How does HR recruiting impact internal employee development? For small to midsize businesses, internal HR recruiting can be the best option as it leverages existing talent, reduces hiring costs, and boosts employee morale. Promoting from within minimizes onboarding time since internal candidates already understand the company’s culture, processes, and goals. It also fosters employee loyalty and engagement by demonstrating clear career growth opportunities, which can improve retention. Additionally, internal recruitment helps maintain operational continuity, ensuring that institutional knowledge and valuable skills stay within the organization. While external hiring is sometimes necessary, investing in internal talent development can be a more cost-effective and strategic long-term approach. Throughout this blog, we will highlight the internal career development experience of two of ESC’s employees: Gabriela Warncke, Senior Implementation Specialist Gabriela recently celebrated her 6th anniversary with ESC. She began her career at ESC as a Benefits Specialist, transitioning into the role of Onboarding Specialist. As ESC grew, the Onboarding Department evolved into the Implementation Department. The department continued to grow to support ESC’s focus on customer service, and Gabriela was promoted into her current role. Sharyn Starr, Human Resources Director Sharyn celebrated her 20th anniversary with ESC last September. When she started, ESC had been in business for less than 10 years and Sharyn was one of three full-time employees on the HR team. As ESC grew, so did the need for additional levels of management. Today, Sharyn directs an HR team of more than 20 people. Sharyn shared her personal story of advancement within the company and her unique perspective on ESC’s philosophy and process for internal career development. Why recruit internal candidates instead of external hires? Recruiting internal candidates instead of external hires offers several advantages, including reduced hiring costs, faster onboarding, and stronger employee engagement. HR recruiting efforts play a crucial role in identifying potential internal candidates by analyzing performance reviews, tracking career progression, and assessing employees’ skills and accomplishments within the company. By leveraging data from performance evaluations, feedback from managers, and internal training programs, HR can pinpoint high-potential employees who are ready to take on new roles. This approach ensures that promotions and lateral moves align with both business needs and employee career goals, fostering a culture of growth and retention. When asked about why internal career development is important at ESC, Sharyn shared that the importance of this goes all the way back to the recruitment stage, helping companies attract strong candidates. Sharyn explained that employees want to work in a place where the environment supports their future growth, so they don’t feel stagnant. Employees thrive from learning more and being challenged. Gabriela reinforced this when she described how having the opportunity to try new things is what makes her want to stay at ESC. She said that ESC is always adding something and always changing. Gabriela shared the same sentiment, saying she has never felt static. When employees are made aware of internal opportunities through a job posting process, they can visualize a career map with their current company. Gabriela said she has the opportunity to be consistently challenged, and due to this she is satisfied in her career. Sharyn described an aspect of people management being that most people intrinsically want to be challenged and learn something new and when that stops, they may ask, is this the right place for me? It is vital to show employees opportunities and mentor them by outlining a potential pathway in a succession plan. Sharyn explained that managers should remember that some employees want to do what they have always done and that is fine as long as they are happy in their role and performing well. What can PEO providers do to help internal career development? PEO providers like ESC can play a crucial role in fostering internal career development, especially for small to mid-size business leaders who may lack the time or resources to focus on employee growth. By outsourcing HR functions to a PEO, businesses gain access to structured training programs, leadership development initiatives, and learning management systems that help employees advance within the company. A key advantage of working with a PEO is its expertise in HR best practices. This enables PEOs like ESC to provide guidance to clients’ leadership on assessing employees’ skills, identifying high-potential individuals using a 9-box grid, and assisting leaders on how to best create a tailored development plan for their employees. PEOs can facilitate training programs that concentrate on employees’ capabilities in order to develop the necessary skills for internal promotions. Additionally, PEOs can help with strategic project planning such as establishing mentorship programs and succession planning to align with the company’s long-term goals. Through internal HR recruiting, PEOs support business leaders in filling roles efficiently by promoting from within, reducing turnover, and maintaining institutional knowledge. This proactive approach not only strengthens employee engagement and morale, but also increases overall productivity and consistency over time. By leveraging the expertise of a PEO, small to medium sized businesses can learn how to cultivate a strong, capable workforce without diverting leadership’s focus from core business operations. For Sharyn, a culture of constant mentoring and learning for employees at all levels of the organization is where you can find the most success with internal recruiting. Internal career development best practices Internal career development best practices focus on creating opportunities for employees to grow within the organization while aligning with business goals. Here are some key best practices that ESC can support your company with: Clear Career Pathways – Establish well-defined career progression plans so employees understand potential growth opportunities and what is required to advance. ESC’s HR Business Partners provide clarity for employees and structure for managers to effectively develop internal talent. Regular Performance Reviews & Feedback – Conduct consistent performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback to help employees identify strengths and areas for improvement. In addition to providing support on developing performance review