You have a mid-level or senior-level position open up at your company. Should you choose an internal hire or an external one? Many companies are finding that internal hires make the best choice. Here are some advantages to hiring from within.
More Motivated Employees
If your company promotes from within, your employees will be far more motivated. Most people want to move up the ladder to get a job with a higher salary. A culture of merit encourages hard work.
On the other hand, if you’re constantly bringing in outside hires, it will hurt office morale. Junior and mid-level employees won’t find the incentive to work as hard. Since there’s little hope of advancing, many will simply just try to coast. The job will just be a paycheck to them.
Better Retention
Surveys have been done of why employees leave a company. Lack of career opportunity is a major factor. The desire for a better life is a common human attribute. If an employer doesn’t allow that possibility, there’s little reason to stay long-term.
You want to create a workforce that is there for the long haul. Many projects take a long time to complete and the transfer of skills is usually by gradual osmosis. If your employees are constantly jumping ship to another company, your business will suffer.
Better Performance
An internal hire already knows the culture. They’ll be familiar with the unspoken dos and don’ts. They’ll have a social network within the company they can look to for support. They’ll already be familiar with many of the work processes and any specialized software you have. Some will know the company’s best practices like the back of their hand.
If you bring in someone new, that all goes out the window. There could be a culture clash and harm morale. Some might be slow to pick up on the work stuff.
Unknown Factors
No matter how many interview rounds you do or how thorough your background check, there is always an unknown factor with an outside hire. With an internal hire, you already know firsthand what their job performance is like.
Many things could go wrong if you hire externally. Perhaps they lied on their resume or greatly exaggerated their tasks. Or maybe they seemed great on paper but aren’t as good as they said they were.
When a position opens up, you have the choice of an internal or external hire. There are many advantages to hire from within.