Internal Talent Marketplaces: A New Trend
Hiring externally has become so costly and competitive that many firms are now building "internal talent marketplaces" to fill roles from within. @McKinsey calls it a top trend for agile workforce planning. The concept is simple: treat your employees as a dynamic talent pool.
At an Indian SaaS firm, internal gig projects helped a marketing executive transition into product management—without resigning or going back to school. It created loyalty, lowered costs, and retained cross-functional knowledge. But internal mobility also reveals structural flaws—do managers hoard talent instead of enabling growth? Is HR equipped to design pathways that are fair and skill-based, not just based on "visibility"? Are you leveraging your internal talent as aggressively as you scout outside?
Hiring externally has become so costly and competitive that many firms are now building "internal talent marketplaces" to fill roles from within. @McKinsey calls it a top trend for agile workforce planning. The concept is simple: treat your employees as a dynamic talent pool.
At an Indian SaaS firm, internal gig projects helped a marketing executive transition into product management—without resigning or going back to school. It created loyalty, lowered costs, and retained cross-functional knowledge. But internal mobility also reveals structural flaws—do managers hoard talent instead of enabling growth? Is HR equipped to design pathways that are fair and skill-based, not just based on "visibility"? Are you leveraging your internal talent as aggressively as you scout outside?