You may recall our recent post outlining the benefits of upskilling, the process of employees at your company learning new skills to advance their careers and pursue new internal opportunities. However, it’s also important to consider the idea of internal mobility, which can be attained through both upskilling and a variety of other logistics.
What is internal mobility?
Internal mobility is the movement of employees within an organization, based on promotions, mentorship opportunities, project demands, and title changes. These changes can occur both laterally and vertically, depending on the situation. The idea of internal mobility is to reassure your staff of the growth opportunities available to them and to present to the needed steps to take.
LinkedIn emphasizes that internal mobility “increase employee satisfaction, retention, productivity, and engagement; reduce time and cost to hire; and develop high-potential employees with an eye toward leadership succession planning. It’s also becoming more important than ever as the workforce grows younger and craves diverse opportunities.”
Benefits of internal mobility
- Cost: Empowering current employees into new roles helps to reduce hiring costs associated with onboarding and training. Not only will this help your organization save money, it will also save time familiarizing a new hire to the technology and culture.
- Retention: Internal mobility encourages your employees to build new skills and form supported goals. After a couple years without a single move or promotion, many professionals may otherwise become discouraged.
- Generational talent: The younger generations, namely Millennials and Generation Z, prioritize growth when seeking new employment. They are attracted to companies that invest in their employees’ potentials.
How to embrace internal mobility
A few ways to practice internal mobility include:
- Promotions: Offering a higher title and salary to an existing employee when a role becomes vacant.
- Interdepartmental: Moving an employee to a different role within the same department, mainly to provide services on a specific project. This helps the team run smoothly, learn new skills, and adapt when necessary.
- Mentorships: This might occur if a senior-level employee wants to train or mentor a lower-level employee, with the intention of one day taking over their role or one similar.
- New roles: Many organizations find themselves in-demand for new roles and positions based on project goals, market expansions, etc. These new roles can be filled with employees at the organization who are already familiar with the business.
Green Key is proud to practice internal mobility and support all of our employees throughout their growth and career. To learn more about working at Green Key, visit our internal careers page.
