What are the advantages and disadvantages of internal

Internal recruitment has been an effective tool for years. No matter the size of the company, small or large, internal recruitment can transform the way a company operates and performs. Where external recruitment is the more traditional approach and can bring in a different way of thinking from time to time, internal recruitment can save essential time and money and improve company engagement.

What is internal recruitment?

Very simply, internal recruitment is the act of hiring an existing employee to fill a vacant position at your company. It's usually carried out with a focus on promoting employees and rewarding them for their hard work. Ideally, internal recruitment should still follow a formal interview process.

What is external recruitment?

On the other hand, external recruitment is the more common approach, wherein a candidate from outside the company is awarded a vacant position after a traditional interview process.

Save resources with internal recruitment

Internal recruitment is quickly becoming more popular with businesses, with the key benefits being that it:

Saves time
Saves money
Saves energy

There are plenty of great candidates out there, however, they are far and few between. If your company has high employment standards, sourcing these potential candidates is no easy task. Often requiring lots of time and energy to find a candidate, the constant back and forth of arranging interviews and paying external recruitment companies can be a drawn-out process.

Typically, thousands of pounds can be wasted for smaller companies, and this number only increases for larger companies as you have advertisement and agency fees to pay. Plus, if the candidate isn’t a right fit, you’ve then wasted all this time hiring to repeat the process again, on top of any wages already been paid to a non-permanent staff member.

Boost company loyalty and engagement with in house recruitment

More and more people are searching for careers that they can see a future with, rather than plugging away at a ‘job’. In today's climate, it is important for any company to make this intention to recruit internally clear from the outset. This way, you’re far more likely to keep the best people.

By selecting talent from within and developing them, you send a strong message to the wider team and business that clear opportunities for growth, learning, and progression are a real possibility. In turn, if employees are aware they can move up the company ladder and have personal motives of their own, such as status or increased pay, they will look for ways to work harder and expand on their current talent and responsibilities.

Risk mitigation with internal hiring

Hiring someone externally involves an element of risk and your company may not be able to handle uncertainty. You can’t truly gain a full perspective of a candidate in the brief few hours of the interview process, and they may have some skeletons hidden away in their closet that could have adverse effects on the wider team - from conflicts of interest to argumentative attitudes.

Whether it’s something severe or they just don’t gel with the team, you can mitigate this risk of the unknown by hiring internally as the person you’re promoting already understands the company culture.

Internal recruitment leads to faster onboarding

In addition, an internally sourced candidate will already understand your business values, objectives, day-to-day processes, procedures, and organisational behaviours. This means there will be a shorter learning curve for internally recruited members too, as they will only need to learn their new job role rather than the entire company.

Retain the loyalty of your existing staff

High turnover rates are a company’s worst nightmare. From lost productivity to employee burnout and even low employee engagement rates, the detrimental effects soon compound and having a high turnover rate can be an indicator of impending doom.

By internally recruiting, you open up opportunities that candidates may not have seen themselves getting otherwise, and, as a result, will drive them to work harder. More importantly, they will have the desire to remain a part of your business for longer.

Retaining existing staff is fundamental for success and having a well-oiled machine with each independent cog a happy and engaged part of the system makes everything else run like clockwork. Ultimately, if you believe in someone’s attitude to develop themselves and learn, then why not invest in them and their future for the betterment of your company?

What are the disadvantages of internal recruitment?

If not done properly, internal recruitment can lead to some problems for businesses. Some of these could include:

Resentment growing amongst the staff when their colleagues are promoted over them
Gaps created in the workforce when successful candidates are removed from their teams
A limited pool of applicants for important positions
A stagnated work culture with no new ideas or personalities coming in to drive things forward

So, with that in mind...

How can you mitigate the risks of internal recruitment?

To prevent any ill-feeling spreading amongst your workforce towards internally promoted colleagues, some key strategies to deploy are:

Ensuring that promotions aren't the only way for employees to progress. Whether it's through training or the potential for pay-rises, make it clear to all employees that you're invested in their future and helping them to pursue their career goals.
Make the internal recruitment process as transparent as possible, so that all unsuccessful are given constructive, comprehensive feedback after the interviews are concluded.
Avoid advertising the job opening to employees who you don't think would be suited to the role. This will protect them from feeling disappointed or disillusioned with the company.

Strike a balance between internal and external recruitment

Inevitably, you will have to seek out talents from other sources - but that doesn’t mean you should forget to make the most of the talent already at your disposal. Hiring internally is beneficial for all party’s involved and comes with a plethora of advantages.

A technical recruitment agency to find your next role or candidate | Welcome to PPR Recruitment

If you’re looking for your next profession, whether it’s temporary, fixed-term, or a permanent position, or if you require skilled, experienced, and reliable operatives, PPR Recruitment is your one-stop solution. Give one of our knowledgeable and friendly recruitment experts a call on 01895 80 81 88 for further information on the benefits of internal recruitment. For anything else, contact us online or send an email to info@ppronline.co.uk .

What are the advantages and disadvantages of internal recruitment?