mobility matters, S4 episode 8: what assignees want now: cartus intercultural trends survey 2025 insights revealed

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email cartussolutions@cartus.com with any questions.

Terri: Welcome to another exciting episode of Mobility Matters, the podcast where we dive into nuances of global mobility with a sprinkle of fun and a dash of Insight. I’m your host, Terry Bonfiglio, Director of Global Consulting, and today I’m delighted to introduce a conversation that took place a few days ago between my fabulous colleague, Lisa Johnson, also Director of Global Consulting and the marvellous Diane Mullen, Manager Intercultural and Language Solutions.

Lisa and Diane got together to have an impromptu conversation about the findings from the recent Cartus Intercultural Trends Survey, and we thought we’d take the opportunity to record it so that we could share their valuable insights with all of you. To give you a sense of our depth on this topic, last year, Cartus delivered cross-cultural coaching to over 1,400 international assignees and their families in more than 200 countries around the world, and we recently surveyed 76 intercultural coaches from our global network to garner the latest trends, including DEI technology and how to engage younger generations of assignees. So, grab your headphones, get comfortable, and let’s jump right into the conversation.

Diane: Welcome everyone to this episode of the awesome Mobility Matters podcast. I am so glad that you’ve joined us for this episode, because today we are going to be talking all things related to our latest Intercultural Trends Survey. I’m Diane Mullen, and here to talk to me today about the survey is the ever-insightful Lisa Johnson, how are you doing, Lisa?

Lisa: Hi, Diane. I’m doing great. And a big hello to our listeners today. I’m very excited to dive into the findings from our Trends Survey today. I actually mean this really sincerely, we’ve got some really interesting and fun results that I’m excited to talk about.

Diane: Yeah, absolutely I am too. So, I’m actually going to get this started, and I want to ask you what stood out for you the most in this year’s survey?

Lisa: Okay, I’m so glad you asked. Great question. You know, I think what stood out most, I just want to start with this, because it’s not going to be a surprise. There’s so many other things that build on this finding, right? And that’s this shift towards virtual sessions. So, anyone listening, they’re gonna be like, “Of course we have virtual sessions for learning and development for our Intercultural programs”, but it’s a finding that we just wanted to validate. And I think you know from some of the conversations we’ve had, there’s just so many other things that links to that, to what we’re going to talk about today.

So, 76% of the coaches reported a preference for virtual sessions over those traditional in-person ones. And you know, you and I who have had a history of running these programs, and we love those in-person programs, being one-on-one with an individual or a family who’s about to move. I mean, it’s such an amazing experience, but it seems like now everyone prefers this bite size information, a bite sized way of getting their information these days. And so, the trends just seem to be fewer of those one-day or two-day in-person programs. Now it’s all about virtual sessions and shorter sessions.

Diane: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That’s right. That’s really one of the big, interesting things about this. Like you said we knew. But speaking of engagement, did you know that 64% of the coaches have noticed these issues that were along the shorter attention spans among our participants, and it’s like trying to keep up with a TikTok video, right? Keep it short, keep it snappy, get to the point. And what we’re seeing is that coaches are really adapting their pace and delivery, and the whole reason they’re doing this is they want to keep their participants engaged, and so they’re using more interactive and experiential training methods. This trend is one of the reasons why we’ve actually seen the traditional one-day program being delivered in these short, well, it’s actually several, short virtual sessions, and in our case here at Cartus. Those sessions tend to be anywhere from one hour to two hours, the majority of them are about 90 minutes, and it really just depends on the program, as well as the preference of the participants.

Lisa: Well, see, that’s what I was talking about, that, you know, the virtual session then leads to so many other shifts in how things are delivered, right? And then you’re talking about that short attention. And, and the need to be a performer or TikTok artist, almost, right? And we talk about that in some of the things that we’ve been designing over the past couple of years, where we’re saying, “Let’s think about something practical, a takeaway that someone can apply right away at their desk”, right?” Those, I mean, that’s really important today. All right, I want to think about another finding from this survey, because there’s so many good kinds of nuggets of wisdom here for our listeners to think about and for us to think about, and that’s this inner there’s an increased demand in intercultural skill sets.

