Internal Mobility Survey Questions: How Employees Experience Career Opportunities Inside Your Company

These internal mobility survey questions help you see how people really experience career opportunities inside your company – not just what your process says on paper. You spot where internal roles are invisible, where managers block moves, and where a simple change in communication or tools could unlock more internal hires.

Used well, the survey gives you concrete signals for your talent strategy, from clearer Karrierepfade to better manager coaching. You can connect the results with your broader talent management approach, your skill initiatives and even an internal talent marketplace or mobility software later on.

Survey questions

Unless marked as “Frequency”, use a 1–5 agreement scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree. For “Frequency” items, use 1–5: 1 = Never, 5 = Very often. Tagging: (Annual) = comprehensive yearly survey, (Pulse) = short check after changes; many items can do both.

2.1 Closed questions (Likert-scale)

Q1. I know where to find an overview of all internal job opportunities. (Annual + Pulse)
Q2. I regularly see internal roles that match my skills and interests. (Annual + Pulse)
Q3. Internal job postings are easy to understand regarding tasks and requirements. (Annual + Pulse)
Q4. I receive information about internal opportunities through channels I actually use (e.g. Teams, E-Mail, Intranet). (Annual + Pulse)
Q5. Internal roles are advertised early enough so I can prepare an application. (Annual)
Q6. I know whom to contact when I have questions about an internal role. (Annual)
Q7. Our internal opportunities are visible for all locations and teams, not just headquarters. (Annual)
Q8. I believe internal roles are filled based on skills and performance, not relationships or politics. (Annual)
Q9. I feel I have the same chance to move internally as colleagues in other locations. (Annual)
Q10. I feel I have the same chance to move internally as colleagues in other functions or job families. (Annual)
Q11. In my experience, managers share internal opportunities openly with their teams. (Annual + Pulse)
Q12. People who work part-time or remotely have equal access to internal opportunities. (Annual)
Q13. I do not need “unwritten rules” or insider knowledge to get considered for internal roles. (Annual)
Q14. I trust that the selection process for internal applicants is fair and transparent. (Annual)
Q15. My current manager encourages me to explore internal career options in the company. (Annual)
Q16. My manager and I talk at least once per year about my internal career goals. (Annual)
Q17. My manager would support me if I applied for a role in another team. (Annual + Pulse)
Q18. HR / People Team provides clear guidance on how to apply for internal roles. (Annual)
Q19. When I asked about internal opportunities, I received helpful and concrete advice. (Annual)
Q20. I would feel comfortable asking HR for help to find a suitable internal role. (Annual + Pulse)
Q21. Our HR / People processes actively promote interne Mobilität (e.g. job boards, talent marketplace, talent reviews). (Annual)
Q22. I understand which skills and experiences are needed for the next step in my career path here. (Annual)
Q23. I know my current skill level compared to the expectations of roles I am interested in. (Annual)
Q24. I have access to learning or development offers that help me become ready for internal moves. (Annual)
Q25. Development plans and trainings are clearly linked to future internal roles or projects. (Annual)
Q26. Our company recognises and documents skills in a structured way (e.g. skill matrix, Skill Management). (Annual)
Q27. I can signal my skills and interests somewhere (e.g. profile, talent marketplace) so they are visible for internal opportunities. (Annual + Pulse)
Q28. I feel confident that, with the right development, I could grow into new roles here instead of leaving. (Annual)
Q29. I have moved to a new role internally in the last 24 months. (Screening item – Annual)
Q30. (If yes) The application and selection process for my internal move was clear and structured. (Annual – movers only)
Q31. (If yes) My previous manager behaved professionally and supported my internal move. (Annual – movers only)
Q32. (If yes) Handover and Übergabe between my old and new role were well organised. (Annual – movers only)
Q33. (If yes) My onboarding in the new internal role was at least as good as for external hires. (Annual – movers only)
Q34. (If yes) I had a clear development plan for the first 3–6 months in my new internal role. (Annual – movers only)
Q35. (If yes) Overall, my internal move improved my engagement and motivation. (Annual – movers only)
Q36. I feel safe to tell my manager that I am considering an internal move. (Annual + Pulse)
Q37. I do not fear negative consequences (e.g. fewer opportunities, schlechtere Bewertung) if I explore other internal roles. (Annual)
Q38. Internal moves are seen as normal career steps, not as “disloyalty” to the current team. (Annual)
Q39. People who move internally are treated fairly by their former managers and colleagues. (Annual)
Q40. We celebrate successful internal moves similarly to external hires. (Annual)
Q41. I know colleagues who have made positive internal moves here. (Annual + Pulse)
Q42. Talking about long-term career paths feels psychologically safe in my team. (Annual)
Q43. If I wanted to change jobs, I would first look at internal options before external ones. (Annual + Pulse)
Q44. If internal career options improved, I would be more likely to stay in the company long term. (Annual)
Q45. Overall, I am confident that I can build a long-term career here through internal moves. (Annual)
Q46. I understand our general strategy for interne Mobilität and internal hiring. (Annual)
Q47. I see a clear connection between our internal mobility processes and our performance / talent development processes. (Annual)
Q48. Over the last 12 months, internal mobility opportunities have improved. (Annual + Pulse)
Q49. I would recommend the company’s internal mobility opportunities to a friend who works here. (Annual + Pulse)

