Job Rotation Process

Job rotation process is good for both the company as well as the employees of the company. This trick of the HR team of an organization has a number of benefits for both the company and the employees. Let us start with understanding Job Rotation Process and what is it exactly. Only if the base of the understanding is clear will we be able to explain its advantages.

Some people say that it is a way of developing employee skills; that is developing employee skills in every field, some say it is a recruitment method that is cheap for the HR team and the company and some people also say that it is a way of giving change to the employee’s routine jobs.

Job rotation program is the technique that is planned by the HR team of the company to move employees between jobs in a planned manner. The main reasons behind this operation are given exposure to different experiences to employees and also give them an option of enhancing skills to improve their job satisfaction levels. It is one of the best cross training strategies of the HR team and the organization.

It is a method used for the development of the employees of the organization; a variety of changing jobs give them the opportunity of developing their skills in the different types of jobs that are allocated to them. In job rotation program usually, the employees make lateral moves however sometimes this rotation is also due to a promotion.

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Types of Job Rotation Process Used

To rotate task

Task rotation is usually for employees who are too tied up in jobs that are either too mentally stressful or too physically demanding. The Human Resources team of organizations then switch their jobs from a high demanding job either physically or mentally to a lesser demanding job where the employees get a break from the routine work.

Let’s take an example here, in production or manufacturing companies there workers work in a monotonous for continuous 8 to 10 hours, this is very stress full for their jobs involve to much physical stress where they are doing the same job on day to day bases for some 8 to 10 hrs its becomes very monotonous and also very irritating. In order to get their employees a break, the management shifts them to less stressful jobs. This helps them to keep their employees happy also by retaining them.

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To Rotate Position

Rotation of position is changing the employee’s designation, department or geographical location in order to give them more exposure to various skills, knowledge and also other perspectives. Positional notation is divided into within function rotation and cross function rotation. Within the function, the rotation is where the employees are rotated amongst two jobs with similar responsibilities with the same areas of function and operation. Cross function rotation is usually concerning the position with the increasing level and responsibilities of the job or a promotion.

The example here for within function rotation can be an employee working on a junior designation is rotated to another junior designation in the same department with similar responsibilities; however to give him more exposure to learning new things and be used to more used to the processes and jobs in the same department. However, cross function rotation can be promoting an experienced senior executive to a manager instead of recruiting someone from the market.

Why Use Job Rotation Process?

Job rotation program sets a career path for an employee when there are no promotions available or the employee does not want one
The employee gains a lot of knowledge with the help of job rotation program as he learns a new job and its processes
The employees develop various skills that are essential in order to become an all-rounder in any team before getting promoted to a senior or a manager.
Job rotation program gives the employees different responsibilities with a lot of new learning along with the responsibilities
It helps the employees come out of boredom and dissatisfaction with jobs as they are learning something new that will be productive for them and the company both.
It gives the employees new opportunities for expanding their knowledge and skills. The employees get new accomplishments, new reach in their careers, a better impact on their careers and all this potentially impacts and influence both the employee and also different aspects of the organization.
Job rotation process teaches and shows the employees the working of different departments, this creates a better understanding of the working of an organization.
It is a strategy of the management of a company to give a complete understanding of the processes and departments in order to promote an employee.
Job rotation process is internal job postings and also internal promotions to keep staff and employees motivated and give them the best they deserve.
Job rotation process also gives an employee a change of interacting with other employees of the organization this creates and maintains unity amongst employees.

Why and how is Job rotation process a useful recruitment method?

Let us get back to understanding as to why should the recruitment team use job rotation process as one of their key methods for retaining and keeping their employees interested in their jobs.

1. Job rotation process and exploring talents

Of course, unless someone does the job you have no clue that they can do it much better than the employees doing it regularly. Job rotation is one way of exploring the talents of employees of an organization. In fact to be precise a number of times even the employees have no clue that they can do a job well, much better than their colleagues. This exercise uncovers the hidden talent of the employees for both the employee and the management.

