OLX Group

Manjuri Sinha

Recruitment is pegged to get harder than ever. Sounds like a sensational statement, right? Let’s take a step back and see why I say this. As per the latest Gartner report, two top priorities for CEOs in 2024 are Cost Focus and Growth. In essence, companies will want to grow but will not have the luxury of building huge teams like in pre-COVID times. If you cannot grow by hiring, the alternative is automation and increased productivity. Another industry challenge, especially that Western economies will face soon, is the lack of a working-age population. What could the solution be here? 

The answer lies in something HR and business leaders have overlooked for years: Internal Mobility. Amid the digital boom and substantial VC investments during the pandemic, there was a rush to BUY talent, neglecting the potential of nurturing talent from within.

The benefits of internal hires versus external hires are striking. According to HCMI data, internal hires cost 18% less, are 21% less likely to leave in the first year and stay 41% longer at companies with robust internal hiring practices. This underscores a Win-Win Model for both businesses and talent, fostering higher engagement, retention, and productivity while maintaining sustainable costs.

In my current organization, we identified this challenge early on in 2022 and launched OLXPlore, our Internal Mobility Product. Since its inception, we've witnessed a remarkable 48% increase in internal hiring rates.

Achieving this success required more than mere words. Let me share three key steps we took to ensure success:

Culture First: One of the common reasons for the lack of internal mobility is the apprehension that employees have in sharing with their own managers that they would like to move and apply within; they are concerned about how their manager will react to such a request. At the same time, unfortunately, some managers are not 100% willing to let go of their team members. Hence, employees find it way easier to apply to a role externally and move rather than have what they think will be an uncomfortable discussion. This required a culture change, and to address this, we ensured that we communicated the intent from the very top, i.e., our CEO and our C Suite, shared positive stories of internal mobility and growth, and ensured enablement and training of people managers to accept this change positively. 

Enhance Access: Ensure the internal mobility program or policy is easily accessible. Include information on the same during the onboarding of employees and managers. We created a dedicated internal site with all the information, career paths, detailed process flow, etc. Ensure all vacancies are open first to your organization for a week or two before opening them externally; this gives a boost to internal applicants. Allow internal applicants to talk to the hiring manager to explore the role better. In our case, we utilized technology by linking our Applicant Tracking system and Degreed, and we created our own Internal Talent Marketplace. This also enables suggestions and nudges linked to one’s enlisted skills. 

Take Care: Provide the necessary support needed. For example, the company reward policy should also be tied to internal movements. In case of applicants across countries, ensure all information is provided for the relocation, Visa, and work permit support. Another crucial aspect of internal hiring is feedback; in case the employee is not able to clear the hiring process, set a norm that the hiring manager has to provide developmental feedback to the internal candidate. This makes a world of difference in the internal hiring experience and ensures the employee is not left without actionable feedback. 

While our approach worked for us, I encourage you to tailor your internal mobility program to your organization's unique needs through scoping surveys and internal feedback.

Regardless of the approach, prioritizing internal mobility is imperative for talent and business leaders this year. Failing to do so could exacerbate talent shortage challenges for your organization.