2.2 Overall 0–10 ratings (NPS-style)

N1. On a scale from 0–10, how fair do you find our internal mobility processes overall? (0 = very unfair, 10 = very fair) (Annual)
N2. On a scale from 0–10, how confident are you that you can reach your career goals through internal opportunities here? (Annual)
N3. How likely are you to recommend this company to a colleague as a place with good internal career opportunities? (0 = not at all likely, 10 = extremely likely) (Annual + Pulse)

2.3 Open-ended questions

O1. What would make it easier for you to find and apply for internal roles? (Annual + Pulse)
O2. Where does our internal mobility process get stuck from your perspective? (Annual)
O3. Think of one positive internal move you’ve seen here. What worked well and why? (Annual)
O4. Think of one internal move that did not work well. What should we change next time? (Annual)
O5. Which skills or experiences would you like to develop to be ready for your next internal step? (Annual)
O6. How could your manager support you better with internal career planning? (Annual)
O7. How could HR / People improve communication and transparency around internal opportunities? (Annual + Pulse)
O8. Is there anything about internal moves you hesitate to say in a meeting but want to share here? (Annual)

Decision & action table for internal mobility survey results

Dimension / Questions	Trigger score / signal	Recommended action	Owner	Timeline
Visibility of internal opportunities (Q1–Q7)	Average score <3.5 or ≥30% “disagree”	Audit channels and posting standards; redesign internal job board / communication plan.	HR / Talent Acquisition with Internal Comms	Analyse within 14 days; new standards live within 60 days.
Fairness & access (Q8–Q14, N1)	Average score <3.0 or N1 ≤6.0	Review selection criteria, introduce transparent guidelines, share anonymised examples of fair decisions.	HR Business Partners with Legal / Betriebsrat	Initial review within 30 days; revised policy communicated within 90 days.
Manager & HR support (Q15–Q21)	Average score <3.5 or >25% “disagree” on Q17	Launch manager training on interne Mobilität; add career talks to 1:1 templates.	People Development + Line Managers	Training concept within 45 days; first cohorts trained within 90 days.
Skills, development & readiness (Q22–Q28)	Average score <3.5 on ≥3 items	Clarify career paths, introduce skill profiles and simple skill assessment for critical roles.	HR / Talent Management	Pilot skill framework within 90 days in 1–2 functions.
Experience of movers (Q29–Q35)	>20% of movers rate any item ≤2	Redesign internal move process (handover, onboarding checklist, timelines) and communicate to managers.	HR Operations + Receiving Managers	Root-cause workshop within 30 days; new process live within 75 days.
Culture & psychological safety (Q36–Q42)	Average score <3.2 or big gaps between teams	Run team-level discussions; integrate mobility topics into leadership principles and feedback training.	HR / Leadership Development	Identify hotspot teams within 21 days; launch interventions within 60 days.
Overall perception & intent (Q43–Q49, N2–N3)	N2 or N3 ≤7.0 or >25% plan to look externally first	Combine communication campaign, quick wins (e.g. more postings), and longer-term talent marketplace / skill initiatives.	CHRO + HR Leadership Team	Short-term actions defined within 30 days; strategic roadmap within 120 days.

