Joining a job for life is a relic of a bygone era. Starting in a company and sticking to it for the most part of life was common for workers in the 20th century. The idea doesn’t ring a bell for job-hopping millennials of the 21st century. The proportion of people voluntarily leaving their jobs is at an all-time high. A large part of the problem lies in dead-end jobs and lack of motivation at workplace. A recent infographic released by the Talent Management Institute (TMI) on — How Talent Managers Can Promote Internal Mobility — illustrates that in the past 18 years, as unemployment has fallen, voluntary turnover has risen. Talent retention has never posed a bigger challenge for HR professionals.
It’s no secret that finding right people is an evergreen struggle for companies worldwide. This begets a reflection — is the talent management industry overlooking the potential of in-house talent?
It’s not uncommon for organizations to be unaware of the full potential of their existing employees. As per old HR practices, companies generally look outwards for the best candidate for a position, and remain elusive of their greatest source of talent- themselves.
A culture of internal mobility can help organizations and HR professionals meet the challenges of skill shortages and increased attrition rates, heads on. Internal mobility is not only a means to retain talent, but also a way to prepare next-generation leaders and foster a sense of belongingness and purpose in existing employees. So, what is internal mobility?
Internal Mobility – A must-have strategy
Deloitte defines internal mobility as a dynamic internal process to move talent from role to role– at the leadership, professional and operational levels. It involves repurposing an employee within an organization in different roles through promotion, transfer or demotion.
A watertight talent management strategy for internal mobility can reshape your brand and work culture, motivate existing employees to up skill and reskill, create a future proof workforce, cut costs to the company in new hiring, streamline prevailing processes and most importantly, make you a magnet for attracting highly self-driven talent from the market.
The grass is greener on the outside
More than half of the C-Suite HR professionals said that employees find it easier to get new growth opportunities outside than inside. Among those surveyed, only 20% feels that it is easier to find a new job in the current organization and a striking 37% says it is easier to find a new job in different organization. The reason is the negligence of organizations and global talent managers for internal mobility.
IBM survey shows that while 79% of HR professionals admit that internal mobility is important to their talent management strategy, only 53% of them take it seriously enough to consider it critical.
Getting started
Internal mobility is the secret sauce to surviving new-age talent challenges. Global talent managers should keep the following tips in mind for a sound internal mobility strategy.
- Don’t just focus on high performers. Identifying low performers and finding a right-fit for their potential should form a crucial part of internal mobility strategy. This is not only a chance to encourage the rising stars but also to optimize the talent management processes.
- Educate and empower your mangers through talent management strategy certification programs. Certifications will act as third-party validation of managers’ knowledge and keep them updated with current industry trends, the benefits of which will trickle down to the lowest level employee.
- Develop learning resources to provide employees with tools and resources to learn new skills and climb up the ladder.
- Internal mobility is a continuously evolving process. Make it a part of your culture.
- Utilize the right technology to help. This is one of the biggest reasons for the failure of internal mobility strategy, especially in large organizations. Coordination and keeping a track of employees becomes next to impossible without proper communication channels and automated processes.