Success Factors for an Internal Mobility Initiative

Clearly articulate the purpose of your internal mobility program prior to its design and implementation, focusing especially on the value that can be derived from increased employee satisfaction and higher retention rates.

Calculate the potential financial impact of your program. For example, estimate the bottom-line effect of a reduction in turnover of one or two percent.

Put a formal policy in place that covers the internal mobility business rules, including conditions for internal posting (is there a requirement to post all jobs internally?), the manager’s role, and the approval process.

Communicate the policy and process clearly and frequently, especially with senior managers.

Have a communications plan in place to promote to employees the process of accessing opportunities.

Use an Intranet site to post opportunities and receive applications from employees.

Look at your rate of internal fills and modify the way you post jobs in such a way that you will increase or decrease the rate–whichever is your goal. Post positions internally and externally simultaneously if your goal is to draw from the widest candidate pool, or delay posting positions externally to encourage internal mobility initiatives.

Use the automation of staffing-management technology to streamline the processes of informing employees about opportunities and managing employee responses.

Create a skills inventory database from employee profiles.

Link internal skills and performance to training and employee development. This will facilitate “just-in-time” workforce allocation.

Metrics used to measure whether the internal mobility initiative has met its objectives must also be aligned with the overall goals of the company.

Define how you will measure the performance of your internal mobility program; see example below.