tools and training for management on giving effective feedback, ESC also offers HR technology solutions including Performance Management to streamline the performance review process. Training & Upskilling Programs – Offer continuous learning opportunities such as workshops, certifications, and on-the-job training to help employees develop new skills and prepare for advancement. In order to be prepared for management roles in the future, employees often require training. ESC’s Team of HR Business Partners provide customized leadership development training to prepare future leaders. Mentorship & Coaching – Pair employees with mentors or coaches to provide guidance, support, and insights on career development and leadership growth. ESC has an internal mentorship program where mentors support mentees in developing Individual Development Plans (IDPs). These plans support individual growth that supports the overall strategic goals of the company. Internal Mobility & Cross-Training – Encourage employees to explore different roles or departments within the company to broaden their skills and experience. Sharyn described how this can be implemented by letting employees know the company has development opportunities internally. Many employees in today’s workforce are looking for that next challenge or opportunity to enhance their skillset. If employees do not know of internal opportunities, they may seek them elsewhere. Additionally, if a promotion is not readily available, some options are to have the employee be a project lead working with a team or be a subject matter expert (SME) in an area where they excel. Not only will this provide additional responsibility, but it will also allow that employee to remain highly engaged; thereby creating a happier employee and in turn promoting retention. Gabriela recounted her personal path of career development at ESC, and it started with a manager recognizing that Gabriela always said yes to learning new things that support the company. Saying yes led to a transition from the Benefits Team to the Implementation Team. As ESC continued to grow, Gabriela had the opportunity to advance within that Implementation Team to a Senior Implementation Specialist. Succession Planning – Identify high-potential employees early and prepare them for leadership positions through targeted development programs. Formal succession planning is a strategic tool that supports the development of high potential employees, but informal succession planning can be just as valuable. Recognition & Rewards – Acknowledge and reward employees who actively pursue career growth and contribute to the company’s success, reinforcing a culture of continuous development. Encouraging Employee Initiative – Empower employees to take ownership of their career growth by setting goals, seeking learning opportunities, and expressing interest in advancement. Leveraging HR & PEO Support – Utilize HR professionals or PEO services to implement structured career development programs, provide training resources, and ensure alignment with business objectives. Conclusion Sharyn’s experience at ESC reinforces the amazing retention opportunity presented through internal recruiting. Sharyn spoke about how it leads to employees that are content and happy in their role, retains institutional knowledge, and that employees might tell their friends and professional network about how the company believes in and supports employees. Sharyn also shared how impactful it can be as a manager and that developing people is an aspect that she sought when taking her role at ESC. Challenging employees, watching them learn, and seeing them succeed is what makes Sharyn’s job so rewarding. Sharyn values helping employees gain confidence, and this type of impact ultimately drives employee engagement. While a formalized strategic succession plan and associated employee development program can make a huge difference, less formal internal HR recruitment processes can be just as impactful. Sharyn suggested that this could be as simple as the questions you ask every time you meet with your employees: How is it going? Are you satisfied with your work? As a company are we what we said we would be? Are you feeling challenged enough? How is your workload? What aspects of your job do you like/dislike? Sharyn recommends doing performance appraisals annually but also checking in on a more frequent basis. Every time a leader connects with their direct report, it is an opportunity to develop their work relationship, discuss areas that need improvement, and reinforce what they are doing well. This opens the lines of communication allowing employees to feel comfortable with their manager, thereby establishing a trusting relationship. Employees bring a wide range of skills and experiences from previous jobs when they are hired, which leadership may be unaware of or possibly have not taken advantage of. A leader has a better chance of maintaining an engaged workforce by knowing the additional skillset their employees have and using those skills to their advantage. It is important to recognize that continual feedback is a leader responsibility. These conversations ultimately lead to retaining employees by finding out what they want to do with their career and providing that path within the company. In Sharyn’s experience, ESC needed to grow before there was an opportunity for her to advance internally. She loved what she did as an HR Business Partner supporting clients, but her ultimate goal was to provide growth opportunities and develop others through a management role. Sharyn has grown with the company as ESC prepares to celebrate 30 years in business next month. What really made the difference for her is having leadership that believed in her the whole time. Gabriela shared a similar sentiment to Sharyn, describing her manager as a great motivator. When Gabriela says she is comfortable with something, her manager doesn’t doubt that ability and gives her opportunities to try new projects. Gabriela feels that the success the Implementation Team has experienced is due to leadership’s philosophy of soliciting employee ideas and allowing the employee to put that plan into action. Leaders and managers with the skills to develop employees are the key to success with internal HR recruiting. Identifying employees with high potential and empowering them through autonomy and trust is essential. ESC supports organizations across industries in building strong leaders that can support employees through internal HR recruitment. Contact us today to learn more about how ESC can support your organization’s internal career development efforts.