Although the advantages of internal promotion usually outweigh the limitations, there are disadvantages to consider:

* The job may require skills not found in your company.

* If you promote only from within, you limit the sources from which to draw candidates and you may be restricted to promoting a person significantly less qualified than someone from outside your company.

* People who have worked in other companies bring with them new and different ideas and know-how that can benefit your team.

* Outsiders look at your activities with a fresh view, not tainted by over-familiarity.

One of the major problems in interdepartmental transfers is the reluctance of department heads to release efficient and productive workers to other departments. One of the first actions of a company planning a policy of internal recruitment should be to notify all department heads and team leaders that it will overrule any attempts to keep people who could be more valuable to the organization from transferring to another position. It should also be mentioned that people who are passed over for better positions in other departments are unlikely to remain with the company, and probably will seek another job elsewhere - so both the department and the company will lose a valuable employee.


     Listing # 0290