Resignations and staff turnover have risen sharply since the pandemic, and companies are actively seeking (and in some sectors struggling) to recruit. Against this backdrop, employees look elsewhere before thinking about changing jobs internally. Why are so few open to internal mobility? And what can HR do to improve internal recruitment processes?
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Are there any advantages for employees in applying internally?
Applying internally is different from applying externally to another company. In-house candidates are familiar with the company's codes and culture, and very often already know colleagues who work in the team or department that interests them. And as far as Human Resources are concerned, you already have a good idea of their skills compared with external candidates...
The benefits of internal recruitment have been documented and known for a long time. In a few words, it's a good way to :
- Developing employees' professional potential
- Developing new skills and versatility
- Develop a sense of belonging to their current company
- Develop their remuneration
So, all advantages? Well, actually, very, very few recruitments come from the internal mobility. In a Gartner study carried out in 2021, only 1 in 3 employees looking for a new job said they had started looking internallywithin the company. Why should we do this?
What are the obstacles that discourage them?
There are many obstacles that discourage employees from applying internally. Here are 4 of them:
Lack of knowledge about open positions
There are two ways of finding out that a job is available: through an effective system of internal advertisements, and through informal communication between colleagues.
But in-house recruitment software that doesn't allow for easy multi-criteria searches or isn't updated in real time is a first obstacle. at a time when job board search engines and social networks such as LinkedIn have set the bar high. This makes it easier to find out about job offers from competing companies than about your own company.
And informal communication between colleagues only gives an advantage to those employees who have developed a network of strong social relationships. This is not the case for everyone. The second barrier is the informational and social silo, where employees have a limited view of their development possibilities.particularly when a new position is created.
It's easy to see why, according to the same Gartner study, only half of applicants are aware of the jobs available in-house.
The limiting beliefs that lead to giving up
Even when employees are aware of an internal vacancy, they may say to themselves that there's no point in applying if they believe that someone else is better placed than they are to respond. Whether it's true or false, the problem is believing it and giving up. An external candidate who, by default, has all the expected skills and much more, another internal candidate imagined as being "sponsored" by a decision-maker, a position perceived as being reserved for those who have been labelled "high potential"... you don't need much more to stop dead in their tracks.
In fact, the Gartner study shows that Of those who concentrated their job search externally, a third did so because they thought it would be easier to develop their career in another company.
Fear of being alone against others
Convincing your manager is not easy if the change is seen as a loss for the team. Not to mention the need for the manager to find someone else (a new recruit?) to replace him, if the transfer is successful.
With the added risk of being seen as dissatisfied simply by expressing an interest in another position.
Gartner shows that 8 out of 10 employees do not feel supported by their managers in their search for an internal position. If managers aren't prepared to support your application, you might as well look elsewhere.
The risk of failure and the effects on internal image
Employees know that just because they are already in the company and have proven themselves in their position, it doesn't mean that they have been asked to join another department or team. And if they apply and are not selected after this job interview, they may fear that their internal image will be tarnished by this rejection, and that their professional credibility and employability will be diminished.
HR, how can you streamline internal recruitment?
So how can you prioritise employee retention by facilitating internal mobility? Here are a few tips for an effective future recruitment campaign.
You can make it easier for potential candidates and suppliers to meet.
Having an internal advertising site is the first step in making information accessible. To go further, you can :
- Develop the site to match the pool of internal candidates with positions based on the skills required. This enables them to identify at a glance their career development opportunities, as well as the skills they need to develop their career plans.
- Giving employees the opportunity to post job vacancies that interest themEven if they are not available at the time. This reduces the risk of them missing out on an opportunity. It also saves time when it comes to checking the suitability of all staff for a given position.
- Set up the site to show which teams are open to observation periods and to share their feedback on the targeted position
You can reassure them about exploring opportunities without risking their job.
When employees are thinking of changing jobs, they need to be able to do so without risking losing their current position. You can do this by offer those who wish to do so the opportunity to explore their strengths, areas of professional interest and potential for development within the company, with coaching-type support.. Bringing out their aspirations beyond their current position, being able to express ideas without being judged and discussing avenues to explore, is a good way for the company to help its employees give new impetus to their career plans. For many employees, exploring new career opportunities within their current company will seem less risky than changing employer and job at the same time.
This type of approach increases internal satisfaction and loyalty to the company, as it shows that exploring other opportunities internally will not jeopardise their current position.
You can strengthen managers' role in supporting internal mobility
Not all managers are prepared to let one of their employees move to another department. The tension between loyalty and betrayal can be strong in this context. That's why the support of the line manager is so important in improving internal mobility.
As a Human Resources department, you can provide managers with better support by clarifying the career plan potential within each team's job description, including lateral moves with similar internal skills. This makes it easier for managers and employees to open up a dialogue, for example during the annual appraisal interview, to understand how employees see themselves if they were to take on a new role within the company.
And for those who have valuable skills for a job but don't know how to communicate them, it's also an opportunity to talk to managers about how to raise awareness of these necessary skills within the company and prepare for a future internal job interview.
These exchanges will give managers more time to prepare for a possible departure/transfer than if employees focus their search solely on external sources.
If a position becomes available or is created internally, should you inform employees or offer them priority?
The French Employment Code does not require you to inform your employees of a new position or a vacancy within the company - with the exception of a few cases:
- Full-time employees who want to switch to part-time work. They have priority for a position in the same professional category or an equivalent position. You must inform them of the positions available.
- Part-time employees who want to move to 24 hours or more, or to full-time work. Here too, they have priority for a position in the same professional category or an equivalent position. You should inform them of any such vacancies.
- Employees who telework and want to return to the same site without teleworking. They have priority, and you must inform them of the positions available.
- You must inform employees on fixed-term or temporary contracts permanent positions to be filled if they so request.
What we need to remember is that the current challenges facing external recruitment processes demonstrate the strategic importance for companies of take a close look at the obstacles to internal mobility. This will help them to compete more effectively in the recruitment market, retain more talented staff and limit the casting errors that are more common when recruiting externally.
