Global Mobility Dispatches with Ray Rackham
Date: October 8th
Today’s news about the suspension of major technology companies from the PERM labor certification programme, which provides an important pathway to employment-based residency, should make every global mobility leader sit up and pay attention.
The justification for suspension was allegations that employers have used immigration programs to disadvantage American workers, and deserve proper scrutiny. What interests me, however, is a much bigger question. When did international talent become something businesses have to defend, rather than something they can demonstrate the value of.
Of course, employers must protect domestic employment opportunities, and all immigration programs must operate with integrity; but surely we have moved on beyond the assumption that recruiting internationally and investing in domestic talent are mutually exclusive. Each multinational workforce is a complex, interconnected ecosystem. An engineer arriving from India might enable a product launch in America that creates opportunities for American workers: in turn generating investment, innovation and further employment.
Demonstrating that connection now falls to global mobility professionals. For years, we have measured immigration success through approvals, processing times, cost and compliance. These are important measures, certainly, but the commercial outcomes of our work must not be ignored. What capability did that international hire bring? What investments might they have supported? What knowledge and skills have they transferred? Crucially, it is up to us to evidence this if someone challenged our business tomorrow.
Today’s compliance actions prove that the future of workforce management lies in connecting immigration intelligence with workforce strategy. Why? When immigration heads to the boardroom, simply demonstrating the correct paperwork will never be enough. We have to demonstrate why mobility mattered in the first place. Compliance protects the decision to employ international talent, connectivity helps demonstrate why it matters.
Perhaps it is time we all got much better at demonstrating the why.
