Consider about Job Rotations

Some points you need to consider about job rotations

1) Here are some practical recommendations you should think about when considering a job rotation program at your organization. Proactively manage job rotation as a component of your training and career-development system. Job rotation may be especially valuable for organizations that require firm-specific skills because it provides an incentive to organizations to promote from within because that is when they are most likely to find the needed skill sets.

2) Have a clear understanding of exactly which skills will be enhanced by placing an employee into the job-rotation process. Address skills that aren't enhanced by job rotation through specific training programs and management coaching.

3) Consider the use of job rotation for employees in nonexempt jobs, as well as for those in professional and managerial jobs. Job rotation may be of great value for developing retaining employees in all types of jobs.

4) Consider the use of job rotation with later-career and plateaued employees, as well as with early-career employees. Some organizations may have the tendency to rotate employees too fast in early-career stages and too slow in later-career stages. Job rotation can be a good way to reduce the effects of the plateauing process by adding stimulation to employees work. Consider project or ½ day or ½ partial rotations that don't require as much of a formal shift in location and managers.

5You can use job rotation as a means of career development without necessarily granting promotions- so it may be especially useful for downsized organizations because it provides opportunities to develop and motivate employees.

Disadvantage of Job Rotation

Possible problems with rotation programs

1) Costs

*Cost associated with the initial the learning curve on new jobs, including time spent learning, training costs and errors that employees often make while learning a new job.

*Costs in term of the satisfaction and motivation of other employees who aren't rotating. (non-participant jealousy).

*Increase department costs to pay rotations.

*Increase amount of management time spent on lower level employees.

*Result in significant administrative costs for operating the JRP.

*"Star" rotations may leave if they don't get promoted or get enough money at the end of the rotation.

*Some rotations get the training and then leave.

2) Lack of input / control

*No assessment or poor assessment of rotations.

*Employees rotated too fast/ slow and the individual can not slow down the rate.

*Fixed duration of rotations without an option to shorten, lengthen or make permanent can frustrate advanced rotations.

*Decrease retention rate and negative morale if the rotation is not managed correctly.

*Job rotation may increase the work load and decrease the productivity for the rotating employees manager and for other employees.

3) Nor rewarding

*Expectation of promotion / salary increase at the end.

*No incentive for manager to support this program.

*No measurement or reward for managers that develop their employees.

4) Difficult to select

*Don't have the right set of criteria for selection.

*Different criteria are needed for rotations then for normal jobs.

*People that select are not part of the rotation.

Benefits of Job Rotation

Attraction

*Help attract new hires and increase the retention rate of current employees when they see the opportunities for rotation/ growth.

*Increase excitement- ability to meet with different people, not to be bored, and to learn different areas.

*Raise public relations values because of our uniqueness.

*Attract higher quality applicants.

Retention

*Excite current employees through meeting different people, increased challenge, opportunity to learn different areas.

*Motivate employees to work harder.

*Increase growth opportunities.

*Increase the frequency of new job openings.

*Be an effective method for rewarding high performing employees.

*Enhance employee commitment to stay with the company.

*Make managers likely to stay to work with the energetic new hires. (new ideas / fresh eyes.

*Help identify/ dump low performing employees.

Team building / cooperation

*Increase the speed of functional "Silo" breakdown.

*Increase Inter-team communications.

*Include rotations into the business functions which can help technical people develop a broader understanding of the business, our strategy, the needs of our customers and where the company is headed.

*Expose employees to more diversity.

Developing managers

*Provide feedback from the rotations about their managers which could help us identify the best / worst managers.

*Force managers to develop procedures manuals/templates so that new candidates can get up to speed rapidly.

Training

*Decrease our training costs while also increasing the impact of the training.

*Help us evaluate the quality of our talent by acting as a Mini assessment program /center which solicits multiple opinions on the skills of the rotations.

*Decrease training costs while increasing it's impact because job rotation is a hands on experience.

Individual employee benefit

*Test and prepare employees for faster promotions.

*Increase / maintain an individuals employability.

*Aid in building contacts, networks and getting a Mentor

*Make individuals more self-motivated, flexible, adaptable, innovative, eager to learn and able to communicate effectively.

Productivity

*Get people with "fresh eyes" to visit different departments and ask why & why not?

*Increase productivity by non-rotations because of their freshness and energy.

*Reduce the cost of filling a job (because it's an internal placement).

*Speed up the hiring process because more data is available on the rotational candidates.

JOB ROTATION program variations

Many of the traditional rotational program fail because they are inflexible and do not allow for variation to meet the increasing speed of change in the world of work.

Project Rotation - Although most tradition job rotations are "whole job position" there are no reasons that people can't maintain their day job. There can be virtual rotations where the employees maintain their regular job while rotating through various special projects. During a virtual rotation an employee might rotate between projects without having to leave their work station or needing to have their position job title or supervisor to changed.

