Employees stay 40% longer at companies that prioritize hiring internally.

Every company wants to retain their talent longer. However, talented employees seek growth and will not stay in just one role forever. People want to grow and develop their skills and that could mean moving up, laterally to a new role, or worse move out to a new company. Companies that give opportunities for their employees to be all that they can be stand to gain the most.

According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends 2020 report, employees stick around 40% longer at companies that prioritizing hiring from within. This has a huge impact on the bottom line: Gartner estimates that turnover caused by a lack of future career opportunities costs average-sized companies tens of millions per year.

Procter&Gamble (P&G) is one company that diligently practices hiring from within. It is a global consumer goods company that has lasted for 182 years with more than $80 Billion in sales in 2014. Hiring from within and developing their people to grow is part of their global culture and practice. Fortune magazine awarded P&G a top spot on its list of "Global Top Companies for Leaders".

Talent professionals are increasingly realizing that a balance is important. 73% agree that internal recruiting is becoming more important to their company, and role changes within organizations have increased by 10% since 2015.

The problem is few companies have a plan in place for helping their talent move around the organization.

Here are useful tips from LinkedIn to develop your internal recruiting strategy — and keep your best people.

1. Don’t wait for employees to come to you — take an active role in identifying and reaching out to them

Today, the majority of internal moves are driven by employees. When asked how their company identifies internal candidates, 72% of talent professionals admit that it usually starts with employees finding jobs on internal job boards. Only half (50%) say hiring managers reach out, and almost as many (45%) say employees hear about jobs through word of mouth.

In other words, unless employees are lucky or actively seeking a new role at the company, their chances of being considered for a new internal job is slim.

P&G (which operates in more than 70 countries) is one good example for actively identifying and reaching out to talent. One of their previous CEO regularly discussed performance and career plans for all country General Managers during weekends with the Global Head of HR.

By taking a more intentional approach to internal recruiting and encouraging your recruiters to proactively reach out, you can show employees that your company is thinking about their future. This can give your retention and engagement rates a boost even if some employees are happy where they are. After all, it’s always flattering to know that your work is seen and valued.

Building a formalized internal recruiting program has other benefits too. By maximizing internal hiring, 63% of talent professionals say their hiring process will be faster since existing employees are already up to speed on internal systems and processes.

Adding structure can also help you level the playing field, giving every employee an equal chance to make internal moves. Without structure, internal mobility tends to boil down to who you know.

By reaching out more and relying on networking less, internal mobility is opened up to everyone — reducing the likelihood of frustrated employees looking for opportunities elsewhere.

2. Partner with learning and development to make more strategic internal moves, based on current and future needs

Some employees know what they want from their careers and are invested in moving up the ladder. Others aren’t sure they’ve found their ideal fit yet, so they’re open to trying new things. But whether they’re looking to advance or make lateral moves, learning opportunities can help them get there, which is why teaming up with your company learning and development (L&D) team can help you build a stronger internal recruiting program.

This partnership benefits everyone. Three-quarters (73%) of employees say they would stay longer at their company if there were more skill-building opportunities. And since both talent acquisition and L&D have unique insights into which skills the organization needs now and in the future — and which roles are hardest to fill — greater collaboration helps employees grow and meets the needs of the business.

This opportunity goes untapped at many companies. In fact, only 23% of L&D professionals say they currently partner with recruiting. By bridging the gap and working closely with L&D can help more employees make the change they’ve been craving — while keeping your company’s skill base up-to-date.

3. Help managers understand the big-picture benefits of internal recruiting to keep them from hoarding talent

When managers have great employees on their team, they tend to be highly protective of them. Talent professionals identified this as the top barrier to internal recruiting, with 70% saying it’s an obstacle for them.

Help managers see that internal recruiting benefits the organization as a whole, helping it keep its best talent in the fold. This benefits managers in the long run too, since there’s a good chance that top performers from other teams will join their own.

Incentivizing and rewarding your managers to play an active role will demonstrate to them how much your organization prioritizes internal recruiting. If they recommend a team member for an internal position, for example, this should be highlighted in their next performance review and promotion discussions. In addition, you can also incentivize employees for taking challenging or hard-to-fill roles. You should consider an Digital employee rewards platform in the Philippines to make these incentives work seamlessly.

Hiring from within can yield huge benefits

Internal recruiting offers a wealth of benefits to companies, allowing them to fill roles faster, ramp new hires up to full productivity sooner, and keep great talent longer.

Developing a structured and scalable process is crucial. Incorporating internal recruitment into your employee development program will deepen your talent base and create longer and flexible careers for your employees. Hiring from within is a Win-Win.

Contact us for a conversation on how to make internal recruiting work (and learn the P&G best practices).