Recruiting internally means selecting an employee within the company to fill a vacant position. With the constant search for ways to optimize time and increase productivity, internal recruitment is an increasingly common practice.
But is that really a winning strategy? Is internal recruitment always cheaper than recruiting externally?
The Benefits For A Company
Most companies may not consider internal recruitment in the first place. Yet, this practice carries substantial advantages, starting with the time saved on training.
- Time savings
A person who is already part of the company will have no integration problem and will already be familiar with the operating mode of the organization.
The time spent on training is significantly reduced and the person will mainly focus on understanding the mandates related to his or her new responsibilities.
- Money savings
Recruiting internally is also a way to save money because the company no longer needs to invest in advertising related to job announcements. Also, the recruitment process is shortened; there is no need to organize interviews or to consider profiles. Therefore, the company and especially the human resources department can save time.
- Career development
Recruiting internally is a good way to encourage employees retention, to improve team spirit and to strengthen the corporate culture.
A company that wants to keep its best talents must get them to stay. Stagnating wages and a lack of career opportunities are common factors that often lead to a high turnover rate within a company. This is when internal mobility – in other words, the recruitment of an employee for a new position within the same company – should be considered. This strategy is benefic for employee engagement and retention.
But internal recruitment has certain limitations related to the lack of innovation and to issues attached to the restructuring of human resources.
The Limits Of Recruiting Internally
It is not totally proven that internal recruitment is much more effective than external recruitment. A study by Harvard Business Review on retaining talents even shows that 40% of internal job changes leads to failure.
- Lack of renewal
Thinking that an effective and productive employee on a specific position will show the same motivation for another position is a common mistake. Recruiting internally also limits the chances of hiring an external talent with fresh ideas and who will be much more enthousiastic about integrating a new structure.
- Tricky organization
Internal recruitment may seem practical, but it is worthless without a strategic workforce planning and a good employees database. There must be a genuine collaboration between departments during internal restructuring.
The advantage for companies to recruit current employees for a new position is that they know what to expect of this person. And if the position requires an excellent knowledge of the company, internal recruitment should definitely be considered.
But logically, an employee in the new position will leave behind another vacant position, which forces the company to restructure anyway.
What is your opinion on the matter? Is internal recruitment a successful strategy?
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