Half Time Or One Day A Week Rotation -- Rotations can also be based on an allocation of time where an employee works at their regular job for specific period (like mornings) and during the rest of the day they rotate to another department or project. A related variation is a spilt week rotation where, for example an employee spends four days on their regular job and Fridays in their rotation department.

Cross Functional Rotation -- Most traditional job rotations move people between tasks in single department. A functional rotation moves people between distinct business units in order to explore a wider range of experiences. A common one would be the moving of a technician engineer into a business position like sales to increase their awareness of customer needs. A related approach moves people between geographic regions or countries. This approach helps to increase their understanding of different cultures and business strategies.

Internship Prior To A Rotation - For rotational programs that are designed for recent college hires you can dramatically improve your success rate for rotations if you require them to complete an internship at the company prior to their college graduation. By adding this step to the rotational program you get an initial on the job prescreen which will help you identify the candidate with the most potential to succeed in the rotational program.

Related HR Programs -- There are several HR programs that have related goals and that use tools that are similar to those that are used in rotation programs. It often helps to consider these types of program in lieu of a rotation program or it is beneficial to study them in order to learn how to improve rotation programs. Some of these related programs include:
Mentorships

*Retention Programs
*Fast Track Programs
*Orientation Programs
*Educational/ Advanced Degree Support
*Off Site/ Extended Training Programs
*Overseas Assignments
*Executive Coaching and Development

Job Rotation Program:

A Job rotation is the systematic movement of employees from job to job or project to project within an organization, as a way to achieve many different human resources objectives such as:

*simply staffing jobs
*an attraction or retention tool
*orienting new employees
*preventing job boredom or burnout
*training employees
*Involving managers in the training process
*rewarding employees
*enhancing career development
*exposing employees to diverse/ international environments

The theory of "why" job rotation programs work:

*By being in the actual work environment, as opposed to the classroom, JRP'S increase the employees interest in learning.

*A side by side comparison of normal classroom/"book" learning with on the job learning will show that job rotations learnings last longer and have a bigger impact on productivity then if we give you a book or put you in a classroom.

*Because "rotations" see the immediately results of their learning they are more likely to develop a passion for learning more.

*If managers are involved in the training process (as they are in JRP'S) they will be "forced" to come up with multiple approaches for teaching a diverse group of employees. It will also teach them more about how people learn and help managers understand and communicate to others the "why" of what they do. "Rotations", as outsiders, are more likely to ask managers why you do things a certain way, where often insiders are often reluctant to challenge the status quo.

*Having to explain work processes to others (rotations) often forces managers to analyze their own processes and this can make these processes more effective.

*By developing rotations, managers will themselves develop a passion for learning and teaching others. The increased quality be of our managers could help us to improve faster and make the company more successful.

*In addition, rotations (and their managers) have worked with so many diverse people during their rotation program they may become more flexible and agile. This would increase their ability to be redeployed or to backfill to other areas.

Job Rotation

What is Job Rotation?

Job rotation involves the movement of employees through a range of jobs in order to increase interest and motivation. Job rotation can improve “multi-skilling” but also involves the need for greater training. In a sense, job rotation is similar to job enlargement. This approach widens the activities of a worker by switching him or her around a range of work. For example, an administrative employee might spend part of the week looking after the reception area of a business, dealing with customers and enquiries. Some time might then be spent manning the company telephone switchboard and then inputting data onto a database. Job rotation may offer the advantage of making it easier to cover for absent colleagues, but it may also reduce' productivity as workers are initially unfamiliar with a new Task.

When asked what they want out of their job, a majority of Canadians say they want work that is challenging and interesting. One way that employers can meet these aspirations is through more flexible forms of work organization that provide more opportunities for workers to use their skills, do a variety of tasks, and have more influence over their work. An example of this flexible approach is job rotation or cross-training, that is, training employees in a range of tasks and rotating them through different positions

Job rotation and cross-training can benefit both employees and employers. Workers learn new skills and face less boredom from performing similar tasks over and over. Greater variety and a wide range of tasks make work more interesting and challenging. Job rotation and cross-training can also benefit employers. Job rotation is believed to boost innovation by enabling workers to apply knowledge of one task to others. Moreover, exposing employees to other types of jobs within the firm promotes a better understanding of what others in the firm do and how each job contributes to the whole. Finally, a multi-skilled workforce can more readily adapt to changing markets.

Method of Job Design

Job design is the specification of the content, methods and relationship of jobs to satisfy technological and organizational requirements as well and personal needs of employees. Employees must be properly motivated if they are to do their best work. Different individuals often have different motivators. However, many individuals share certain motivators. The employer should recognize these differences and commonalities, and attempt to tap into them.

1) Job Rotation
2) Job Enlargement
3)Job Enrichment