Organizations, be it small, medium or big, are always on the lookout for the right talent and this talent hunt is a perpetual process in the organizations. The right kind of talent with the right competencies in their repertoire is what catches the fancy of organizations. Organizations these days have started to look beyond traditional sources of leadership and working styles to withstand the competitive market scenario by bringing in an influx of ideas and work ethos, which will keep the company in good stead to achieve its objectives.

Bringing in new talent may take place either internally or externally and this is very much circumstantial and depends on the calculative strategic directional change the organization is looking to harp upon. The pros and cons needs to be weighed evenly to decide on the right kind of recruitment required as both have a perspective of their own.

Internal Hunt

This kind of recruitment happens when an employee is selected from the existing workforce to take up a new job or responsibility, perhaps in the form of promoting him/her or to provide the employee a career development opportunity or to meet a specific or urgent organizational need. The benefits of such kind of recruitment is that the organization is familiar with the employee and has sound knowledge of his/her competencies, skill sets and also the level of trust bestowed through his/her years of stay in the organization. However, the focus of this kind of recruitment depends on what objectives the organization is looking forward to achieve. The other advantage of internal recruitment is that the existing employee are aware of the organization’s systems, practices and culture and they have the right experience and exposure about the business metrics and processes of the organization.

This is a much quicker method of filling in the requirement and also amounts to considerable low cost of hiring. It enables the organizations to have a sound and transparent system in place and boosts the morale of the existing workforce. Employees get motivated witnessing such kind of growth taking place within the organization and the urge is born in each one of them for their professional growth.

External Hunt

External recruitment or lateral hiring takes place when the organization looks for a calculative strategic directional change. Hiring of external talent in such cases brings in an influx of ideas which facilitates the organization to surge into the competitive environment and enhance their chances of staying ahead in the race since such people bring in the required experience, learning and pragmatic approaches.

External recruitment also gives the organization to select from an open pool of talent. A person with good experience and proven track record aids organizations to get an insider’s view into the existing competitive scenario and take pre-emptive measures, which give a competitive advantage to the organization. Conceivably, it also motivates employees to walk that extra mile in search of growth under new leadership and scenario.

Organizations consider both forms of recruitment i.e. internal and external to select candidates when looking to fill a new role. After all, the most important factor is selecting the right fit. While selecting a right candidate via internal recruitment process reduces short-run costs (recruitment time and cost), the long-term cost could be much greater if the candidate isn't well suited to the role.

Considering all of the above, I personally think that internal recruitment is better than external since the employee is accustomed to the organizational culture, processes and objectives at large and it enhances his/her chance to stay on top of the list, preferably, as compared to people coming from other external sources.