What is lateral recruitment
Lateral recruitment, or hiring, is when a company brings in an expert from outside to fill a job. It is like getting a specialist. This helps bring in new skills. Sometimes, it’s called specialized hiring. This has become a common approach, bringing in skilled and successful professionals from different companies to take on a similar role at a company.
Here, we will discover:
How is the process of lateral recruitment different
- Lateral recruitment is hiring individuals already in similar roles elsewhere, commonly used for senior executive position or roles requiring specific expertise
- It involves professionals moving to the same job but in a different company, keeping their skills going
- These new hires already did the job before, so they know what they are doing
- Unlike regular hiring, it is a secret process. A small group inside the company talks to the potential hires without telling everyone.
- Most people in the company don’t know about it until it is all done, keeping it a secret
- The secrecy helps both the new job, and the company, which can quietly get the skills they really need
- Companies use lateral hiring when they need experts for big changes or important jobs but don’t want anyone to know about it which is a smart hiring.
Understanding through examples
Lateral hiring involves bringing in experienced professionals from outside the organization to fill specific roles. Here are a few examples of it:
Considering a scenario where a technology company wants to boost its cybersecurity, they decided on a lateral hire. This means they bring in a seasoned cybersecurity expert from another respected tech company. This expert has a history of successfully protecting digital assets from a well-known firm.
By recruiting someone with proven skills safeguarding online information, the company aims to strengthen its defense against cyber threats. This lateral hire ensures the company can learn from the expertise of the specialized professional.
Benefits and downfalls
Benefits
Lateral recruitment offers a swift and straightforward way to bring valuable experienced professionals for your organization:
- Fill skill gaps: get people with skills that we might be missing
- Diversity: Hiring from different places brings new ideas and makes a team more varied
- Fresh perspectives: New people mean new ways of looking at things, which can spark creativity
- Immediate expertise: No longer relying on hiring fresher, those hired already know stuff, so they can start their job right away
- Industry Know-How: Bringing in folks from other places gives the company a better understanding of what is happening in the industry.
Downfall
While lateral hiring provides various benefits, it also comes with potential downsides:
- Team Adjustment: New hires may find it hard to fit in with the existing team
- Resistance from existing team: Current employees might not like the changes or feel worried about new team members
- Cultural Mismatch: Sometimes, the new person might not work the same way everyone else does
- Cost consideration: Getting experienced people could cost more money initially
- Limited loyalty: New hires might not feel as attached to the company to the company as those who’ve been here longer.
Lateral Vs Vertical Recruitment
Lateral Hiring (Horizontal): it is like bringing in a teammate from another field, it happens when a company hires someone for a similar level or role. It is like adding a friend with different skills to your team. This helps in getting a fresh perspective and filling specific skill gaps without promoting someone within.
Example: Consider a hospital needing a seasoned nurse for a specialized unit. Instead of promoting a nurse from a different department (like maternity), they bring in an experienced nurse from another hospital.
This lateral hire ensures the unit gets immediate expertise and specific skills without disrupting the existing nursing teams.
Vertical Hiring (Promotion): Vertical hiring is like moving up the ladder with the same team. When someone gets a promotion or moves to a higher position in their current team, it’s vertical hiring. It is a way for companies to recognize and reward their own team members for their hard work.
Example: Now, think of a restaurant server becoming a shift manager. This server, who started in an entry-level position, gets promoted to a leadership role within the same restaurant.
This vertical hiring, where someone progresses vertically within their current workplace, taking on more responsibility and managerial tasks.
Conclusion
Overall, lateral recruitment is like inviting skilled friends to join your team. It helps quickly fill gaps and bring fresh ideas. While it is great for getting experts, there can be challenges, like fitting in and team adjustments. Balancing lateral and internal hires creates a diverse and strong team, making the workspace more interesting and effective.