What do you do when it's time to fill key management and leadership positions within your organization? Do you seek out leaders and poach them from other companies? Many do. However, there is a very persuasive argument to promote from within that you may want to consider.
Here are a few reasons why your company may see better results from up-skilling:
You see higher degrees of employee retention.
It's only natural that your employees will look to greener pastures if they feel like there is a lack of mobility within your organization. The other side of that coin is that you will see your people investing themselves more in the company if they feel like there is an opportunity to grow.
When they feel like they are being given the opportunity to take on senior management positions then your team members will feel like you are investing in them. This promotes a healthier corporate culture overall.
You save money.
Hiring outside talent is much more expensive than promoting from within. In fact, one study suggests that the cost of recruiting and training for middle management position can cost up to nine months of that particular candidate salary. So imagine how much you will be paying when you are looking to bring on a new vice president or CEO! Startups and mid-sized firms in particular will find that the cash they save by promoting within is a huge bonus.
You improve productivity by improving morale.
When your employees have something to strive for then they will work harder – it's just that simple. By showing your employees that you are willing to promote based on measurable achievements than they will be more motivated and incentivized to hit their marks. This goes for sales staff, management, customer service agents and everyone else within the company.
If you only fill those positions from outside resources than you will be showing your employees that no matter how hard they work there’s a ceiling to what they can achieve within your company. Instead, you want your team members to feel like there is no limit to where they can go if they work hard enough—and the only way for them to feel that way is if you show them that it's true.
You can make faster transitions.
The new economy requires companies in all industries to be faster and more efficient than ever. When you hire from outside the company then you are bringing on someone who is not familiar with your culture or systems. There is almost certainly going to be a significant lag period where productivity slows down in that department until the new recruit can be on-boarded.
Now think about what happens when you promote from within. There is almost a seamless transition because the employee is already familiar with many of the tasks even if they've been observing them from a different seat. They will understand your culture and how you do things and this means that they will be much quicker when it comes to carrying out their most important tasks.
Your teams will embrace the new leadership faster.
This is similar to the previous point. When you promote from within than your team members will already be familiar with the new leader. They will understand their personality and how they view the tasks at hand. There will be a sense of cohesion and camaraderie that you simply can't get without time together.
You are looking for results and when there is friction between your team members then those results will be slower to come by. Promoting from within means that your company will have a stronger and more unified sense of identity.
There are obviously times when you will need to hire from outside. For example, when there are specific skill sets that you need that are not readily available within your organization then you will have to look outside to find them. This might be proficiency with new enterprise-level software, for example.
Also, when your organization thrives on new perspectives and change then it may provide a boost to your employee morale to bring on somebody with new ways of approaching the challenges ahead. Also, when there are huge strategy shifts or tumultuous business challenges and you may simply not have the resources to train up someone within the appropriate time then you may need to find outside for your talent.
Upskilling your team members requires a systematic approach with effective planning strategies to help you make the transition. Without an effective plan in place then there is far too much chaos involved in the process that can cause friction. However, if you take the time to develop a strategy for promoting your employees into key management and leadership positions, then you will see serious and lasting benefits that will directly impact your bottom line.
If you're interested in resources that will help you identify, train, and retain the talent within your organization then we encourage you to have a look at the Go1 Marketplace.
Here you'll find thousands of eLearning resources that can help your HR department become trailblazers in today’s economy.
