The Dos and Don'ts of Internal Hiring

By Christine Ascher on August 15, 2018

 Often when trying to fill an empty position within their company, employers forget about one amazing pool of candidates right in front of them: their current employees. In addition to being a great way to fill in vacant positions, internal hiring is also a good way to reward your current employees for their good work and to motivate them to work harder. If they see that you recognize their potential and are willing to consider them for advancement, for instance, they’ll be appreciative of your recognition and, even if it doesn’t work out this time, more hopeful of getting a promotion in the long run. However, there are some factors that you should take into consideration when it comes to internal hiring in order to ensure that the process goes smoothly—and that it works out for the best for your company. If you’re thinking about hiring internally for your company, make sure you take into consideration the following do’s and don’ts of internal hiring.

Women, handshake, interview

Image via https://pixabay.com

Do Take into Consideration What External Candidates Can Offer

One factor of internal hiring, which could be a positive or a negative, is that it can affect the size of your company and the way that your company develops. If you’re not hiring external candidates for certain positions, you won’t have as many new people joining the company, especially on more senior levels. On the one hand, this could have some benefits for your company; for instance, your employees will know the company well, will understand how things work, and will become more invested in the company’s success as they work to move up and work there for a longer period of time. However, there can also be some negatives to failing to bring in external candidates to fill positions. New employees can bring a fresh perspective on your company, and may have some great ideas for how to better its efficiency and results. While your preferences in terms of hiring internally or externally may vary, it’s a good idea to consider what you could be gaining or missing by foregoing the external hiring process.

Do Consider the Potential Savings

One potential benefit of hiring internally is the fact that it will save you the money that can go into the hiring process when looking for an outside candidate. For instance, you won’t have to pay for any candidates to travel to your city and interview for the position, and you won’t have to advertise the position (or, at least, you won’t have to advertise as extensively). You also won’t have to put as much time into training them, as they’ll already be familiar with the way the company is run, and they’ll be able to take on the full responsibilities of their job sooner than an external hire would. If your company is on a tight budget or if you’re just hoping to keep down the costs of hiring, internal hiring is a great way to do so. You also won’t have to worry about hiring a candidate who turns out to be a poor fit for the position later on down the road, as you’ll know that your internal candidates are a good fit with the company and you’ll already have been able to directly evaluate them based on their current work.

Infographic by Christine Ascher

Again, hiring internally can have a great effect on the perspectives of your current employees, so it’s important to let them know that the potential for internal hiring exists. Whether you’re advertising for a specific position or speaking in more general terms, make sure that your current employees know that they could potentially be considered for advancement when positions open up. This will encourage them to work harder and, in many cases, will keep your employees from looking elsewhere to find advancement in their careers. If they know that the possibility exists for them to be advanced to a new position, they won’t feel the need to move to another company if they’re looking for a promotion.

Do Make It Clear What You’re Looking For

As with an external hiring process, it’s important that your candidates know exactly what you’re looking for when you start advertising for the position. That way, you’ll be more likely to have internal candidates applying for the job who are genuinely qualified, and can hopefully avoid the awkwardness of having to tell someone that you already work with that they won’t fit the job description for the position. In addition, as with any hiring process, letting your candidates know what you’re looking for will help them get a better idea of the job in question and whether they would like it, as well as how they can succeed during the interview process. In addition, establishing some criteria for your candidates will help you stay on track when interviewing and considering different people for the position—and it can be a great way to help you stay unbiased when evaluating your co-workers for a potential promotion.

Do Let Candidates Know Why They Were (and Weren’t) Chosen

For any company, it’s important for your employees to be constantly growing, as this will help your company grow and improve in turn. One way to help your employees improve is through the internal hiring process. Make sure that you let your candidates know why they’re being considered for the position, as this will let them know what they’re doing right. Then, for the candidates who aren’t chosen to fill the position, in the end, let them know why they weren’t ultimately chosen. By letting them know where they could improve and by giving them some constructive tips for what they can do better in the future, you’ll help your employees grow—so that, in addition to helping your company become stronger, they’ll be able to move up eventually as well.

