Now Reading: Internal mobility becomes key to building corporate leaders
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Internal mobility becomes key to building corporate leaders
Indian companies are shifting from external hiring to internal talent mobility to build leadership pipelines, as AI and changing skill requirements reshape workforce strategies. A LinkedIn 2025 report found 55% of career-development leaders see internal mobility as a higher priority. Companies like Akasa Air, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Vedanta Group and Tata Group use cross-functional moves, stretch assignments and structured programmes to prepare high-potential employees for leadership roles, with some reporting over 65% internal mobility rates.
Axis Bank has raised its internal mobility rate from about 40% in FY23 to over 65% through its 'Thrive' talent marketplace, which maps employee skills to roles. The bank's 'Ahead Of Curve' programme rewards managers for enabling internal moves. However, experts caution against treating mobility as a simplistic metric: BP India's Dr Jyothi Menon notes that safety-critical and technical roles require qualification and recertification, making moves slower. The challenge remains that 55% of organisations lack centralised skills visibility, according to an ETHRWorld report.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both sources report on internal mobility as a strategic trend, but SOURCE-1 frames it as a positive leadership-building tool through case studies of multiple companies, while SOURCE-2 presents a more nuanced view, including data on low skills visibility (55% of firms) and warnings from BP India that mobility metrics must account for technical role constraints. SOURCE-1 emphasises corporate success stories, SOURCE-2 adds implementation challenges and managerial accountability. A balanced take: internal mobility is growing but faces real barriers in skills data and role-specific certification.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com (2) (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
