the volatility window
A LANDINGPAD RESEARCH BRIEF · FOR GLOBAL MOBILITY & HR LEADERS
Every international leader arrives twice.
Once on the relocation plan, and once when they are fully effective in the role. The months between the two are the volatility window. It is the most expensive part of an international move and the one programmes manage least. This brief shows what shortens it.
No cost. Instant download. 15-minute read.
~5% — International assignments that end early in European firms. The mobility bet works. (Harzing, 1995)
Up to $1.25M — KPMG's model of the total investment in one long-term assignee.
(International SOS, 2024)
31,704 — Hungarian citizens moving back home in 2025, the returning talent that most programmes do not see. (KSH)
What's inside
Eleven pages of real research — no fluff, fully sourced — written for the people who fund and run global mobility.
Two arrival dates
Why the transition is universal, and why it is no sign of a weak hire.
What the window is worth
Every month short of full effectiveness is paid at the expatriate premium.
What shortens it
The evidence across three tracks: organisational, cultural and family.
Five ways an executive arrives
Only one of them is usually counted.
The window opens twice
What returning nationals and repatriates go through.
Six questions for your programme
A practical self-check for mobility and HR leaders.
