The Benefits of Prioritizing Internal Promotions
With the labor market as tight as it currently is (covered in our blogs here and here), companies are increasingly looking at their own internal roster to identify their next super-star employee. But does hiring internally have any tangible benefit vs. filling the job in the “traditional way,”? Read on to find out!
Employee Satisfaction:
At baseline, promoting from within is a known strategy to help improve employee retention and motivate employees to perform at their best. In fact, a study by LinkedIn found that companies that prioritize internal promotions enjoy a 41-percent higher retention rate than their peers who prefer to fill jobs with outside candidates.
Shorter timeframes:
When you already have the employee in-house, the process for interviewing them can be significantly streamlined since it’s as easy as just adding a meeting to their calendar! In addition, internal candidates generally have to meet with fewer folks as they’ve already passed so many of the “cultural fit” questions. This brings us to our next point…
Right fit:
When you hire from among your own ranks, you already know that this person will fit in with your corporate culture because…well, they already do! You know that they understand your vision and likely already embody many of the cultural nuances that someone not familiar with your business would have to learn. That said, there are some drawbacks to shopping from within, namely that you can miss out on an opportunity to diversify your workforce and bring in new and valuable perspectives.
Streamlined onboarding:
In addition to a shorter interview process, internal candidates can also benefit from a shorter orientation process. Since they’re already in the company, you can cut out the entirety of your introductory onboarding and instead let the employee transition to orientation specific to their new role. In this way, internal candidates can really hit the ground running and ramp up much faster than their peers from outside sources.
Low cost:
Hiring from within can also save you significant money. From job listings on various platforms to even retaining a headhunter or outside recruiter to fill the vacancy, the business of hiring can cost you big bucks! However, if you have an internal candidate or candidates in mind, you can cut out much of this spending. Further, when you hire an employee with a proven track record, you significantly reduce the risk that you’ll hire someone who doesn’t fit and will need to be replaced down the line.
Don’t miss out on key talent:
The LinkedIn authors note that despite all the benefits of hiring from within, it’s oftentimes the employees themselves that put themselves up for the promotions. Therefore, you could be missing out on some key talent if you don’t have a formal process in place for moving employees into your job candidate pipeline. Further, the LinkedIn pros note that to build a strong and reliable pipeline, your HR reps should partner with your education and development team to make sure that they are providing the training and upskilling necessary to prepare entry-level employees for bigger and better jobs within your company.
Be objective:
Another key consideration as you develop plans to mature your internal pipeline is to be cognizant that you are being objective and equitable. If your business plays favorites only promoting from a specific department or those under a certain manager, for example, it can quickly harm employee loyalty and sour your culture.
As we touched on above, you should also make sure that when you are promoting from within, you are backfilling positions with employees from diverse backgrounds so that you don’t become homogenous. When the people in your company all look or think alike, they’ll likely take a similar approach to problem-solving and struggle to come up with an out-of-the-box solution, which can cause your business to go stale over time.
Don’t forget to communicate:
And finally, when hiring from within, be sensitive to the fact that if you consider multiple candidates, it can mean multiple disappointments. After a position has been filled, be sure to circle back with those that didn’t get the job about why they weren’t selected and what, if any, other opportunities may be available to them moving forward. If the issue was related to their not having a particular skill or certification, work with them to develop a plan to obtain said upskilling, which in turn will not only prepare them for future opportunities but also demonstrate that you want to invest in their future.
