The appreciation of the rupee in the recent times had a negative impact on the quarterly earnings of the companies, especially in the IT sector and BPO. Companies have to strive hard to pull back the profits to a level which can capture the interest of investors. With the idea of a six day week under evaluation, the companies must be prepared with innovative ideas to retain the workforce to prevent dissatisfaction amongst the workforce. One way of retaining work force is through providing better career opportunities within the organisation.

Internal job opportunities normally follow the same procedure as an external recruitment. The post, the expertise expected, experience, etc are put in the company’s intranet to draw the attention of the employees. The employees satisfying the requirements are to apply for the job with a covering letter and the resume. The application forms are generally standardised to facilitate ease in scrutinising the applications. The companies generally fix a time limit below which the application must be supported by the supervisor’s approval. This is to prevent the cost on the delay in the project on the sudden movement of the employee. The application must contain details like the current area of expertise, the role applied for, the need for the movement, current and previous appraisal ratings earned, supervisor’s comments, if any, etc. On the acceptance of the application, the employee will have to follow the general procedure followed. In most cases, the employee will have to go through a technical and an HR interview before his final inclusion in the new team.

Internal opportunities have the advantage of conducting an easy and appropriate background check of individual skills. The management’s knowledge of the employee, his technical and managerial expertise, etc makes recruitment easier. Internal opportunities can assist in retaining key employees within the organisation for the company’s advantage. It is a cost effective and a quick means of recruitment.

From the point of view of the employees, internal job openings provide the platform to grow and spread their expertise within the organisation. Solid knowledge of the company management and its policies and a good network base can be exploited for furthering one’s career. Previous knowledge on the company’s training and development programs can help the individual to understand how the company contributes to his personal growth. His personal network can be made use of to know the type of team culture that exists in the new opportunities. The decision to apply can be based on how good the team is, the type of work involved, whether it can enhance his knowledge and skills, its contribution to his long term career plan, etc.

The internal job opportunities, by a thorough knowledge of the company management and the policies, and ample job opportunities lay the framework for employee satisfaction, personally and professionally. From the point of view of the company, knowledge on how the employee fares professionally and personally in a team reduces chances of a wrong appointment to the job, thereby maximising the chances for higher levels of productivity and customer satisfaction.