What Is Internal Mobility and Why Is It Important for HRM?

As employee expectations continue to change, internal mobility becomes essential for an effective talent retention strategy. Discover how to facilitate talent mobility within your organization.

Internal Mobility is a crucial component of the organization's HRM framework.

"Internal Mobility Propels Organization Growth"

What Is Internal Mobility?

Internal mobility refers to the transfer or movement of employees within a company to explore new career and development prospects. Often called talent mobility or career mobility, it entails transitioning an employee to a different internal position, either upward or sideways. This shift can be permanent, such as with a promotion, or temporary, like with a gig or sprint project.

Internal mobility allows recruitment teams to identify the ideal candidate for a position from within the company. It also enhances employee development, allowing staff to progress in their careers, acquire new skills, and explore new opportunities. By promoting internal movement, businesses boost employee engagement and reduce employee turnover. Although external hiring will always have its place, prioritizing internal recruitment fosters a more content and robust organization.

Internal mobility offers considerable benefits for any business, including savings in time and money on hiring externally, improved employee retention rates, and greater diversity and innovation in the workplace.

What Types of Internal Mobility Exist?

Most readers of this article have probably experienced a promotion, but that's just one form of internal mobility. Career paths, which used to be straightforward, are now frequently more dynamic, encompassing various roles and levels of responsibility. Here are the most common types of mobility.

Role-to-Role Mobility

Traditionally, career advancement discussions emphasize upward mobility, which entails increased responsibility and compensation. However, a significant number of employees are interested in lateral moves, maintaining a comparable salary and job level, to utilize untapped skills, engage with new colleagues, and explore alternative career opportunities.

"Internal mobility is not just increasing the number of recs that are filled with internal talent.” " – – Zohra Yafai.

Project-Based Mobility

Project-based mobility involves temporarily shifting an employee's role to contribute to a cross-functional project aimed at achieving a specific goal. This strategy unites diverse expertise, allowing employees to explore new skills and collaborate with different colleagues, thereby enriching their overall experience.

Geographical Mobility

Geographical Mobility or Transfers involve relocating an employee while keeping a similar position, which can be either permanent or short-term for project support. They offer job security during moves and help supervisors maintain balanced teams across different locations.

Upward Mobility

Upward mobility, or a promotion, is when an employee moves to a higher position within their department, acknowledging their high performance and adding new responsibilities. It demonstrates that good work is rewarded, which boosts employee satisfaction.

Examples of Internal Mobility

Promotions: Internal mobility, centered on an employee's ability to climb the company ladder, remains a core progression metric. While exploring other mobility opportunities is important, businesses continue to rely on this traditional measure for advancement.
Intradepartmental transfers: An employee's movement to a different role within the same department is typically aimed at providing exposure to various aspects of the department or offering career development opportunities.
Interdepartmental transfers: An employee may be moved to a different department, often to a similar role, to address a skills gap within a team or as part of a broader corporate restructure.
Job swaps: When employees temporarily swap roles, it can be an integral part of a talent strategy or a standalone exchange. This approach aims to deepen employees' understanding of their colleagues' roles and the overall business operations.
New roles: The chance for new opportunities for career mobility. While recruiting teams may consider outside talent, it’s important to also look internally. This is where having a talent marketplace adds major value.
Mentorships: Mentorship provides employees the chance to learn from more experienced colleagues, often senior staff, who can offer insights into the business. This guidance helps prepare employees for promotions and enhances their skills.
Gigs and sprint projects: Short-term projects and part-time assignments that enable employees to work cross-functionally. By enabling employees to accept sprints or gigs with a degree of flexibility, companies can respond to emerging business needs quickly.
Supplementary projects: Employees may be tasked with additional projects beyond their regular duties to cover for absent colleagues or to develop skills for potential promotions.

Why Internal Mobility Is Important?

Internal mobility can enhance employee satisfaction, retention, productivity, and engagement; lower hiring time and costs; and cultivate high-potential employees with a focus on leadership succession planning. As the workforce becomes younger and seeks diverse opportunities, it is becoming increasingly important.

Here are a few data-backed reasons why internal mobility should be a priority at your organization:

Internal mobility is a top priority for the next generation of workers

The Workplace Learning Report indicates that for professionals aged 18 to 34, the two main priorities when evaluating a new job are "career growth opportunities within the company" and "chances to learn and acquire new skills."

Gen Z is 47% more inclined than Gen X to emphasize opportunities for advancement within their companies and 45% more inclined to focus on chances to acquire new skills. Indeed, over one-third (35%) of professionals aged 18 to 34 ranked "opportunities for career growth within the company" as their top priority when considering new job offers.

Internal mobility increases employee retention

Ninety-three percent of organizations are concerned about retaining their employees this year. Data also shows that providing employees with internal mobility opportunities is one of the best ways to keep them around. Consider the following:

Employees who made an internal move within their organization have a 75% chance of remaining at that company after two years of employment.
Employees who did not make any internal moves only had a 56% chance of staying put after two years.
Employees who work at companies with high internal mobility rates end up staying with that organization an average of 60% longer.

Retaining talent saves money

Studies show that only 20% of employees feel they have suitable conditions for career advancement within their current organization. The remaining 80% are likely to leave their organization soon, resulting in vacancies that will need to be filled.

Recruiting external candidates for these positions typically takes one to three months and costs six to nine months' salary to hire and train new salaried employees, making external hiring a significant investment of time and resources.

Filling positions internally can reduce hiring costs by nearly 20%. This is especially crucial in 2023, as 53% of in-house recruiting professionals anticipate that their recruiting budget will remain the same or decrease this year.

Internal mobility incentivizes learning

Worldwide, the primary reason employees engage in on-the-job learning is to advance their personal career objectives. By providing a clear pathway for employees to secure promotions or new positions within your company, you will encourage them to fully utilize the learning opportunities available.

How to Begin Internal Mobility at Your Company

Research showed that 58% of internal candidates underwent the same process as external applicants. Employers should view internal candidates as they truly are: current team members who grasp the company's workings, have built internal networks, and are already adding value to the business.

Ninety-five percent of companies surveyed by Aptitude Research prioritize skills over job titles when promoting employees. To enhance internal mobility, businesses should focus on acquiring and storing skills information. A talent marketplace benefits both employees and leaders by providing a comprehensive view of workforce capabilities and offering employees clear career advancement paths.

A talent marketplace helps organizations put skills in the context of solving challenges:

What employees do you currently have in the workforce?
How do you make talent planning decisions?
What skills gaps currently exist?

Establishing a strong skills foundation positions your business to effectively address challenges. By prioritizing employees in new opportunities, you ensure they are optimally placed to drive your company toward greater success.

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Internal mobility is key to unlocking your workforce's potential. By offering employees opportunities to move within the company, you gain significant business advantages such as improved employee retention, enhanced innovation, closing skills gaps, and ultimately elevating organizational performance.

At the core of RUSA Analytics designed with artificial intelligence and machine learning at its core, enabling organizations to categorize skills, identify skills gaps, and make data-driven decisions.