And the survey found that 65% of coaches are seeing a rise in the companies requesting intercultural training for their employees. Of course, we love that. Love that people are at a more mature moment in being in a global organization, that they recognize that it’s not just a handful of people who might need some of these skills, but that team building across cultures, global leadership, those are really critical to success in a global organization, right? Not just knowing your stuff but being able to work effectively with people from all over the world. I mean, we’re on calls every day where people are in different time zones, even in our own organization, much less with the companies that we’re working with, right?

So, I want to just give one quote to participants who said, and I’ll quote, “Companies want a lot of output or takeaways with a minimum time spent. Sometimes the expectations are unreasonable, but overall, it’s really nice to see companies invest in training employees working globally to be more culturally aware and agile.” So yes, it’s an increased demand in intercultural skills for all members of the organization, not just assignees. You know, all of us as employees in a global organization need to have those skill sets, even if we’re not going anywhere. We’re here virtually, right? So here at Cartus, we’ve definitely responded to this trend by creating a dedicated team to address that exact demand of those non-relocation types of programs too.

Diane: Yeah, we have a whole line right now. We have a whole team dedicated to that. Because it is this trend that we’re seeing that it’s not just about whether you’re going out on assignment, it’s that everybody is working in a global capacity. So absolutely, and it’s interesting to kind of see how intercultural skills are part of a larger discussion. When we talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, and we’re talking about inclusive leadership, cultural biases and broad aspects of diversity, it’s not just about culture anymore. It’s really kind of about creating this truly inclusive environment. And participants in these intercultural programs today are much more likely to see the topic of culture positioned as part of that larger DEI discussion.

Lisa: All right, I have to stop you now, because you’ve said those three letters, DEI, it’s the elephant in the room. We can’t just talk about it as if it’s normal to talk about it today, right? I mean, you and I have been talking about this a lot, but we just can’t talk about it that way and anymore, because things have changed. Our listeners know this, you and I know this. At Cartus’, we’re talking about it, those three letters, DEI, have, in certain environments, certainly in the environment that we’re sitting in today, those of us who are here in the US, it’s just become, let’s just say, sensationalized, if nothing else. And so, what we do know today is that there is this movement away from those letters, in terms of DEI but talking about inclusion, talking about the employee experience, talking about having a high performing team that is diverse.

I don’t know how we get away from not using the word diversity, but multiple perspectives, multiple experiences, different cultures, cultural differences, right? That those are expected. Those create business outcomes that any company is looking for. So, yes, the skill sets that are required to have a high performing team that brings in multiple perspectives, experiences, cultures, whatever we’re going to call it, is really important. And I think you and I, you know, we’ve looked at some of the ways that companies are shifting the terminology that they’re using.

The survey definitely highlighted a significant different demographic shift, and that is something that we need to see. So, we’re seeing more women of all ages and more employees with complex identities, meaning they might be from one country, and they’ve moved to another, or they have parents from another. You know, culture, right?

And an increase in dual career couples, those couples where they both have careers. Our listeners know that this is a reality, but our coaches in the room are seeing that coming into the programs that they’re delivering, right? So, in fact, 58% of our coaches reported seeing more women on international assignments. If I could press like a big cheers and applause button, I would do it for special effects! Because I’m so excited about that. We’ve been working at this for years and 47% noticed an increase in those dual career couples. That’s big. That impacts like people being able to accept an international assignment. You’re giving up half of your economic income in your family, potentially, by accepting it.

So, what are companies doing about that? And it highlights the need for more flexible programs and policies to accommodate these different types of assignments, these new demographics that we’re seeing and that we’re celebrating. The shift in the talent strategy in companies, who are we recruiting? Who do we want to be part of our organization? [It] has created a need for more varied global mobility opportunities, of course, and also moving away from that one size fits all approach.

Diane: Yeah. I mean, that’s a really, really great point, Lisa, and it actually makes me think about the youth programs our coaches who deliver our youth programs notice that today’s youth participants are more globally savvy, and there’s the word DEI-aware, right? 64% of coaches leading youth programs have noticed changes in today’s participants. They’ve noticed that they’re open to this wide ranging, complex world that does have this multiculturalism in it through their peers and their host countries, who may not necessarily be as open, right? So that’s a challenge as well. Plus, they have these shorter attention spans, the same as we’re seeing in the adult program. So, kind of that whole idea about being comfortable with multitasking, right?

