Handbook of Organization Measurement
Internal Mobility
construct.internal_mobility
How it’s measured operationally
Beyond survey measurement, this construct is also tracked as an operational metric from records:
The percentage of open roles filled by existing employees moving internally.
(Roles filled internally / Total roles filled) × 100 · percentageShare of roles filled by internal moves.
internal moves / total moves · rateThe percentage of employees who changed roles at the same organizational level.
(Employees making a same-level role change / Total employees) × 100 · percentageShare of employees promoted in a period.
promotions / average headcount · rateThe average time employees take to be promoted from their last hire or promotion date.
Average elapsed time since last promotion or hire for promoted employees · days§3The math on what we know
Synthesized priors from the live registry: pooled r, studies (k), total N, top study grade, and heterogeneity. Rows flagged for heterogeneity or single-study evidence are directional, not settled — read them as a central tendency.
What drives internal mobility
| Predictor | r | k | N | Grade | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career Development | +0.23 | 1 | 6,503 | A | single study |
| Proactive Personality | +0.16 | 1 | 676 | B | single study |
| Career Sponsorship | +0.12 | 1 | 4,828 | A | single study |
| Mentoring | +0.10 | 1 | 7,570 | A | single study |
What internal mobility predicts
| Outcome | r | k | N | Grade | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career Satisfaction | +0.22 | 1 | 8,701 | A | single study |
| Voluntary Turnover | −0.11 | 1 | 5,752 | A | single study |
§4As a model node
Where internal mobility sits when you drop it into a model — what feeds it, what it moves. Read left to right as a small, actionable causal claim.
Inputs (drivers)
- Career Development+0.23
- Proactive Personality+0.16
- Career Sponsorship+0.12
- Mentoring+0.10
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Internal Mobility
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Outputs (outcomes)
- Career Satisfaction+0.22
- Voluntary Turnover−0.11