How WPP is aligning mobility with talent strategy, ensuring compliance across 100+ countries, and leveraging technology to manage remote work and global talent needs.
Managing global mobility in a company as large and diverse as WPP requires balancing talent strategy, compliance, and operational efficiency. As Associate Director in Global Mobility, Olu Euba plays a key role in ensuring mobility policies align with business objectives while supporting employees across 100+ countries. In this interview, Olu shares insights into WPP’s approach to compliance, the role of technology in managing remote work, and how mobility programs are evolving to meet the needs of a changing workforce.
Caroline Lucas-Conwell: To start, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at WPP?
Olumide Euba: I’ve been part of the WPP family for 11 years now. Before joining WPP Corporate in June last year, I led the mobility program at EssenceMediacom, one of our operating companies. My career journey has been diverse—I’ve worked in the banking, IT, Tobacco and Consulting industries. While I started out in HR, my curiosity and passion for talent development led me to the world of mobility, where I saw the critical role it plays in shaping careers and driving growth.
At WPP, mobility is part of the Reward team and we see ourselves as internal consultants, partnering with the business to shape mobility strategies and manage end-to-end mobility processes. It’s an exciting time to be in this space, helping connect talent with opportunities across our global network.
Caroline: How do you see the role of mobility within an organization?
Olumide: I see mobility as a critical tool for talent development. It helps organizations attract and retain people, build diverse teams, and manage global talent shortages. But to get the most value from it, mobility has to be tied to business strategy—it needs to align with reward and talent strategies to support long-term goals.
I often talk about the four Ds of mobility success: Desire, Direction, Discipline, and Determination. Organisations need to have the desire to expand their talent pools globally. They also need clear policies and frameworks so that mobility decisions are structured - direction. Discipline means ensuring strong compliance structures and educating employees about their responsibilities. And finally, determination is about the team being motivated to carry out their work.
Caroline: That's a great way to look at it! Now, looking at compliance. What are some of the most common risks you face, and how do you prioritize them?
Olumide: Compliance is one of our biggest responsibilities, and immigration is at the top of the list. Everyone working at WPP must have the right to work in their jurisdiction, and we have a global immigration partner we work with in this area. We take this very seriously—people simply cannot work without proper visas.
Tax compliance is another priority. Employees need to file taxes correctly for their assignments, so we provide tax briefings to ensure they understand their obligations and tax filling support.
Other key areas include social security compliance, the Posted Worker Directive in the EU, and data protection under GDPR.
One of the most important things we do is educate our teams on compliance risks before they become problems.
Caroline: When it comes to compliance, how are you using technology tools to manage risks—especially for remote work?
Olumide: We’ve implemented a remote work tool to streamline the management of short term remote work requests and the associated compliance risks. The tool evaluates each request against key criteria, including immigration, income tax, payroll, social security, and labour law considerations, to determine whether it can be approved or should be declined.
For approved requests, employees are permitted to work remotely for a short number of days per year.
The tool also enables robust reporting and tracking, ensuring we maintain oversight of short term remote work requests. As part of our risk management approach, we do not permit short term remote work in countries with security concerns or active conflict zones.
This system has proven effective in helping us maintain compliance while offering employees a degree of flexibility in their work arrangements.
Caroline: What do you look for in vendors and technology tools to support compliance?
Olumide: Some of the questions I ask myself when evaluating a tool are:
- Can the tool be easily integrated via APIs with our systems?
- Can we use the tool to track and monitor what's happening?
- What reports can we get from it?
- Can it produce cost estimates for the assignments we have coming up?
- Can employees use a tool to self-serve?
- Does it help streamline our processes? And, keep our data safe?
- What kind of customer support can we have?
The vendor landscape is changing, and I have to say I find it inspiring. The ways that vendors are using technology to solve challenges reminds me that our work isn't just about facilitating relocations or managing logistics - it's about empowering people, enabling businesses to thrive, and fostering global connections in a world that's constantly changing.
Caroline: How do you ensure that your global mobility policies are flexible enough to handle regional complexities while maintaining consistency?
Olumide: This is hugely important because we have so many offices worldwide. We have a core global policy, but we tailor certain aspects based on regional differences, often using vendors for the heavy lifting. Some countries have specific benefits required by employment laws, and we incorporate those. We also work closely with regional teams to ensure policies remain relevant while maintaining key compliance requirements that are non-negotiable—such as tax, visa etc.
The key is stakeholder engagement—we speak with business leaders and employees to understand their needs and adapt policies where necessary. Employee experience is just as important as compliance.
Caroline: What are some of the biggest cross-regional regulatory challenges you’ve faced?
Olumide: One significant challenge is navigating varying immigration requirements across regions. While some countries may process visas within a few weeks, others can take up to six months. Setting clear expectations with business leaders is crucial to managing these timelines effectively.
Tax compliance is another complex area. For instance, the U.S. enforces global tax filing requirements, whereas other countries have simpler tax systems. Additionally, factors such as social security benefits, data privacy regulations, and cultural differences add layers of complexity, requiring careful coordination to ensure compliance across diverse regions.
Caroline: Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest challenges for global mobility in the next few years?
Olumide: Rising costs are a huge concern—relocation and shipping costs surged during COVID and haven’t come down as much as we expected. Economic uncertainty is another factor; when businesses face downturns, mobility budgets often get cut.
Managing remote and hybrid work models is becoming increasingly complex, with companies needing to navigate compliance across multiple jurisdictions
Another challenge is technology adoption. AI and automation will play a bigger role in global mobility, but we’re still in the early stages of figuring out how best to integrate these tools.
Finally, we need to keep up with changing talent expectations. Younger employees are looking for short-term assignments and project-based work, rather than traditional long-term relocations. Mobility teams will need to adjust policies to support internal mobility and career development.
Caroline: That’s really insightful. Thank you for sharing your perspective, Olu.
Olumide: My pleasure! Thanks for having me.
Key Takeaways for Global Mobility Professionals
Aligning mobility with business strategy ensures that relocations support long-term talent development and workforce planning.
- Technology plays a crucial role in managing compliance risks, particularly for remote work and tracking short-term assignments.
- Expectation setting is key when dealing with cross-regional immigration and tax compliance—business leaders must understand the challenges upfront.
- Flexibility and compliance must coexist—global policies should be adaptable to regional differences while maintaining core legal and tax obligations.
- The future of mobility is evolving—younger employees are seeking short-term assignments, and companies must adjust policies to reflect changing talent expectations.
By focusing on these strategies, organizations can build a more agile, compliant, and talent-driven global mobility program.