Hiring from within to fill new or higher level positions provides many benefits, including boosting morale, promoting company loyalty, and conserving company finances. By implementing the appropriate structure, bringing on top-tier, entry-level hires, and fostering challenges and mentorships, you will be able to determine and groom your company’s next leaders. 

Identifying the benefits

Want to boost morale and instill company loyalty at the same time? Promoting from within is the way to go. Morale is essential to a productive work environment, and promotions show employees that they are valued. If individuals feel valued, they will continue their hard work and loyalty. Hiring from within also makes sense financially. It takes less time to train an employee promoted from within because they already know the ins and outs of the company – and time is money.

Building the structure

As savvy business leaders know, a solid organizational structure makes all the difference when it comes to cultivating a culture of success. Create a structure or a ladder for employees to follow from day one.  This outline of employee progress should include required responsibilities, milestones, opportunities for continued education, networking prospects, and, most importantly, the path to becoming a leader within the company. Show that management is invested in their future and involvement within the company. Employees that engage with this plan on their own are sure signs of promising leaders.

Hiring quality entry-level employees

Get it right from the start! While some companies spend less time vetting entry-level new hires than they do with executive level hires, don’t make the same mistake. Entry-level employees are the ones that are truly on the front lines of the company and should be seen as the future of it. After all, they are helping build toward a better future for the company. By hiring entry-level employees with this in mind, you can start shaping potential future managers and leaders. Find top-tier, entry-level employees by spending the proper time and money. Bring on the right recruiters and scout out talent at career fairs at schools with ranked programs in your industry, and take the interviewing process seriously, among other strategies as well. 

Provide challenges

True leaders are hungry, always. If you have an employee that is requesting additional tasks and responsibilities – oblige them. Some managers may hold back for fear of things not getting done, especially if there are client deliverables on the line, but in order to build trust and ultimately produce/encourage a true leader, opportunities to gain new experiences need to be created. This goes back to the importance of building morale and loyalty with employees from the start. After the additional tasks are completed, don’t be afraid to provide feedback, even if it’s small-scale. This will create additional opportunities to observe how potential future leaders handle critiques, added workloads, and depending on the task, managing others. 

Don’t underestimate mentorships

Mentoring is a two-way street. Pay attention to employees that have decided to take on a mentor and those who mentor others as well. Employees can serve as mentors in so many different areas of the company, not just ones that apply directly to clients. Keep an eye on these folks and support their mentoring relationships as much as possible by offering to take them out for coffees or lunches, providing space for discussions, or by offering advice as a current leader yourself.

Discovering who your emerging leaders are within your company and putting them on the right path spells success for both the business and the employee. Sticking to an employee structure plan, hiring the right entry-level employees, and providing challenges and mentorship opportunities will make this happen.

Strong leaders wouldn’t be possible without quality team members to guide. For inspiration on this topic, see our recent blog on ways a leader can build a strong team.