Internal recruitment is the process of filling a vacant position with someone that already works for the company. Examples of this include promotions, transfers, company restructuring, employee referrals, and apprenticeships.
Internal recruitment has many benefits for both employers and employees.
Cost- effective
There are many expenses that come from external hiring such as job ads, Applicant Tracking Systems, and background checks, however, none of these would be necessary with internal recruitment.
Internal recruitment is also less expensive because there are little to no costs being spent on travel and relocation, referral bonuses, or training.
Saves time
External recruitment requires a great deal of searching for potential candidates, followed by a lengthy interview process. On average, the hiring process takes at least 30 days or more to fill in a vacant role. Internal recruitment allows employers to hire current employees to fill vacant positions and forego the time-consuming recruiting process.
Internal recruitment can also help take away some of the stress put on hiring managers and employers and give them more time to focus on other projects.
Reduces stress of turnover
Studies have shown that there is a 20 percent turnover rate for new hires in the first 90 days. This can be expensive and stressful for employers because if their new hire quits within the first 90 days, then they have to start the hiring process all over again.
However, when employers internally hire, they can assume that the employee is invested in working for the company long-term, since they are interested in pursuing their career within the same company.
Improves employee engagement
Employees want to be given opportunities and promotions throughout their career, and if your company can provide those opportunities, it will improve employee retention and engagement.
Employees can become dissatisfied when they have been loyal to a company, but employers find an external hire to fill a position that they were working towards.
Internal recruitment has many benefits and will help keep employees satisfied. Before employers begin external hiring to fill promotional positions or other roles, they should consider talking to their current employees and seeing what their interests or thoughts are regarding the vacant positions.