July 15, 2024
How TA Leaders Are Prioritizing Internal Mobility in 2024
With hiring slowing and retention flagging, many companies are looking inward for talent, and internal mobility is becoming a strategic priority for Talent Acquisition (TA) leaders. Our data reveals that 69% of companies expect to increase their focus on internal mobility in 2024. This trend highlights the value of internal mobility in enhancing employee engagement, retention, and overall organizational performance.
Key Goals of Internal Mobility Hiring Strategies for 2024
Based on our survey of 219 companies, the main goals of internal mobility hiring strategies in 2024 include:
1. Retaining Talent
Retention remains a top priority. Offering growth and development opportunities within the organization helps retain valuable employees who might otherwise seek opportunities elsewhere.
2. Strengthening Professional Development
Organizations are increasingly focusing on professional development, helping employees build their skills and advance their careers internally.
3. Upskilling or Reskilling Employees
With the rapid pace of technological and industry changes, upskilling and reskilling employees is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge.
5 Best Practices for an Effective Internal Mobility Program
To successfully implement and execute internal mobility strategies, TA leaders can follow these best practices:
1. Communicate Internal Mobility Opportunities Proactively
A key challenge for many Internal Mobility programs is building awareness. Half of current employees say that they aren’t aware of internal opportunities within the firm, and entry level talent are even more likely to be in the dark. As a first step, Talent Acquisition teams need to over-communicate opportunities for Internal Mobility.
2. Get Manager Buy-In
Employees rate managers as the most important resource for facilitating Internal Mobility, but for managers, Internal Mobility can feel like giving up talent without any compensatory reward.
Tactics to get managers bought in:
• Make Internal Mobility worthwhile for managers. To bring managers onboard, make Internal Mobility feel like a tradeoff where managers get something valuable for what they’re giving up.
• Hold individual, proactive conversations with managers to surface their specific concerns with Internal Mobility (e.g., lost talent, backfill concerns, time/effort for succession planning, unknowns of bringing in new talent vs. current talent on the team).
• Bring hiring managers detailed plans for how TA will support Internal Mobility.
3. Focus the Narrative on Benefits of Internal Mobility for Employees
Driving employee interest in Internal Mobility hinges on telling a compelling and clear story about the benefits of Internal Mobility and specifically, how Internal Mobility opportunities help move employees forward in their career. Tie Internal Mobility to eventual promotion opportunities or to growing specific skills to underscore the benefits of Internal Mobility for employees; these are the two most important things to employees when it comes to Internal Mobility.
4. Standardize Structure for Internal Recruitment
Most companies house responsibilities for Internal Mobility within TA with recruiters carrying both internal and external requisitions, as opposed to Internal Mobility being owned within Human Resources or Talent Management.
Adopt a 3-pronged approach to sharing Internal Mobility opportunities to drive awareness and applications:
- Share on your internal job board (if available)
- Share in an internal email announcement
- Share with managers, highlighting roles relevant to their department
Consider sharing job openings internally before posting them externally if increasing your internal fill rate is a strategic goal.
5. Standardize Internal Mobility Process
Putting a consistent process in place for Internal Mobility increases efficacy and reduces strain on TA teams.
• Establish criteria for Internal Mobility eligibility – consider employee performance, skills matching, business need, but not employee seniority.
• Internal candidates should be required to submit full application (with current manager approval).
• Skip the recruiter screening interview – internal candidates can move directly to the first interview with the hiring manager.
• Run a tailored onboarding process – to increase time to productivity, skip company-wide sessions and only require internal candidates to attend new departmental and team onboarding sessions.
By prioritizing internal mobility, organizations can not only retain and engage their top talent but also ensure they are well-positioned to adapt to future challenges and opportunities. TA leaders who strategically invest in internal mobility will likely see significant benefits in both employee satisfaction and organizational performance.