powerful commitment to assignees’ physical and emotional wellbeing. This requires a robust duty of care framework which combines practical support with proactive risk assessment and consistent, personal communication. We explore:

How duty of care applies to disruption that is both extraordinary and everyday
The key elements of a strong duty of care framework, including scenario planning, clear crisis protocols, and mental health and wellbeing resources
What duty of care looks like at different stages across the relocation timeline

Download the guide: Duty of care beyond logistics

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November 2025

When the World Arrives: Planning Relocation around Global Events

Major global events such as the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 FIFA World Cup transform host cities/regions, thereby significantly disrupting global mobility activity in and around them. Leveraging learnings from Paris, there are key practical actions which mobility teams can take ahead of major global events; there are also great opportunities to strengthen operational processes and increase a mobility function’s internal visibility. We explore:

Key data and insights from Paris, including accommodation supply, rental cost inflation, and visa and permit processing times
Pre-event practical actions for mobility teams, including reviewing active and upcoming relocations, securing housing allocations early and refining internal comms
Events as a test of communication, flexibility and risk management

Download the guide: Get big event ready

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December 2025

Beyond the Bottom Line: Delivering Cost Savings which Protect the Customer Experience

The most meaningful cost savings are those that reduce spend while protecting the customer experience. Utilising Cloud-based mobility management platforms to centralise operations, leveraging expert advisory, and pinpointing hidden costs and making them visible enables organisations to deliver savings without sacrifice. We explore:

The capabilities of Cloud-based mobility management platforms such as VMware AirWatch, SOTI MobiControl, and IBM MaaS360
Stats relating to organisations’ adoption of integrated automation
How organisations can drive transparency through advanced analytics dashboards, automated expense tracking, and contract audits and transparency clauses

Download the guide: ‍Thinking beyond the quote

October 2025 | Resilient Global Mobility: A Practical Guide to Duty of Care in a Changing World

How duty of care applies to disruption that is both extraordinary and everyday
The key elements of a strong duty of care framework, including scenario planning, clear crisis protocols, and mental health and wellbeing resources
What duty of care looks like at different stages across the relocation timeline

Download the Frontline October 2025 Thinking Paper

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November 2025 | When the World Arrives: Planning Relocation around Global Events

Key data and insights from Paris, including accommodation supply, rental cost inflation, and visa and permit processing times
Pre-event practical actions for mobility teams, including reviewing active and upcoming relocations, securing housing allocations early and refining internal comms
Events as a test of communication, flexibility and risk management

Download the Frontline November 2025 Thinking Paper

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December 2025 | Beyond the Bottom Line: Delivering Cost Savings which Protect the Customer Experience

The capabilities of Cloud-based mobility management platforms such as VMware AirWatch, SOTI MobiControl, and IBM MaaS360
Stats relating to organisations’ adoption of integrated automation
How organisations can drive transparency through advanced analytics dashboards, automated expense tracking, and contract audits and transparency clauses

Download the Frontline December 2025 Thinking Paper

‍May 2026

The Move is Not the Outcome

THIS WAS A HOT TOPIC!

For many mobility functions, a relocation completed on time, within budget and with a strong assignee satisfaction score is the key measure of success. But the relocation itself is just the beginning of the story, one which doesn’t end until the assignment has been completed. Therefore the outcome is not the move, rather the assignee’s subsequent experience and performance. We explore:

How some organisations are beginning to revisit how success is measured, e.g. by turning their focus to assignment completion, early return and post-assignment retention stats
Questions that organisations should be asking when assessing their current provider
Questions that organisations should include when compiling an RFP

Download the guide: ‍The job doesn't stop at the arrival

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‍June 2026

The Evidence Gap in Global Mobility

THIS WAS A HOT TOPIC!

Assignment success metrics can be difficult to collate because the questions that need to be asked rarely have straightforward answers. E.g. Does the assignee feel confident?; Is the assignee’s family adjusting smoothly?; Is the assignee able to perform to the best of their ability in their new environment? Multiple variables must be navigated in order to answer questions like these, but the reward is a 360-degree perspective and a full bank of evidence upon which to base business decisions. We explore:

The powerful insights which emerged during a recent APAC mobility event
Where assignment risk actually sits
What mobility teams should focus on once a move is live, including speed of issue resolution, policy fit and cost/value alignment

Download the guide: ‍Success measurement guidance

How can we help?

The Frontline Thinking Series: Topic Suggestion For What is Next

As the global mobility landscape continues to evolve, so too will the conversations shaping it.

Our Frontline Thinking Paper Series returns in August with a new topic exploring one of the latest issues influencing our industry. If there's a challenge, emerging trend or important question driving conversations within your organisation, we'd love to hear from you.

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Every Frontline Thinking Paper begins with a conversation.

Share your ideas using the form below. Your insight could inspire a future edition of the Frontline Thinking Paper Series, helping us continue to explore the topics that matter most to HR and Global Mobility professionals around the world.