Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

Internal recruitment is when a company, instead of looking for candidates outside the organization, you know, fills a job opening by hiring someone who already works for them. This can include current employees being promoted from one area to another, the return of someone who is temporarily working in the company, or the hiring of a person who is from another company. This way, the current employees working within the organization have a better chance of securing higher and other well-paid posts. In the end, the company itself can be assured that there is no need to hire people outside of the organization when the people currently working in the company can handle higher and different work positions. And there are a lot of benefits to doing that. We’ll get to that in the next section, and yes, there’ll be the downsides of internal recruitment as well, so you’ll know the full picture regarding this. Alright, here we go now.

Advantages of Internal Recruitment

1. Speedy Hiring

When a company hires someone who is already part of it, the hiring process is usually faster, and it shouldn’t be that hard to understand why’s that exactly, right? This is because the person is already aware of the workings of the company, you know? And yes, the time required for interviews, background checks, and training is significantly increased if a new person is brought to a firm. That simply means the company can find candidates rather quickly, and the staff can also be spotted by their new employees in a short time and serve immediately.

2. Wallet-Friendly

Recruiting internally can be the answer to the company’s financial problems. You know, the company doesn’t need to spend on advertising the job or paying for the recruitment agencies. On top of that, since the employee already knows how the company works, they can start being productive faster, saving time and, as they say, time is money.

3. Happy Employees, Happy Company

When the employees realize that there is a possibility to climb up the company’s career ladder it creates a feeling of worthiness amongst them. This can be a boost to their spirits and make them feel even happier and more committed to their job, and that’s a good thing overall. When there are loyal, fulfilled, and happy employees working in an organization, it can very well result in higher turnovers down the line, and new growth peaks.

4. No Culture Shock Here

One of the biggest hiring challenges is making sure the newcomer is compatible with the organization’s values, right? But, with internal recruitment, there’s no such hurdle as the employee already belongs to the group and knows the company’s values and how they are applied, and that’s one of the best bits.

5. Quicker Onboarding

When someone is hired internally, they often understand the company’s policies and how things are done in it already, which means they won’t need as much time to prepare for the new role. Thus, they can start off with a good contribution from the very beginning of their work instead of a new employee like a stranger understanding the work and then getting at it.

6. More Engaged Employees

Everybody wants a future and a hopeful promotion, so whenever it is seen that someone is promoted, others feel involved in the game and do their best. This competitive environment is kinda good, which sends the message that if you do good work, you’ll surely get promoted.

7. Improves Employer Brand

The fact that employees from within the company are promoted rather than outsiders hired also shows how strong the company really is. It shows that the company is going to help its own people grow which is something that job seekers today look for.

Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment

1. Smaller Talent Pool

The main disadvantage of recruiting exclusively from within the company is the limited number of people who could apply for the openings, you know? If a company only considered its employees for hiring, it would likely ignore some outsiders who would better perform the respective tasks, right? And sure, in this regard, it would be a problem if the internal recruitment process leads to a personnel shortage, as internal candidates do not have enough deep knowledge or different perspectives that others may bring. ​

2. Jealousy and Tension

See, those who did not get the position may feel like they are not appreciated, or they may have the feeling that they were unfairly passed over. As a result, not only do some colleagues feel this way but the whole team can become a little tense, and if you don’t get it, we are talking about the jealousy factor here.

3. Gaps in the Team

Filling an employee’s position when he/she is promoted or transferred to a new role can make gaps appear in the team. And then the company would have to perform another recruitment task to fill in those gaps aka the work positions, which is another headache because newbies will be coming in and then there will be training and all that.

4. Risk of Stagnation

By promoting someone from within, it is possible for a firm to be in a stagnant state where the employees become too comfortable following the existing methods of doing things. And that happens quite a lot, that’s why it would be possible that after some time, the company will think of starting another recruitment process where they’ll bring in outsiders who have better skills and are more talented, to work for them. So the question is, why not do it in the first place?

5. Managerial Pushback

Sometimes, managers may not be on board with internal recruitment, you know, worrying about losing their most talented employees to other departments. And this thing can very well lead to kinda chaos within the organization and it can also be an issue for the overall productivity and the growth of the company.

Comparison Table for Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment