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In November 2023, we were lucky to attend In-House Recruitment’s Bristol Live event. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know so many brilliant TA...
Amidst a changing economic background, the recruitment industry has seen changing priorities from candidates and changing needs from employers. From low unemployment rates to growing skills shortages, finding external talent is becoming increasingly challenging.
Internal mobility isn’t just a matter of necessity. It’s your opportunity to truly facilitate growth while maintaining the integrity of your organisational culture. Whether you’re growing at home or taking it global, facilitating mobility across your business boosts idea sharing and embeds a culture of collaboration throughout your teams and functions.
What’s more, establishing a line of sight for personal and professional development could help cement commitment from your current employees.
In a recent study by Workplace Intelligence, 2 out of 3 employees said that it was somewhat or extremely likely that they would leave their current employer due to a lack of opportunity for skills development, career advancement, or, crucially, the potential to transition to a new role or career path. It perhaps doesn’t come as a surprise that a high proportion of those likely to move on fall into the millennial and Gen Z age range, which makes the subject of internal development and mobility ever more relevant as the latter begins to make up an increasing part of the workforce.
So, what does internal mobility look like?
One of the challenges of a traditionally structured workplace is that the natural upward flow, from least senior to most senior, is synonymous with growth in hierarchical contexts. That’s one form of mobility that employers and candidates alike are familiar with and that remains on the radar for both.
That being said, new roles and even interdepartmental moves could be key to meeting the increasing value placed on opening new career paths.
In doing so, you’ll be acknowledging the abilities of that employee and demonstrating that you’re willing to seriously invest in their future. It’s an approach that can really pay off in the long run: a recent report by LinkedIn found that employees at organisations with strong internal mobility rates stayed with the company an average of 60% longer. You’ll also be investing in your future as a business by nurturing a diversity of perspectives as you grow, unleashing opportunities for innovation, and ultimately building your resilience.
An added bonus? You’ll also be cutting both time and cost to hire.
Another thing worth considering is mentoring. Just like transfers, mentoring is a fantastic way to share the top notch knowledge already present in your organisation. It’s also a particularly powerful way to create those all-important lines of sight for your employees. Perhaps it’s someone who’s been where they are. Perhaps it’s someone who has taken a different towards the same ambitions. Perhaps it’s someone who has already established the skills they themselves want to develop. Mentoring highlights the pathways available, builds internal relationships and sparks thoughts about long-term commitment. Crucially, it truly lays the ground for future conversation and collaboration.
How you can make internal mobility happen
There’s so much potential, but to achieve those results, opportunities must be visible to all employees. In much the same way that proactively building an external talent community keeps the best candidates in the loop, having a clear mobility strategy in place will help you build a thriving internal talent pool.
Wondering where to start? Here’s a few key questions to consider before putting together that strategy:
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What are your internal mobility goals?
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How do you measure those goals?
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Are managers clued into your internal mobility goals? Do they know what skills to look for?
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Are you providing employees with the opportunity to upskill? What development resources are available?
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How visible are the opportunities available? Can all employees access them?
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Do you proactively discuss career paths and ambitions with your employees? How can you support those ambitions?
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Are you effectively utilising your technology to improve ease of access?
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Can you validate your internal mobility strategy to your stakeholders?
Once you’ve got the background, you can begin to craft a clear strategy tailored to the unique needs of your organisation and its people.
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