Lisa: Yeah, well, I have to laugh, because multitasking is such a skill. I’m not very good at it, but it’s definitely a skill of the youth participants. So, we talk about as youth participants, because that’s how we talk about it. It’s actually in contracts, right? Like employee participants are adult and youth programs. So, we talk about youth, but it’s really that Gen Zed, that younger generation, and we could be talking about those children of [the employee] or dependents of employees going on assignment but also talking about early career employees in a lot of organizations. When we are talking about that younger demographic, and the youth programs, as you said, they’re looking at interactive learning, gamification, fun delivery methods. And so again, we go back to where we started, where the virtual sessions are requiring coaches to be doing things differently, but also the demographic shifts and this younger population that is used to multitasking, they do want things gamified. They want it to be fun, right? So, it’s about keeping them engaged, making the learning enjoyable. Certainly, social media and technology have had an impact, and that’s both positive and negative. I think we could say that across the board for any of our lives, right? Some of the Doom scrolling, versus some of the fun and funny, hilarious things out there on social media or interesting things, right? That connect us to the world. So, the youth today, whether it’s in those programs, they’re the dependent children of your employees who are going out to see the world, and have these experiences are better prepared due to online information, more social savvy. Social media does give them that.

There’s also a bit of, I would say, overconfidence. You know what I mean, Diane? Like, “Oh, I already know about that”. “Oh, I’ve seen the videos from London, or I can kind of imagine what we’re talking about in terms of culture and on TikTok platforms”.

But they’re also more this generation, that generation, I’ll say, because it’s, I feel like it’s kind of my generation too. But they’re more transparent with their personal lives, sharing more openly than previous generations, and our coaches are saying that kind of impacts them too, because there is more sharing, and so you’re responding, you have to react to it in some ways, almost like a counselor. I mean, I think that’s definitely the case, right?

Another thing about these youth programs, and that generation that the coaches are talking about, [is] there being an increased awareness and understanding of cultural differences. So, there’s a greater international and intercultural experience of people today. You know, back a generation or two ago, few people had the experience of traveling internationally in many parts of the world now we have in the EU [European Union], open borders, people go to Barcelona for the weekend if they’re living in London or, almost over tourism. Schools are more diverse. There’s more immigration, more diversity in terms of experiences for this younger generation.

Diane: Absolutely right.

Lisa: So one quote from the survey, and I love that we’re kind of pulling out some of the voices that came out in the survey that we did, but they just said, “This youth mindset is more open to diversity, but the mindset in the host country may not be as open to that expat.” And you know, that’s a really good point. I live here in Brooklyn, New York. I’m a block from a university. They’re kids of all shapes, sizes, you know, green hair, nose piercings, whatever it is that’s trending today. And that might not be the case in every part of the world. I’m just thinking about the neighborhood that I live in, the world I live in. And you may go on an international assignment, arrive in a new location, go to that new school, and it just might not be a culture where they’re open to the same diversity that you’re or you experience in your home country.

Diane: Yeah, I mean, those are a lot of challenges that the youths are facing when they’re moving to a new culture, right? And sometimes, like you say, that host culture is not as receptive to their arrival, so yeah, this is all true. But I want to kind of jump on something that you were talking about, and this is about technology, right? So, we talked about things like gamification and so on and so forth, but our survey found that virtual collaboration platforms is also something that’s really impacting this industry. Right? So, Teams, Zoom, WebEx. These are all integral parts of these programs that are be delivered virtually digital learning systems. These are really enhancing that virtual delivery as well. So, it’s allowing for more efficient scheduling and tracking and really kind of managing this global network of coaches as well as the participants in these programs.

One of the things that’s interesting is this whole thing about mobile devices, right? And we could talk a lot about that, but one of the nice things about it is it actually adds that flexibility, but the other side of that is that also adds complexity, and it really is requiring creative solutions from coaches, right? And so, you know, we have that story where we had a coach who was delivering a program and the participant in the program was actually taking the program on his mobile device while he’s driving down the road.

Lisa: So, learning while driving.

Diane: Yeah, learning while driving, a new concept, right? So, yes, it’s this technology, and the truth about it is that it’s influencing a lot of things. It’s influencing design, delivery, the facilitation, in this case, of not only the coaching programs, but also a lot of these corporate trainings that are going on.

