Many companies take advantage of the pool of talent they already have when attempting to fill vacancies. This can be a great strategy for both business success and employee morale. When workers know their effort may be recognized with a promotion to the upper echelons of a business, they feel that there is room to advance – an important component in feelings of engagement. Talent management professionals have the advantage of being able to get to know possible future executives and managers over time, while they are working in other positions at the company. It’s possible to identify people who may step in to fill other roles in the company early on in their tenure, and provide appropriate learning resources for industry training that fits their possible future position. This creates a long relationship that simply can’t form between recruiters and external candidates. However, there are ways to make internal recruitment better – and tactics that make it less effective, too.
Here are some strategies to take internal recruitment to the next level in any company:
Start Planning Early
Internal recruitment doesn’t have to be limited to a post on the company intranet or a half-sheet on a bulletin board advertising an open position. Rather, it should be a long process that starts as early as possible. If talent management professionals at an organization are aware of a manager’s plans to leave or retire, they should begin to comb their staff for possible successors as soon as possible. Succession planning can be a very detailed process when recruiting is internal. Indeed, internal candidates can shadow exiting colleagues and even receive some training and mentorship from those they will eventually replace. Without an early start to the planning process, this isn’t a feasible way to conduct succession planning. Talent management professionals lose the opportunity to plan the smoothest transition possible when they delay their search for a successor. While this applies to both internal and external recruitment, it’s very important for internal recruitment, as the opportunities lost are often more extensive.
Invest Wisely in Development
According to RecruitLoop, the average organization will spend more than $1,000 a year on training each of its employees. Spending this money wisely is important in internal recruitment efforts. Grooming employees to fit a position that is likely to be open in the future involves plenty of training, but it’s important to think laterally as well. Paying to send promising employees to conferences and tradeshows can be a good investment, for example. The more an employee knows about his or her field, the easier it will be for talent acquisition staff to see clearly whether he or she has a promising future within the company.
Internal recruitment can ultimately save a company money on training and development, as many of the basic skills and competencies required of an employee won’t change from one position to the next. This means companies can afford to do more intense professional development with internal candidates than would be feasible with external recruits who need to be brought up to speed on the company itself.
Author: Joseph J. Azzata: Founder of eCareer Connections, Inc. He is a leader in the healthcare staffing industry with a focus on web-based and automated recruiting processes.
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