3 Benefits of internal career mobility

Bringing in fresh, new talent every so often is important, but the next time you need to fill an open position at your organization, consider looking internally—it will pay off. Filling open positions with internal candidates via internal career mobility not only saves employers money (job listings are pricey, as is lost productivity), but also shaves time off of new hire onboarding and involves less variability.

Internal career mobility can also go a long way in giving current employees the opportunity to grow and move into new roles, whether laterally or upward, because the promise of mobility incentivizes workers to commit to learning and personal development opportunities. Overall, internal career mobility is a win-win for companies and their workers because:

For employees changing roles within a company, much of the onboarding process is complete before the transition starts. Presumably, existing employees have long been aware of the company’s mission and values, are fluent in the companies organizational processes and are up to date on necessary trainings. And, references are built in: an employer has a direct line to that candidate’s last supervisor.

Hiring from within also means spending less time ramping up employees, especially because there is a level of established trust already. An Insights for Professionals piece points out that internal hires will already know the business—a fact that can be a huge time-saver from a training perspective. Plus, a worker that has proven herself to be a top performer in one department will likely work just as hard when given an opportunity to transition to a new team. New hires, on the other hand, still have to prove themselves.

Creating opportunity for employees to move around within the company is a motivating incentive for employees to continue to learn and develop their skills. In a Deloitte Insights article, consultants Robin Erickson, Denise Moulton and Bill Cleary note the importance of continuing to teach and train employees. A company culture that involves continual coaching and employee development is one in which relationships are built, they note.

“At many high-performing organizations, recruitment and internal mobility are inextricably linked,” they write. “These organizations expend meaningful effort and energy creating experiences and expectations for talent that encourage growth, learning, engagement, and communication.”

Knowing that there is a lateral or upward move to work toward gives workers reason to developing existing skills and learning new ones. That’s why it’s critical to be transparent about open opportunities using internal career sites—you want your current workers to be made immediately aware when there’s a new opening and what skills they’ll need to brush up on (or gain) to be considered for certain roles.

Cornerstone On Demand’s Recruiting Suite, for example, enables recruiters to not only share open positions with current employees via an internal career site, but also provide them with a clear outline of what they’ll need to do pursue those positions, including fulfilling any application requirements or taking courses.

Bringing the right employees onto your team is a challenge. Keeping employees on that team is even more difficult. According to a LinkedIn Talent Solutions report, which references LinkedIn’s 2016 Global Recruiting Trends Report, 41% of survey respondents said they remained at their company for less than two years. But 42% of employees who left said they would have stayed longer if their employer had taken some sort of action, the report says, such as offering them an opportunity to gain new skills or move within the company.

“Employees want to develop and grow their skills,” writes management and organization development consultant Susan M. Heathfield for "The Balance Careers". “If they’re not able to do this in your jobs, they’ll find one where they can.”

Showing employees that there is opportunity for internal mobility, be it a move up within the company, or a lateral transition to a position that is more appealing to them, is incentive for workers to stay. Creating opportunity for growth within the company could be the factor that motivates an employee to look for opportunities within the company rather than outside of it.

Looking for a tool to empower you to better vet external candidates and entice internal candidates? Learn more about Cornerstone OnDemand’s Recruiting Suite today.