A WORLDWIDE VIEW OF MOBILITY LYNN SHOTWELL, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WORLDWIDE ERC On 30 March, Lynn Shotwell took over as President and CEO at Worldwide ERC, the Arlington, Virginia-based trade association for talent management and global mobility knowledge and innovation. Here, she speaks about her priorities for the immediate future, which include delivering cutting-edge research, speaking up for the mobility industry and working more collaboratively with other associations FIDI Focus : How do you plan to do things differently at Worldwide ERC (WERC)? Lynn Shotwell: I was brought in to really enhance the value we bring to all parts of the industry and to raise the visibility of mobility as an industry with business leaders and policy-makers around the globe. That main mission has not changed. COVID-19 has affected how well go about it, but it hasnt impacted on what we need to do in fact, it makes it even more important. We will be getting back to some of what we used to do providing cutting-edge research relevant to different parts of the industry. Well use that to update our educational content and our certification programmes, to ensure people coming into and already in the industry understand mobility in todays world. We are looking at creating content relevant to them. For example, how do we help RMCs or destination service providers educate their teams on what it means to be a good mobility professional, business leader and business partner? With COVID-19, there are many new topics we have to think about wrapping into the education, such as duty of care which has always been there, but is different now. Digital delivery is going to be another piece of it, and raising our voice. Obviously, weve had to step in immediately, so weve already been very active in trying to make sure the needs of the mobility industry are considered in any relief packages that Congress is passing. We have also been working with other associations to make sure that the borders are not closed down and that companies still have access to the foreign talent they need. Globally, were doing the same thing, because the same issues are playing out around the world. WW W. F I D I. O R G FF298 AugSept20 pp16-19 Interview Shotwell.indd 17 NEWS FF: How are you planning to deliver more content for a more diverse industry? LS: The goal is to make sure that what were providing is relevant across the board. We cant do everything ourselves, so were going to be looking for partnerships. Theres so much content out there so, we can become not just a content creator, but a content aggregator for our members. FF: What are your thoughts on the impact of COVID-19? LS: People have always moved for opportunities and that will continue in the long term. I think we will have a robust industry again. In the medium term, were going to see shifts in the nature of moves, as well as the locations. As companies reconsider their global supply chain, were going to see much more inter-regional movement rather than, maybe, global movements. I expect to see supply chains dispersed around the globe so that companies are not vulnerable to having an outbreak in one part of the world. The nature of the assignments will change, with very short-term business trips extremely limited and were going to see companies going back to more traditional, longer-term assignments, with families, as people are going to want to be with their families and in a good location. I think it will vary by industry, too. Different industries are going to figure out solutions for what they need as their business models change. We expect there will be consolidation in the industry among some of our members, but we also expect therell be new players emerging. One of the things I think ERC has not done as well as we could have is to capture those new players in the industry, particularly firms that see themselves as tech more than mobility businesses. How do we bring them into our circle? Were going to see companies going back to more traditional, longer-term assignments, with families, as people are going to want to be with their families and in a good location 17 21/07/2020 11:59