In-house recruiting

What are the opportunities and challenges associated with it? 

Do you know who your company’s real performers are? They are the employees bursting with ambition and motivation who therefore are really valuable to the company. These are the people who have to be retained and then promoted, so that they stay in the company. Their potential can be developed through additional training so it becomes possible to find new managers from within the company ranks. In-house recruiting becomes a topic when there is a vacancy at a higher level. This is because companies often fall back on these qualified employees instead of spending a great deal of time and money looking for new managers on the external labor market.

Many employees dream of climbing the corporate ladder this way. However, the reasons for in-house recruiting are not always positive. Companies often revert to restructuring staff when they struggle with cost-cutting measures and, for example, the management decides to stop hiring new employees. Despite this decision, certain tasks must be taken care of, so the remaining employees often have to take on additional new tasks. This increased pressure to perform drags the company down, resulting in new vacancies. Internal recruiting should fill these vacancies by redeploying established employees.

Challenges of in-house recruiting

Something that is often forgotten is that the employee in question formerly occupied a position that is now vacant. It is obviously possible to fill it with another competent employee. However, after a short time the company is caught in a cycle that can only be changed if:

1. the tasks associated with the position are allocated to other employees.
2. one employee takes on the work associated with two positions or
3. the company hires a new employee through external recruiting.

The first two options will entail more dissatisfaction among the employees involved. Some of the possible negative repercussions include a sense of being overwhelmed, frustration and a decrease in performance. Other possible consequences are burnout, employees quitting or feeling jealous of colleagues.

Opportunities associated with in-house restructuring 

We shouldn’t immediately think of worst-case scenarios. Cost-saving measures aren’t the only reason why recruiting takes place in-house. When employees are promoted because of their abilities and dedication, this clearly shows how much they are appreciated. The company knows how important they are to it. One major advantage of in-house recruiting is that employees are already familiar with the company, its values, visions and its culture. This often makes long onboarding processes unnecessary. However, the team building process shouldn’t be neglected. Even if employees within a team already know one another, their roles need to be redefined and explained clearly. Existing know-how stays in the company thanks to in-house recruiting, and this strengthens and promotes synergies. By moving employees from one department to another, one can even help avoid that dreaded organizational blindness and a pronounced sense of “department egotism.”

Must-haves for successful in-house recruiting

Careful planning is an essential part of successful in-house recruiting. A lack of clear structures along with not knowing which positions will take on certain specific tasks, and who is responsible for those tasks, can quickly lead to chaos. Given open communications with employees, regular performance reviews, and the recording of general performance levels, including that of interpersonal skills, a specific employee can be placed in a suitable new position within the company. Recruiters and managers have to define their skills, take responsibility for their decisions and provide the employees whose positions are about to change with the information they need. This could be done over the company’s intranet, for example. Companies that don’t use intranet can also use applicant tracking software to contact select candidates or their whole staff about vacancies within the company.