Business costs mount as bosses ignore internal recruitment

10 July 2014 -

Organisations may be missing out on top talent by failing to promote from within their company, new research reveals

Jermaine Haughton

Many employers are losing talented staff and absorbing unnecessary costs as bosses neglect internal promotion opportunities, according to a new study.

The Cornerstone OnDemand survey of 363 European organisations shows that despite more than three quarters (77%) of organisations identifying internal recruitment as critical to their business, only a third of vacancies are actually filled by the process. 

A quarter of bosses surveyed said the fear of losing top performers was a strong barrier, as 14% also reported difficulties in creating internal vacancies and a further 12% pointed to worries of limited diversity in the workplace. According to Vincent Belliveau, senior vice president & general manager EMEA at Cornerstone OnDemand, promoting staff from within an organisation allows the firm to further develop, engage and retain workers.

“Your employees are your best asset, so it makes sense for companies to tap into this valuable talent pool.” said Belliveau. “Staff turnover and external recruitment can be prohibitively expensive, costing more than £30,000 on average, per role. Organisations already have a good understanding of the skills and aptitudes of their people, making internal hires a faster, more effective way of recruiting. However, there are clearly barriers blocking companies from making the most of this.” For 93% of the companies surveyed, internal recruitment has been successful in the past which suggests the relatively low use of the process is due to short-sighted thinking by bosses who fail to recognise the long-term benefits, such as reduced costs. Additionally, the research showed technological flaws in the recruitment system with 69% admitting they rely on simple job posting systems to hire internally, despite 40% preferring to choose staff from a dedicated career planning system.
“Without a fast and effective means of recording current employee skills and matching these skills to internal vacancies, internal recruitment is time-consuming and frustrating,” concludes Belliveau. 

“This complexity can drive HR teams to advertise externally and unnecessarily. However, it’s vital that they look at the bigger picture – while managers might worry about losing talent within the department, it’s far worse for the company to lose this talent entirely. People now have multiple careers – not just multiple jobs – within their lives, and savvy organisations which embrace this can not only retain, but also engage and develop their best people, ultimately benefiting the entire organisation.”

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