Lisa: Absolutely! And let’s not forget about AI, right? Because, you know, it’s another elephant in the room. It just gets talked about. It’s just constantly the topic at every conference, every meeting that you have. It’s like, what about AI? What are we doing with AI? So, we have to talk about for a second. So, when we did this survey, it was a couple months ago. I wouldn’t call it dated at all, but we asked our coaches, “Are you using AI?” and “In your development of your programs?”, and 31% so, like a third, said that they’re using it [AI], and they’re using it to create role plays, to find visuals, to conduct surveys, to do translations, because we’re working with people from all over the world.

And so, it’s kind of like having a digital assistant that helps make examples. I’m going to keep linking it back to the first finding we had, which is the virtual, shorter programs, right? And getting people engaged. As you said, now we can make examples more engaging. Can you turn this into a game? Can you tailor this to the audience? So, we work with people who are employees of companies that are pharmaceutical companies or manufacturing companies. There’s so many different areas that you would want to customize what you’re talking to the participants with, so our coaches really see that as an augment, or really an assistant to what they’re doing.

Diane: Digital assistant, right!

Lisa: I like that. I like that term. Of course, they have to fact check that. We all know that the reality is they aren’t always going to generate accurate information, so you always have to use that, but the fact that it’s used by a third of our coaches globally. There’s still a large number who haven’t incorporated into their learning, or their coaching, I mean, or their training practices. I bet if we did this survey, just to asking the question. I bet if we did the survey again, like every three months, that number would just keep going up, because it’s just we’re even recognizing that we didn’t even know we were using AI in some of the ways that we were. Googling for information or things like AI.

Diane: But there’s so much opportunity here.

Lisa: That’s right, that’s right. If a third are using it, there’s opportunity. All right, so let me just give one other perspective, and then throw it back to you, because there’s another quote, another great quote from the coach. But I thought I loved what they were talking about. They said, “AI is going to play a role, not only in intercultural programs, but also in the professional lives of the assignees”. It’s part of their life too. So, we have to make sure that we stay on top of that. Those coaches who are working with the assignees as well. So not just catching up with the new technology but being proactive about it and innovating with it. So, I love that insight of we have to stay in touch.

Diane: It’s such an emerging technology, and so it’s going to be incredible to see where it takes us. So, there’s a lot to learn. The quote said, “It’s really about being proactive about it and continuing to innovate around it.”

All right, so I want to shift a little bit here, and one of the emerging topics in intercultural programs is this focus on inclusion and belonging. And we kind of touched on this a little bit before, but we see that actually employees on international assignments, they really prioritize these aspects, and companies are supporting community building through things like Employee Resource Group. This is known as the ERGs, right? And there’s about 90% of Fortune 500 companies have these groups, these Employee Resource Groups, and 85% and this is a great number of Cartus clients emphasize inclusion as a core value. So, these programs are actually helping employees to really feel secure, to feel included in their new environment. And with these Cartus coaching programs, we offer something that’s so interesting is this additional support in between coaching sessions, and this is to support that. To support what we’re seeing out there that inclusion and belonging and one of the things that we actually have.

Another great quote from one of our survey participants is that they said, “I feel that the assignee really likes the fact that the coach is available in between sessions and offers them that ability to reach out to them at any time, this makes the online delivery more personal”. So, this speaks to the inclusion and belonging component of it, that assignees are really looking for.

Lisa: So important. And I know just from talking to a lot of you listeners and the companies that we work with, that inclusion, belonging to community, that outcome is so important. So, I love that you’re touching on the ERGs. They’re not going away, they’re actually in. And then that added support, once you’re on the ground, in between your programs, right? That your coaching sessions, that you can add a coach reach-out or coach session. I love that too. Yeah, it really is all about being secure in the new environment.

Diane: Oh, yeah, absolutely. And speaking to that, I want us not to forget about the hybrid coaching models. So, these are the models that actually blend the in-person and virtual session, so talking about inclusion and belonging as well. So, it offers that kind of flexibility, and it’s really catering to the diverse preferences that our clients have. So, it’s also another great way to kind of ensure accessibility while maintaining the personal touch that the face-to-face interactions actually provide so belonging, inclusion. We’ve got it all right, Lisa? We’ve covered a lot today, right?

