External And Internal Recruitment Choice

By Author: Fotini Mastroianni
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

Despite the pandemic and the energy–economic crisis, companies still need employees since many businesses have changed, they have become bigger or smaller, and executives change companies more often. The competition is intense and companies receive hundreds of CVs, whereas finding talented employees is very difficult.

Companies search for the right executives since they want to reinforce their internal structure and, therefore, their position in the market. Effective recruitment may become their competitive advantage.

A position can be filled internally by the company's employees by redistributing duties or by upgrading an existing executive. This practice, i.e., internal recruitment, has advantages and disadvantages. A key advantage is the low budget and minimum time required. The executives who already work for the company know its culture, strategy, and operations; therefore, they can easily adapt to their new duties.

The company is aware of the weaknesses and opportunities of the executive and can immediately assess his or her performance. Furthermore, the company sends the message that it needs employees ...
... for it to develop professionally and that it is willing to keep its "talents." This message is also sent to the external environment since talented executives can be attracted.

The disadvantage is that the company has to choose among a limited number of candidates. In addition, internal recruiting excludes new ideas which could have been brought by external candidates, ideas that may be crucial. There is also an increased risk of losing the "investment" made for the development of the executive when s/he leaves the company.

Another disadvantage is that internal recruitment may create needs in the company or if duties are redistributed, dissatisfaction may arise.

Therefore, before making the decision on internal recruitment, the HR department should examine all the above and decide whether filling a position internally can provide the desired results.

On the other hand, if a company wants to hire an executive from the external environment, it should assess the process in a different way. The HR department has to choose among a greater number of candidates and choose the executive who has the skills, training, and characteristics required. An executive coming from the external environment can bring new ideas and practices that may evolve the company, especially if these ideas and practices enhance its innovation.

The process requires more time compared to internal recruitment since there are more candidates to check, while the cost of finding the right executive is higher. The HR department should set the selection criteria and the performance appraisal method so that the new executive can become part of its personnel with adequate preconditions.

It seems that nowadays, companies choose to avoid the cost of a bad hire and want to cooperate with executive search consultants to achieve fast and higher quality results. Companies need an executive search consultant (https://www.frontlinesourcegroup.com/executive-search.html) who has the experience, qualifications, specialization, and tools for selecting the best candidates.

This consultant should be able to select the right candidates by posting ads, have extensive candidate databases, check recommendations, and use reliable assessment tests.