Internal Company Mobility: What Is It & Why Is It Important?

Not long ago, internal hiring was rare, as employees typically stayed in specialised roles for years and external recruitment was straightforward with plenty of available talent.

Today, HR has shifted to a more strategic focus on career development, skills, and retention. This has made internal mobility - moving employees within the company - more essential than ever.

In this blog, we’ll explore what internal mobility is and why it’s important for both employees and organisations.

What is Internal Company Mobility?

Internal company mobility refers to the strategic movement of employees into new career and skills development opportunities within the same organisation – either vertically or horizontally.

Some examples of internal company mobility include:

• Cross-functional projects: a collaboration between different teams in an organisation, with all individuals bringing their own experience and perspectives.
• Job swaps: when two employees from different departments swap roles for a set period of time to better understand one another’s roles and gain new skills.
• Temporary roles: an opportunity for a current employee to upskill by temporarily moving into a role that assists the business with a need (e.g. paternity leave cover).
• Job rotation: when an employee is purposefully moved between two or more jobs within an organisation, giving them insight into other areas of the business to discover talents, broaden experience, reduce boredom, and enhance adaptability.
• Mentorships: influence and guidance provided by an experienced professional to someone less experienced, commonly in the same or similar field, which ultimately benefits both parties in terms of advancing their skills and development.
• Promotions: this could be in the form of a job title change; a salary increase and/or additional responsibilities associated with a higher-level position within an employee’s organisation.

Internal company mobility helps to ensure that employees are motivated and aligned with organisational goals and objectives.

By actively creating opportunities for employees to move into other roles and new areas to expand their knowledge, skills and experience, companies benefit from maintaining a well-rounded, competent, and loyal workforce.

Why is Internal Company Mobility Important?

According to the PwC 2024 Global Workforce Hopes & Fears Survey, 28% of respondents confirm that they're likely to switch employer in the next 12 months, with a shocking 67% saying that this decision stems from the lack of opportunity to learn new skills in their current role or company. 

While this should be all the motivation required to prioritise internal mobility strategies, it’s been reported that only 33% of organisations currently offer these programmes formally.

This is a major problem because internal company mobility comes with a variety of benefits for organisations, including:

1) Increased Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is about positive connection employees feel towards their organisation, their colleagues, and their role.

Engagement does not form overnight and takes commitment, flexibility and dedication from both employees and their employers.

A way in which to improve employee engagement, however, includes providing staff with respectable career progression opportunities within the organisation.

If employees know that their growth and development is taken seriously by their employer, they are more likely to feel energised in their role, which in turn, encourages feelings of job satisfaction and company commitment. 

2) Closing Skills Gaps

Skills gaps – or skills shortages – have been slowly increasing year on year in the UK, due to a number of reasons such as increased digitalisation and a lack of private sector investment in skills.

To remain agile and close these skills gaps (and to do it affordably), internal company mobility is vital. This strategy provides opportunities for employees to learn from each other and increase their professional skills and is especially handy within multigenerational workforces.

By encouraging job swaps, for example, employees can learn how to use a variety of workplace tools and platforms, beyond what they currently use. This, in turn, develops their ability to successfully use a range of software and applications, ultimately adding value to their skillset and to their position in the company.

3) Attracting and Retaining Top Talent

As we mentioned earlier, a lack of internal career development opportunities can have a detrimental impact on employee retention, and even considerably reduce a company’s ability to attract new talent.

Internal company mobility is now seen as a significant job perk and plays a key role in recruitment and talent acquisition strategies.

Many job descriptions highlight internal mobility as a benefit, for instance, demonstrating a company’s commitment to employee continuous professional development. This approach also benefits hiring teams by expanding their talent pool, as they can consider both internal and external candidates when filling roles.

4) Fostering a Resilient Workforce

Put simply, the more you encourage your employees to take on new opportunities and learn new skills, the more comfortable they will be doing so.

If an employee knows that both the company and their own manager will be supportive and encouraging during periods of learning, their confidence in their ability will build. This, in turn, creates a more resilient workforce, one that is receptive of business growth and development.

Additionally, workplaces that encourage internal mobility tend to have more of an agile mindset, which stands in good stead when it comes to employees being resourceful in their roles, specifically when tackling project challenges and solving problems.

5) Driving Long-Term Company Success 

A 2024 blog published by LinkedIn explores how internal company mobility is a powerful tool when it comes to futureproofing a business.

Strategic thinking, for example, is more likely to occur amongst employees who can experience all moving parts of a business. It’s only then that through their knowledge of how the whole business operates that they are able to suggest better processes and brain-storm innovative ways to grow.

This is particularly relevant when it comes to senior members of staff and leadership teams, specifically those who have the authority to make strategic business decisions regarding the future direction of the business.

6) Reducing Hiring Costs

While costs still occur when employees move internally, such as a potential change in salary and labour costs, the outlays are still considerably lower than what they would be if a company decides to hire externally.

Currently, research confirms that it could cost approx. £6,125 to hire a new member of staff in the UK, depending on the location and seniority of the individual. 

With external hires, organisations must consider the cost of the distribution of new equipment and benefits, as well as onboarding and company training. Hiring internally, on the other hand, reduces these costs as they are likely to already be in place for an employee moving into a new role.

Examples of Internal Company Mobility in Action

Google

Google’s internal mobility programmes encourage employees to explore different teams and departments, a common example being an engineer from the search team moving to work on AI in Google Cloud.

Company data has shown that the employees who engage in this programme are significantly more satisfied in their role and are both more likely to and enjoy inputting creatively in the project development process.

Amazon

Amazon utilises internal mobility as a way of focusing on skills development. Employees are encouraged to make lateral moves, across various departments and business units. Amazon state that it’s these internal shifts that allow for re-skilling and up-skilling, focusing heavily on continuous professional development.

As a result, Amazon’s retention rates remain strong, as employees feel empowered in their career journeys, as well as feeling better equipped to deal with the demands of the ecommerce business.

Internal Company Mobility Matters for Employee Growth

The demand for skilled, experienced talent is high, and external hiring comes with its own set of challenges.

This is why leveraging and developing your existing talent pool has become more important than ever; not only so that organisations can remain competitive, but so that employees can find employers who prioritise making them feel valued, motivated and engaged.

Enrol on a 100% online CIPD HR qualification today and help your organisation stay on track.