In a competitive job market, businesses face two main challenges: attracting top talent and retaining their best people. Often, organisations disproportionately focus on the former, looking to external recruitment to fill skills gaps and drive innovation. However, with CIPD research finding that one in five employers are struggling to fill job vacancies, business leaders are increasingly looking to nurture the value of their internal workforce to meet demands.
“Showing employees how they can grow their careers internally and develop new skills is key to improving retention,” says JC Townend, CEO, LHH and President of The Adecco Group, UK & Ireland.
“Our research shows that while many employees are reluctant to move jobs in the current market, more than half are already considering their next career move, but less than 10% are looking for roles in their current employer,” she says.
“Companies should be concerned that some of their best people are looking to move on when the job market picks up – and the best way to counteract this is to start meeting their career ambitions now.”
Career coaching
According to LinkedIn’s 2023 Workplace Learning Report, 93% of organisations are worried about employee retention. As a result, the top retention strategy businesses are focusing on is providing learning opportunities to develop skills.
However, creating an effective retention strategy requires a more holistic approach than simply offering skills training. Leaders need to create an environment where internal mobility is encouraged and employees understand how to transition to new roles. A culture of continuous development is key.
“Leaders need to work structurally to ensure that support is in place for all employees to explore their career ambitions. Previously, companies could get by with formal structures where HR departments created career pathways and both managers and employees understood what was required to progress. Today, jobs change so quickly that one CHRO told me career paths are becoming obsolete as soon as they are created at their company,” says Townend.
Leaders need to realise that internal mobility is about more than just skills gap analysis and providing training
“Secondly, we find that individuals are no longer looking for a single progression path through a company, or even a single career for life. They might want to completely change career paths or move into new areas. They may also want to make non-intuitive jumps into different sectors that HR professionals can never plan for,” she adds.
Many companies are now using internal talent marketplaces and skills audits to empower employees to find new roles and assess how transferable skills are. However, most companies are finding this isn’t enough, and they are not getting the engagement from employees they expected. Instead, building a truly successful internal mobility programme requires providing employees with internal job search and landing skills, such as through effective career coaching, to complement such marketplaces.
“Leaders need to realise that internal mobility is about more than just skills gap analysis and providing training. They have to help employees understand how to land these roles, whether that’s how to find them, interview for them or be chosen. Managing that transition is more complex than just having the right job skills,” says Townend. “Companies should equally be investing in portals that help employees learn internal job-landing techniques and they should be providing career coaching support.”
The role of managers
Line managers can offer support here. As an employee’s supervisor, they should regularly create space to discuss future ambitions. “Firstly, managers should have career conversations regularly, not just during reviews,” advises Townend. “Secondly, they need to help employees network with key decision-makers in different functions and build their internal brand in these areas. Finally, they can connect employees with short-term opportunities in their chosen area of interest. This all helps them to build their reputation and experience before applying to new roles.”
The impact of external factors such as AI and tech advances on the pace of change in organisations is quickening, with new opportunities opening up all the time. The World Economic Forum predicts 83 million jobs will be eliminated by 2027, but 69 million new ones will be created, putting pressure on organisations to equip internal talent for rapid changes. By building employees’ confidence in their capabilities and know-how around navigating different opportunities, line managers can play a vital role in helping firms innovate and move at pace when it comes to new teams and projects.
“We know that in a lot of companies there is a straightforward job market but also a hidden one. These are internal roles that aren’t advertised for confidentiality reasons, or even those that are created for a specific person that the company sees can contribute in a new and unforeseen way. Supervisors can be gatekeepers to this,” says Townend.
Culture of continuous development
While an effective line manager can provide the link between management and employees to support internal mobility, many are reluctant to do so. Leaders need to create a culture where internal mobility is seen as a positive for the organisation, not a negative for individual teams.
“Supervisors can play an important role in helping employees find that next opportunity, but some don’t want their best people moving on. However, we’ve found that supervisors who nurture careers actually benefit. If you’re known as someone who promotes people’s careers, you’re more likely to get good people wanting to join your team,” says Townend.
“Secondly, if you’re a manager helping people to grow, those people often become more patient about moving into their next role. They can see the progress they’re making and although it might take longer to get that role, they are more likely to wait for the right position,” she adds.
Many organisations are increasingly incentivising managers to promote internal mobility. Just as employees seek new opportunities, so do managers. Offering promotion opportunities to those who create a collaborative environment or helping them move into new areas is a way for leaders to demonstrate the value of developing careers.
Creating an effective retention strategy is about more than simply offering employees the opportunity for internal mobility. Instead, it requires constant communication, career coaching and the opportunity for employees to take control of their own development.
“If employees understand what needs to happen to get into a new role and are empowered to get on with developing new skills, they don’t feel like they are waiting for a top-down approach to get an opportunity. It’s about putting power in the hands of the individual and for employers to proactively support them in achieving their career aspirations,” says Townend.
LHH specialises in career transition and mobility, leadership development and recruitment solutions. Find out more at lhh.com/uk
