The hiring process is never a simple one, and one of the biggest choices employers have to make is whether they promote from within or hire externally for a specific role. Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks, and companies need to weigh these when assessing potential hiring strategies. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, internal promotions are best suited to situations where a company's talent base is strong, and the position in question does not need to operate outside the traditional philosophies as the company. By contrast, external hiring is a great choice for firms looking to get competitive advantages and new ideas from someone in the role in question.
Internal promotion
There are many benefits to promoting from within. Internal candidates have a strong grasp of company culture, its preferred practices and its operations. Training processes are considerably shortened when choosing a candidate from within a company; the candidate search process becomes much easier as well. Companies are naturally more likely to have a strong, trustworthy initial relationship with an employee who is promoted from within. Finally, cost is another major advantage when it comes to internal candidates, as the streamlined process and minimal resources spent means that a promotion is unlikely to break the bank.
Internal hiring is a less risky move, one that is likely to provide fewer headaches than searching outside the company. However, it is not always the best option. Internal candidates are less likely to have the skills and knowledge that can give a company a competitive advantage.
External hire
Enter the external candidate. External candidates bring their own experiences to a firm, and have a unique perspective that can cover blind spots in an organization. An outsider's perspective can create new solutions and practices that can improve a business's operations, as well as identify problems that more traditional mindsets might not anticipate. External candidates are well-suited to roles that look to overhaul an organization's methods, and are a good choice for a firm that's looking to take a chunk of a new market for themselves. Outside hires bring competitive advantages, such as skills learned from working with a competitor.
Of course, it is important to note the downsides of external hiring. Outside candidates do not start out with knowledge of company culture or the intricacies of its operations. Unlike internal candidates, metrics of an external hire's performance history are not usually available, nor can their claims of past successes and experiences always be verified. As a result, companies should do their due diligence when hiring externally.
Choosing the right external candidate can be a tricky process. YES Partners has the worldwide reach, expertise and diverse breadth of services to help organizations in their efforts to find the executives and additional talent they need. To see some of the roles that YES Partners has already successfully placed, click here.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.
