UK 
United States
As demand for talent heats up in the midst of candidate scarcity, addressing the issue of attracting suitable, qualified, skilled or experienced candidates is still the number one issue for many in-house recruitment teams. Does an effective Internal Mobility strategy provide a solution?
The official definition of internal mobility is ‘a dynamic internal process from moving talent from role to role – at the leadership, professional and operational levels’. Bersin by Deloitte
Hands up who is actively practising internal mobility and of those who are, is it working?
Typically used by larger organisations, internal mobility can be part of an effective internal recruitment strategy that builds long-term employee success stories. Encouraging employees to expand and develop their career within your organisation and mapping their career path can contribute to reducing employee turnover, preventing losing employees (and intelligence) to competitors and an organisation's commercial success. But many organisations are still not incorporating it into their recruitment strategy.
Cultural fit within an organisation is a big part of the recruiting jigsaw, and it is often hard to get candidates whose behaviours fit the mould. An employee who is already aligned with your company goals and values is halfway there to making a lasting impression in your organisation and being a valuable asset.
Instead of looking outside the organisation why not nurture your existing talent and skills base to have a positive impact on overall recruitment? It’s a win-win for both sides. As well as the obvious benefits of reducing the time and cost to hire (plus, how do you value intellectual property?) it can help to build an organisations reputation as a reputable employer for long-term career prospects – helping you to attract and retain top talent from the off.
For organisations still not fully embracing internal mobility, here are 5 steps to check that you have in place to introduce the take-up and impact of internal mobility, or influence the right behaviour to embrace it.
Internal Mobility Checklist
Is internal mobility on your workplace agenda? Internal mobility needs to be supported at all levels in an organisation and part of the organisation's culture to nurturing and developing employees. It is not uncommon for Managers to fear losing key talent and inadvertently block internal mobility.
Encourage everyone involved in the hiring process to consider internal candidates for roles and review your process for internal advertising and posting. Having a policy outlining the business purpose and supporting culture in place that promotes internal movement is key.
Use the right technology to help support and manage the process and create efficiencies. Ensure your Applicant Tracking System has the right capability to support internal recruitment. Advertising your job openings internally before going external should become standard practice.
Consider setting goals for internal mobility, or if you have this already in place, then review goals against performance. Set up reporting for an ‘at a glance’ view of achievement v plan by department/role type, so you are alerted to what has been achieved and what needs to be done.
Sure, internal mobility can leave a gap for the position you are filing, and that is where talent CRM is essential in ‘back-filing’ roles. Having pools and pipelines of passive candidates who you regularly engage with will provide a target list of pre-screened, engaged candidates ready for your approach. There is more on this topic in a recent blog – just add talent, a simple formula.
Hopefully, this gives you a brief introduction to internal mobility and the benefits it can bring to recruiting in a skills-shortage market, effective talent management and succession planning. You can read more about facilitating a robust internal mobility policy, common challenges and managing talent from role to role in our free whitepaper.
Mel