Talent Marketplace: How an internal talent market will retain your employees

Remember "Michael"? He’s that Senior Developer who resigned three months ago. When you asked him why during the exit interview, he didn’t mention money. He said: "I wanted to try something new, learn React/AI, but in my team, I was doing the same thing over and over".

The irony of this situation is painful: in the department next door, just two desks away, a project was launching that required exactly the skills Mich wanted to learn. But nobody knew. Not Mich, not you, and not the manager of that team.

You just lost about 6-9 months' salary (the cost of recruitment and onboarding for a new person) due to a lack of information flow.

This is where Talent Marketplace comes in. It’s not just a new name for internal recruitment. It is a fundamental operational shift that transforms a company from a rigid hierarchy into a fluid network of competencies. In this guide, we will break down this concept into its basic elements, without the corporate jargon.

What exactly is a Talent Marketplace? (It’s not a job board)

Let's start with what a Talent Marketplace is not. It’s not an intranet tab where HR posts a "Junior Accountant wanted" ad once a month.

A Talent Marketplace is a platform (often powered by AI) that connects employees with development opportunities inside the company in real-time. Imagine a dating app or Uber, but for company projects.

• Supply side: An employee has a profile with their skills (what they have) and aspirations (what they want to acquire).

• Demand side: Managers report not just vacancies, but also: short projects (gigs), needs for a mentor, or help solving a specific problem for 4 hours a week.

The algorithm connects these two sides. The Mich from our introduction would have received a notification: "Hey, the AI department is looking for someone to help with an interface for 10% of their time. Want to join?".

In short: A Talent Marketplace is a digital platform within an organization that uses skill data and AI to automatically match employees with internal projects, roles, mentors, and job offers, supporting talent mobility and upskilling.

Why did the old "career ladder" model die?

The traditional career path resembled a ladder—you could only go up (wait for your boss to leave) or fall off. Today, in the age of hybrid work and the gig economy, a career resembles a lattice. You can move sideways, diagonally, change departments for a while, and come back.

Market Context 2024/2025: Numbers don’t lie

Why is everyone from Unilever to small software houses suddenly talking about Talent Marketplace? Because the external labor market has become inefficient and expensive.

Data from LinkedIn Learning and Gartner (2024) shows:

1. External Cost: Hiring externally costs on average 18% more than an internal promotion, and these individuals tend to perform worse in their first two years.

1. Retention: Companies with high internal mobility retain employees on average 2 times longer than those where movement is frozen (median tenure 5.4 years vs. 2.9 years).

1. Skills Gap: 75% of companies report difficulties in recruiting talent with the right technological skills.

The 4 Pillars of an Effective Internal Talent Market

Implementing a TM is not just a software installation—it’s a cultural change.

1. Skills Taxonomy (Common Language): You must know what your people can do. Modern TM systems build a "Skill Graph". If someone knows "React," the system knows they likely know "JavaScript" and can easily learn "React Native".

1. "Talent Hoarding" must die: Managers often hoard their best people. This is short-sighted. If you don’t let an employee join a project in another department for 5 hours a week, they may leave the company forever.

1. Transparency of Offers: The market must be vibrant. You can post things like: testing a new product (2h), helping at a company event (1 day), or mentoring a junior (1h/week).

1. Psychological Safety: An employee won’t apply for a project if they fear their boss's reaction. Tools like Nais build the foundation—if people feel appreciated daily (e.g., through kudos), they are more willing to engage in extra initiatives.

ROI from an Internal Talent Market

A CFO will ask for the Return on Investment. Don’t just count saved recruitment costs—the real ROI is unlocked man-hours.

Scenario: An external agency quotes 10,000 PLN and 2 weeks for a graphic project. Through TM, you find someone in customer service who does great graphics after hours and wants to build a portfolio. They do it during work hours in 3 days.Gain: 10,000 PLN in cash + a motivated employee who feels noticed.

Key Takeaways:

• Retain through movement: Paradoxically, to keep an employee, you must allow them to move.

• Projects > Positions: Stop thinking only about vacancies; start thinking about tasks and "gigs".

• Data is fundamental: Talent Marketplace replaces intuition with hard data about your people's skills.

‍