Generally, companies bet on filling their vacancies with external talent from the organization, but this is not the only way to do it. This is where internal recruitment comes in.
As the name suggests, this is a recruitment approach where organizations look to employees already integrated into the company to fill higher-level vacancies. We’ll talk more about this approach, also discussing the benefits it offers to the institutions that put it into practice.
What is internal recruitment?
Internal recruitment is a human resources strategy that prioritizes hiring current company employees for open or new positions within the organization. Instead of focusing on external talent, this approach promotes the professional evolution and growth of the people who are already part of the payroll.
Internal recruitment is an interesting strategy when new areas are created in an organization and you don’t want, or don’t need, to look for talent outside the institution. It’s a very smart move to drive the horizontal advancement of the workforce and strengthen employee loyalty.
According to a 2023 iHire report, 49% of US employers were considering hiring within the company or promoting one of their employees to fill a vacancy.
Internal recruitment methods
Just like external recruitment, there are many ways to recruit internally in companies, each with its respective benefits for the organization and internal talent.
Career or succession plans
Succession plans involve identifying and developing internal employees to fill current or future vacancies in critical leadership positions. These career plans include estimated timelines for promotions, benefits, salaries, and other details of each role the employee will take on.
One of the advantages of this approach is that it ensures a continuous and uninterrupted transition in leadership positions. Since employees will be ready to take over from the first minute, there will be no empty spaces or gaps between one executive and another.Additionally, and for an obvious reason, it reduces the time and costs of hiring compared to external recruitment.
Role changes
This involves offering a collaborator new roles and responsibilities without necessarily moving them from their department. Although it does not involve formal promotions or transfers, it is a move that strengthens horizontal movement and allows employees to acquire new skills and strengthen their adaptability.
However, if the process is not properly carried out, it can confuse the employee about their actual position in the company and the responsibilities they have to fulfill.
Transfers
This involves moving an employee from a defined position and department to another space within the organization. Often, the transfer also involves a geographical relocation of the employee.
On the one hand, it offers employees the opportunity to have new work and life experiences in the event of a change of residence. However, changes of this kind can also be challenging for the dynamics of employees’ lives, who may need a certain period of adaptation until they can give their all.
For organizations, it represents a way to balance the payroll in various locations, as well as to diversify and enrich the work teams in each one.
Promotions
This is the most common internal recruitment method. It consists of promoting an employee to a higher position with new responsibilities and greater economic and extra-economic benefits. This is a move that increases employee satisfaction and loyalty, and also encourages other employees to work harder to also be promoted.
Internal mobility programs
Many companies have mobility programs that allow people to go through different departments, roles, and responsibilities within a company. These programs include modalities such as:
- Short-term assignments
- Project-focused work
- Rotational programs
One of the main benefits of this method is its way of strengthening the commitment of employees to the company, as internal mobility programs help employees have an overview of their dynamics in various departments and teams. However, at the logistical level, it can be quite difficult to manage.
Benefits of internal recruitment for companies
Earlier, we established that internal recruitment is a method that saves costs and time for companies that bet on this approach over the search for talent outside the organization.
Let’s explore the benefits of internal recruitment a little more to understand them better.
Reduces costs
The main benefit of internal recruitment is its significant impact on reducing the costs of filling a new vacancy.
These costs range from posting a new vacancy on different platforms, conducting interviews with potential candidates, tracking their respective processes, and more.
Reduces hiring times
Hiring internally is much faster compared to external recruitment, and the reason is clear. Since the candidate is already an employee, there is no need to do such a thorough review of their work history or have them go through 2 or 3 extensive interviews, which greatly streamlines the process.
Naturally, it is important to have one or two meetings with the person to inform them of their new position and responsibilities, but these are much more manageable and faster encounters.
Boosts employee morale
As an employee, wouldn’t you feel happy and valued if your company pushed you to develop your professional career within the same organization?
Whether through promotions, transfers, or helping you develop various skills through the internal mobility program, employees will feel happier with the company when, instead of turning to external talent, it looks at the talent it already has to fill critical positions.
Lower risk
Internal collaborators have already proven to have the skills demonstrated by their CV and, in addition, fit with the company’s vision and organizational culture.
In this sense, they represent a much lower risk compared to external talent who, although they may have all the necessary skills for the position, may not fit with the company’s vision or objectives for the short, medium, and long term.
Improves talent retention
According to data shared by Josh Bersin, employees who are promoted in an organization are 70% more likely to stay with it in the long run compared to those who are not promoted.
In other words, internal recruitment is a smart strategy to strengthen employee retention in the company and reduce staff turnover in lower and middle positions of the structure.
Internal hiring is increasingly recognized as a strategic approach to talent management, especially in the face of talent shortages and high employee turnover rates. A LinkedIn report indicated that employees tend to stay 41% longer at companies that frequently hire internally.
Additionally, a significant portion of US employers, around 49.5%, planned to hire or promote from within.This approach is not only cost-effective, but also leverages existing capabilities and knowledge within an organization, which improves employee retention and morale.