Key takeaways

Use this survey to see where internal mobility really breaks for employees.
Group questions by dimension so you act on patterns, not single scores.
Set clear thresholds: below 3.0 = action, 3.0–3.9 = watch, ≥4.0 = strength.
Connect findings with skills, career frameworks, and manager development programs.
Align with Betriebsrat, GDPR and anonymity rules before the first rollout.

Definition & scope

This internal mobility survey measures how employees experience internal career opportunities, fairness, transparency, and support. It targets all Mitarbeitende, with extra questions for people who moved internally in the last 12–24 months and for managers. Results support decisions on career frameworks, manager training, internal job boards, talent marketplaces and broader mobility strategy.

Survey blueprints: how to use the question bank

You rarely need all questions at once. Below are four ready-made blueprints you can copy, each referencing the question codes from the bank above.

a) Annual internal mobility & career opportunities survey (20–25 items)

Goal: deep diagnostic across the company, 1× per year, anonymous. Include a good mix from all dimensions plus 2–3 open questions.

Suggested items: Q1–Q5 (Visibility), Q8–Q11 (Fairness), Q15–Q20 (Manager & HR support).
Plus: Q22–Q24, Q27–Q28 (Skills & readiness), Q36–Q38, Q41–Q42 (Culture & safety).
Overall: Q43, Q45, Q48–Q49, N1–N3 for fairness and confidence indices.
Open: O1, O2, O5, O8 to collect improvement ideas and sensitive feedback.
Target length: 22–26 questions; completion time ≈ 10–12 minutes.

b) Short pulse after launching a new internal job board or talent marketplace (10–12 items)

Goal: check early adoption and usability of new tools or processes (e.g. Talent Marketplace rollout) after 4–8 weeks.

Focus on visibility and experience: Q1–Q4, Q7, Q27, Q41, Q48–Q49.
Add N3 to track perceived quality of internal opportunities post-launch.
Open: O1, O7 for concrete UX and communication ideas.
Invite all employees with access to the new tool and a 100% anonymity threshold (e.g. ≥10 responses per segment).

c) Targeted survey for employees who moved roles internally in the last 12–24 months

Goal: understand process quality and onboarding for internal movers, including pain points with managers and HR.

Screen with Q29; only “yes” respondents see follow-up questions.
Main items: Q30–Q35 (process & onboarding), Q31 and Q33 are especially sensitive.
Include a few culture items: Q38–Q39 and Q41.
Overall: N1 (fairness) and N2 (confidence in future opportunities).
Open: O3, O4 for detailed stories to improve templates and checklists.

d) Manager-focused pulse: how internal mobility works for them (10–12 items)

Goal: capture manager view on feasibility, workload and support so you can adjust processes and tools.

Reuse some items, slightly rephrased in your tool for managers, e.g.: “I have clear guidance on how to support internal applicants.” (based on Q18).
Key themes: clarity of policies, support from HR, time for handovers, impact on team performance, psychological safety for talking about moves.
Length: 8–10 closed items + 2 open questions about biggest blockers and ideas.
Run 1–2× per year or after big process changes.

For deeper background and examples of how internal talent systems can look, you can cross-reference your results with guides on talent marketplaces and internal mobility or on skill management.

Scoring & thresholds

Use a 1–5 scale (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree) and 0–10 for N-items. Define clear cut-offs so low scores trigger action automatically, not long debates.

As a simple rule: Score <3.0 = critical, 3.0–3.9 = needs improvement, ≥4.0 = strength. Apply this both per item and per dimension (mean of grouped questions).

HR / People Analytics calculates average scores per question and per dimension within ≤7 days after survey close.
Flag any dimension with average <3.0 or a 0–10 rating ≤6.0 as “red”.
Flag 3.0–3.9 or 6.1–7.5 as “amber”; monitor over 2–3 pulses before big changes.
Define 1–2 KPIs, e.g. “fairness index” (Q8–Q14, N1) and “career confidence index” (Q22–Q28, N2).
Translate each red/amber area into at least one concrete measure with owner and deadline.

Follow-up & responsibilities

A survey without follow-up kills trust. Before launch, decide who owns which signals: direct managers, HR / People Team, business unit leads, or top management.

