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      Economic pressures and the fast growth of technologies like generative AI have greatly changed the business landscape. To stay competitive, organizations face great pressure to do more with fewer resources. This pushes them to find new ways to improve their operations by embracing both digital technology and digital HR Transformation to remain efficient and agile.

      Compounding this challenge, the global war for talent continues to intensify. Recent research shows that nearly half of the world's workers are thinking about leaving their jobs. This highlights the need for HR and business leaders to focus on retaining top talent and developing talent within their organizations.

      One promising solution is the adoption of Internal Talent Marketplaces (ITMs). These platforms help companies better manage talent, address skills shortages and provide existing employees with more opportunities to learn and grow. This improves employee satisfaction and job satisfaction while supporting long-term talent retention.

      ITMs work by connecting open roles, projects and learning and development opportunities with the right people within a company. They also change the way organizations view talent mobility and workforce agility, creating access to broader talent pools and offering a clear competitive advantage.

      Thomas Oschlisniok
      Thomas Oschlisniok

      Partner, Head of Business Services Transformation

      KPMG Switzerland

      Julie Currie
      Julie Currie

      Senior Manager, People & Change Consulting

      KPMG Switzerland

      The challenges HR professionals face today

      The changing business landscape and growing talent crisis further highlight some of the challenges HR professionals face today:

      • Lengthy time to fill roles and capacity constraints on overburdened team members
      • Over-reliance on external hires that add cost and time to the onboarding process
      • Misaligned learning investments that fail to develop employees or the business
      • Slow market adaptability due to siloed organizational structures
      • Difficulty attracting talent and navigating a fast-moving recruitment process

      What are Internal Talent Marketplaces?

      An Internal Talent Marketplace (ITM) is a smart platform powered by AI. It helps match employees' skill sets with open roles, projects, and development opportunities within the company. ITMs are changing the way we use human resource tools and making HR functions faster and easier.

      However, an ITM goes beyond the capabilities of a typical HR tool. It collects and stores detailed information about your employees, including their unique skills, experiences and career goals. Then, it uses that data to match people with the right opportunities in real time.

      At its simplest, an ITM supports talent development by helping employees join projects that match their current skills. It also helps them upgrade their skills by providing training programs and learning opportunities in new areas of the organization. Over time, this helps employees develop new skills in line with their career paths and personal goals. 

      When used to its full potential, an ITM can completely change the way a company is organized. Instead of working in fixed roles, teams become more flexible, formed around projects and tasks.

      • Why is this important?

        This shift is an important part of change management, helping organizations become more agile and focus on skills rather than job titles. It also helps the HR department to play a more strategic role in attracting top talent and engaging the workforce.
         

      Why are ITMs a game changer?

      When companies build and use ITMs, they see real and valuable results:

      • Improved hiring efficiency

        Increased efficiency by reducing the time to fill roles and improving the recruitment process.

      • Cost savings through internal hiring

        Reduced spending on external hires by filling roles from internal talent pools.

      • Targeted learning with clear ROI

        More targeted and personalized learning and development initiatives with a clearer return on investment.

      • Break down organizational silos

        Break down of organizational silos through an integrated flow of talent across the organization

      • Faster response to market changes

        Increased organizational ability to respond quickly to market and external pressures.

      • Stronger people management and recognition

        Support for effective people management and structured recognition programs.

      • Enhanced talent attraction and engagement

        Stronger talent attraction and internal talent relationship management.

      The bigger picture

      ITMs do more than solve today’s problems – they help companies prepare for the future. By using ITMs, businesses can make better use of current talent, give employees more chances to grow, and build a more agile workforce that can quickly adapt when things change. This is an important part of both HR transformation and digital transformation HR initiatives.

      The biggest benefit is its impact on the people and the overall workplace culture. Employees today want to grow and take on new challenges. Companies that provide those opportunities are more likely to retain top talent in a competitive job market.

      Forward-thinking companies use ITMs not only to improve employer branding, but also to build strong, inclusive HR functions. ITMs support smarter management strategies, more effective customer service, and stronger business overall.

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      Strategic HR management: from transformation strategy to implementation.
      Find out more about our expertise

      How do organizations ensure success with Internal Talent Marketplaces?

      Building an ITM requires time and effort. It means keeping your job architecture, job descriptions and skills data up to date. It also means making sure that your learning and development programs, rewards, performance review processes, and talent systems are all connected. The right HR software or technology platform is key to making this work.

