Backfill:
Definition, Comparison, Best Practices & Related Terms

A backfill position is a temporary or permanent role created to cover for an existing employee who is unavailable due to leave, internal transfer, promotion, or departure from the company. The goal is to maintain business continuity and prevent disruption to team performance by ensuring that essential responsibilities are covered without expanding the overall headcount.

Backfilling differs from standard hiring in that it addresses a gap created by an existing employee's absence or transition, rather than filling a newly created position for business expansion. For instance, when someone takes maternity leave or moves into a new internal role, a backfill ensures continuity until they return or until a permanent replacement is secured.

Related terms: replacement position, succession planning, talent pipeline, internal mobility

Backfilling refers to filling a position vacated by a current employee who has moved to a different role within the organization, taken leave, or been promoted. In contrast, a replacement position involves hiring a new employee after someone permanently leaves the company due to resignation, retirement, or termination.

The key distinction lies in the circumstances creating the vacancy. In a backfill scenario, the original employee is often still with the company but in a different capacity or temporarily absent with an expected return date. In a replacement scenario, the original employee has left the organization altogether and is not expected to return.

HR needs to backfill a position in 7 common situations:

• Parental or medical leave when an employee is away for weeks or months but their responsibilities still need handling
• Internal promotion or transfer when an employee moves into a new role within the company and their previous position remains essential
• Temporary reassignment when someone takes on a short-term project or interim role
• Extended leave of absence when the employee is on unpaid or personal leave with a chance of returning
• Resignations when an employee gives notice to leave the company
• Retirements when an employee exits the workforce permanently
• Terminations when an employee is dismissed and their position must be covered to maintain workflow

Each scenario demands a different strategy. Temporary absences require short-term solutions like temp workers or internal coverage, while permanent departures necessitate full recruitment processes to find long-term replacements.

Backfilling a position is important because it ensures business continuity, maintains team productivity, and prevents operational disruptions when someone is temporarily unavailable or transitions into another role. Without a position backfill, work piles up, deadlines are missed, and remaining team members get stretched too thin.

Organizations that backfill positions effectively achieve 6 key benefits:

• Ensure business continuity by providing seamless transition of duties and maintaining service levels
• Maintain team productivity by avoiding workload imbalance and preventing tasks from being left unfinished
• Meet project deadlines by preventing delays and bottlenecks so resources are allocated efficiently
• Retain company knowledge by preserving valuable insights and expertise within the organization
• Reduce training costs by leveraging internal candidates or experienced external hires who require minimal onboarding
• Maintain employee morale by preventing colleagues from being forced to take on extra work that causes stress and burnout

Backfilling also protects institutional knowledge, especially when there is time for a handover between the outgoing employee and the backfill. In cases where the original employee plans to return, a backfill keeps things stable so they can step back into a functioning team without disruption.

HR can effectively backfill a position by implementing 5 strategic steps:

1. Assess the need immediately by evaluating which projects will be affected, whether workload can be temporarily shared, and if the replacement should be temporary or permanent
2. Analyze the role and update the job description to reflect current needs rather than copying outdated requirements
3. Communicate transparently with the team about what is happening, what to expect, and how the transition will work
4. Use digital HR tools to streamline recruitment, collaboration, and onboarding processes in one platform
5. Train or onboard the replacement smoothly by overlapping start dates when possible or documenting processes and assigning mentors

HR should take proactive steps to handle staffing gaps and maintain team continuity. Having contingency plans in place for different scenarios helps minimize disruption when key roles are temporarily vacant.

HR can implement 3 quick backfill solutions when positions become vacant:

• Use employee referrals to fill temporary gaps quickly, as referred candidates often onboard faster and stay longer, helping reduce turnover and future backfill needs
• Look within the company for suitable candidates who are familiar with the role and can step up to fulfill the duties, which aids in backfilling and increases employee satisfaction
• Hire temporary or contract workers who can jump in relatively quickly since they are well-versed in their specialized area

These solutions work well for immediate coverage while longer-term recruitment processes are conducted. If an employee is leaving on good terms or taking an extended leave, asking them to help train the person stepping in during their absence can make the transition smoother and help preserve key knowledge.

