Hiring Metrics to Track in 2023:

Internal Mobility

Written by Dean Bailey  •  Recruitment  •  18 January 2023

The cost of living crisis has added to the skill shortage faced by organisations. With many workers open to leaving their jobs – the so-called ‘Big Resignation’ – this has created a real challenge for organisations to tackle, with workers reassessing their priorities in search of greater reward, career advancement and job satisfaction. Yet organisations needn’t look very far to seek a remedy. Internal mobility, ‘building’ your own vs. ‘buying’ externally, can enable you to redeploy and, crucially, retain top talent. It is also a powerful tool in your external employee value proposition (EVP) toolbox. Internal Mobility sends out a clear message: you can a build a fulfilling, long term career with us.  

A recent report from McKinsey highlighted that 40% of workers globally would be open to leaving their jobs in the next 3-6months. In India it’s as high as 66% compared to 33% in the United Kingdom.

What can you do about it? Communication and promotion of internal mobility is vital. You need to build the right infrastructure and create a culture that encourages, supports and celebrates professional development. Everyone should understand that employee mobility is a strategic priority and this message must come from the top. However, this needs to be embraced at all levels of the organisation so that people aren’t afraid to apply for jobs while delivering on those career development promises.

Where do you start? There are many ways to measure employee mobility and a good benchmark to start with is your attrition rate. Why are people leaving your organisation and what can you do about it at a macro and micro level? You also need to analyse internal hiring data at organisational, divisional and job family levels. If you can understand where in the business internal moves are coming from, you can identify where the opportunities are. Another key indicator is volume of internal vs. external CVs – you want to understand your current engagement levels and strive for an increase in this metric. You also need to track lateral versus promotional moves and diversity of talent moving through the organisation – are you creating opportunity and retaining the people who will fuel your future success? An effective Internal Mobility programme will need investment and success will likely be defined at C-suite level by headline cost avoidance figures that yields a reduction in external hiring spend. But let us not lose sight of the often overlooked benefit of avoiding those hidden indirect costs; notably the time and resource spent on hiring, onboarding and speed to productivity – which for business critical and revenue-generating roles, can delay projects or sales and have a direct detrimental impact to the bottom line.

The Internal Gig economy

Talentech research suggests development of competences within the existing staff costs 1/6 in comparison to recruiting new talents.

With lots of talk of new technologies emerging and the need to upskill and reskill workers, one key area of focus in 2023 is how can organisations remain agile and deploy people to different departments and new projects. This can be particularly effective in business areas where employees have specific technical skills, interests and aspirations. The assignment might be a full or part-time gig, and for shorter or longer term arrangements. This approach is proven to reduce hiring spend and onboarding times whilst increasing employee advocacy as it’s great for career development – people want variety and challenge with opportunities to learn and excel. But Talent Acquisition, HR and business leaders must all be aligned, providing executive sponsorship and the resources required to effectively manage this type of programme.

In summary, there is a golden opportunity for organisations in 2023 to nurture individuals and move them into areas of the business where their skills can make a difference. There’s a lot of untapped potential inside organisations and a strong internal mobility proposition can help to combat skills gaps and serve as a catalyst to develop and retain your best people.

How can an RPO help?

SocialTalent research suggests 74% of organisations surveyed say attrition was higher in 2022 than previous years; whereby internal mobility wasn’t listed as a key strategic priority for 54% of organisations. Therefore, there is great upside and opportunity for organisations to gain a competitive advantage.

Engaging with an RPO to work in tandem with your HR leaders can help you develop your internal talent marketplace proposition, actively promote opportunities to your workforce and provide visibility and clarity of the metrics to maximise ROI of the programme. As we head into 2023, competition for talent is set to be greater than we’ve ever known, and winning the ‘war for talent’ starts with retaining your best people.

Want to find out more? Please email me at dean.bailey@resourcesolutions.com

For more key hiring metrics to track in 2023 read our previous blog on cost per hire.   

 

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