      ITMs help organizations match the skills of their employees with the skills the business needs – now and in the future. That's why they're an important part of any strategic talent management plan.

        To successfully launch an ITM, follow these key steps:

        1. Choose a skills-led approach

        2. Select the right technology platform

        3. Prepare for cultural and mindset shifts

          1. Choose a skills-led approach

          ITMs work best in organizations that focus on skills rather than job titles. This means your first step should be to decide to organize work around what people can do, not just what their job is called.

          Once you've made that decision, you need to do two things:

          • Skills data

            First, look at what skills data you already have in your HRIS or talent tools to understand what your baseline is. 

          • Skills taxonomy

            Second, decide how you want to build your list of skills, known as a skills taxonomy.  You can either build it yourself – which takes time and expert support – or use an AI-driven tool to help. These tools can analyze millions of job roles and suggest an "inferred" taxonomy of the most common skills for each position.

          Using a pre-built, AI-based skills taxonomy gives you a consistent language for skills across your organization. This becomes the foundation for selecting and building the right HR software platform to support your ITM.

          2. Select the right technology platform

          Technology is critical to making your ITM work. Before choosing a platform, it's important to consider your overall HR IT architecture. Many large HCM platforms – such as Workday, SAP, and Oracle – already include ITM capabilities or offer modules that you can add. 

          You can also consider specialized best-in-breed solutions – such as ProFinda, Gloat, or Fule50 – that focus specifically on internal talent matching. 

          When choosing your platform, think about:

          • The maturity of your current skills data

            What skills information do you already have, and in what format?

          • The digital experience you want to give your employees

            How easy and useful should the system be for them to use?

          • The platform integration and maintainance

            How well the platform integrates with your HR and business tools, and the effort needed to maintain it.

          Most importantly, the process should not begin with the technology. Start by thinking about your people, your goals, and your digital HR transformation strategy. Once you know what you want your ITM to achieve, you can choose the technology that best supports it.

          3. Prepare for cultural and mindset shifts

          Implementing an ITM involves more than a change in process – it fundamentally changes how people perceive and approach work. Moving to a skills-based approach means changing the way leaders and teams view roles. Rather than focusing on job titles, the focus shifts to what people can actually do – their skills and the tasks for which they are best suited.

          ITMs also help break down silos between departments. But for this to work, a company culture of sharing talent across teams is essential. It will take time for leaders and employees to adjust, especially in organizations where roles have traditionally been more fixed.

          Employees will need to be open to new opportunities – even if they are outside their original job descriptions. They will also need to keep their skills data up to date, take responsibility for their own growth, and be willing to work on different types of projects. Leaders and managers should encourage employees to explore new roles and learning paths that align with both business needs and personal goals, and provide timely feedback on projects and skills development.

          For the HR department, this shift means supporting both people and the business through change. This also means adopting new tools, including artificial intelligence in HR, to effectively manage ITM. HR teams may need to create new roles, set clear policies, and build strong systems to ensure that ITM is fair, well used, and delivers the right results.

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          Strategic HR management: from transformation strategy to implementation.
          Find out more about our expertise

          Where to start?

          Building an Internal Talent Marketplace (ITM) may seem like a daunting task – but with the right plan, it's entirely possible.

          Start by looking at your current systems and processes, as well as any challenges you face when moving talent internally. This will help you understand where you are now and create a plan that fits your organization's needs. This will also ensure that the ITM works seamlessly with your existing tools and supports your talent management goals.

          Using the right technology and AI tools can completely change the way you manage talent. ITMs help organizations become more agile, match people to the right opportunities faster, and engage employees by offering real opportunities for growth.

          • An ITM isn't just another HR system

            It's a smart, forward-thinking solution to today's problems that builds a stronger, more adaptable workforce for tomorrow – it’s not just another HR system.
             

          Transform your HR strategy into a driver of business success

          Today’s talent landscape is evolving fast. Whether you're rethinking workforce planning, enhancing leadership capabilities, or driving cultural change, aligning your HR strategy with your business goals is critical.

          Discover how KPMG can help you future-proof your organisation through strategic HR transformation.

          Read more about our approach

          Meet our experts

          Thomas Oschlisniok
          Thomas Oschlisniok

          Partner, Head of Business Services Transformation

          KPMG Switzerland

          Nick Lawitzke
          Nick Lawitzke

          Director, People & Change Consulting

          KPMG Switzerland

          Julie Currie
          Julie Currie

          Senior Manager, People & Change Consulting

          KPMG Switzerland

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