the volatility window
A LANDINGPAD RESEARCH BRIEF · FOR GLOBAL MOBILITY & HR LEADERS
Why 40% of international assignments still fail — and what the top programs do differently.
A single failed assignment can cost up to $1.25 million — and four decades of research show the risk isn't spread evenly. It concentrates in one volatile window. This brief shows you exactly what that window costs, why it opens, and the five-part framework that closes it.
No cost. Instant download. 12-minute read.
~40% — of international assignments end in early return or clear underperformance — a rate unchanged in 40 year
Up to $1.25M — the fully loaded cost of a single failed assignment
First 4 months — when two-thirds of assignees report serious performance stress
What you'll learn
Eight pages of real research — no fluff, fully sourced — written for the people who fund and run global mobility.
The true cost of failure
The numbers most relocation budgets never capture — from the visible logistics to the lost productivity that dwarfs them.
Why the first 90 days are so fragile
How the "crisis trough" of culture shock collides with the highest-stakes weeks of early performance — and why it's structural, not a bad hire.
What actually breaks assignments
The research-backed causes, led by the one most programs under-invest in: family and partner adjustment.
The LandingPad Framework
Five load-bearing supports that hold an assignment stable through the volatility window, each mapped to a proven cause of failure — plus a 90-day cadence you can run against.
Five questions to pressure-test your program
A quick diagnostic to find where your first 90 days are quietly exposed.
