“The department that I was in did not acknowledge the skill sets of the employees there. They could go out and hire a senior analyst instead of promoting from within. There are employees who have advanced degrees and who have been in management that never got promoted. It would increase the morale of the employees if the company would start to promote from within.” – Actual comment from employee exiting a company

When companies have open positions available, why do they hire from outside rather than promote from within? Many believe that an external hire is easier, or may provide the company with a new perspective. While that may hold true in some cases, more often than not, it is because the current internal systems aren’t working or, quite possibly, those in charge are unaware of the existing skills in current employees. Promoting from within helps boost morale as it shows you are aware of the hard work employees are putting in and want to help them succeed with your company.

Why Internal Promotion is Ideal

Promoting current employees first and foremost shows that you recognize the dedication and work they have been investing while working with your business. Simply showing that you believe in your own team by providing them with opportunities encourages them to continue working hard for your company and makes them your biggest advocate. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, described how bringing in an external hire can make current employees feel during an interview with Stephen Dubner on a Freakonomics radio series “Secret Life of CEOs”:

“We’d like to promote from within, because I think there’s nothing more discouraging for, say, a thousand people who work in a company for a so-called expert to be brought in from outside. Generally, if you can’t find a good C.E.O. within a thousand people in a company, there’s something wrong in the first place.”

Not only is this good for employees, but hiring from within also provides benefits for you and your company. An internal promotion allows you to hire someone into a position who already is familiar with your company’s day-to-day routine, culture, and more, so while they may need to be trained on some tasks, you won’t need to start completely from scratch.

Long-term, promoting from within provides many advantages for employers and employees:

• When employees see there are opportunities for career advancement, they are more likely to stay.
• Filling positions internally fosters a deep sense of loyalty and stability among employees.
• Internal opportunities give employees an incentive to improve their existing skillset and acquire new skills.
• Newly promoted staff can assist in training their replacements.
• Being known as an employer who offers opportunities for career advancement is attractive to prospective external candidates.
• Existing employees already fit within the company culture.

Facilitating an Internal Career Advancement Program

Does your business currently have a clearly defined internal job bidding policy? Communicating the internal job bidding process will help increase the internal candidate pool and encourage promotions from within the organization while minimizing the potential for misunderstandings. Will you be considering qualifications, performance reviews, competencies, and more during the selection process? How long will the jobs be posted? Will the company recruit internally and externally simultaneously? How long do employees have to be in their current positions before being eligible to apply for another job? All of these questions should be answered as part of an internal career advancement program.

Equally important to the internal job bidding process is having an updated internal talent inventory. A compilation of the skills, education, and experiences of current employees will help guide workforce planning. Knowing what the position requirements are along with the internal capabilities that exist, will help increase the speed with which positions are filled, reduce the cost of recruiting, decrease employee onboarding and training time, and increase productivity and company morale.

Retaining Your Talent

A recent Nexxt survey found that 78% of people plan on looking for a new job in 2019, so it is vital to ensure your employees are happy and feel engaged with the company. What are you doing to motivate your employees to stay? Regular communication with your employees and allowing for honest feedback from them lets them know how valued they are and that their opinions matter. Gain a better, more comprehensive understanding of your organization’s effectiveness by utilizing an employee engagement survey, such as SurveyRight®.

Stay interviews help you strengthen your overall employee retention plan, whether it is needed in a particular department or across the entire organization. Whenever an employee chooses to leave, be sure to utilize an exit interview, such as the ExitRight®, which presents you with turnover benchmarks and provides quick turnaround on the feedback received, allowing you to take action sooner.

The best part is, all of this information is gained anonymously, so employees are more apt to provide honest feedback without fear of retribution. And since it is outsourced by HSD Metrics, all of the data is compiled and organized for you, making your action process simple and efficient.

For more information about how we can help you measure employee perceptions through organizational surveys, contact us today to schedule a demo.