There is absolutely no doubt, it is not only hard to find quality talent in 2021, but retaining talent is also proving a challenge.

You only need to speak to any hiring manager, HR professional, recruiter or anyone looking to engage and retain talent, to know it is tough.

Job ads are underperforming – the lowest they have in 23 years. Counteroffers are everywhere. Salary discussions are becoming harder. Values based organisations with diverse workforces and cultures, and real leadership opportunities are holding more importance than before.  Retention challenges are real.

I do not have a crystal ball to predict the future, however I don’t see this changing anytime soon.

So is internal mobility a possible solution in assisting organisations fight this talent shortage and retention challenges? It can certainly help.

What is internal mobility and why is it important?

Internal mobility is the movement of employees across different roles in an organisation. It might be a promotion, a secondment or resources allocated to a project and is an essential part of any recruitment and talent management process. It is important as it can stop employees from seeking alternate employment outside the organisation. Who wants to invest in an employee only to lose them because they couldn’t offer them other opportunities?

What are the benefits of internal mobility?

  • Increases your level of employee engagement. By offering internal promotions or further leadership and development opportunities, the more likely the employee will stay invested and engaged in their role and in the organisation
  • Increases your employee retention rate. It gives an employee a reason to not look for new opportunities elsewhere
  • Helps with plugging skills gaps without having to look externally and boosts organisational agility. It can help you identify skills you might already have in the team/organisation that a manager or HR department don’t know about
  • Reduces your talent acquisition and recruitment costs and is a powerful attraction tool to source top notch candidates. Internal mobility and career progression is highly attractive to the outside market
  • Gives your employees an opportunity to develop new skills and learn. Cross training and cross collaboration is extremely important to a lot of employees. It can encourage team members to share new ideas and can spark innovation

What should organisations and managers do to get internal mobility right?

  • Spend time on succession planning
  • Identify talent early and invest in them from day one
  • Assess the skills you have in the team and across the organisation. Using a tool like psychometric or skills-based assessments can also help you identify who internally might be a good candidate for future opportunities
  • Invest in leadership and development programs including mentorship programs
  • Promote a culture of internal mobility across the business and communicate clearly how the program works
  • Have a structured internal recruitment process in place
  • Have an internal intranet or communication platform to promote current vacancies or upcoming opportunities for employees and stay connected with them

Having a culture of internal mobility is almost crucial to an organisation’s success.

Don’t have an internal mobility program or process in place?

  • Reach out and we can assist.
MIKAHLA SMITH
Executive Consultant – Group Solutions

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