A key role falls vacant. Most managers’ first reaction is to post an advertisement. Few first ask: could someone in this business step into the role?
What does the research say?
In SHRM’s 2026 Talent Trends report (2,094 HR professionals, mostly American), 41% train current employees for hard-to-fill roles. Job rotation is rated 93% effective, yet fewer than 25% have used it.
In the UK, the CIPD Good Work Index 2026 finds that 19% of employees had no training in the past 12 months. In businesses of 2 to 49 staff the figure is 27%, and in organisations of 250 or more it is 13%. Only 7% had coaching, and 4% had job rotation, secondment or shadowing.
Gallup’s 2026 report adds that manager engagement falls as the span of control grows, though manager talent and training can offset this effect.
These are American, British and global figures, and they do not give a direct result for Iran. Their direction is shared: training and job rotation are rated effective, yet little used.
A tool: the skills and succession map
Build a three-column table and fill it in for each key role:
- 1The skills this role needs (the ones you wrote in the job canvas).
- 2Which current employee is close to some of these skills?
- 3What would close the gap: training, a mentor’s support, or a period working in that role?
If you have no job canvas, this very table shows why you need one.
Try it this week
Choose one key role and fill in the second column. If no name comes to mind, the next question is who you could prepare for it this year.
Before you look outside, look inside once.
Before posting a job ad, ask: which current employee could reach this role within six months?
