With all the talk around town about employee retention, one component that is often underestimated is the importance of internal mobility in HRM. This refers to the potential for career progression opportunities within an organization and the growth opportunities an employee can hope to see in their job role. Often, internal mobility is what employees seek in order to stay at a company instead of turning to opportunities outside. There are many types of internal mobility in HRM, either along horizontal lines to other similar opportunities, or across vertical rungs, moving up the hierarchical ladder.
The investigation into internal mobility examples and opportunities is often sidetracked by more pressing goals. Because this facet is not necessarily one that provides immediate results, companies leave the planning to employees and their own careers. A Deloitte survey found that more than 50 percent of respondents found it easier to find a new job outside of their organization as compared to new roles within their company. Fearful of stagnating, employees immediately consider a better position in a new company if their own company doesn’t seem forthcoming with internal mobility programs.
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What Is Internal Mobility in HRM?
Among the many responsibilities that fall under the purview of human resource management, internal mobility is one that conceptualizes the long-term relationship between a company and its employees. If an employee starts at a company as an intern, they often hope to be promoted to full-time employee. Freshers in full-time roles have career aspirations that might involve moving to more expert roles and managerial positions over time. Companies with great internal mobility plan ahead for reach roles and the potential career paths that can open up for their employees.
In Gartner’s latest report on the Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2024, career management and internal mobility in HRM hold an important spot. 66 percent of HR leaders responding to the survey report that career paths within their organization are not compelling for their employees. Meanwhile, less than one in three employees even know how to see career progression in the next five years. Traditional career paths and college-to-career pipelines have been replaced by more complex jobs that require a complex combination of skill sets. The report recommends that companies should define agile internal mobility programs that focus on designing iterative careers that prioritize employee career growth. “Career pathing should be like satellite navigation, not a map,” according to Gartner, constantly adapting and shifting to accommodate the end goal.
Why Is Internal Mobility Important?
Planning for internal mobility in HRM is beneficial for both employer and employee. Employee turnover rates can be greatly improved when employees do not see their jobs as a pit stop toward the next role. When a company can clearly depict how an individual can grow while working for them, employees also begin to consider it as a long-term role. Lever’s 2022 Great Resignation: The State of Internal Mobility and Employee Retention Report found bonuses and flexibility to be top reasons why people stay at an organization, with internal mobility coming in at a close third place. They predicted that 41 percent of employees staying with a company would expect a role change. By providing an approximate timeline to go with the internal mobility chart, employees can rest easy knowing that their work will receive a serious review and factor towards their growth.
But why is internal mobility important for companies? Other than retaining more employees, companies also benefit from channeling talent back into their systems. Considerable resources are spent training each employee and when employees leave, they take that experience with them. Additional hiring costs and onboarding tend to stack up and companies often go through multiple employees until they find someone who is a good fit. Instead of this talent drain, companies can benefit from reshuffling their talent within the organization, while also guaranteeing employee loyalty.
Additionally, qualified individuals are often limited by their existing job descriptions. By reassessing employees and moving them around with consideration of their strengths and weaknesses, companies might find employees living up to their full potential. Once a company is able to identify what internal mobility is, it also needs to confront why internal mobility is important for its growth.
Types of Internal Mobility in HRM
In HRM, internal mobility can take on many forms. Movement within an organization can be inspired by multiple reasons. Companies might need to reorganize their resources after large-scale layoffs, move workers around due to job openings that need to be filled in, help employees grow to their potential, or redirect talent more evenly. Keeping in mind the reason behind the decision to prioritize mobility, many types of internal mobility in HRM can come into play.
Upward Mobility and Promotions
Once employees have a sufficient amount of work experience on the job, there is often a desire to move to a role that better reflects their qualifications. The remunerations that come with moving upwards also add to the appeal of taking on new roles. Organizations often have a certain time scale following which they provide qualified employees with a new job title, work tasks, and a different set of compensation benefits.
Vertical Internal Mobility Example
- An employee who has spent a considerable amount of working as a junior sales representative and successfully meets his targets may move to a senior sales position
- An associate attorney may gain enough experience to be promoted to a partner role, taking up leadership responsibilities next
- A project manager who has led projects towards success regularly may vertical mobility changes and move to become a Program Director who oversees the department as a whole
- After performing well on multiple software projects, a developer may be promoted to the position of a Manager who can help others find the same success
Role-to-Role Mobility or Lateral Mobility
Internal mobility does not always have to equate to more senior positions within an organization. Employees can often be reshuffled within an organization for multiple reasons. An employee might be more suited to a creative role and can be moved to a parallel role when deemed appropriate. Similarly, when employees need to relocate for personal reasons, instead of having them leave the job, they can be moved to a different office to continue on in a similar capacity. For roles that take too long to fill, it might be economical to get qualified employees to fill in as well.
A study by SHRM showed that employees promoted within 3 years of hiring had a 70 percent chance of staying with a company but those who were moved laterally also had a 62 percent likelihood of remaining with a company. Lateral mobility is not a replacement for promotions but it does provide benefits of its own.
Lateral Internal Mobility Example
- An HR generalist can move to a training and development specialist role within the HR department
- A software engineer may make a lateral move to become a quality assurance analyst, responsible for testing and ensuring the quality of software products
- A public relations specialist may move to a new client-specific role and focus on managing one company alone
- A manager might be transferred to a new branch due to their preference for a different city
According to the internal mobility program established by an organization, internal mobility could be facilitated by the creation of new roles, interdepartmental transfers, job rotations, project swaps, special project assignments, and a multitude of other ways. There are many examples of internal mobility but the easiest way for a company to plan out its approach to internal mobility is to determine what its employees need and what doors can be opened up for their benefit. Phenom’s resource library of statistics reports that 93 percent of employees will stay with their current employer longer when the company invests in their careers. Regardless of the type, it is important for employers to plan for mobility to begin with. To retain top talent and improve employee engagement, internal mobility in HRM is a crucial component.