Hiring and promoting people are essential functions within any company. Both offer great potential for mutual benefit — when you handle them properly. Mishandled, however, employment and promotion choices can cost your company far more than money. Studies suggest that hiring and promoting from within is more successful than bringing in outsider candidates. But companies are twice as likely to look beyond their current employee population when new jobs become available. Sometimes, of course, going outside is the only way to acquire new talent that your company needs. So how do you find the best people for the job?