Finding top talent can be an ongoing struggle for any business. But while hiring talent from outside the organization is a great tactic to bring new skill sets into the company and give you a leg up on the competition, there are many benefits to hiring from within as well.

For starters, hiring from within tends to be faster and less expensive than hiring people from outside the organization. Research conducted by the Corporate Executive Board found open positions are filled 23 percent faster if an existing employee takes the job than if an outside applicant is hired. The Saratoga Institute has estimated, on average, it costs 1.7 times more to hire an outsider than an employee. This is due to factors like recruiting fees, training, travel and relocation.

Internal hiring also presents some less tangible but positive benefits for both for employees and managers. When staff members see opportunities for advancement within an organization, it boosts morale. Internal candidates have already proven to be a good fit with the corporate culture and their track record on-the-job is known. The importance of these two factors cannot be underestimated in terms of employee performance. Evaluating cultural fit among outside applicants is one of the most challenging parts of hiring—when hiring managers get it wrong, it usually leads to employee dissatisfaction and turnover.

It’s hard to deny internal hiring makes sense, but for many companies it’s not a well-integrated part of the recruiting process. To reap the benefits of hiring from within, here are three tips for making it a central part of your recruiting process:

1. Establish a Clear Process for Internal Hiring

Your existing recruiting process may give considerable attention to defining recruiting procedures for external candidates. Unfortunately, many of those best practices fall by the wayside when it comes to internal hiring. Internal candidates may not be kept informed about the interview process or notified about where they stand after applying for a position. It’s important to create and adhere to a defined process for internal hires as well as for outside candidates.

2. Use Technology to Reinforce Processes and Improve Communication

The same applicant tracking systems (ATSs) you may have adopted for recruiting can also be leveraged to support internal hiring. Look for an ATS that allows recruiters to limit job postings to only internal candidates. Another benefit of applicant tracking systems is they make it easy to keep candidates (including existing employees) up to date via email about job openings, interview times and more.

3. Promote a Culture That Supports Internal Hiring

We all want to keep our best people, and managers never want to see their best team members leave. When they don’t want to lose top performers on their teams, they may discourage or actively prevent employees from applying for other jobs within the company. It’s important to get buy-in for internal hiring programs from leaders at all levels. Your team should clearly communicate the economic and business benefits of hiring from within. Some companies also implement targeted incentives to further encourage managers to support internal recruiting—the Corporate Executive Board found senior executives at 20 percent of organizations surveyed had a performance objective tied to internal mobility metrics.

Hiring from within can be a win-win for managers and employees. Integrating new people onto the team is often difficult, and existing employees tend to be more engaged and dedicated to their employers once promoted. With technology and some well-defined HR processes, internal hiring could be your company’s next competitive differentiator.

Applicant tracking software can help you maximize internal hiring. Click here to see how Hyrell can transform your internal hiring and recruiting process!