Do Establish a Policy for Hiring Internally

According to Shala Marks in the article “8 Rules for Internal Hiring,” it’s essential to create a policy for internal hiring before you begin the process. The policy should address who can apply for positions internally and any specific restrictions that may apply when hiring internally—for instance, if an employee needs to have been in their current position for a certain amount of time before applying for a new one. As Marks states, you should also take into consideration the people who will need to be involved in the hiring process. Consider, for instance, if you plan to consult with your employees’ supervisors during the hiring process and at what point that consultation should take place.

Don’t Limit Your Options

Internal hiring can be great, provided that you have the right candidate. However, sometimes the perfect candidate for the position that you’re trying to fill might be someone new. While looking among your current employees to fill a position is a good place to start, it’s a good idea not to limit your options to just your current employees. You’ll never know what you’re missing if you don’t consider some outside candidates, and you may risk missing out on a great new addition to your company if you don’t extend the job offer to outsiders.

Don’t Let It Create Tension

One potential danger of hiring internally is that your current employees who are not chosen for the position will become discouraged or even angry at not being chosen. If you’re interviewing among co-workers to fill a position, there is a risk that the process will create awkwardness or tension among them. This is an important factor to take into consideration when hiring internally, as it can affect your company’s atmosphere going forward. In general, it’s a good idea to be as transparent as possible about the hiring process, so that your candidates don’t feel like they’ve been treated unfairly. If you’re open about who you’re considering for a position and, ultimately, why you chose the candidate you did, your employees will be more likely to accept the outcome and, to their benefit, will have a better understanding of what you’re looking for when it comes to internal hiring.

Don’t Let Personal Feelings Come into Play

Unfortunately, one challenge that comes with internal hiring is that of your personal relationships and feelings. When you’re hiring internally, you’ll already be familiar with your candidates and you may be closer to some than to others. As a result, it can be tempting to favor one person over another simply due to your personal affiliations—and it will definitely be difficult if you have to turn down a good friend for the job. In order to ensure that the best person for the position gets it, and thereby to do what’s best for your company, it’s essential that you set your personal feelings aside before beginning the hiring process. It may be a good idea to involve someone in the hiring process who can provide an unbiased opinion of the candidates, or at least to balance out your own potential biases. You may also want to have a conversation with your employees prior to beginning the hiring process, letting them know that you’re not going to let your current relationships affect the final outcome.

Don’t Let Things Get Awkward

When choosing among your current employees to fill a position, one unfortunate but inevitable outcome of the process is that you will have employees who aren’t chosen for the position—but who you still have to see regularly. This can result in some awkward situations, both for you and for your employees. One strategy for avoiding this awkwardness is to have a discussion with each of the candidates following your hiring decision to explain your thought process and why you chose a certain person for the job. By talking one-on-one with each of the candidates, you’ll give them an opportunity to ask questions and to get out any lingering awkward feelings that may have surfaced. Then, hopefully, once they return to their normal position you’ll both be able to move on from the hiring process with no hard feelings.

Businessman, handshake, hand

Image via https://pixabay.com

Don’t Go Straight to a Candidate’s Supervisor

When employees apply for an internal position, they may have chosen not to alert their current supervisor right away, opting instead to see if they have a chance at the new position before enduring that potentially awkward conversation. As a result, it can get messy if you approach a candidate’s supervisor without first talking to the candidate about it. Give them a chance to approach their supervisor independently before you get involved to avoid creating tension or making the situation difficult for your candidates. While a supervisor should eventually be made aware of the situation, it’s a bad idea to approach them right away.

Don’t Choose Internal Hiring Just for the Convenience

There are undoubtedly several advantages that come along with internal hiring—one major one being that the internal hiring process can be much easier than a search for external candidates. You’ll have a smaller pool of candidates to choose from, you can interview them right away, and you’ll probably be able to come to a decision much faster than you would if you were trying to find a qualified outside candidate. However, it’s important that the potential convenience of the internal hiring process not cloud your judgment. The hiring process is essential to a company’s success, so you’ll be doing it a major disservice if you choose internal hiring just as an easy way out. Make sure that you think objectively about the best way to go about filling a position before you begin the hiring process.

Internal hiring is definitely a great way to go when you need to fill a position in your company, especially if that position is more senior or needs to be filled quickly. However, it can be very different from hiring externally, so you should know what to expect before you begin the process. By keeping in mind some of these do’s and don’ts, you’ll be able to find a great employee for any position!

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