Developing an internal talent market is vital to unlocking the potential of an organization’s workforce. The term “internal talent market” refers to the accessibility of that talent and the ability to transfer it within the organization. An organization’s internal talent marketplace is essential to an integrated talent management solution. It is a digital HR platform that helps organizations connect internal candidates with advancement opportunities.
Here comes the role of integration in human resources management by integrating each function in a shared digital control panel in the human resources information system. So it becomes easy to see the most significant impact of each talent decision in the organization. Thus, integrated talent management can clarify the internal talent market and improve the organization’s talent strategy.
Benefits of an organization’s internal talent market
- Through a rich database, the internal talent marketplace houses critical insights into employees’ experience, skills, career aspirations, and areas for development.
- Developing talents by linking them to learning and development opportunities.
- Organizations can monitor available projects and opportunities and ensure diversity and fair distribution of work.
- Improving the employee experience by helping employees develop their career paths.
- Make the best possible use of talent by matching existing employees with vacancies.
- Discover opportunities for advancement that help employees achieve their goals and professional development plans.
- Accelerate employee growth and progression while building new and valuable capabilities that increase the organization’s value.
- Increase employee retention, engagement, and satisfaction with their work experience
There are a few things to consider before adopting an internal talent marketplace
1. The ability of the organization to see the skills and capabilities available in it
To take advantage of the internal talent market, the organization must see the skills and potential available within it. So data on internal talent directly feeds into the external talent acquisition strategy. Thus more informed decisions can be made regarding cultivating talents with skills that cannot be developed internally.
2. Infrastructure for the career path
Career infrastructure is a critical component of the internal talent marketplace. Therin it, a complete picture of an organization’s internal capabilities can only be out with a clear organizational chart and opportunities to move within itained. In addition, managers can’t make learning and development recommendations if they can’t help their teams see their transition options.
3. The organization’s ability to adapt
The organization must be adaptable and well-prepared for internal mobility to support the internal talent market. In addition, the organization must be open and balanced so that priorities stay the same, sharing jobs and moving in response to business needs rather than moving up the career ladder.
4. Senior leadership support for the initiative
For the internal talent marketplace to reach its full potential, all employees must use it. Therefore, business leaders must support and help communicate the benefits, vision, and value to all.
5. Responsive technology to keep pace with data collection and analysis
Matching the right people for the right job requires a lot of insight, such as complete data about employee profiles, skills, career aspirations, and developmental needs. So the internal talent market needs responsive technology to keep up with collecting all this data and an efficient way to leverage this data.
Best practices for implementing an internal talent market
1. Building a specialized work team
Successful implementation requires building a dedicated team that can include some of the following roles:
- A project manager who can be an external consultant or an internal project management professional.
- IT lead charged with integration design and platform configuration.
- Lead change management and enablement required to drive adoption of the organization.
2. Enhancing the role of change leadership and empowerment
The role of driving change and enabling is significant because deploying an internal talent market is less about technology than cultural change. Therefore, the leadership of change and empowerment must be responsible for the following tasks:
- Engage with stakeholders to build visibility and solicit their support.
- Define and track measures of success.
- Work with managers to adopt the platform with job listings.
- Encouraging and attracting employees to use the platform.
- Provide ongoing organizational communication.
3. Giving priority to the internal talent market over the external one in the talent acquisition process
One of the challenges that many organizations that embrace an internal talent marketplace face is convincing managers and employees to use the platform. Managers’ indecision is often the result of their fear of losing high performers from their teams or departments. Therefore, one way to mitigate this is to attract and hire managers with much experience in the internal talent market to communicate their success stories to their colleagues. In addition, organizations can ask the HR department to prioritize the internal talent market over the external one in the talent acquisition process.
4. Take an intelligent approach to planning for the creation of an internal talent market
AI and machine learning drive talent markets, so the more data the system receives, the more accurate the algorithm will be. HR leaders must take an intelligent approach to plan for creating an internal talent market over a long period, change, and incremental improvements based on that input.
Creating and nurturing an internal talent market quietly and intelligently allows the organization to keep the platform launched in employees’ minds constantly and gives them ample time to learn and benefit from each element of the market.