Head of Talent Acquisition & Founder of Maverick Otter | LinkedIn Top Voice - Job Search & Careers Advice | RL100 Member | Thought Leader | DE&I Advocate | GenAI Enthusiast | Guest Speaker | Panelist
Internal Mobility vs External Hiring - Morals & Ethics I’m a massive fan of internal mobility myself, my last team 1/3 of them were made up of internal hires, and I feel it’s an untapped resource within many businesses that isn’t being utilised. Companies have the chance to retain top talent and further their careers by offering progression within the business. Take a look at the Pret A Manger CEO Pano Christou, his career tapestry is a fine example of this. But, I still feel companies need to be mindful when hiring of how they navigate the complexities of managing expectations of external candidates and employees. Considerations; 🩷 Release the role internally first, giving people within the business first refusal to apply. ❤️ Be sure to advertise the role effectively and promote it across all channels. 🧡 Make sure there’s no internal employees in the process still live when you go to market. 💛 Rejected internal employees, establish a career pathway to help them secure the role next time 💚When going to market externally you need to be mindful of how you communicate to candidates IF there’s employees in the process. There’s the fear of favouritism/bias that often puts people off. 🩵 Treat all employees and candidates the same and put them through identical hiring steps 💙 Be mindful when communicating feedback to external candidates, any mention of moving forward with internals is often met with “why are you looking externally if you’ve got good internals in play” 💜 Think, if you’ve got a strong employee in play will it damage your reputation and brand by going to market for a role that was always looking to go internal from the start. 🖤 Don’t DON’T DoN’t go to market just to see what the market is like, when all along you were going to hire someone internally. It’s immoral and a waste of a lot of people’s time. I’ve witnessed it a few times in the hiring process over the last few months and it does hurt when you hear that! And I know others have experienced it too. Just be mindful of the candidate experience you’re presenting and don’t let that diminish in favour of employee relations.
Conflicted on this one Dominic "Make sure there’s no internal employees in the process still live when you go to market" In order to get the absolute best would you not still have externals and internals compete? (this is different from the internal being a shoe in and the role gets advertised regardless). I have worked with organisations who ensure the internal process is as good as it can be and the internal applicants are assessed along with the external pool - most suitable for the role gets the job. I have provided feedback to unsuccessful internal candidates and worked with them to ensure they gain the skill/knowledge required to move up the ladder. If you only ever promote from within surely you are diluting you skill pool?
Couldn't agree more Dominic, developing candidate from within the company first helps to reduce time to hire - but more importantly promotes development and growth from within. This is always key to keeping and retaining employees in any company. Going external isn't always the best place to find talent. Succession planning is another tool that is highly under utilised in vast majority of companies.
Dominic Joyce if only this was how ALL companies thought and practised recruitment! The world would be a much better place!! I'm also a huge fan of internal mobility despite being an agency recruiter. Unless that is - we are brought in under false pretences - see the 🖤. It sadly happened to us a couple of times in the past year despite our best efforts to protect us and our candidates against it! Very poor practice!
That last point is spot on. I’m never a fan of “testing the market” when you already have a clear idea of who’s going to fill that role.
100%. I’ve lost jobs to internal candidates. I’ve also got a job over external candidates. There was a legal issue to advertise it externally but they wasted 3 people’s time.
This is one of my bug bears. Why go external when you have someone that ticks the boxes you need, and interviews well? So much time and effort is wasted by companies looking for their unicorn candidate. But it also wastes candidates’ time and money and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
This part right here is so important: "establish a career pathway to help them secure the role next time". If an internal candidate isn't successful because they aren't ready yet or are missing something, work with them on building towards that goal and give them the path to succeed! Fastest way to retain great talent!
Hi Dominic, your thoughts on internal mobility versus external hiring are insightful. Balancing fairness and transparency can boost employee satisfaction and engage external candidates effectively.
Recruitment Turnaround Expert @ Ravello HR Ltd | Non- exec HR Director @ Shoorah | Board Advisor @ M&A Group| Founder @ The Agency Academy
1wAnd if you've got a well designed succession plan you will know who is ready internally before even needing to go to market 😁