Internal Recruitment

The definition of internal recruitment tells us that it is the process by which the company evaluates its own employees in order to fill an open position.

Many managers associate hiring new people as a way to oxygenate the company…

In the end, they are right. However, for some employees this can be seen as an obstruction to their progression of positions and salaries.

After all, if there is an internal audience interested in that vacancy, why not give the opportunity to fill that vacancy internally?

There is always the possibility that the skills sought will not be found among the internal public.

Sometimes the company is growing, needs to open a new sector quickly and there is not enough time, so it is necessary to bring a person with some experience in the area.

Despite this scenario, internal recruitment is normally used by companies that prefer to develop their employees , after all, they are already embedded in the organizational culture and already have a place in the team.

Types of internal recruitment

To finish this conceptualization part, we will also talk about the three types of internal recruitment . See below!

1-informal recruitment

Informal recruitment happens when HR needs to fill a vacancy, however, it does not open a competition for the position.

These are the cases of promotions that take place within the same team. Suppose a manager has left the company, an employee from the same team can take over that location.

2-Publication of the vacancy

In this form of internal recruitment, the vacancy is formally disputed by all interested parties.

The HR team makes all the disclosure with the necessary requirements for the position and the employees apply.

You can already imagine how much this kind of internal competition can affect the team, right? We’ll talk about this later.

3-Reframing the career plan

This form of internal selection process is for more organized companies that have a defined job and salary plan .

Thus, vacancies are only advertised to individuals who would naturally be promoted to the position in question.

Now that the concept of internal recruiting and its variants are explained, let’s dig deeper and find out how companies deal with this issue.

Why do in-house recruiting?

If you still think that internal recruitment is not a good idea and that bringing in new people is always welcome, here are three reasons for you to rethink. Check out!

1. Candidates already know the company

One of the most arduous tasks of hiring is to familiarize newcomers, introduce them to the team’s employees and explain the company’s culture and routine.

This makes the integration of this individual much slower and demands many more hours of work from HR and other teams.

When you already know the candidate, there are no questions about his commitment or even about the quality of his work.

2. The process costs less

Saving HR man hours also means saving the company money.

It is very important to always keep in mind that working hours dedicated to the integration of a new member are hours that could be dedicated to other activities.

Bearing in mind that HR is an increasingly strategic sector within companies, these hours are valuable and very important to carry out several other actions.

The employee who comes from within the company does not need to undergo a series of training. 

But that’s not all, all the bureaucracy related to the selection and recruitment process is also costly.

3. Activities don’t stop

It’s not uncommon for companies to make the mistake of putting all the logistics of a few operations on an individual.

It turns out that, because of this, if the employee leaves, this work routine is completely stopped.

Having in-house professionals for new vacancies means that these routines are not forgotten, as they can continue their work or even train a colleague to do so.

Behavioral management and internal recruitment

Behavioral management is a very recurring subject here on the blog, after all, it is one of HR’s greatest assets.

Performing this type of analysis and management is much simpler in an internal selection scenario, as HR is already familiar with the individuals interested in the position.

Thus, tracing a behavioral profile is much simpler and brings valuable insights to both the HR team and the manager when choosing the right employee.

The need to determine the employee’s behavioral profile becomes clear when we think about a selection process for management positions, for example.

Most of these internal selections happen to fill a coordination or management position, however, it is clear that not all people have a leadership profile.

Promoting these individuals can create a dysfunctional team, harm the industry and, consequently, the company.

The HR team responsible for carrying out the selection can use a series of tools in order to unravel the profile of the employee and compare it to the skills sought.

The benefits of internal recruiting

Understand a little more about the benefits of internal recruitment for your company!

1. Familiarity with the company

We’ve already talked about this, but it’s worth reinforcing. Filling vacancies with individuals who are already part of the company’s reality is much simpler for several reasons:

• they already know their co-workers;
• already understand the company’s operations;
• have a basic notion of the activities of the other sectors, etc.

In other words, these employees have a guaranteed cultural fit , after all, if they continue to be part of the team, it is because the culture and values ​​resonate with them in some way.

2. Valuing employees

Opting for internal capital is a very powerful way to value them. Through internal recruiting, you send a clear message:

We prefer to qualify the workforce of our employees instead of looking for qualified professionals outside the company.

3. Agility in the process

It is not always possible to wait weeks or even months of the traditional selection and recruitment process to fill a vacancy.

