Managing internal candidates: can I use their on-job performance as evidence?
You know the internal candidate. That’s a risk, not a shortcut.
Internal candidates present panels with a real tension. The panel has direct knowledge of their performance. That knowledge is relevant, but it cannot replace the assessment.
On-job performance is admissible evidence of capacity, provided three conditions are met. It is declared openly to the panel, not relied on invisibly. It is tested through the same assessment process as external candidates, the internal candidate does the written task, sits the interview, provides referees. And it is weighed consistently, the panel cannot hold the internal candidate’s known weaknesses against them while accepting external candidates’ self-reported strengths at face value.
The failure mode is asymmetric rigour: the panel scrutinises the internal candidate against lived experience, and the external candidate against a polished application. That is not competitive assessment.