Research of Gardner reveals that only 33% of employees that seek a new role, look internally first. Additionally, a study by consulting firm SDWorx (2024) highlights that half of the companies within Europe do not even have a clear view on the internal talents and their competences. They seem to experience difficulties to mobilize their employees to other roles. More than half of the managers admit that they do not prioritize talent mobilisation or career conversations. A situation that leaders and HR would do well to address.

Barriers and how to address them

Nevertheless, there is a growing awareness of the importance of internal mobility in retaining talent and facilitating organization growth. HR professionals play a pivotal role in driving this shift, we need to improve internal mobility to move talents among regions, positions, jobs. Let us first investigate the barriers hindering employees to apply for internal roles (Smith, Kohn & Pilewsk, 2022).

  1. Awareness: internal job openings lack visibility and are primarily communicated through informal channels. It might trigger an advantage towards employees with stronger social connections.
  2. Access: if there is a job opening, there is a perception that another employee will be favoured. Or that the job is only accessible for the “key talents”, fostering a belief that career progression is easier elsewhere.
  3. Support: Employees do not feel supported by their manager and teams. They want to avoid awkwardness of expressing interest in changing jobs (eg. Betraying their manager, discomfort). It might suggest a dissatisfaction to the manager. These feelings of discomfort lead them to seek external opportunities.

To address these challenges, HR professionals need to be aware of the barriers and implement more strategic initiatives that foster the culture of internal mobility (Smith, Kohn & Pilewsk, 2022; De Vos et. al, 2024). The following initiatives will reinforce internal mobility:

  1. Technology: Establish internal job platforms accessible to all employees. We need to think even a step further: the platform should easily navigate their careers, matching jobs to their skills/preferences. The platform can help to build a development plan and prepare them for roles of interest.
  2. Equal opportunities: Managers offer stretch projects only to emerging leaders/high potentials, which in turn gives these employees greater opportunities within the company. We should expand stretch assignments, mentoring programs beyond emerging leaders, where we emphasize the importance of employee-driven career development. We should have a clearer picture of employees’ aspirations beyond their job and provide coaching/mentoring You need to install the feeling that every employee can grow within the company, he or she is at the steering wheel and the manager/HR can co-pilot.
  3. Culture of growth/support for mobility: Integrate career conversations and talent sharing into the company culture. Discussions on their next role, potential career options should be built into the goal setting/performance process or in the talent reviews. HR professionals should fully encourage hiring from within and facilitate career paths and guide managers through these development conversations. A growth-oriented culture, where internal hiring is prioritized, and managers actively support employees’ career progression is a sine qua non for employees to feel comfortable applying on internal positions.

Internal mobility is increasingly recognized as a key driver of growth and retention, and it will be a major source of talent and competitive advantage. While there are many ways to enhance talent development, such as leadership programs, fostering a high learning culture, offering crossborder assignments, etc. these actions must be deeply embedded in the company structure. They should not be seen as isolated interventions, as all the different actions for talent development are interconnected. An organization is a complex whole of interacting structures, so a good internal mobility process is only one condition for developing talent. As HR professionals, we must understand that creating a strong internal mobility program requires a tailored approach where we need to adapt a systemic approach and integrate actions into the existing structures of the company.

A personal reflection on the role of managerial support in internal mobility

In my experience, internal mobility has not always been a key part of the talent management strategy. It was often underappreciated and frequently treated as an isolated initiative, rather than an integral part of the broader organizational strategy. At a mid-sized company where I previously worked, this was particularly evident. Through various exit interviews, it became clear that employees hesitated to speak openly about their ambitions or apply for internal positions, often opting to look for opportunities elsewhere. The primary reason cited was a lack of support from their current managers, coupled with fear that expressing interest in other roles might be perceived as not loyal to their team.

Reflecting on this, I now believe that managerial support is crucial in influencing an employee’s decision to apply for internal roles. Recognizing this, the company eventually took steps to increase visibility of internal positions through the intranet and internal emails. However, making roles visible is just the first step. For real change, HR needed to embed deeper more strategic actions that emphasized the important of supporting employees’ aspirations.

A practical solution that can be implemented is a manager training program focused on reframing internal mobility. This training would educate managers to view internal moves not as a threat to team stability, but as a positive element of employee development. For example, the training could include coaching techniques on how to discuss career goals with team members and support their aspirations within the company. Moreover, to reinforce this mindset, performance management processes can be revised to include metrics on how well managers supported their team members’ career growth. These measures could help cultivate an environment where employees feel empowered and supported in their career and thus have an effect on employees’ willingness to pursue internal opportunities.