Get Internal Mobility done, and done right
Wow, have the headlines made a mountain out of a mountain on this one this year. I’ve heard more people concerned about their employees leaving than ever before. I’ve also heard a lot of people tell me that it’s not accurate that quit rates are actually flat.
Regardless of what you’re hearing, look at what you’re seeing.
You’re seeing great people leave your company.
There is data that shows the separation rate has been climbing since the summer.
There has also been a 2-year rise in people starting their own businesses. In fact, since the pandemic, there have been 4.3 million businesses opened.
People are finding a new way to work and create a life that works for them. It’s time we all start listening to what our talent wants.
They want balance.
They want stability.
They want to stay.
But we’ve made it too hard, too siloed, and too confusing to stay. It’s why they hit up LinkedIn first, and not your internal job board <- which is NOT internal mobility.
Three things you need for a strong Internal mobility program
I’m seeing that mobility programs that work have a few things in common:
They are strategic
The best mobility programs are holistic and strategic. They are ego-free. They are when Talent Acquisition and Talent Management come together and solve this problem…AS ONE unit. They are not siloed. They know that they jointly own people staying and growing.
They know that it’s not about having 3 different places to log in to manage your career. They create a cohesive plan together to help people own and advance their career. They know that an internal job board isn’t internal mobility. They know that a separate learning and development platform won’t help them grow if it doesn’t know their skills. These leaders are advancing mobility together for the betterment of their people AND their organization.
They are fearless
They know managers will balk, they don’t care. In fact, 70% of TA leaders say managers are the barrier to getting mobility done. The 30% are the ones who are bold enough to tell the talent-hoarding manager that their top performer is going to leave anyway. Their top performer is getting LinkedIn outreaches daily. Their top performer should be working in a different division to help the top performer and the company elevate.
They also are fearless in their belief that people should be in the drivers’ seat of their own career. They know that the talent will leave. And if we can put them in a different open job, then we only have one job to fill, the lower-level one that top performer is vacating for a better opportunity vs. filling two jobs, the one that could be filled by a top performer AND THE TOP PERFORMER’S JOB!
They know the math
They know that every salaried employee who leaves costs the organization 1.5-2x their salary. They know that hourly employees that leave cost them a bit less, and the churn in hourly right now is HUGE. They know that keeping people saves the company money. They know they ROI on Internal Mobility is the thing that can save their budget and increase the productivity of their recruiters.
The cost of doing nothing
For the 70% of TA pros who are reluctant to move on mobility, I am sorry because the next 9-12 months are going to be painful. You are going to lose a LOT of people. You are going to get tough questions from your leaders on why people keep leaving and that cost will be high.
The cost of doing nothing could cost your organization millions.
The cost to act is low.
We are already seeing such strong numbers in terms of companies leveraging real internal mobility solutions that move the needle and realize a strong ROI.
It’s not too late.
I know Internal Mobility was THE buzzword of 2021, but for good reason. I believe it will continue until we as an group decide to take action.
The choice is yours, and the benefits are enormous.