Are your employees feeling stuck? Are retention numbers dropping?
If so, it’s time to take action and find a way to reignite the passion, engagement and commitment of your employees. That’s where a job rotation program comes into play.
The problem
In a lot of cases, employees aren’t sure what opportunities are available or how to find them. They may feel stuck, burnt out or disconnected in their current position and start looking outside of your organization for opportunities. When employees become disengaged, they don’t feel a part of the organization or inspired to work toward company goals. This causes challenges not only at the employee level, but also at the organizational level as retention and productivity suffers.
The solution
A job rotation program gives employees the opportunity to develop their skills, broaden their knowledge and build their network by rotating to another position. These rotations can last anywhere from 3-12 months. At the end of the rotation, employees rotate back to their original team, having gained hands-on experience, fresh perspective and an increased competitiveness for future positions.
This process allows employees and teams to learn from each other and gain valuable perspective. Think about the team that has been doing their work the same way because that’s all they know. What if you were to intentionally rotate one person from that team to a different team and allow a different employee to rotate in? Think of the fresh perspectives, new skills and insights that would bring to your team. Or what about the employee on your team that is bored and ready for something new, but isn’t sure what that next step should be. This program could offer an opportunity to essentially try it before they buy it, allowing them to temporarily rotate to a different team to “try out” that job while gaining new skills and re-energizing that employee.
Could this work for your organization?
Development can take many forms, but providing a program where you intentionally provide development opportunities, both for individual employees and teams, can be a game-changer.
“Providing employees with opportunities to learn new skills and participate in experiential learning will result in increased engagement and commitment.”
All it takes is building a transparent platform where all employees can view available opportunities on other teams. If there is an opportunity that matches their development needs or is something they are interested in trying out, the leaders can have a discussion to determine if it’s a fit and the length of time for the opportunity. If capacity is an issue, an employee swap can be discussed.
A job rotation program works very well for organizations with multiple teams or business areas. If you are in a smaller organization or focusing on development within teams, cross-training is another option. But no matter the size of your organization, providing employees with opportunities to learn new skills and participate in experiential learning will result in increased engagement and commitment.
Benefits
Still not sold? Consider these additional benefits of providing employees with experiential development opportunities.
Implementing a job rotation program, benefits employers by:
- Assisting with succession planning
- Reducing turnover
- Contributing to a higher-skilled workforce
- Providing teams with fresh perspectives
- Preventing teams from becoming isolated
- Creating a culture where employees are connected to the work and organizational goals
- Promoting a faster learning pace due to hands-on work experiences
By implementing a job rotation program, employees are:
- Able to practise and gain hands-on experience with a new skill
- More competitive for other job opportunities within your organization
- Motivated to learn more about the organization, network with others and increase their breadth of knowledge
- More educated in making career decisions and aware of additional career paths
- Provided opportunities to excel in a new environment and showcase unused talents
- Sheltered from job burnout and excited about new opportunities
- Encouraged to be more innovative and creative
- Engaged and committed
Revitalize your workforce
It all comes down to this. Employees need opportunities for growth and development. Employers need engaged and committed employees. A job rotation program provides both. Re-ignite passion in your employees and watch your organization flourish.
