Internal Talent Mobility: How can Skill Assessments Help?

What if the perfect candidate for a role existed right under your nose while you spent countless hours and resources sourcing talent externally? To prevent this from happening, shift your focus to a good internal talent mobility strategy.

The recruitment landscape has witnessed many changes over the years. Earlier, people preferred working at the same company for decades, many have worked all their lives at a single organization. The thought of changing careers or switching fields was neither glorified nor rampant.

The bygone era had limited possibilities and provided little room for flexibility. The gig economy had not boomed yet. But the scenario is different today. Employees now tend to look for a job switch after three or four years with one company.

The fear of stagnating professional skills and taking a backseat when it comes to career development drives employees to switch multiple times in their careers. But, how can employers address this high turnover rate while prioritizing skills?

Three words – Internal Talent Mobility

What is Internal Talent Mobility?

The term “Internal Talent Mobility” refers to the movement of employees within an organization to different departments or roles on the basis of their skills, abilities, and potential.

The process involves identifying and leveraging existing talent within the organization to fill vacant or new positions rather than solely relying on external hiring practices.

The use of internal talent mobility frameworks allows organizations to leverage the knowledge, experience, and potential of their existing workforce while providing employees with opportunities for skill development, career advancement, and growth within the organization.

There are 3 different stages of internal talent mobility. Depending on the organization’s needs and the capacity of its leaders to guide employees, one of the following can be followed.

Planned – The focus lies on traditional career structures that follow a linear path for employees including an annual development plan. This model is simple, but it lacks flexibility.

Facilitated – This model allows employees to move non-vertically within an organization. New roles are assigned to existing employees when one quits the position that came with the role.

Agile – This flexible and advanced model allows employees to move across teams and initiatives. It helps the organization get the most out of the talent and expertise of its workforce.

Why Does Internal Talent Mobility Matter?

There is no point doubting the temptation to hire new employees, outside your organization to fill an open role or to add new expertise by expanding your team. However, internal mobility allows you to do much more than merely fill an open position.

It is much more than a buzzphrase gaining popularity among HR professionals. The after-effects of the great resignation and the tremors of upcoming economic uncertainty are being felt across the globe. Organizations are struggling.

At this stage, The benefits of internal talent mobility programs play a crucial role in spearheading organizational success in the following ways:

1. Harnessing existing talent

Implementing an internal mobility program allows organizations to tap into the wealth of knowledge and expertise that already exists within their workforce. By encouraging employees to explore new roles, the organization can maximize the employee’s potential while promoting a culture of continuous learning.

2. Addressing skill gaps and future needs

With changing industry landscapes, there is a constant need for new skills and competencies. Internal mobility best practices will help organizations bridge skill gaps by identifying and developing talent within the company. This generates an avenue to proactively build a workforce with the skills to navigate future challenges.

3. Fostering a growth mindset

When provided with opportunities for career advancement within their workplace, employees are more likely to invest in their skills and strive for excellence. This mindset shift results in increased employee engagement, a commitment to continuous learning, and a culture of innovation.

4. Retaining top talent

In today’s competitive job market, organizational success calls for the ability to retain top talent. Implementing internal talent mobility frameworks provides opportunities for career development, making it more likely for employees to stay back at their organization.

It allows investment in the growth and advancement of the existing workforce, thus building loyalty and reducing turnover.

5. Building organizational agility

By empowering employees to be adaptable and capable of handling different roles and responsibilities, organizations can move towards enhanced operational agility. This allows organizations to respond quickly to changing market demands, seize new opportunities, navigate and make the best out of industry disruptions.

How Can Assessments Help in Internal Talent Mobility?

An effective internal mobility program depends on a number of factors. However, each of these factors needs proper evaluation before undertaking any internal talent mobility framework.

Skill-based assessments give a clear picture that acts as the foundation for internal mobility best practices. They can further the cause in the following ways.

1. Identifying potential

Skill assessments provide objective and standardized methods to evaluate employees’ skills, competencies, and potential. By conducting assessments, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development.

This information from the assessment results can serve as a valuable tool for identifying employees who have the right skills and potential to succeed in different roles within the organization.

2. Matching skills with suitable opportunities

Assessments help align employees’ skills and capabilities with available opportunities for internal mobility. By comparing the skills assessed to the requirements of specific roles or projects, organizations can identify employees who possess the necessary competencies or have the potential to acquire them.

This approach to internal talent mobility, enables organizations to practice a more accurate and targeted matching process, increasing the likelihood of successful internal placements.

3. Supporting career mapping and development

The assessment results can help organizations provide personalized feedback and guidance to their employees. This will help employees clearly understand their existing skill gaps and areas of improvement.

Incorporating assessments in the internal mobility training programs will enable employees to make informed decisions about their career paths while identifying necessary development opportunities to enhance skills and increase their mobility within the organization.

4. Facilitating succession planning

Skill-based assessments allow the identification of high-potential employees who can be prepared for leadership positions, thus contributing to effective succession planning. They help identify individuals who not only possess technical skills but also demonstrate potential for leadership roles.

Having this information will enable organizations to develop targeted programs and provide the necessary training to prepare such employees for key positions.

5. Promoting objective and fair evaluation

Through the use of standardized assessment tools and criteria, organizations can ensure a transparent and bias-free evaluation process for internal talent mobility. The use of assessment tools creates a level playing field for the employees, thus increasing trust and confidence in the process.

Key Takeaway

From eliminating hiring bias to decreasing recruitment costs, internal talent mobility can be the answer to many hiring problems.

A wise approach to reap the maximum benefits of internal talent mobility would be to evaluate skills before everything else.

The new era of competitive talent management will require an increased focus on in-house skills and ways to refactor them. Skill-based assessments in the SkillZap library cover 600-plus competencies to help you get started with internal talent management.