Finding the Right People for Your Company

Hiring from Within: The Artistry of Internal Promotions

By Dolly Penland

Finding the right people for your company isn’t just the struggle of searching for entry-level workers. Many component manufacturers have relied heavily on the same managers and leaders for years, people who are actively aging out of the workforce. In addition to having to fill those upper-level roles, companies face the additional problem of loss of knowledge. 

“Whether they are senior leaders or below, there are people all throughout the organization that have been working for us, thankfully, for 30-35 years or more, which is a credit to our culture,” says Ryan Hikel, Sales Manager at Shelter Systems. “Knowledge transfer is the hardest thing; transferring the knowledge from people doing the job for 35 years, who are afraid of being fired after training younger colleagues. Of course that would never happen, but it’s one of our biggest challenges.”

Most small- to mid-sized organizations don’t have full learning and development departments and most managers aren’t trained to teach adult learners. For some roles, that’s not fatal, but as technology changes and systems become more complex, it can take longer for people to get trained and up to speed. 

It’s important when evaluating current teammates for a promotion to equitably evaluate each one’s performance in their current role. Their accomplishments and their contributions to team projects, which should be regularly documented by managers, should be considered. The way in which they have contributed to the company’s overall success and to what degree must also be analyzed.

“We like to promote internally,” says Hikel. “And it’s not just promotions; it’s also lateral moves. It’s being accomplished by learning by doing and gaining experience, just like it’s always been done. A lot of the design staff has come from our production staff. We have used that as a way to promote people. Some of the design staff that have shown an aptitude for sales have transitioned to that department.”

It’s important when evaluating current teammates for a promotion to equitably evaluate each one’s performance in their current role. Their accomplishments and their contributions to team projects, which should be regularly documented by managers, should be considered. The way in which they have contributed to the company’s overall success and to what degree must also be analyzed.

Those in charge of hiring should look for instances in which the candidate has gone above and beyond their regular duties, indicating initiative and a strong work ethic, and assess the individual’s ability to meet or exceed key performance indicators (KPIs) for their current position. Behavioral data (e.g., people-facing, attention to detail), cognitive abilities (e.g., learning and processing information, and ability to adapt to change), and competencies (e.g., integrity, communication, and achievement orientation) are also critical to understanding training and future performance in that role. 

“When we have an opening that we have to fill, we let them apply and interview so we get a feel for the best fit and then do the [assessments]. The majority of our promotions have been from production to design,” Hikel continues.

For succession planning, in which you are considering moving a team member to a team lead or manager level role, consider their leadership skills, including their ability to motivate and guide a team. Leaders exist at all levels. Consider your frontline workers who help train others, or the ones who are the go-to for help among their peers. Take into account instances in which they’ve demonstrated effective leadership or taken on leadership roles in projects.

Luke Wiesen, General Manager at Mead Lumber, based in Nebraska overseeing six truss plants, says they have similarly seen the need to grow talent internally. “I don’t poach designers from my competitors because many of my competitors are also my friends,” says Wiesen. “They are industry friends, and it doesn’t help our component manager industry. It’s only going to benefit us when I grow that new designer from within.”

For succession planning, in which you are considering moving a team member to a team lead or manager level role, consider their leadership skills, including their ability to motivate and guide a team. Leaders exist at all levels. Consider your frontline workers who help train others, or the ones who are the go-to for help among their peers. Take into account instances in which they’ve demonstrated effective leadership or taken on leadership roles in projects.

“We just created a new position, a corporate design manager,” says Wiesen. “Each location has a design manager responsible for each individual location. We created a new corporate design manager role to do a few things.”

When considering internal promotions within a company, several factors come into play. Hirers should ensure that the internal promotion aligns with the company’s values and culture. Reviewing how well the individual fits into the organization’s overall mission and vision can contribute to a more successful internal promotion.

“I wanted someone internal who already understood what we do and more importantly, they understood our culture,” Wiesen explains. He identified one of his designers with a background in all of their products. “He’s going to link us together. We want to move work around seamlessly, so if Nebraska is overloaded, we can move it to Wyoming; we need that bird’s eye view. Of course, by promoting him, I’m now creating a void in his division. Now I’m going back and backfilling his position. By doing that, I feel that [our employees] have a sense of appreciation for giving them that opportunity. They are more involved and excited to do what they do.” 

Even when considering internal candidates, hirers should interview around and assess their willingness to take on new challenges, acquire new skills, and expand their knowledge base. They should also have a frank conversation with candidates around the requirements of the role. Not everyone wants to deal with guiding, coaching, and developing direct reports. Leading others has more to do with the invisible qualities rather than the day-to-day tasks of scheduling, budgeting, etc. And not everyone wants to move to a new role, they are perfectly happy where they are, some of whom may be with the company for the next 30 years.  

About the Author: Dolly Penland, President & CEO of Business Results, a PI® and CATIL Certified Partner and Talent Optimization consultancy, works with organizations to help them hire and manage their talent to their highest potential. She specializes in multiple areas including business sales growth, turnover reduction, and leadership development.