When organisations need new skills, external recruitment is often the first place they look.
But as hiring slows and skills requirements continue to change, employers may need to look more closely at the talent already inside their organisation.
The latest CIPD research found that 48% of employers increased their efforts to develop talent in-house over the last year, while organisations continue to report difficulties attracting candidates for particular skilled and senior roles.
For HR, Talent and L&D teams, internal mobility could therefore become an increasingly important part of workforce planning.
Employees May Already Have the Skills Employers Need
Job titles do not always show the full range of somebody's capabilities.
An employee working in one area of an organisation may have transferable skills that could be valuable elsewhere.
Internal recruitment can help employers identify people who understand the organisation but are ready for a different challenge.
Rather than looking solely at somebody's current position, Talent teams could consider:
- Transferable skills
- Previous experience
- Career aspirations
- Learning agility
- Leadership potential
- Skills developed outside their current role
This could reveal potential candidates who may otherwise be overlooked.
Career Progression Does Not Always Mean Promotion
Internal mobility is not limited to moving somebody into a more senior position.
Employees could move sideways into another function, take on a secondment, join a project team or retrain for a completely different role.
These opportunities can allow people to build broader experience while helping organisations respond to changing skills requirements.
For employees, they can also provide career development without requiring them to leave their employer.
L&D Has an Important Role
Internal mobility works best when employees can develop the skills required for their next opportunity.
This is where Talent and L&D strategies can become closely connected.
If an organisation knows it will need more data, digital, leadership or AI capabilities in future, it can identify employees who could potentially develop those skills before vacancies become difficult to fill.
Development could include:
- Mentoring and coaching
- Job shadowing
- Professional qualifications
- Stretch assignments
- Secondments
- Leadership programmes
- Technical skills training
This creates a pipeline of potential talent rather than waiting until a vacancy appears.
Managers Need to Support Movement
One challenge with internal mobility can be managers becoming reluctant to lose strong employees from their teams.
While understandable, holding onto talent too tightly can create a wider retention problem.
If employees feel they need to leave an organisation to progress, the business risks losing their knowledge and experience completely.
Creating a culture where internal movement is encouraged can help employees see a longer-term future within the organisation.
Managers may therefore need to view internal progression as an organisational success rather than a loss for their individual team.
Talent Teams Need Visibility of Internal Skills
Organisations cannot make effective use of internal talent if they do not know what skills employees have.
Traditional HR records may show job titles and employment history without capturing wider capabilities, interests or career ambitions.
Talent teams could consider how skills data, career conversations and internal talent marketplaces can provide a clearer picture of the workforce.
This could make it easier to match employees with opportunities as business needs change.
Internal Mobility Does Not Replace External Recruitment
Developing existing employees should not mean organisations stop bringing in external talent.
External recruitment can introduce new ideas, specialist expertise and different experiences.
Instead, organisations can consider both internal and external talent when deciding how to fill skills gaps.
Some capabilities may need to be recruited immediately, while others can be developed over time.
The important question is whether employers are considering the full range of talent available to them.
Looking Ahead
As skills requirements evolve, organisations may need to become more flexible about where talent comes from.
The next person an employer needs may already be working somewhere else in the business.
For HR, Talent and L&D teams, greater collaboration could help identify those employees, understand what development they need and create clearer routes into new opportunities.
Internal mobility will not solve every recruitment challenge, but it could help organisations retain valuable people while building more adaptable workforces.
References
• CIPD (2026), Resourcing and talent planning report 2026. Published 22 September 2026.
• Skills England (2026), Skills England Annual Skills Report 2026. Updated 4 August 2026.