Agree simple SLAs: e.g. summary results for leadership in ≤14 days, team-level discussions within ≤30 days, first measures visible to employees within ≤60 days.

HR / People Analytics: prepare anonymised company, country and business unit reports within 14 days of survey close.
Business Unit Leaders: review their area’s results, select max. 3 focus topics, and share a short action plan within 30 days.
People Managers: discuss relevant results (e.g. team-level scores on Q36–Q42) in team meetings within 45 days.
HR Business Partners: support hotspot areas (scores <3.0) with workshops or coaching concepts within 60 days.
Executive Team: review overall mobility and retention impact and adjust strategy (e.g. invest in talent marketplace, training) within 90–120 days.

A talent platform like Sprad Growth or similar tools can help automate survey sends, reminders, and follow-up tasks, but the ownership of decisions stays with HR and leadership.

Fairness & bias checks

Internal mobility touches fairness, careers and sometimes pay, so you need clean bias checks. Analyse results by relevant groups while keeping anonymity thresholds (e.g. ≥10 responses) to comply with GDPR and Betriebsrat expectations.

Typical cuts: location, business unit, job family, gender, full-time vs. part-time, remote vs. office. Focus on gaps bigger than 0.5–0.7 points on the 1–5 scale.

HR / Analytics: run breakdowns (e.g. Q8–Q14) by location and working model; flag gaps ≥0.5 points as potential inequality.
Betriebsrat / Works Council: review concept and reporting logic before launch; agree on minimum cell sizes and retention periods.
DEI / HR: if one group consistently reports lower fairness (Q8–Q14) or safety (Q36–Q42), run qualitative interviews or focus groups to understand causes.
Talent Management: connect survey gaps with objective data like internal fill rate, promotion rates and succession plans to validate patterns.
Legal / Data Protection: confirm legal basis (e.g. Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR legitimate interest), data minimisation and deletion rules before every major change.

For a more structured view of roles and advancement, combine this survey with your career framework and progression models. This reduces the risk that “hidden” criteria drive internal moves.

Examples / use cases

Use case 1: Low visibility, but decent fairness

A DACH company runs the annual survey and sees strong fairness scores (Q8–Q14 ≈4.1) but weak visibility (Q1–Q4 ≈2.8). Many comments in O1 and O7 describe an “invisible job board” and confusing role titles.

Decision: don’t over-engineer governance; fix “plumbing” first. They simplify job titles, centralise all postings in one place, and push weekly internal job digests via Teams. Six months later, a short pulse (Q1–Q4, Q48) shows scores up to ≈3.7 and internal applications increased by 25%.

Use case 2: Blocked by managers, not by process

Another company scores well on visibility (Q1–Q4 ≈4.0) but low on manager support (Q15–Q17 ≈2.9). Comments describe managers who discourage moves because of performance cycles or project deadlines.

Decision: reframe interne Mobilität as part of leadership expectations. HR adds an explicit “supports internal mobility” dimension to leadership competencies, rolls out manager training with role-plays, and adjusts SLA: maximum 3-month delay for internal moves. One year later, scores on Q17 rise to 3.7 and internal fill rate improves measurably.

Use case 3: Movers suffer from poor handover

Targeted mover survey results show poor ratings on Q32 and Q33 (handover and onboarding) despite generally positive views on internal opportunities. Many internal hires feel “thrown into the cold water”.

Decision: implement standardised internal move playbooks: pre-move meetings, documented Übergaben, and 30–60–90 day plans. They reuse templates from their performance and onboarding processes and align with guidelines from their performance management framework. Subsequent mover surveys show Q32–Q33 up by ~1 point and fewer early regretted moves.

HR: collect short case studies like these after each survey cycle to show leadership where action worked.
Managers: share positive internal move stories in All-Hands to normalise mobility culture.
People Development: link survey patterns to learning paths, mentoring and job shadowing offers.

Implementation & updates

Start small, learn fast, then scale. A typical path: pilot in one business unit or country, refine questions and thresholds, then roll out company-wide with clear governance and Betriebsrat involvement.

Plan one major internal mobility survey per year plus 1–2 short pulses when you change tools or policies (e.g. launch of an internal talent marketplace, new job board, or career framework update).