Details such as the employee’s professional trajectory are already with HR, so it’s important to have all the information updated before starting the process.

This facilitates analysis and can even determine the ideal type of recruitment for the moment.

Often, a simple promotion is the best way to handle the situation.

4. Feasibility of the career plan

One of the great motivators within a corporation is the possibility of growing within the company .

In this way, internal recruitment is the perfect way to enable the development and fulfillment of career plans .

Thus, employees clearly see that their dedication to the company does have a future objective.

5. Increased talent retention

Does a place that values ​​employees, giving them the opportunity for higher and higher positions, seem like a good place to work?

Well, your employees will certainly have the same impression, which contributes to their permanence in the company.

That way, talent will not be easily seduced by hunters from other companies.

In addition, internal recruitment is also a very important factor in team motivation.

Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

Of course, as not everything is a bed of roses, there are also some disadvantages when opting for the internal selection process.

Here are some points that need to be on the HR radar:

• the employee can create many expectations with promotion or change of function, harming his/her performance in the current position;
• the process can trigger rivalry between employees, so the process must be transparent;
• good performance in one position is not always valid for another;
• sometimes, the oxygenation of the “new blood” is very good for the team;
• this type of selection restricts the number of candidates for the vacancy;
• you can leave an empty space if you don’t have a clear succession plan.

These are just some examples. Human relationships are complicated—and HR can attest to that.

Therefore, be on the lookout for any sign of dissatisfaction resulting from this process.

Step by step to make an efficient internal recruitment

1-Keep employee information up to date

Here, having updated employee information is very important, setting up the first step of the process.

It is possible to find out who has taken specialization courses, learned new languages ​​or developed new skills useful for the position available.

Always remember the importance of validating all these new skills and experiences, whether by requesting a certificate or even calling the company where the employee previously worked to ask about their time there.

2-Spread the vacancy news

It’s time for disclosure! It is essential that everyone in the company is aware of the internal selection.

This is where the HR industry’s internal marketing skills are put to the test. 

The challenge is to make the communication interesting, to really sell this opportunity to change roles.

3-Invite selected candidates

It is essential that the call-up of all those selected is done discreetly, after all, this type of selection can stimulate some feeling of competition, and the last thing you want at this moment is to add fuel to that fire.

Something that can help to calm some tempers is detailed feedback on why they were not invited for interviews and tests.

4-Test whether the candidate has the necessary skills

It’s time to call candidates into the interview rooms and begin behavioral testing.

The interviews and tests step helps to understand if the interested individual has the necessary skills for the job in question.

This is a time of changing roles and assignments, so it’s normal for employees to get a little lost.

5-Give feedback at the end of the selection

The end of the selection is the moment of a second feedback, this time for all the candidates who were invited for the interviews, but did not get the vacancy.

A transparent process makes all the difference so that employees feel respected during the internal selection stages.

Not only, if other professionals feel that the process was unfair, adherence to future internal recruitment tends to be low.

Best practices for internal recruitment

There are some good practices that should be applied by the HR sector in order to ensure that the internal selection process does not generate the disadvantages mentioned above.

Some of these best practices are described below. Follow up!

1-Widely advertise all vacancies

Something that can negatively affect the credibility of the selection process — therefore, the company and HR — is the lack of transparency in the process .

We mentioned this several times throughout the text, but it is still worth emphasizing. Everything must be disclosed so that everyone is aware of what is happening.

An exception to the rule is the case of vacancies whose requirements restrict the number of employees who can apply.

But even so, great care must be taken to ensure that all interested parties are properly informed.

2-Do not prevent external hires

It is important that the emphasis on internal recruiting does not overshadow the search for people outside the company.

Often, the company simply does not yet have the necessary skills for the position and it is, yes, necessary to seek outside.

Not only that, the vision of a person who is completely outside the day-to-day can come to aggregate in a way that a collaborator with years of career would not know. A practical example is the experience in other companies in the segment.

3-Use the proper tools

The use of modern tools is something we strongly advocate here at Tangerino.

It’s no wonder that we offer a digital time attendance solution that can be completely managed from a smartphone without losing quality.

In HR this is no different, so much so that we always hear concepts like RH 4.0 running through the halls.

Therefore, always use tools that allow you to classify and filter relevant information such as possible courses that employees have taken recently.