What’s it: Internal recruitment is when you fill a vacancy in a position with your existing employees. For example, suppose you appoint an employee to serve as manager in the finance department after previously serving as assistant manager.
This recruitment is cheaper and faster because the candidate already works in your company. Therefore, you need less effort and may not need job ads. They are also familiar with your company’s culture and work environment. Thus, they need less time to adapt.
How does internal recruitment differ from external recruitment?
Internal recruitment contrasts with external recruitment. In external recruitment, candidates come from outside the organization. They are not your employees. And, maybe they are employees of your competitors.
The process for external recruitment can be more expensive and time-consuming. First, your staff must create a job specification for the vacant position, then advertise it. After several applications have been received, they will screen the selected candidates to participate in the next stages, such as selection tests, interviews, and negotiations. These processes are time-consuming.
While they can bring new perspectives and ideas to your company, external candidates may take a long time to work effectively. This is because they do not know their co-workers, work environment, and culture in the company. They need some time to adapt.
In contrast, internal recruitment comes from within the organization. The candidate is your current employee. They are familiar with colleagues, culture, and work environment, so it is easier and faster to work effectively following the demands of your company.
Which one fits between the two depends on your needs. When building innovation, recruiting external candidates may be a more appropriate choice. They bring new insights without being confined by your company’s culture, office politics, or rigid work environment. They should be more open-minded.
How does internal recruitment work?
Internal recruitment could be
Or it may be part of your human resource management policy. For example, your company runs a job rotation program to transfer employees from one job to another within the organization. In addition to career development, it also aims to prevent boredom or work burnout.
Say you have several branches. Then, you might appoint an assistant manager to be the head of a branch office. In other cases, you transfer research and development staff to the marketing department to get closer to customers to unlock product innovation insights.
Appointing part-time staff or interns to become permanent employees is also internal recruitment. And, just like promotions, you also know their qualities and allow them to join your company.
Recruitment may begin with a job analysis in each position by your staff in the human resources department. They then advertise vacancies to internal. It could be through a bulletin board, employee bulletin, or internal email. Candidates then go through a series of tests before being selected.
Or, you may already have several candidates who were referred by your manager or confidant. Candidates show outstanding achievements based on their performance so far. Therefore, they refer to you.
What are the advantages of internal recruitment?
Internal recruitment offers several advantages, such as:
Faster process. Your staff does not need to create job advertisements, wait for people to apply, and run a series of selection processes, which are all time-consuming. Instead, you already have several options available as a candidate when recruiting internally.
Save cost. You don’t have to advertise in newspapers or the internet or pay a recruiting service provider. Candidates also need less training to work effectively in the new position.
Familiarity. You already know the qualities, skills, and knowledge of the candidate. Likewise, they are also familiar with the work environment, culture, workflow and have relevant experience. So, you don’t need to introduce them to other employees or introduce company culture, procedures, and policies.
Motivating. Career development and internal promotions are great for boosting the morale of your staff because they have a clear and purposeful goal for their career. As a result, it reduces turnover among your talented employees.
What are the disadvantages of internal recruitment?
If your employees are few, you have fewer candidates to choose from. The result is less diversity in new skills or ideas. And, other internal recruitment disadvantages are:
Limited new perspectives. Candidates may be less open-minded and too rigid because they are shaped by your company’s work environment and culture. Thus, it is difficult for them to realize new ideas and perspectives. As a result, it may not meet your demands.
Discouraged. Candidates who are not selected are upset and lose motivation. They may choose to leave your company and look for opportunities elsewhere. That can be a big loss if they are core employees with the potential and skills you still need.
Cultural rigidity. Not bringing in new people means there’s no chance for your culture to develop, leading to a less flexible work environment.
Selection bias. Office politics will probably greatly influence the selection. For example, a running candidate intrigues to influence decisions and get elected. In the end, you chose him, even though he wasn’t the best candidate. In addition, it may also impact the morale of your other employees because they do not like him.
Position vacancies. When you appoint an employee to a higher position, the old position is vacant. That can be a problem if you don’t prepare who will occupy it.
