What is internal recruitment and why is it so beneficial?

Personnel recruitment is one of the most important processes in any organization. After all, the right talent will help the business achieve the objectives outlined. However, you shouldn’t think the only way to find qualified employees is through a long sourcing process and an endless number of interviews made by the Human Resources department. 

In fact, there is another way to find qualified talent quickly. Are you familiar with internal recruitment? This is a type of recruitment that can offer you many benefits. In this article, we will delve deep into internal recruitment, its pros and cons. 

Let’s begin with the basics. The usual talent recruitment process entails sourcing, screening and hiring a person with the right set of skills for the position available. Simple, isn’t it? Frequently, this requires waiting for months a series of never-ending filters and tests until you finally get to the right professional. That is the external recruitment method. 

Wouldn’t it be great to have a way to recruit talent and make it part of the organization without wasting time? That can be achieved through internal recruitment, which works in a different way. Let’s see what this concept entails. 

What is internal recruitment? 

Internal recruitment happens when a business fills a vacant position focusing only on the employees that are already part of the organization. For that reason, the recruitment team starts looking for the right talent in all the different areas of the organization. As a result, you save the time and resources that would be wasted on the talent acquisition process. 

Types of internal recruitment 

Internal recruitment can take different forms. Let’s see some of the most common. 

1. Promotions 

It is the most common form of internal recruiting in organizations. This usually happens when an employee has a good performance and is ready to assume new responsibilities. To do that, it is enough to carry out a short interview process, since the company already has the information about the personnel. 

2. Transfers 

This happens when an employee goes from one department to a different one. In general, the employee will perform very similar tasks in this new area, although in some cases it is necessary to assume new responsibilities. 

3. Re-boarding 

This is the process of receiving back an employee who previously worked in the organization. This usually happens when a person found another job opportunity or was absent for a prolonged period of time. Technically, that professional stopped being part of the organization. However, the profile, skills and capabilities are already known, so is not a new employee either. 

Advantages of internal recruitment 

Saving time, money and having happier employees are some of the main advantages. Let’s take a closer look at the main benefits of internal recruitment. 

1. Saving money in recruitment 

External recruitment usually requires a series of expenses. On the other hand, internal recruitment helps saving much of the budget usually assigned to job ads and recruitment agencies. Besides, this allows the Human Resources personnel to handle other tasks, which is more cost-effective. 

1. Saving time in recruitment 

External recruitment frequently takes a lot of time. In contrast, with internal recruitment you don’t need to invest much time in sourcing since candidates are already part of the organization. Likewise, it is not necessary to have an onboarding process, training or waiting for the newcomer to get used to the way of working and the organizational culture. 

1. Increases employee engagement 

The benefits are not limited to saving time and money. The perspective of a possible promotion or having access to a higher salary are always incentives for employees. That gives them additional motivation, which usually results in a better performance. 

Disadvantages of internal recruitment 

Internal recruitment is not a perfect recruitment method. It has some disadvantages you should be aware of. 

1. Reduced talent pool 

One of the most obvious disadvantages is that internal recruitment only shows as candidates the people who is already in the organization. That means that the quantity and variety of candidates to choose from is a lot smaller. 

2. Reduction of fresh ideas 

One of the big advantages of having new employees is that they put many fresh ideas over the table. However, internal recruitment offers only the same people inside the organization. It can result in a shortage of new perspectives and ideas. 

3. New vacant positions 

Once employees are promoted to new positions inside the organization, they will leave their old position vacant. Therefore, it’ll be necessary to find and hire new employees to fill those gaps. They will have to be recruited externally. 

When it comes to recruitment, it is always good to have different methods and alternatives to find the best suit for a position. Just as its external form, internal recruitment is one more tool that can help you find the right talent at the right time. 

At Talent2Win, we strive to align your company’s business objectives with the best Talent Acquisition strategies available. If you want to learn more about the services we offer, do not hesitate to contact us.