This feels like something that shouldn’t need to be pointed out, but here it is. Internal promotion is a no brainer. Employees who are good at their job make your company better. These individuals often have ideas, good ideas, about how to grow the company and make it even better.
Yes, they were hired for certain duties, but why do we disregard these employees who want to take their role and the company to the next level? Too often this internal enthusiasm is treated with suspicion, something to extinguish before an employee starts looking for more power or worse, more money.
Looking Inside Versus Outside
When a new job comes open, too often the search begins externally. The internal employee may be great for the role but too often a manager is not able to see the potential and expansion, assuming the better answer is hiring from the outside. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this move is a morale killer. Then management wonders why that great employee is no longer giving 110%. Instead, they’re now looking for a company that sees their potential and is willing to provide the title and salary to match.
Promoting from within can be a gamechanger in so many ways. Cultivating leadership internally creates an incredibly powerful ripple effect that can be beneficial for a business. The employee already knows the culture and is familiar with its strengths and weaknesses. They know what it takes to make good things happen.
Great Role Models
Seeing success rewarded internally shows other employees what’s possible and how their hard work could be rewarded. This is great for the individual and it also creates positive word of mouth. It could also become a great calling card for employee referrals when new skills can’t be found internally, and an outside search becomes necessary.
A more open mindset to internal hiring becomes important as we move into what some are calling the Big Stay. This phase is marked by lower quit rates, fewer job postings and shrinking pay gains for job switchers, according to a LinkedIn talent blog. With employee morale already low, the dynamics of the Big Stay are not going to improve how employees feel about their work and employer if they are not seeing room to grow where they currently are.
Global LinkedIn data found companies that hire new leaders internally see increased tenure, promotion rates and learner engagement. This demonstrates there’s a strong correlation of retention, internal advancement and the development of new skills among those who promote from within.
Clients working with Staffing Kansas City job hires are seeing this firsthand. Our job recruiters have the pleasure of witnessing many of our employment candidates progress from an initial hire into decision-making roles. Some of these prior job candidates reach out to our recruiters when looking to hire themselves. It’s an incredible cycle of positivity that demonstrates why mentoring and promotion from within can truly nurture future leaders.