Internal mobility: The key to unlocking employee potential and retention
Post-pandemic, there’s been an increased focus on internal mobility in organizations.
What’s that?
Internal mobility refers to existing employees taking on new roles in the same organization.
This includes a lot more than just promotions, too.
Employees can move vertically and horizontally in an internal mobility program, meaning they may make lateral moves instead of just vertical ones (e.g., promotions).
Currently, 69% of companies plan to engage in internal mobility strategies, which was rare before 2020.
Why has internal mobility become so prevalent?
There are a few reasons why, and they all relate to the current state of the employment landscape.
77% of organizations need help sourcing top talent, and a massive global skills gap exists.
Finding skilled candidates is more complex than ever, so more companies recruit internally.
Internal talent acquisition has many advantages, such as cost savings and better retention rates, so it’s okay.
In this article, I’ll explain why internal mobility matters for the modern workforce and show you how to create an internal mobility strategy—so stay tuned!
What is internal talent mobility?
There’s a bit of confusion surrounding internal mobility and internal hiring, so let’s clarify:
- Internal mobility is the movement of employees to different roles within the same organization. In addition to promotions, internal mobility can also refer to job swaps, demotions (yes, moving down is also an option), job shadowing, mentorships, and project-based mobility.
- Internal hiring refers to considering internal candidates for open positions. It’s different from internal mobility in that internal hiring does not include demotions and job swaps. Instead, internal hiring is all about filling new positions with existing employees. It’s a great way to expand your talent pool beyond external candidates, which have become scarce in recent years.
Internal mobility programs are unique because they let your employees move in whichever direction you please at your organization.
For example, you may notice that two of your employees must be matched in their roles. Let’s say that one of your salespeople is shy and reserved while one of your data entry clerks is an excellent communicator and an outgoing people person.
With an internal mobility strategy, you can do a job swap. The data entry clerk can let their personality shine with the rest of the sales team, while the reserved salesperson can thrive in a behind-the-scenes role like data entry.
Internal mobility also considers unique internal opportunities like mentorships, job shadowing, and project-based roles. This is great for closing skills gaps, which have become much broader in recent years.
Different types of internal mobility
Internal mobility is an umbrella term because there are several distinct types that you can implement at your organization.
The different types of internal mobility include:
- Promotions. The most apparent type of internal mobility, a promotion, occurs whenever an existing employee moves into a higher role at the same organization.
- Transfers. Sometimes, employees need to be more accurate in the initial roles they get hired for, and there are many reasons for this. Regardless, a transfer is an internal move where an employee switches departments to take on a new role that better suits their personality and skills.
- Upward mobility. This refers to an employee’s ability to move up within the organization. If the employer hires from within for promotions, then their employees have upward mobility. It’s different from traditional internal mobility in that it doesn’t include lateral moves, mentorships, or demotions.
- Project-based mobility. This type of mobility is especially effective for A) filling open roles for projects and B) bridging skills gaps. Project-based mobility involves choosing several employees to join a separate team (they could be from different departments) for the duration of a project. This could include a change of location, but it doesn’t have to. Project-based assignments allow your employees to learn new skills and experience different (or adjacent) career paths.
- Mentorships. Internal mobility strongly emphasizes career development and upskilling, and mentorships significantly tick both boxes. They’re also one of the most powerful tools for closing skills gaps, and mentoring can provide new employees with ample growth opportunities.
- Job swaps. Like the example mentioned in the intro, a job swap occurs when two employees switch jobs. Most of the time, this suits each employee’s natural skill set better and ensures high employee satisfaction.
- Succession planning. Like mentorships, succession planning involves making the necessary preparations to ensure a skills gap doesn’t occur whenever a key employee leaves. The process typically involves lots of mentoring and job shadowing so new employees can learn the skills necessary to keep the organization running.
As you can see, there are many ways to use the internal mobility philosophy to invest in your existing employees and fill open positions.
What are the benefits of internal mobility?
Now that you know more about internal mobility, should you spend the time and money to develop a program?
The answer is usually yes, especially if you need help sourcing top talent through external hiring (which most companies are now).
Here’s a look at the top benefits of implementing an internal mobility program.
Benefit #1: Higher levels of employee engagement and satisfaction
A significant benefit of internal mobility is its focus on developing your existing employees.
Besides considering internal candidates for promotions, internal mobility encompasses many techniques geared toward A) enhancing the employee experience and B) bolstering your employees’ skills (and teaching them new ones).
In other words, it’s a people-focused practice that ensures every employee is genuinely in the proper role for their core competencies.
Accordingly, your employees will boast higher engagement and satisfaction with their work.
Remember the example in the intro where the salesperson and the data entry clerk were mismatched?
Both were very unhappy and disengaged in their current roles. Sadly, this is the reality for many employees.
