Internal mobility
The latest trend or the answer to all your Talent Acquisition prayers?

A map with places marked by pins - the latest trend or the answer to all your Talent Acquisition prayers?

by Jackie Carow | Published on October 9th, 2025

Internal mobility – the latest trend or the answer to all your Talent Acquisition prayers?  

It’s neither really. Internal Mobility is not a new concept, yet it has been put under the spotlight in the midst of an unpredictable economy and tepid labor market. From talent shortages to workforce mobility to unprecedented digitization, internal mobility is more than just a “nice to have”. It’s a strategic imperative that fosters employee engagement, unleashes the true potential of a workforce and translates into business resilience and success.   

Recent data from LinkedIn shows internal mobility rates have climbed 30% since 2021, and companies without robust internal mobility programs risk falling behind their competitors. There’s a plethora of benefits for both the employer and the employees. For example, companies with strong internal mobility programs saw 17% greater learner engagement (measured in the number of hours utilizing learning materials) and retain employees nearly twice as long. Employees experiencing internal mobility expressed feeling supported in their career growth, reported high satisfaction, stronger investment and higher sense of resilience in the face of change. Plus, the average cost of replacing an employee is the equivalent of between 50 – 200% of that employee’s annual salary. Strong internal mobility means faster role fulfillment, significant cost savings over external recruitment, and a stronger, more loyal workforce. 

The case for Internal Mobility sounds simple enough, right?  

According to EY’s Mobility Reimagined Survey, most (90%) employers see the benefits from aligning mobility to wider organizational and talent goals but only 30% of them achieve it.  

A company’s culture plays a significant role in the success or failure of an internal mobility strategy. In organizations where employees are encouraged to stay within their designated roles, there can be resistance to cross-departmental movement or promotions. Some managers may fear losing their top performers to other teams, while others may be hesitant to take on employees from different departments. There can be other barriers as well. A general lack of awareness opportunities that exist or confusion around how to pursue them, undefined ownership of internal mobility programs as they can span an entire organization or an overreliance on traditional external hiring practices.   

To unlock the advantages of internal mobility, organizations need to think about how to embed it into their company culture and talent strategy. It doesn’t need to feel overwhelming – and communications play a pivotal role in shifting behavior and making incremental change. Here’s a few tips to consider:  

  • Let data help tell your story. Whether it’s creating a business case for a mobility program, identifying the barriers for change, leveraging AI tools to help align employee skills with aspirational opportunities or tracking mobility metrics to guide future improvement, no matter where you are in your mobility journey utilize data to tell you where you are and where you want to go. 
  • Managers are key. Based on our own proprietary study, The Employee Experience Gap, we know managers are the cornerstone of employee engagement, in fact 74% of respondents in our study say their relationship with their manager is extremely important in their decision to stay or leave a company. We also know managers are under an extreme amount of pressure with 75% of Millennial managers feeling burnt out and overwhelmed. When it comes to internal mobility, Managers are massive influencers and can either be careers champions or occupational hazards. Encourage managers to support mobility by giving them the tools they need to foster a culture of internal growth.  
  • Don’t underestimate the impact of stories. Mobility can be a vulnerable experience for people. Whether it’s moving to a new team, a new division or a new country, there’s a lot to consider and it’s a stressful shift. Inspiring storytelling campaigns spotlighting career moves help to humanize the experience.  
  • Implement tailored strategy of clear, consistent communications. Awareness, education and visibility are critical to ensuring every employee understands the mobility options available and feels empowered to take the next step.  

Do you have an internal mobility program you want to enhance and scale across the business? Know this is important but don’t know where to start? Remember it’s about progress over perfection and championing a future-ready workforce that feels valued and motivated.  

If you’re heading to RecFest USA please sign up to attend my session, “The Mobility Mindset: Building Careers from the Inside Out”, I’ll be presenting on the Unplugged Stage alongside Ashley Hever from Enterprise Mobility on Day 1 at 10:30. You can also find Havas People at Stand R8. Book some time to chat with us. If you’re not attending, we’d still love to chat so please get in touch – hello@havaspeople.com. Let’s talk about how our expertise can help make your goals a reality.