“I am giving my notice”, these five little words with a significant impact are words every manager dreads hearing.  Many thoughts flood the brain- who do we shift responsibilities to, do we re-structure, do we call in back-up. Many managers shift into over gear as they navigate their plan and balance the emotion of the loss and communication to the team and more importantly the worry of what this will do to or mean for team morale. A solid place to start is to decide where to look for talent in a competitive environment and think about what this could mean for the company culture, team engagement, and customer experience- is the talent outside of the organization or look internally.  

Why external could be a strong option 

• Fresh perspectives and innovation 
• Opportunity to expand the company brand network
• Community opportunities 

Why Internal could be a strong option 

• Turning your attention internally and sourcing talent within reduces the time to fill, decreasing recruitment costs.  
• Providing visibility to career opportunities across the organization, increasing employee engagement and retention. 
• Expedites building a talent bench and building organizational capability. 

The internal option could be just what you were looking for if an organization has a strong internal marketplace- the inner ecosystem that enables employees to connect with internal opportunities, development, and people. Let’s dive into this framework a little more. 

What can employers do to create a strong internal marketplace? 

Of course, a fan favorite of any internal marketplace is the ability to find a mentor or volunteer to be a mentor opportunity, however this idea of fully realized internal marketplace can be a more robust experience. Consider the following features when determining your internal marketplace platform.  

• Offer openings that can include short-term assignments/tasks/gigs, projects, and the more conventional role postings. Leaders and hiring managers get the opportunity to connect with talent in real-time. Employees get the opportunity to see if a future career track is right for them. Time Saver!!  
• Encourage employees to build and share their employee profile- a calling card of the internal marketplace, that highlights experiences, skills, and abilities.  
• Get yourself a good platform that is intuitive, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate where the above can exist: design with your end-user in mind. Look for strong features that help amplify your company culture and end business goals! Choose what is right for your business. 

Conclusion 

We know that talent will evolve and seek out what is best for the moment. Organizations can do many things to keep talent engaged, retained and strong company promoters. It is important to balance all efforts for when that time comes when an employee has decided to embark on a new career journey, managers are ready to pivot. Organizations can create conditions where the talent ecosystem is strong with robust internal marketplace to create meaningful experiences. Not only can these internal marketplaces act as a conduit connecting managers to internal talent for openings, but it can also facilitate other engagement and retention activities, including mentoring opportunities and the ability for employees to highlight their experience, talents, and passions.  Give talent a reason to stay engaged within the organization in a dynamic, fulfilling career experience where the exploration can keep going!