What is internal mobility in HR?
Internal mobility is an HR strategy that gives current employees opportunities to move to new roles or teams within the organisation, either vertically or laterally. These transitions may be permanent or temporary, depending on business needs and employee aspirations. When integrated into your company’s broader talent management framework, internal mobility can reduce the need for external recruitment and boost employee satisfaction and career growth.
Read more: What is lateral hiring?
What internal movements could your employees make?
Internal mobility can take many forms, offering employees a variety of ways to grow and adapt within the organisation. Common examples include:
- Promotion or demotion: moving to a higher-level (or even a lower-level) role based on performance or career goals
- Role change: shifting to a new position in a different line of work or department
- Location transfer: relocating employees to another office or branch of the organisation
- Projects: taking on specific projects in addition to their current role, providing opportunities to gain experience and build new connections
- Temporary secondment: working temporarily in another department to gain skills or support a specific initiative
- Leave coverage: shifting into a higher-level or different role temporarily to cover a colleague on long-term leave, such as parental or sick leave
- Development programmes: participating in job swaps, internships, mentorships, job shadowing or exchange programmes to broaden skills and experience
Advantages of internal mobility
Fostering an environment where internal mobility is encouraged and supported can offer numerous benefits to your company. Let’s explore a few of these:
Saves resources
External recruitment is typically costly and time consuming. By hiring for open positions from within your existing talent pool, you can recruit more efficiently. Giving employees the opportunity to progress upwards typically means that the majority of roles you end up needing to fill externally are entry-level positions, which are typically easier to recruit for.
You know your own people
There’s only so much you can learn about a new candidate through the interview and referencing process. By recruiting internally for higher level roles, you ensure that the employees who fill them already know the internal workings of your company and have a proven track record of success, dedication and teamwork.
Boosts job satisfaction
Investing in your employees’ development and providing them with opportunities for growth can significantly increasejob satisfaction. This can have a positive ripple effect on your entire workforce, whether or not they are interested in changing positions.
Increases employee retention
According to the Office for National Statistics, close to 10% of workers in the UK change jobs every year, on average. Lack of opportunities for progression and being overlooked for promotion are key drivers of employee turnover. Internal mobility initiatives, including lateral moves and retraining opportunities, address these issues by providing employees with pathways to growth, reducing the likelihood of them seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Attracts new talent
Even if your HR team fully embraces internal mobility, external recruitment remains necessary as employees leave the company or retire. By fostering a reputation as an organisation that invests in its workforce and supports career progression, your company becomes more attractive to top talent looking for long-term growth and development.
Creates a highly skilled workforce and fosters innovation
When shifting roles – whether vertically or laterally, permanently or temporarily – employees gain new skills and knowledge and can bring a broad range of experiences to their new roles. This increases the overall skill level of your workforce and fosters innovation by encouraging fresh perspectives and creative problem-solving.
Promotes diversity and inclusion
Internal mobility supports diversity and inclusion by offering growth opportunities to employees from less privileged backgrounds, enabling them to upskill and thrive in a supportive environment. It also encourages employees to break traditional identity barriers, such as gender norms, and pursue roles they might not have otherwise considered.
How to create an internal mobility policy
Promoting internal mobility is an ongoing process, but establishing a formal policy provides your HR team with a structured framework to encourage and manage it effectively. Here’s how you can create an internal mobility policy:
1. Refine your recruitment team
Start by assessing your current HR team and recruitment needs and deciding whether you are ready to launch an internal mobility programme. Consider creating separate teams within the HR department for internal and external recruiting. This may even include a third team focused on developing your existing workforce and creating new opportunities like mentorships, job swaps and additional projects.
2. Implement new training opportunities
During this step, strategise ways to foster a culture of continuous learning through training opportunities. These could range from leadership programmes to courses and workshops. You might also consider the possibility of sponsoring employees who wish to further their education with degrees or diplomas/certifications, enabling them to combine study and work.
3. Decide on types of internal transitions
Review the forms of internal transitions discussed earlier in this article and determine which ones align best with your company’s goals. Options could include promotions, lateral moves, secondments and job swaps.
4. Leverage technology
Use technology to facilitate your internal mobility policy. This may include HR software to advertise new job openings and opportunities internally to enable employees to apply for them directly, or educational software providing training. Internal messaging platforms may also be helpful for encouraging cross-departmental communication and facilitating mentorships.
5. Communicate with your workforce
Managing any kind of change in the workplace, even positive ones like an internal mobility policy, typically requires an effective internal communications strategy. Consider holding an initial meeting to announce your new policy and explain it in-depth to your staff and continue to promote it through more social events that encourage networking – like a social gathering at the office.
6. Bring management and partners on board
While your HR team plays a key role in launching an internal mobility policy, it’s also important to ensure your senior-level employees – like management – and partners are on board. Emphasise the various advantages the policy brings and stay open to receiving feedback and new ideas.
Tips and best practices
Here are some tips and best practices for introducing internal mobility practices at your company and defining your policy:
- Ensure your system is accessible to all employees, regularly updated and promotes equal opportunities.
- Encourage cross-departmental collaboration and communication to make internal transitions easier. Facilitate communication and networking opportunities across teams to make internal transitions smoother and more appealing.
- Align your internal mobility policy with your company’s broader objectives and growth strategy.
- Recognise managers who actively encourage internal mobility and foster a growth-orientated culture.
- Highlight success stories of internal transitions within your workforce or on your social media channels.
- Regularly monitor your internal mobility policy’s effectiveness and seek feedback from employees and your HR team.
Encouraging internal mobility is about more than efficient recruitment – it’s about building a strong, connected workforce who feel motived and fulfilled in their careers. While it takes time to craft, implement and tweak an effective internal mobility policy, the long-term benefits can drive your company’s success and create a thriving organisational culture.
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