by Amon Karagara

Created on: July 23, 2010

Internal recruiting is when a company hires from within the existing employees to fill a vacant position. Some managers, especially in large organizations, opt for internal recruiting since they have a variety of employees with different skills to pick from. Internal recruiting has some pros and cons.

 ADVANTAGES:

1. You already know what you are getting. You already know the person you are dealing with, so you can easily judge their performance, character, skills, etc. With an entirely new person however, you are taking chances. Sometimes you can hire someone thinking they are great, only to find out later that they are incompetent in certain areas.

2. Improves employee motivation. Internal recruiting provides an opportunity for existing employees to advance their career and move a step up. This shows them that you value their skills and it encourages them to work harder, hoping that you will consider them first when another position becomes vacant. 

3. It might help in retaining those who might otherwise leave the company. Most employees are always looking for better opportunities, either within the company or outside. There are those who would leave if they realize there is no chance for them to get a promotion or a better position. Internal recruiting will eliminate this, hence allowing the company or business to retain its good employees.

4. Saves time. The entire recruiting process can take a lot of time before you finally arrive at the correct candidate. With internal recruiting however, this is not a major issue. A position can be filled in just a few days. And since the existing employee already knows his way around the business, there is no need for orientation and familiarization sessions.

5. Less costly. Avoiding the costs of recruitment; advertising, training, etc. When a company decides to fill the position internally, all it needs to do is post it where existing employees will access it, such as on its website, notice boards, or sending the information via company email. In addition, there is no need for as much training as in the case of an external person coming on board.

DISADVANTAGES

1. Limited choices on skills and ideas. There could be some skills that your existing employees don’t posses. So you might be missing out if you choose to just recruit from within. When you hire external people, they might bring in some great ideas that could help develop the company even further.

2. Friction between employees. When an existing employee is considered for a new and better position within the organization, others might feel as thought they are not being valued enough, even if they know this particular employee is more skilled, experienced and perhaps does a better job than they do. This can lead to poor productivity among the unhappy employees, who would otherwise be neutral if an outside person was hired.

3. Creating a vacancy that will need to be replaced. Unless the existing employee’s position is being eliminated when he/she takes over the new assignment, there will be a vacancy left behind, which will need to be filled. So, eventually, the company or business might still find itself looking for someone from outside to fill this.

Organizations or businesses should first consider the pros and cons of internal recruiting before they fill any open positions. Of course, the consequences of doing so might differ from organization to another, depending on the position or the set up of the whole company.

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