Replacing an employee is an expensive endeavor. According to Gallup, up to 150% of an employee’s salary can be spent on turnover costs. If you have an employee who just isn’t the right fit in their role, you can still retain talent through internal mobility – saving money and salvaging the relationship with the employee. Creating internal mobility pathways is also important beyond lateral moves for mentorship and promotions to create long-term retention strategies.
The Benefits of Internal Mobility
Cultivating internal mobility isn’t just good for your employees; it’s also good for your company as a whole. Your recruitment costs will go down because internal positions fill at a faster rate than an external hire. Cornerstone On Demand also notes that you can easily obtain references because you all work at the same company.
When you promote and hire from within, it encourages loyalty from the employees that are being hired, but also from the other employees that witness the mobility. Employees see hard work and skills being rewarded within the company, building their own feelings of loyalty within the company. SHRM notes that when an employee feels a sense of control over their future, they feel more engaged in their job, and are likely to stay at their job longer and remain engaged.
Engagement is key in retainment. Gallup found that 64% of Millenials that feel engaged in their jobs are unwilling to switch to a different job. Providing employees with internal mobility opportunities keeps them feeling engaged and will keep them interested in staying with your company.
Create a Culture that Values Mobility
The first step to retaining talent through internal mobility is to create a company culture that values mobility. Culture starts from the top of the company, so work with upper management to create values and messaging that emphasizes internal mobility and place people first within your company.
Ensure that your recruitment process prioritizes internal mobility by creating a workflow that includes a step to review internal applications prior to external applicants—post job advertisements on internal channels before posting them to an external network to allow for internal mobility. Keep DEI initiatives in mind while conducting recruiting both internally and externally. Don’t discount a lateral move internally, particularly if it gives an employee a chance to broaden their skill set or enhance their interests, advises HR Daily Advisor.
Retain Talent through Mentorship, Training, and Job Shadowing
Provide mobility opportunities by creating training and mentorship programs. Create management pathways for employees interested in upward mobility. Devise cross-department training programs for employees that would like to expand their skill sets. Think creatively – provide options for a variety of interests. Your customer service representatives may be interested in accounting training. Or, a warehouse employee may be interested in a marketing mentor. Provide a variety of mentorship and training opportunities across various departments so that employees may take a wide array of lateral and upward mobility tracks. Job shadowing is another option to allow employees to explore their career interests while providing internal mobility opportunities. You can also provide classes and courses to help develop an agile workforce that is adaptable to various roles.
Get a PIC of Their Skills for the Right Fit
Determining where to place an employee within your company necessitates getting to know that employee beyond their experience and skills so that you understand their true potential. Have your employee take our assessment and then purchase our PIC report. You’ll receive a comprehensive look at that individual’s performance style, interpersonal style, and the challenges that they encounter at work. The Job Suitability section gives you insights into what roles in your company they’re best suited to fill. You also receive position benchmarks that illustrate how well the employee will fit within a specific job description. You can even utilize our Team Room on our Web or Mobile app to see how your employee will fit in with a current team.
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