2. Job rotation process and back up

An employee who is well trained in all aspects and all departments of the organization serves as one of the assets of the company who can perform any job when required. Job rotations give employees the ability and the opportunity of learning new jobs, it enhances the skills and the knowledge of the employee and also gives emergency back up to the company. In the case of short staff in a department, other employees from another department can also cover up for the shortage. This helps both the company and the employee.

3. Job rotation process creates motivation

When an employee is surrounded by new challenges he is motivated to accept these challenges and tries his best to do better. A monotonous job does not really have challenges to face and win over. Any new job will have many challenges that will motivate the employee to prove himself and try to serve better. Job rotation gives the employees motivation of proving themselves better than the rest and also an employee capable of taking up and learning any task allotted to them. This activity gives and creates a lot of motivation amongst employees.

4. Job rotation process increases employee knowledge and skills

Improving employee knowledge that is more than the bookish knowledge it gives the employees more of practical knowledge of a job, of a task, of a designation, etc. It is extremely important to gain as much knowledge possible in order to grow. An employee who really wants to grow in life will never say ‘NO’ to learning. Job rotation is one way of giving the employees that know that they desire. Knowledge can convert into skills only after practicing it. Regular practice of different jobs is the best way of enhancing your skills and specializing in them.

5. Job rotation process takes the employees of the routine

A very routine job is extremely monotonous and it makes the employee feel disinterested in his work which is definitely not good for both the employee and the company. The employee needs to be interested in his job in order to serve the company better. When an employee is taken out of the monotonous routine to put into a new and a little less stressful job it gives the employee a break. This routine break is very useful for employees working in a production or a manufacturing company where the same job is repeated over and over for days, weeks, months and years.

6. Job rotation process helps to understand different departments

An employee working in one department has no idea how does the other department functions which are why there are inter-department disputes in an organization. Instead of accusing each department we need to switch their roles in order to develop better understanding between departments. This activity of job rotation is a unique exercise to create the required understanding amongst departments.

7. Job rotation process helps promotions

Once an employee has the know-how and his skills of all departments are fine enough he is ready for the next level. The management knows and recognizes talent which is why they decide to give the deserving employee the knowledge and enhance his skills in all aspects of the organization in order to promote him to the next level.

8. Job rotation process increases interactions between teams

When all the employees work with almost all the departments, they definitely have different sets of colleagues they interact with different jobs that they perform. Interaction improves connection and bonding between employees, this creates unity and also teamwork. It is very important to have good interaction between teams, departments, and employees of the company. Job rotation makes this task simple.

9. Job rotation process and promotions

When there are promotions in an organization the employees are rested assured that if they perform well even they will be promoted and recognized for their job and their efforts. A promotion not only adds new challenges in a single employee who is promoted, but it also gives motivation to the other employees for performing better and doing well. Instead of hiring employees from other companies and the market it is much better and well advised to promote internal staff as a part of a job rotation program.

10. Job rotation process is happiness

If a job rotation is planned very carefully and smartly it is the best way of keeping the employees happy. Knowing that the employees, who are the most important and unpredictable resource of the company it is extremely important to keep them happy and content. If your employees learn different tasks, polish themselves with different skills and also are recognized for their efforts they will definitely be happy and serve the company well. Obviously, happy employees are the best way to keep the performance of the company and the organization going well.

How to get Job Rotation right?

The jobs need to be rotated well and very smartly lets us look at some simple steps in the notes below to get this rotation task right.

Plan job rotation program very carefully as the knowledge and the skills need to be passed on to the employees step by step to help them understand the process of job rotation better.
The employees should be given an idea about the rotation process and the reason behind it, and also they should be able to analyze that the process is achieving its goal.
The employees and the organization both need to benefit from the job rotation program. Arrange the rotation in such a way that both benefit out of the job rotation.
Have an internal trainer or an external trainer in place who can monitor and plan every step of a job rotation program.
Have the job rotation program documented for both the employee as well as the company. It should involve different aspects of each job and how it works out in favor of the employee.
Take consent of the employee for a job rotation program task, for if the employee does not find the task benefiting him he will not be seriously interested in taking up the responsibility. Enforcing the job can be losing the employee or creating disinterest amongst employees towards their job.