Job rotation is a technique used to increase employee learning and motivation. In this article, we will explain what job rotation is, list its benefits and drawbacks, and give 5 examples of companies who successfully apply job rotation in their activities. Show
Contents What is job rotation? A definitionJob rotation is the practice of moving employees between jobs in an organization. These rotations are predominantly lateral, meaning that they happen between jobs on the same level and are not considered promotions. They are also often temporary with people moving back to their original job after a certain time. Rotating jobs has a number of key benefits that we will cover later in more detail, think for instance of; starting a new job is exciting and challenging, it reduces boredom, stimulates motivation, helps to assess person-job fit, and it’s a great way to acquire new knowledge and competencies through practicing different jobs. Job rotation is a well-known organizational development technique. It is an essential part of job (re)design, together with job simplification, job enrichment, and job enlargement. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of job rotation. Job rotation is a an essential part of job (re) design.Job rotation benefitsRotating jobs has a long list of benefits for both the employer and the employee. Although there is some overlap between the two, let’s first focus on the benefits of job rotation for the employer: DOWNLOADABLE CHEAT SHEET The Organization Development Process Cheat SheetWant to add Organizational Development skills to your HR toolkit? Download this concise introduction to OD. Written by HR, for HR.
Similarly, job rotation also has benefits for the employee:
Disadvantages of job rotationWe cannot conclude this article without briefly mentioning the disadvantages of job rotation.
Job rotation best practicesAs you have now realized, it is absolutely possible to ‘rotate the wrong way’. Let’s go over a series of best practices on how to create a more positive impact while reducing negative effects. Help Your Organization Thrive Organizational Development Download Syllabus
Five job rotation program examplesLet’s now go over five real-life job rotation examples.
1. The Slumber YardOur first job rotation example comes from a company named The Slumber Yard, which is the biggest online resource for mattress reviews. The main reason for The Slumber Yard to launch a rotation program was to try and reduce the company’s turnover. As Matthew Ross, co-owner and COO puts it: “By training employees to be competent in multiple disciplines, we’re able to reduce the negative effects associated with employee turnover. If an employee leaves, we have other employees who can easily slide in and assume the role.” Naturally, different jobs take different amounts of time to learn. This implies that it’s important to determine accurate training times and the corresponding length of the rotation program. At The Slumber Yard, people rotate once every quarter. 2. Heineken’s Technologist ProgramOur second job rotation example comes from Dutch beer brewer Heineken. The company has several traineeships for graduates, including a Technologist Program. Selected trainees will get several assignments and each assignment lasts 6 months. As such, they’ll be rotating in various departments such as Packaging, Product development, Brewing, Quality Assurance, and Packaging development. Projects Technologist trainees could be working on include:
Once they’ve completed the program, trainees are equipped to start as a Technologist in various Heineken departments. This traineeship is a good example of how rotation enables people to obtain different skills and competencies, leading to a more flexible workforce in which people are able to do more than one job. 3. Job rotation in factoriesIn factories and on plant floors, there can be an important additional reason for job rotation: providing physical injuries and chronic work-related musculoskeletal issues. While rotating jobs can indeed help with this (and also to cope with boredom), it’s no miracle solution and should ideally be part of a larger effort of redesigning work. 4. The effect of rotation on nursesA study among nurses in the US investigated whether or not a rotation system would encourage nurses to understand, relate to and share the vision of the organization, consequently increasing their job satisfaction and stimulating them to willingly remain in their jobs and commit themselves to the organization. According to the nurses themselves, job rotation inspired them to achieve higher performance, allowed for continuous growth at work, extended knowledge and skill, and increasing clinic patient care-taking quality. They agreed that it could help employees to acquire multiple capabilities and expand vision and that it could be an approach to reduce job burnout. 5. EdelmanThere are many different job rotation programs. At Edelman, an American PR and marketing consultancy firm, they have a rotation program for their high-performing, high-potential employees. Employees who are selected are sent to an international location to work, live, and learn for up to 18 months. The idea behind Edelman’s program is to give people the opportunity to learn from varying perspectives around the world and to diversify their work experience (to ultimately better serve the company’s clients). From HR Business Partnerto CHROMap out your HR Career path. Try our need tool to determine the direction in which you want to progress based on your HR career goals and capabilities. Get Started Before you goAs you know by now, rotating jobs can have many benefits for both the organization and the employee. However, when done randomly, it will reduce efficiency, introduce errors, and lead to role unclarity. It is therefore key to clearly specify the reason why rotation should be leveraged. These and (many) more tips about job rotation, job design, and organizational development can be found in our upcoming certificate program about organizational development! FAQWhat is job rotation? Job rotation is the practice of moving employees between jobs in an organization. These rotations are often temporary and predominantly lateral, meaning that they happen between jobs on the same level and are not considered promotions. What is the main strength of job rotation? One of the main benefits of job rotation is the fact that it is an excellent way to transfer specific skills, knowledge, and competencies, leading to human capital accumulation and a more flexible workforce. What is a drawback of job rotation? One of the disadvantages of job rotation lies in the fact that it can lead to disgruntled employees if they are rotated out of a job they enjoy. What is the term for a process whereby an organization makes decisions about its long term goals and how it will achieve them?Strategic planning involves a set of procedures for making decisions about an organization's long-term goals and strategies.
What is the process to use for identifying the components of the HR strategic planning process?4 steps to strategic human resource planning. Assess current HR capacity.. Forecast HR requirements.. Develop talent strategies.. Review and evaluate.. What the name of the human resource planning activity that requires human resource professionals to assess the availability of both internal and external Labour?Human Resource Planning (HRP)
What technique type is used for forecasting HR requirements quizlet?Two approaches used to gather qualitative data in order to forecast HR demand (or supply) are the: scatter plot and Delphi techniques.
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