Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, more and more companies have been focusing on mobility. While a lot of hiring was frozen, HR has been able to focus more on in-house talent. Internal mobility is a real challenge when it comes to defining the talents, skills, motivations, performance and fulfillment of an employee. So, how do you measure and manage internal mobility processes? What tools are available today and what should be measured to effectively monitor the process?
What are the benefits of internal mobility?
Engaging in internal mobility makes it possible to meet both the needs of the company and its employees. There are many benefits to investing in internal mobility.
The 3 main benefits for companies
- Retention: Your employees did not decide to join your company just by chance. They are (hopefully) aligned with the company culture, its values and feel good about their jobs. Through internal mobility, the company sends a positive message to employees. This is the best way to show that, as an employer, you want to invest in your talent, to help them develop and progress.
- Diversity: Internal mobility brings diversity to teams, particularly through geographical mobility or functional mobility.. It allows another context, new skills, other experiences and a new vision to enter into a team
- Solidarity: Mobility makes it possible to integrate teams and strengthen their cohesion.
The benefits of internal mobility for employees
As a company grows, teams naturally tend to compartmentalise and take minimal interest in what is happening in other departments. With the arrival of remote work, this effect is amplified since the opportunities to physically meet and interact are diminishing.
Some employers offer rewards for cooperating. That is to say, they encourage employees to use their individual skills for the benefit of the collective performance of the company outside of their designated function. When cooperative behaviours are reinforced, we increase the solidarity and therefore the interdependence of teams.
This approach makes it possible to build bridges between teams and influence internal mobility since employees already have stronger ties throughout the rest of the company.
Measuring mobility through motivation
For an employee, motivation can translate into salary, work environment, satisfaction, performance, etc. On the HR side, an employee’s motivation is an objective to be worked towards and achieved.
The link between competence, motivation and performance
A “motivation map” is a matrix that brings together competence on a vertical axis and motivation on a horizontal axis. This is how we can identify 4 profiles internally:
- motivated – competent
- motivated – incompetent
- unmotivated – competent
- unmotivated – incompetent
Internal mobility allows you to resolve the situation for any of these four types of profile. This allows HR to bring more perspective to everyone and avoid the degradation of certain profiles by taking stock of what they can bring to the company.
Of course, there is a natural tendency to get rid of unmotivated or unskilled employees, even though it remains possible to develop these people rather than resorting to dismissal or external recruitment for replacement. This is also the time to do some introspection on this type of profile by looking for the origin of the problem: mismatched potential, a company culture that does not fit their profile, new incompatible business model, etc.
External mobility
When a profile no longer matches and cannot evolve within the company, it is time to consider a way out. Establishing a dialogue and helping the person find an external position and encouraging them to develop new skills is the best way to support your talent until they leave.
How to manage internal mobility?
The role of HR and managers will be to help employees develop and establish dialogues on their desires for mobility. Everything must therefore be put in place so that the employee is engaged in their own mobility, starting by making the process more fluid.
Document the process
The mobility process must be visible and accessible to everyone in the company. Every employee should understand how mobility works, their own eligibility, the duration of the process, the stages of promotion, etc. In the context of geographical mobility, it will also be necessary to mention the procedures for obtaining a work visa, the financing of the move, the salary, etc.
Simplify the process and make it engaging
Keep in mind that the process should be as streamlined as possible. Employees should be able to identify available positions quickly. You could consider setting up alerts in order to globally broadcast open positions to ensure that everyone has access to them.
To make the process more engaging, one option to explore is internal “job dating”. These events can also be done virtually. The idea is that each employee can discover positions on their own, find out what the missions and desired skills are for each post. It is also a good way to encourage meetings and exchanges between employees from different teams. Direct feedback and concrete testimonials make it easier for people to envision themselves and their future.
AI in service of mobility
Data allows HR to measure the percentage of positions filled internally. This data can also be communicated in order to boost mobility by allowing employees to project themselves on their development potential.
The data collected remains an indicator of the current trend and health of the company. It is interesting to combine mobility data with those conducted around the level of satisfaction or frustration of teams. This makes it possible to know whether employees project themselves in the company, or on the contrary not at all.
Every business has different challenges as they grow. Utilising internal mobility allows HR to avoid recruitment selections errors and to rely on the talent already present by measuring an employee’s potential for mobility in advance. By communicating, by multiplying the points of contact and by simplifying access to the data available on mobility, your company can put all the chances on its side to offer an effective mobility path.
