promotion movie
Today's challenging recruiting environment has inspired more companies to promote from within. As companies help employees climb the corporate ladder, they realize the value of that practice. Conversely, they discover the work required to adequately prepare their internal hires for new positions.
In 2004, Development Dimensions International polled nearly 350 organizations and found internal candidates filled 53 percent of those organizations' management positions, compared with 44 percent in 1999. Thirty-five percent of the organizations surveyed indicated they are increasingly promoting from within.
An expanding economy--causing all the top companies to compete for candidates--in particular has made finding quality candidates and luring them to management positions difficult, said Michael Eckerman, founder of Residential Asset Management, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based real estate investment company.
"When it gets harder and more expensive for companies to lure people in from the outside, they see it makes a lot of sense to look inside the company first to find the people they need to fill these positions," Eckerman said.
A freshly promoted worker can typically get up to speed quicker than an outside hire, who generally must endure a learning curve while acclimating to the company, its goals and its culture. Christine Muszynski said she did not experience a ramp up period when she was promoted to executive vice president at HSA Commercial Real Estate in 2004.
"I already had established successful relationships with the management staff, with our clients, our tenants, our contractors and our attorneys," Muszynski said. "As a seasoned property manager I knew what it took to do the job and I knew what it took to do it well."
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Giving workers an opportunity to rise through the ranks also helps foster a sense of loyalty and commitment to the company, and that makes employees less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere, Wright said.
"It's a pretty good selling tool, too," she said. "When I am interviewing new candidates and talking about the growth and opportunities I've had and other individuals have had with the company, they see possibilities for themselves as well."
Gary Green, CEO of Alliance Building Services, said he is a fervent believer in the power promoting from within can have on employee loyalty. One of Green's employees, Michael Rodriguez, was a high school dropout who joined the company in 1994 as a night janitorial manager. Rodriguez is now president of Alliance.
"That sets an example for other people that if you work hard and do the job right, then you can see a path to your career as opposed to [seeing] just a job where you're stuck. The only way to get unstuck is to move to another company," Green said.
Michael Rodriguez said he saw the opportunity for growth at Alliance when he first joined the firm. He saw numerous executives who had worked their way up the ladder in the organization, making him confident he could do the same.
"All around me were people who were growing with the company, so my example is not unique," Rodriguez said. "My entire executive team has grown into their positions from inside the company."
Muszynski joined HSA more than 20 years ago as a property manager. She worked her way up to assistant vice president, vice president and then senior vice president before attaining her current position as executive vice president. She said her journey through the ranks forged a bond to the firm no outside candidate could ever match.
"I think what I bring to the position that no one from the outside would have brought is my unequaled commitment to HSA and my unconditional loyalty to the partners of this firm," Muszynski said.
TWO-WAY STREET
Companies should be equally committed to the employees they promote and demonstrate that commitment by giving them adequate support and training so they can excel in their new roles, said Diana Pittro, an executive vice president at RMK Management Corp., a Chicago-based property developer.
RMK has a company-designed mentoring program that teams newly promoted employees with senior supervisors. The firm also regularly sends those employees for outside training at local universities and trade associations.
Senior management reviews employees promoted at RMK after 90 days in their new positions. Management then determines the further training the worker needs. Newly promoted employees are often required to attend formal off-site classes, both managerial and technical, as part of the overall training regimen
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