The Best Ways To Encourage Internal Mobility for Your Employees
A little bit of staff rearrangement can be pretty beneficial for a company and add to the growth and development of the firm, especially with recent emphasis on skill-up schemes as opposed to rehiring. As a result, many businesses are encouraged to help workers skill up, leading to workers' movement from one position to another within the firm-internal mobility.Internal mobility refers to the movement of workers- either vertically or horizontally within the same enterprise. It is usually to encourage organizational development, especially when existing workers have to pick up new skills. The movement of workers Is generally concerning job descriptions and responsibilities of workers within the organization.
What is internal mobility?
Internal mobility is the vertical or lateral movement of existing workers within the same organization. Workers change job descriptions and move from one position to the other to perform different tasks. There are usually a couple of factors behind internal mobility. Some of the elements range from company interior selections or external problems affecting the company. A typical example is a COVID-19 pandemic as it affected various businesses.- causing workers to race within the company to fill in the gap. Similarly, many companies lost plenty of workers, which also necessitated increased internal movement. And many firms have had to hold off on new hires while trying to hold onto existing workers.An illustration of internal mobility
Let's unpack this term of "internal mobility" for a moment.When you hire for a new or open position, you are most likely looking for a specific skill set or qualities (like a marketing exec or finance manager). However, you may already have an employee with identical skill sets, qualifications, or experience for that role who is interested in shifting to a new position.Alternatively, a new hire may be a fantastic fit for the post but also have the skills required for another. They could transfer within to a new position or department and yet contribute significantly to the team. So, just because the new hire was hired as a marketing manager doesn't imply they don't want to upskill or move to a different area as they spend more time with your company.In situations like these, an internal mobility strategy is not only beneficial but also required.Why does internal mobility happen?
Essentially, it is some form of cushioning effect in the workplace. It also serves as an organizational defense mechanism to deal with sudden changes that adversely affect the company. Internal movement happens to expose latent skillset that other workers within the company might have. In this regard, the company benefits from a wide array of talents while saving upon hiring. Also, it encourages competition among workers, especially the junior staff who desire to scale up the hierarchical ladder of the company.Benefits of internal mobility
Both the enterprise and existing workers benefit a thing or two from this mobility. Here are a few things your organization stands to gain from encouraging internal mobility.Engagement
It boosts employee engagement in the sense that mobility within the company creates room for more skill acquisition. As a result, a worker moving up to occupy a particular position will need more skills. In the same vein, the company has to provide advanced skill acquisition avenues for the worker. Such periodic skill-up schemes essentially keep workers engaged and invested in the company.It's difficult to keep employees interested and invested in their work and your firm, especially when it comes to career growth. However, there is a penalty to poor employee engagement as an employer.Gallup estimates that:- Cost of an actively disengaged employee is up to 18% of their annual compensation.
- Disengagement can cost businesses millions of dollars (up to $60 million each year).
- Replacing an employee might cost up to twice their income.