Internal mobility: A bright alternative to a hiring freeze

With the current talent market and economic uncertainty, businesses may see hiring freezes as a cost-saving alternative. When managed correctly this tactic may be effective in the short term. However, there are alternatives to pausing recruitment that talent acquisition leaders must consider.

Clever internal mobility poses a solution. Lu Hayward-Graham, Global Client Services Director, shares her perspective on this topic with IT Pro.

From the article:

Investments in new talent moving forward are a critical component of all businesses' strategic development roadmaps. As they see their markets, customers, and the economic climate they are trading within changing almost daily, the priorities business leaders are focusing on do include talent and recruitment, but this isn't their only concern. For example, the layoffs already seen across the tech sector are a symptom of a broader concern about whether enterprises can continue to offer their services and products to an audience with different drivers than just a few years ago.

“Clever internal mobility is often much more effective than large programs of recruitment,” says Hayward-Graham. “The objective is to move talent around the business to get through the tricky period, for example redeploying and mobilizing existing talent. 

“Proactive and reactive internal mobility is about reaching out to those individuals that are around 60% fit to their role and asking, 'have you thought about applying to this other, more suitable role?' If you need to fulfil a role during this downturn period, you must advertise this internally. Employees need sight of every scenario, so they know it doesn’t always have to end in an exit. That’s legally defensible too.”