So, I want to just take a moment right now and summarize our discussion and talk about some of the key points. We’ve talked about virtual sessions. We said that 76% of coaches prefer virtual sessions over traditional in-person ones. So, this is leading to shorter, more engaging sessions. We see it with coaches. We see it with participants. It’s working attention span. 64% of coaches have noticed shorter attention spans amongst participants. And so, this is really prompting that more interactive and experiential training methods that we were talking about as well.

Another piece of this is the intercultural skill set. 65% of coaches report increased demand for intercultural training and so emphasizing team building across cultures and that idea of global virtual leadership. We’re seeing demographic shifts. Love that right? 58% of the coaches see more women in international assignments.

47% note an increase in dual career couples and really highlighting the need for flexible policies. As you mentioned, youth programs, 64% of coaches leading these programs notice changes in participants, and this is really just that increased awareness about that multiculturalism that exists, and that diversity that’s out there, as well as shorter attention spans, that’s another piece of it.

Technology, virtual collaboration platforms, digital learning systems. These are all integral to the program delivery. AI is being used by 31% of our coaches for various aspects of program design and delivery, and like you mentioned, it could be even higher than that right now. So that’s exciting.

Lisa: I’m sure it is!

Diane: Yeah, emerging topics we talked about… focusing on inclusion and belonging, while making sure that there’s a strong support for community building through things like the Employee Resource Group, the ERGs. So, these are the things that we kind of talked about today, and we’ve uncovered in our survey. And I’m just wondering, Lisa, what are your final thoughts regarding the survey and the results?

Lisa: Well, you know the area of Intercultural programs, intercultural skills, intercultural trends. You know, it’s so interesting, and to just see this evolution as we started talking at the very beginning, and we’ve kind of highlighted the way that the intercultural field is evolving in terms of it working with companies and employees as they develop those skills. So, I really love, I think it’s exciting somebody who’s been in that field for a long time. It’s really exciting to see that there’s this kind of real push that might have been much slower in the past. It’s here, right?

These changes are happening as we speak, the 31% probably isn’t 31% in terms of the coaches using AI on a daily basis. It could be evolving, that multitasking, that generational shift that’s so big because of technology, because of different experiences and how the world is evolving. So, we’re just moving towards a more flexible, inclusive and engaging programs, and what’s not to like about that, right? That cater to the diverse needs of global organizations and their employees?

Diane: Yeah, absolutely.

Lisa: [It’s] very exciting to me. And you know, I can’t wait to hear what our listeners think, because I think it’s really interesting.

Diane: Yeah, and we’re really looking forward to seeing how these trends continue to shape the future of the intercultural coaching world. So, thanks for joining us today, Lisa.

Lisa: Well, thanks for inviting me to the conversation. I have to do a quick shout out to our colleague, Thea Jaffe, because she has a blog out that kind of covers a lot of the topics that we’ve been talking about today, and also give some additional insights. It’s fantastic. So, I want to just give a shout out to that. It’s on Cartus.com, it’s probably going to be at the bottom of the platform for all of you listeners out there to this episode, that you can kind of click on it and just get to it. It’s also out on LinkedIn, and it is on our Intercultural Trends Survey 2025, and she’s got a blog out right now that is kind of a nice, it connects, I think, really well with the conversation we’ve had today, Diane.

So, thank you so much for inviting me to have this conversation with you, and I can’t wait to come back another time.

Diane: Yeah, so thanks for mentioning that. So, everybody, please go check out the blog. But before we go, we really just want to encourage all of the listeners today to kind of really stay engaged on these trends. If you have any questions or you want to share any of your own experiences, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Your insights are truly invaluable, and they mean a lot to us. So, as we continue to evolve and improve our intercultural coaching programs. Until next time, stay curious, keep learning. And thank you everyone.

Terri: And that’s a wrap, folks. A huge thank you to Lisa and Diane for sharing the data from the Cartus Intercultural Trends Survey 2025. And of course, their expertise, and thanks to you, our listeners, for joining us. If there’s a topic, you’d love to hear more about drop us an email at cartussolutions@cartus.com, we’re always eager to hear from you. Thank you for tuning in and see you next time.