Pilot: choose one area (e.g. HQ functions) for the first run; test anonymity rules, communication and reporting timelines within 3 months.
Rollout: after adjustments, expand to all employees; align with your broader engagement or employee survey calendar.
Training: brief managers on how to read results and run team discussions; include internal mobility in regular 1:1 and performance talk agendas.
Betriebsrat: involve early, share question sets, scoring logic, legal basis and retention periods; document agreements in a simple Betriebsvereinbarung if needed.
Review: once per year, prune or refine questions, check thresholds and integrate with systems like skill management or succession planning.

Useful KPIs to track across cycles: participation rate, internal fill rate, average time-to-fill internal vs. external, fairness index (Q8–Q14, N1), career confidence (Q22–Q28, N2), and share of employees who say they would look internally first (Q43). You can later connect this with your succession planning templates or with internal mobility software comparisons like the overview on internal mobility software.

On GDPR and DACH specifics: keep the survey voluntary, minimise personal data, avoid health or highly sensitive data, define retention periods (e.g. delete raw data after 24 months), and describe everything in your privacy notice. For works councils, prepare a short one-pager: purpose, data flows, reports, cell sizes, deletion, and link to broader initiatives such as skill management or an internal talent marketplace.

Conclusion

Internal mobility rarely fails because of one policy. It fails because employees cannot see roles, do not feel safe to talk about them, or do not get practical support to move. Well-designed internal mobility survey questions expose these weak spots early, long before your best people leave for better opportunities elsewhere.

Used consistently, the survey improves three things: you spot problems faster, you have better-quality conversations with managers and leadership, and you gain clearer priorities for where to invest in processes, tools and training. Over time, patterns in visibility, fairness and readiness scores show whether initiatives like skill frameworks, mentoring or an internal talent marketplace really work.

Next steps: pick one blueprint (usually the annual 20–25-question version), align with Betriebsrat and Data Protection, and set clear ownership and timelines for follow-up. Implement the questions in your survey or talent platform, run a first pilot, and commit to sharing results and actions with employees. From there, your internal mobility data becomes a core element of how you plan skills, careers and succession – not just another survey in the inbox.

FAQ

How often should we run an internal mobility survey?

Most organisations use a yearly deep-dive plus short pulses when something changes: e.g. a new internal job board, talent marketplace or career framework. A good rhythm is 1× per year with 20–25 questions, plus 1–2 pulses with 8–12 questions focused on visibility and manager support. Align timing with your engagement survey to avoid survey fatigue.

What should we do if scores on fairness are very low?

If fairness (Q8–Q14, N1) drops below 3.0 or 6.0/10, treat it as a risk topic. Combine quantitative data with qualitative insights from O2, O4 and targeted interviews. Review selection criteria, communication around decisions, and promotion / transfer rules. Involve Legal and Betriebsrat to adjust policies and improve transparency. Communicate concrete changes openly, including examples of fair processes.

How do we handle very critical or personal comments?

Route open comments through a small, trained HR / People Analytics group with clear guidelines. Separate “process feedback” from “individual complaints” related to misconduct or discrimination. For the latter, point to formal channels (e.g. Ombudsperson, compliance hotline) and follow existing investigation procedures. Never forward raw comments to line managers if they could identify the author; summarise themes instead.

How can we connect survey results with skills and career development?

Combine items Q22–Q28 and O5–O6 with your skill data, career paths and learning offers. For example, if many employees lack clarity on required skills, update role profiles and link them to your skill framework or skill management software. Align development plans with the most requested internal roles and use regular 1:1s to discuss readiness and next steps.

Are there benchmarks or studies on internal mobility we can use?

Benchmarks vary by industry and size, so treat them as orientation, not as targets. Many organisations now aim for ≥20–30% of roles filled internally and link this to engagement and retention improvements. As context, research from LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends and work on internal mobility by consultancies such as McKinsey shows that transparent career paths and internal moves are strongly associated with higher retention and employee satisfaction.

Jürgen Ulbrich

CEO & Co-Founder of Sprad

Jürgen Ulbrich has more than a decade of experience in developing and leading high-performing teams and companies. As an expert in employee referral programs as well as feedback and performance processes, Jürgen has helped over 100 organizations optimize their talent acquisition and development strategies.