Internal Recruitment

Finding great candidates can be a challenge for many businesses. Employers usually rely on external recruitment to make a meaningful contribution to their growth. But these days, more businesses are embracing internal recruitment to fill open positions.

Many of your employees are qualified for different roles and are excited to face new challenges. Elevating employees to a higher position in your business through internal recruitment can benefit employees and your business. You'll save time and money typically spent on external recruitment and empower employees to develop their careers.

In this guide we'll discuss what internal recruitment is, the benefits it brings, and the different methods you can use in your company.

What is internal recruitment?

Internal recruitment involves hiring for an open role in your business from your existing pool of employees. It can include finding employees for new or existing positions from a different team or department. If they have the right skills, they can be moved into the new role.

It's a great way to fill roles fast, especially as the recruitment landscape unstable. It's also helpful for filling positions where the candidate needs to have extensive knowledge of the business.

What is the difference between internal and external recruiting?

As mentioned, internal recruitment involves sourcing candidates from your existing employees. External recruitment, on the other hand, involves sourcing candidates for an open position from outside your business. With external recruitment, you may use channels such as recruiting agencies, job boards or open advertisements to find potential candidates.

What are some advantages of internal recruitment?

There are many advantages of internal recruitment in today's business landscape. Some of the main advantages of internal recruitment include:

1. Lower costs

It'll cost your business less to hire internally for several reasons. You won't need to train existing employees since they already know how your business works. Even if they need to learn some new processes, it’ll still cost less than training a new hire.

Internal recruitment also helps reduce the costs associated with a bad hire. You already know the employee and their capabilities, so there's less associated risk. You'll also save the costs of advertising on job boards and running background checks.

2. Boosts retention and employee morale

When employees are dissatisfied with their jobs they are likely to quit. There are many potential reasons for this. But one of the key drivers of low employee morale is feeling that their employer doesn't care about their career growth.

Employees with no loyalty are bad for your business and exits can cause dips in productivity and disrupt business activities. When there's room for promotion and growth, employees are more engaged and less likely to leave.

Employees continuously leaving your business could also be a sign that you're doing something wrong.

Internal recruitment encourages growth and matches employees with roles that fit their skills and interests, assuring them you care about their development. This makes them less likely to leave.

3. Internal recruitment saves time

You already have your employee's information and know how they work. Meaning there will be no need to spend much time sifting through resumes to find the right candidate.

External recruitment involves a lot of searching and looking through job boards and recruitment sites. This can be wasted time if you fail to find the right candidate.

But with internal recruitment, you can make a simple post or announcement in a few minutes through internal communication channels. You'll also spend less time running multiple interviews and other time-consuming tasks associated with hiring.

The chosen employee also won't waste time learning about your business. They’ll already have a solid understanding of its values, processes, and systems.

4. Existing cultural fit

A candidate who's the right cultural fit is important for your business's success. If you hire internally, there will be less friction and surprises in store. You already know the existing employees' approach to work and how they get along with other staff.

These employees already understand and likely accept your business’s culture. Meaning you’ll worry less about whether the candidate is the right fit for your business.

What are some disadvantages of internal recruitment?

A few disadvantages of internal recruitment include.

1. Possible resentment and jealousy

More than one of your existing staff may likely apply for the same open position. This may create some feelings of resentment toward the employee who is eventually chosen for the role. In some rare cases, team leaders may be reluctant to lose good team members and try to interfere with the promotion.

2. Opens up new gaps

Promoting or transferring an employee through internal recruitment will mean you’ll need to fill the vacant position. This role can be eliminated to close the gap. But if it's vital, you will still have to go through the hiring process to fill the position.

This may mean you'll have to hire externally, promote to fill the role, or convert a part-time staff to full-time. Leaving the gap open may disrupt business operations until you can find a suitable candidate.

What are some of the most common internal recruitment methods?

A few of the most successful internal recruitment methods include:

• Transfers—With transfers, there is usually no change in responsibilities or pay. It may just be a change from one team to another. Transfers may also involve moving an employee from one location to another.

• Promotions—Promotions are one of the most popular and common forms of internal recruitment. This is where an employee takes on a higher position with more pay and responsibilities.

• Referrals—Employees are hired based on referrals from other employees, team leads or supervisors. Employers usually offer bonuses for successful referrals, making them popular among employees.

• Part-time to full-time—Temporary or part-time staff being converted to full-time staff is also a popular internal recruitment method. It's a great way to get people whose work ethic, skills, and abilities you're already familiar with into the business.

Conducting internal recruitment successfully with BrightHR

Internal recruitment can be great for your business when done the right way. It helps keep employees engaged and excited to grow within the business. When employees know there's room for career growth, they're less likely to leave your business. It also helps employers save time and money associated with external recruitment.

Our HR experts are just a call away if you need help managing the internal recruitment process. We provide advice and guidance on internal recruitment best practices, so you match your best employees to the right roles.

Contact us on 1 888 220 4924 or book a demo today.