Internal vs. External Part II

As we continue the discussion on whether to hire internally or externally let’s jump right in with the positives and negatives of hiring externally.

One of the positives of an external hire is that you can get an immediate change in the office culture. Sometimes changing the culture in the office is the reason managers chose to hire externally. Another positive is the external hire doesn’t know “the way things are done” in your company. They come with a fresh perspective on everything from processes and procedures to the actual work that is begin done. A new set of eyes looking at an old problem can be a wonderful thing.

A negative to hiring externally is that it can or will kill employee morale. Even if there isn’t anyone internally that has the skillset to perform the job it can still kill morale. No matter how logical your decision may be employees will take hiring externally as a slap in the face. The other side of not knowing “the way things are done” is the lack of familiarity with the company. This lack of familiarity can make the transition period longer than expected. Before you make your next hire consider the pros and cons of hiring internally and externally. Whether you hire internally or externally is just as important as who you hire.