Backfilling is not the only option when a role opens up. Depending on the situation, there are 6 alternative ways to manage the workload:

• Redistribute tasks across the team by temporarily assigning the departing employee's responsibilities to other team members for short absences or manageable workloads
• Hire a temporary or contract worker to cover the role without committing to a long-term hire
• Use internal secondments by offering short-term internal transfers for employees who want to broaden their experience while filling the gap
• Automate or streamline tasks using tools or software to reduce manual workload, especially for repetitive or low-priority tasks
• Delay non-essential work by putting certain projects or responsibilities on hold until the original employee returns or a long-term solution is in place
• Outsource specific duties by contracting out parts of the role such as payroll, customer support, or IT tasks to external providers

Each alternative has trade-offs in terms of cost, quality, and sustainability. The best approach depends on the role's criticality, the expected duration of the vacancy, and available resources.

According to SHRM, it typically costs a company six to nine months of an employee's salary to replace them. For someone earning $60,000 annually, that translates to $30,000 to $45,000 in recruitment and training expenses.

These costs include advertising the position, recruiter fees, interview time, background checks, onboarding, training, and the productivity loss during the learning curve. While there is an undeniable cost associated with hiring and onboarding new employees, in many cases it is more cost-effective in the long run than the alternatives.

Leaving positions vacant or overloading existing employees can lead to decreased productivity, mistakes from overwork, and potential turnover due to increased job dissatisfaction. Even if the expense seems high in the short term, hiring for a backfill position often results in a positive return on investment when considering the broader picture of operational efficiency and employee satisfaction.

HR professionals can improve their backfilling efforts with 8 best practices:

• Practice proactive recruiting by creating a pipeline of potential candidates who already want to work for your company, which helps move them into positions quickly when you need to backfill a role
• Know your needs by identifying the most crucial qualifications for the role to ensure you find a good fit, as some skills can be taught easily while others are important to already have in a candidate
• Anticipate vacancies by communicating with your team regularly to gauge job satisfaction and talking to employees about their retirement plans
• Check the budget to help choose the best option, as you might decide that using a temp agency is the most affordable option for a temporary situation
• Streamline your processes by having specific procedures in place for every step of the recruiting and hiring process
• Identify at-risk positions or employees who lack redundancies, such as a single web developer in a web development company or a sole accountant in a small business
• Keep detailed records of employee skills to make it easier to match available talent with temporary needs
• Cross-train employees to build flexibility within teams, such as training sales reps on basic marketing functions or junior staff to handle more senior tasks

Organizations that approach backfilling with the right mindset recognize the opportunity to enhance team collaboration and ensure that the newly filled position contributes to the team's strength.

Backfilling a position is often compared to 3 related workforce planning concepts:

Backfilling a Position vs. Succession Planning

Backfilling a position is reactive and addresses immediate staffing gaps created by employee absence or departure. Succession planning is proactive and strategic, identifying and developing internal talent to fill critical roles before they become vacant. While backfilling focuses on maintaining continuity in the short term, succession planning builds long-term organizational resilience by preparing future leaders.

Backfilling a Position vs. Talent Pipeline

A talent pipeline is an ongoing recruitment strategy that cultivates relationships with potential candidates over time, creating a pool of qualified individuals ready to fill future vacancies. Backfilling a position is the immediate act of filling a specific vacancy that has already occurred. The talent pipeline feeds the backfilling process by providing pre-qualified candidates who can be quickly mobilized when positions open.

Backfilling a Position vs. Internal Mobility

Internal mobility refers to the movement of employees within an organization through promotions, lateral transfers, or role changes as part of career development. Backfilling a position is the consequence of internal mobility, as these movements create vacancies in the employees' original roles that must be filled. Internal mobility drives employee engagement and retention, while backfilling ensures that the vacancies created by this movement do not disrupt operations.