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Recruiting and promoting from within is one way to fill gaps in your organization, but it‘s not always the best strategy. When deciding whether to recruit internally or look outside your organization, consider the pros and cons:

Pro

• Skills. You should have a good idea of the strengths and potential of your current employees. Past evaluations and observations should tell you whether you’ve got someone capable of moving into a new position.

• Motivation. If you’re doing your job, your existing workforce should already be highly motivated to succeed. And the promise of a promotion or a change can inspire employees to put even more effort into their performance.

• Costs. Recruiting internally doesn’t call for the expenditures and time that going outside your organization will require (job postings, extensive interviewing, reference checks, etc.).

• Retention. Employees will be less likely to leave an organization when they see opportunities for advancement—and when they’ve just been promoted.

Con

• Gaps. A brand new position, or a new product, may call for skills that don’t currently reside in your workforce. Sometimes you need to look outside for the right knowledge.

• Growth. As your organization expands, you’ll need more people to take on the new jobs being created. Don’t stretch your employees too thin by expecting them to take on much more work than they can realistically handle.

• Friction. Employees who feel unfairly passed over for promotion, or who resent a co-worker’s rise, won’t be as productive as you want. In some cases they may accept a newcomer more readily than a rival.

—Adapted from the Ezine Articles website