Internal mobility is a new strategy some companies are taking advantage of in 2023.
Internal mobility means allowing your workers to move jobs within your organisation. This can be a lateral or vertical transition or even a transfer to another location or onto a temporary project.
The benefits of an internal mobility strategy are manifold.
When you initially take someone on, hiring managers may only observe the skills relating to the particular role in question. However, many employees possess a wealth of additional skills and passions they are not using in their day-to-day roles.
During your recruitment process, you should take into account the additional qualities and talents as an indicator of potential internal moves. You’re also ensuring whoever comes into your team has career agility and can respond to changing demands within the business.
Why include an internal mobility strategy in your business?
This can motivate staff
It’s a known fact that people get bored and desire novelty. If workers are not exposed to new challenges, they can get itchy feet and begin looking for new opportunities at other companies. By allowing colleagues to switch roles or work on different projects for a time, they will be inspired and reinvigorated. With a worldwide engagement rate of just 20%, changing up the teams and work environment is essential.
Encourage retention
When a person gets a chance to change roles, even as a lateral move (working in a similar level position but in a different department and in a new role), it can up their prospects of remaining, with 62% more likely to stay put. In a world with a high staff turnover, creating the space for lateral moves has surely got to be a win.
Gain fresh perspectives
If an employee ends up working in a new department, they can bring fresh perspectives to the team that wouldn’t exist if you only recruited externally for those departmental skills. Someone with finance expertise working in sales, or someone with a design background working with buyers can only benefit the team as a whole.
Save money on hiring
As an employer, you don’t have to go through the motions of advertising your latest role to job boards and pay up to three times the salary of the position in order to secure your next senior management recruit. You can simply pick from your existing talent pool and train them.
They are already working for you, so they understand how your company operates. They are also the best fit for your workplace culture as they have proven themselves in their current role. This minimises the risk of a bad hire in your most senior positions.
Create opportunities for staff development
With workers flexing their ample portfolio of skills company-wide, they will constantly be learning. New hires will see that there is an avenue for them to learn and develop in different areas, so after five or ten years of the same job, if they fancy a change, they can do it right where they already are. This means you should consider implementing training opportunities during work hours to help develop these new skills.
Engender loyalty
When your company culture allows for progression or career pivots, then why would your team look elsewhere? They can become long-term employees without ever getting stuck in a rut. They’ll stay motivated and fresh, which in turn invigorates your workforce as a whole.
Offer an incentive
People get fed up and up and leave if they feel there is no room for advancement. Seeing what’s possible for their colleagues provides an incentive for them to develop new skills and work hard for a promotion that they can see within their reach.
Internal mobility is the way forward for a fresh and reliable workforce that is already operating within your company culture. When we hire for you, we are looking for the best fit for the current role, but also versatile people with skills and talents who can be agile in a changing workforce.