The Value of Hiring from Within the Company

When the time comes to fill an open position within your company, one of the most cost-effective and practical methods you can use is to hire a candidate from within the current employee pool. In many cases, there are employees already working for you who are well qualified to fill your new employment openings. Look around — the perfect person for the job may be right before your eyes!

You can start by making sure to communicate with your entire staff when a position is opening up, and let people know that the company is open to considering current employees for the position. Depending on the size of your business, you can ask the HR department to review the skills and qualifications of people who are already employed by the company to see if there are “hidden talents” among the staff.

Existing employees generally require less training that new hires do, and a current employee brings a wealth of company experience and knowledge to the job. Hiring a current employee ensures that your “new hire” will already be familiar with the company’s policies and business goals. In addition, hiring from within the company can save you a good deal of money just on recruiting costs alone.

When a company hires from within, it has the advantage of being familiar with the employee. Having already evaluated the person’s strengths and weaknesses while on the job (and having observed him or her in action over the years), employers are in a better position to know if the employee will be a good fit or not. When hiring from outside the company, however, there is always the risk that someone who appears ideal during the interviewing process will prove a poor fit once on the job.

If the employee is looking for a position that is a step up from his or her current one but still in the same department or general area, the switch will be a relatively painless one. If an employee is looking to make a more significant change — changing the course of their career path by switching to a completely different department and different type of job, for example — then while there may be a learning curve to deal with during the transition, you illustrate your company’s commitment to employee development by allowing your staff member to learn while on the job.

A company that demonstrates a policy of hiring from within also fosters greater employee loyalty, which can have concrete benefits throughout the company. Employees at all levels are more likely to challenge themselves when they know that there is potential for future job advancement within the firm. This means a lower employee turnover rate and a higher job-satisfaction rate, both of which are always good for business.