As AI and other new technologies transform the world of work, organizations are eliminating people in areas with declining skill relevance—such as marketing and admin roles—while aggressively hiring for high-demand skills like AI, data analytics, and automation.
But in a job market where skilled talent—particularly tech talent—is scarce, that’s a losing strategy.
Handing out pink slips in hopes of finding job-ready talent externally comes with significant downsides:
- It’s expensive, demanding investments in recruitment, onboarding, and training.
- It’s disruptive, slowing productivity and losing valuable internal knowledge in the process.
- It’s risky, with no guarantee of finding the right talent or any assurance that new hires will be a good fit.
- It hurts employee morale and employer brand, fostering distrust and making it harder to retain top talent.
Forward-looking organizations recognize these risks and are shifting from “buy” talent strategies to strategically developing the talent they need in-house through reskilling and upskilling.
Businesses leaning into “build” strategies are seeing big wins—less turnover, greater adaptability and a workforce that grows with them. By prioritizing internal development, they’re taking control over their talent pipelines and breaking free from the talent boom and bust cycle.
Keep reading for insights on:
- How internal development benefits both businesses and employees.
- How reskilling and upskilling tech talent accelerates the adoption of new technologies.
- How to build an internal job marketplace that connects employees with opportunities and helps managers identify top talent for redeployment.
Why internal development is a win-win talent strategy
On one hand, businesses need talent and flexibility. On the other, individuals want growth and greater job security. Internal talent development bridges this gap—helping organizations shape and deploy talent where it’s needed while giving employees the growth they seek.
| Benefits for organizations | Benefits for employees |
| Faster tech adoption – Existing employees have a better understanding of internal systems than new hires, making it easier to integrate new technologies and processes. | Enhanced growth pathways – Rewarding learning and development creates growth opportunities for individuals while building a stronger, more committed workforce. |
| Lower training costs – Foundational knowledge of company systems and processes translates into savings on training, onboarding, and waiting for new hires to settle into their roles. | Greater job security and stability – Employees who see a future within the company are more likely to stay and grow rather than seek opportunities elsewhere. |
| Higher retention rates – A culture of internal growth reduces costly turnover, as employees are more likely to stay when they see a clear career path. | Reduced disruption – Transitioning to a new role within a familiar environment is easier and less stressful than starting fresh in a new company. |
| More agile talent management – Businesses can quickly redeploy talent where it’s needed most, keeping up with market changes and innovation. | Greater sense of purpose – Being recognized and promoted from within boosts morale, confidence, and overall job satisfaction. |
How to build a culture of internal mobility
By fostering a culture that encourages learning, career development, and role flexibility, organizations can empower employees to take charge of their growth while ensuring they have the right people in the right roles at the right time. Here’s how to embed internal mobility into your company culture.
Normalize growth through continuous learning
Ongoing learning helps employees stay prepared for internal opportunities by continuously expanding their skill sets. Plus, employees who regularly learn are more comfortable with transitions, making internal mobility feel natural rather than disruptive.
- Integrate learning into daily workflows – Prime employees for growth by embedding skill development into everyday tasks, performance goals, and career conversations.
- Make career development accessible – Provide access to learning platforms, mentorship programs, and cross-training opportunities
- Establish clear paths for growth – Help employees make more informed learning choices with defined roadmaps for skills development and key milestones to pursue.
Prioritize redeployments over reductions
When workforce reductions seem inevitable, organizations can shift from layoffs to talent redeployment through strategic L&D initiatives.
- Target adjacent skills – Identify and develop skills that are closely related to an employee’s existing expertise to ease transitions into new roles. For example, a customer support agent could transition into sales with communication and CRM training.
- Tie learning to real opportunities – Align upskilling programs with open roles and future business needs to ensure employees develop the right skills for internal mobility.
- Encourage managerial support – Train managers to support internal movement by identifying individual skills, competencies, and opportunities for promotions or redeployments.
Create an internal job marketplace
Empower employees to explore new opportunities by providing easy access to internal job openings—and encourage those with adjacent skills to apply.
- Map individual competencies – Build a skills inventory accessible to managers, HR, and department heads to identify potential internal candidates for open roles.
- Communicate opportunities – Ensure employees know about career advancement paths and have visibility into internal openings and opportunities.
- Define roles and progressions – Clearly outline job expectations and required competencies to help employees understand how to grow into new positions.
Nurture and reward internal mobility
Offering ongoing mentorship and career guidance can help individuals explore opportunities while ensuring organizations place talent where it best fits both business needs and individual goals.
- Normalize career shifts – Reinforce that internal moves—whether lateral redeployments or promotions—are a natural part of growth and a valuable step forward in career development.
- Recognize and reward mobility – Celebrate employees who transition into new roles or take on stretch assignments to reinforce the value of internal growth.
- Involve leadership – Ensure executives and managers play an active role in fostering mobility by championing talent development and embedding growth opportunities into business strategy.
Position your people for maximum impact
Building a strong internal mobility strategy starts with identifying and investing in the right skills. But to truly make it work, organizations must clear pathways for employees to grow, reskill, and transition into new roles.
Teaming up with industry-aligned learning partners like General Assembly can help your organization get the support it needs to build critical tech skills and set the foundations for a thriving learning culture. With real-world expertise and hands-on learning opportunities, we equip teams with the capabilities they need to put real skills to work—for the now and the next.
Explore how training and growing your team with General Assembly can help you build resilient, high-performing teams ready to tackle the challenges of today—and tomorrow.