Yet, since their company featured internal mobility, their managers were able to diagnose the issue and enact a job swap. Once each employee was in the appropriate role for their needs, they became much happier and more engaged.
As proof, research shows that 80% of workers claim that the chance to learn new skills would increase their engagement levels.
Benefit #2: Better employee retention
Internal mobility strategies also make it easier to retain existing employees.
A LinkedIn study found that 94% of workers would stay at a company longer if the organization invested in their careers.
After all, who wants to stay in the same job forever?
Your employees will eventually crave new challenges, even if they love their jobs. Providing as many development opportunities as possible is the best way to improve retention.
If you consistently offer top talent new opportunities, you’re far less likely to lose them to a competing business.
We’re not just talking about promotions, either.
Remember, internal mobility gives you plenty of moves to make, so don’t just think vertically.
Instead, consider job shadowing, mentorships, and project-based mobility to mix things up for seasoned employees.
Benefit #3: Save on expensive hiring and onboarding costs
Hiring managers will be the first to tell you that sourcing external candidates is costly.
First, there’s the matter of advertising your open positions, which usually means spending money to post on job boards like Indeed.
Then, there’s the cost of bringing in candidates for interviews, which may include travel costs if they don’t live nearby (and if you don’t want to do a virtual interview).
Even after you make a hiring decision, the expenses still need to be done.
Onboarding is extremely expensive, and the costs can run into the thousands.
In fact, according to research by Indeed, most companies can expect to pay anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000 to hire just one employee, and that does not include salary or benefits.
You can dodge many of these costs whenever you practice internal mobility by filling open positions with existing employees.
Benefit #4: Plug skills gaps and fight talent shortages
The talent marketplace could be doing better right now.
Currently, 7 in 10 employers need help finding suitable candidates for their open positions.
That means they can’t find anybody to fill these roles, let alone high-performing employees.
As a result, Human Resources departments are in quite a pickle, but internal mobility provides several solutions.
Mentoring and job shadowing are great for combating skills gaps, and internal hiring expands your talent pool beyond external candidates.
How to develop an internal mobility program
Okay, now it’s time to learn how to start implementing internal mobility at your organization.
Developing an official program for this is essential, as talent management will prove difficult otherwise.
Here’s a step-by-step look at what it takes to provide internal mobility to your employees.
Step #1: Form a team for internal talent acquisition
Your current hiring managers will likely be busy with external hiring, so you should dedicate a new team to internal mobility.
Adding internal mobility to your hiring managers’ plates will double their workload, which could be better for both sides (external or internal hiring).
Your internal talent acquisition team can be as small as two people, but make sure that they’re familiar with the following:
- Your business needs
- The different skills required for each job
- Your company culture
As long as they have these requirements, they’re good options for handling internal talent management.
Step #2: Embrace employees moving between roles and departments
If you want to embrace internal mobility, you shouldn’t view lateral moves as bad.
Instead, view them as a way to ensure that each employee is in a role that best suits their natural skills.
For example, if you have a shy salesperson like the one from the intro, consider moving them to a different department.
Trying to force a shy person to become outgoing will never work, regardless of how many training programs or reprimands you give them.
Instead, it’s best to work with your employee’s natural tendencies and skills instead of against them.
Step #3: Engage in cross-training
Cross-training aligns perfectly with the philosophy of internal mobility.
It involves training employees to perform tasks associated with roles other than their own.
An example would be a secretary trained to do payroll and other accounting tasks. Cross-training is excellent because it makes your employees more effective and agile, which makes promotions and lateral moves easier.
Research even found that cross-training is the most effective way to improve individual and organizational performance. However, only 45% of companies currently offer cross-training programs, so you have the opportunity to be a trendsetter!
Step #4: Use technology to bolster your efforts
Lastly, you should use technology to make implementing internal mobility easier in your organization.
Talent marketplace platforms like Hitch and Gloat will find internal mobility opportunities for you. They use AI technology to map various career paths based on your employees’ skills.
This will make internal mobility more accessible, more effective, and cheaper!
Final thoughts: Internal mobility programs
We’ve covered a lot at this point, so let’s take a minute to recap:
- Internal mobility is the movement of employees to new opportunities and roles within the same organization.
- There are various types of internal mobility, such as promotions, transfers, and job swaps.
- An internal mobility program can benefit your organization in many ways, such as increased retention and engagement.
- Cross-training, technology, and an internal talent acquisition team are what you need to put the philosophy into practice.
When done right, an internal mobility strategy will fill your open positions while significantly strengthening your existing staff. It’ll also convince many employees to stay with the company longer due to your many growth opportunities.
More resources:
Skills-based hiring: Punching through the paper ceiling 
Internal recruitment: The ultimate guide to finding hidden talent
Workplace etiquette: The ultimate guide to professionalism
