Internal Mobility and Promotions

By Redaktion techport.ai, HR-Beratung · Last updated on 21 August 2026

The project manager position is advertised externally. The search takes five months and costs 25,000 Euros with a service provider. The new colleague needs six months to understand the company. Two floors down, an employee who could have taken the position only found out about the vacancy after it had been filled. His manager would not have let him leave anyway.

Internal mobility is the most cost-effective recruitment and the most effective retention. It rarely fails due to a lack of talent, but due to a lack of visibility and managers who prefer to keep good people rather than develop them.

How you can tell

The proportion of internally filled positions is under 20 per cent, and no one measures it.
Internal applications are considered disloyal to one's own manager.
Promotions happen when someone threatens to leave.
Employees do not know which positions are open and what qualifications they would need for them.

Why this happens

Leaders are measured by their team's performance, not by how many talents they have developed for the company. For them, internal recruitment means a gap. Furthermore, they lack the tools: no internal job market, no competency data, no rule that prioritises internal candidates over external ones.

Our approach

Establish rules. Every position is made visible internally before it goes external, with a defined deadline. Internal applications go directly to HR, not via the employee's line manager. The line manager is informed when a candidate is being seriously considered, and they do not have a veto.
Set up a job market. An internal section within the HR system or applicant tracking system is created, listing open positions, project roles, and requirements, linked to competency data. Where data is available, the system suggests suitable employees.
Redirect managers. Talent development and release become part of leadership appraisal. Those who advance people are recognised for it, not penalised.
Structure promotions. Fixed dates, documented criteria from the job architecture, calibration across departments. This ends promotions given as a reaction to resignation threats.

What you gain

Recruitment times and costs decrease, because the first look is inwards.
People stay because internal moves are possible, not just external ones.
Promotions become justifiable and comparable, also to the works council (Betriebsrat).

From our projects

The internal recruitment rate in companies we measure at the start is often below 20 per cent, and almost always it has not been tracked before. The most effective single measure, in our experience, is the rule that internal applications go directly to HR and the employee's line manager has no veto. It generates resistance among the leadership team, and it is the reason why the rate increases afterwards.

Good to know

According to § 93 Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (BetrVG - German Works Constitution Act), the works council can demand that positions be advertised internally before external recruitment. Transfers and promotions in companies with more than 20 eligible employees require the works council's consent according to § 99 BetrVG. A transparent internal job market fulfils both requirements and accelerates the processes.

Frequently asked questions

What if the releasing manager resists?

Then a rule that supersedes them is needed, along with a transitional period that does not abandon their team. We define both beforehand. Over time, attitudes change when talent development counts in leadership appraisals.

Should internal mobility also include horizontal moves?

Absolutely. A move to another department without a promotion often retains people who would otherwise have left, and brings knowledge to where it is needed.

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