David Hall at People Supply: The global mobility challenge
David Hall, the newly appointed deputy director of human resources for People Supply, a global leader in the HR services business, headed to his first meeting with the CEO and his new boss, the HR director. Formerly the highly successful regional office manager of the company’s six branches in New York, Hall, 35, had just been moved to world headquarters in Frankfurt and asked to take on two roles: overseeing the HR specialist recruiting function in Germany (a line role in which he would work with the six German regional offices), and coordinating the cross-national movement of executives throughout the firm. In the latter, a staff role, Hall had been asked to look at the firm’s global workforce in order to find better solutions to its global mobility problem. Hall was certain that the company – an expert in sourcing talent for its clients – could do more in certain markets to source talent for itself. He wondered what it would take to coordinate such an effort on a global scale.
Identify and discuss the pros and cons of mobility of talent across borders.
2007
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
On paper, everything with the project looked fine. Deadlines were being met, the work was on track, and meetings ran efficiently. But beneath the surface, this high-performing manager told us, “I was holding it together on the outside, yet inside,...
Walk into almost any organisation and you will hear the same refrain: ‘We promote on merit here.’ Yet the data keeps telling a different story. Women are still underrepresented in senior roles, even in sectors where they make up most of the workfo...
Microaggressions are subtle, often unintended slights that quietly undermine confidence, belonging, and performance. Their cumulative impact erodes trust and psychological safety, slowing careers and driving attrition. This article examines how mi...
Anger, envy, vulnerability: We don't like to show all our feelings publicly. But those who suppress them are sometimes surprised by involuntary outbursts. It's better to make peace with the parts of yourself you don't like. All you need are two ch...
How often has your team changed lately? A new member joins. A key player exits. Roles shift. Strategy evolves. A conflict brews. Performance dips. Today’s teams are in constant flux—reshaped by both internal dynamics and external pressures. And ye...
Les études de cas de HBR sont basées sur des problèmes vécus par des dirigeants d’entreprise et proposent des solutions d’experts. Celle-ci est tirée de l’étude de cas de l’Insead « Stress and the City (A&B) : Antonio Horta-Osorio, CEO of Lloyds B...
The most ambitious burn out first: How to use the holidays to get stronger instead of just surviving.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD Magazine September 2025, no. 19, pp. 78–79
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications