Rapid technological changes and the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) have intensified the need for workforce adaptability. Organisations must upskill and reskill their employees to maintain competitive and ensure their workforce has the skills required to succeed in their roles. Internal talent marketplaces (ITMs) have emerged as a digital platform that utilises algorithms to match employees to different organisational opportunities like projects, learning opportunities and transfers. Large organisations are increasingly adopting digital platforms like ITMs to upskill and reskill their employees. Yet, little empirical research exists on examining how these digital platforms are perceived as a tool for upskilling and reskilling and how they can match employees to opportunities.
This qualitative study explores how ITMs are perceived as a tool for upskilling and reskilling employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of this study with Finnish and Australian HR professionals. Thematic analysis revealed four themes that emerged from the interviews: (1) Organisational Enablement and Evaluation of Learning and Development, (2) Different ways of learning, (3) Internal mobility and employee motivation, and (4) Digital Matching and Human Connection – Perceptions of Internal Talent Marketplaces. This study draws on the matching theory and specifically the dynamic matching lifecycle model.
The findings highlight that ITMs are perceived as promising but context dependent tools for upskilling and reskilling. They were perceived to improve transparency of opportunities, fairness, and accessibility in matching employees to different learning opportunities. However, the context in which they were used was emphasised as findings highlighted that successful use would require human oversight, a climate of learning, and employee motivation. Building on these insights, this study extends the Dynamic Matching Lifecycle Model into a Contextual Dynamic Matching Lifecycle Model which incorporates the digital setting into it and thus extending the matching literature.
The research contributes to existing theory by incorporating digital platforms to the matching process which can be used to align employees to organisational opportunities. Simultaneously, it can offer HR professionals and organisations insight on how ITMs can be successfully utilised to upskill and reskill employees to address skill obsolescence.
