The Foundation

The Foundation

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the UNRESERVED podcast.  Brought to you by the RES Forum, UNRESERVED is the conversation about all things Global Mobility. Unscripted, unsanitised and unfiltered, we invite guests from across the industry to discuss the reality and challenges of global work in all its unpredictable glory.  Hosted by RES Forum Director, David Enser, this inaugural episode offers an introduction to UNRESERVED and its co-hosts, Karlijn Jacobs (Founder of Expat Valley) and Soren Sturup-Toft (Immigration and Mobility Lead at Databricks).  Together, they lay the foundations of the upcoming series with a discussion about the disconnect between boardroom expectations and global talent requirements. Using the RES Forum's groundbreaking Vision 2030 research as their starting point, the team examines the immediate future of a borderless workforce.  WHAT WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: * Vision 2030 scenarios: building on an initial piece of academic research, the Vision 2030 project includes broad and diverse insights from mobility professionals to examine three potential futures for international work - an independent gig workforce, the "genie-out-of-the-bottle" remote work phenomenon, and the struggle to build sustainable global career pipelines. * The Big Debate: Soren and David continue their debate on whether the future of global mobility belongs to AI, automation and operational efficiency, or if human-centricity is the ultimate key to success. * The "checkbox" problem: Karlijn highlights a critical flaw in modern HR - why do employees tick the box saying they're "open to relocation" during annual reviews, but freeze when a real international vacancy appears? * The executive bottom line: the ultimate success of a mobility programme doesn't rely solely on tech or family support, but on solving the fundamental leadership headache of how to  get talent into our succession pipelines in the first place. UNRESERVED is a community-driven podcast. We want your unpolished industry understanding, your hot takes and your personal experience.  If you have an opinion on this episode or want to join us behind the microphone, get in touch via office@theresforum.com [office@theresforum.com] Like, subscribe, get involved and help us shape the future of Global Mobility.