More than four in 10 multinational firms plan to send employees on overseas assignments this year, according to a new report from Brookfield Global Relocation Services.

During the first quarter of 2010, Brookfield surveyed senior mobility managers from multinational firms to determine the direction and nature of mobility strategy within their companies and found 44% of multinational firms expect to send more employees on assignment this year.

Scott Sullivan, executive vice president of Brookfield Global Relocation Services, says: “Human resources executives are increasingly looking for ways to address the strategic elements of mobility programmes in the most deliberate, efficient and meaningful ways.

“We noticed an interesting trend concerning the way mobility leadership within companies were responding to this business change.

“With senior management looking at assignments more carefully, many mobility leaders responded by introducing a more strategic approach to assignment decision-making.”