Job Rotation - What Is It?

Job rotation is a strategy for improving employee learning plus motivation. We will define job rotation in this
post, discuss its advantages and downsides, and provide five instances of firms that effectively use job rotation
in their operations.

Work rotation is the process through which workers are transferred between positions within an organization.
These rotations are mostly lateral, occurring between occupations at the same level, and are not regarded
promotions. Additionally, they are often transitory, with individuals returning to their former jobs after a
certain period of time.

Rotating jobs has a number of significant benefits that we will discuss in greater detail later. Consider the
following: starting a new job is exhilarating and challenging, it alleviates boredom, stimulates motivation, aids
in determining a person's fit with a job, and it's an excellent way to acquire new expertise and competencies
through practice in different jobs.

Employee rotation is a well understood approach for organizational growth. It is a critical component of job
(re)design, alongside work simplicity, workplace enrichment, and job expansion. Consider the advantages of
work rotation in further detail.

The advantages of job rotation

Rotating employment provides a plethora of advantages for both company and employee. Although there is
considerable correlation between the two, let us begin with the employer advantages of job rotation:

• Learning. Job rotation is a great method of transferring specialized skills, knowledge, and competences,
resulting in the buildup of human capital. For instance, an employee may get knowledge of the whole
manufacturing process as a result of their experience in various tasks that offer them with a holistic view.
Similarly, supervisors may need exposure to several departments prior to being prepared for a top
management role that requires this expertise.

Another example is the dearth of business skills among many human resource experts. A excellent method to
develop these talents is to circulate Human resource professionals from outside HR department – and to have
HR personnel cycle within the company. This is a practice that John Boudreau & Ed Lawler suggest.

• Flexibility. Employee rotation enables workers to do a variety of tasks, resulting in a more adaptable
workforce. If individuals can be deployed in two or three tasks, your total available manpower will be far
bigger and considerably more adaptable to filling any open position.
• Employee substitution. When a vital person quits unexpectedly, their position must be filled by another
employee inside the organization. Job rotation may be beneficial in this instance. By (temporary) deploying a
colleague who is acquainted with the function but not with the firm, the crucial role may be rapidly filled.

• Orientation and placement of new employees. Rotation is often used in traineeships. Typically, a graduate
will work in four distinct jobs over the course of a two-year apprenticeship. This helps the graduate to discover
latent abilities and select tasks they like and excel at.

Simultaneously, it helps the business to determine where the new person can offer the greatest value, a
process known as job-employee matching. This is an excellent technique to guarantee that fresh talent is
utilized optimally. Similarly, if someone want to attempt a new position, they might be rotated within the
organization. If something doesn't work, the individual is free to return. This may avert the departure of a
brilliant employee.

• Customer satisfaction and attrition. When an employee has been in the same position for four or five years,
they could be at a significantly higher risk of quitting. Job rotation provides a different experience and
challenges employees, resulting in enhanced satisfaction and reduced turnover.

Job rotation, similarly, provides a number of advantages for the employee:

• Motivation. One of the disadvantages of remaining in a position for an extended period of time is a lack of
drive. Job rotation provides a different experience and introduces new duties that force the individual to adapt
and develop. This is an excellent technique to alleviate employee boredom, inspire them, and improve their
personal agility.

• Learning. Learning benefits both the company and the employee. Individuals who have just joined the
workforce, in particular, have a great need for development and learning. Job rotation – in conjunction with
peer mentoring, for example – may provide these possibilities.

Job rotation's disadvantages

This post would be incomplete without briefly discussing the downsides of job rotation.

• Inefficiencies. When a person begins a new position, he or she must first master the ropes before attaining
their maximum level of output. As a result, rotation might result in frequent disruptions to work and
consequent inefficiencies.

• Misunderstanding. Additionally, the individual who rotates out of a function may retain better (tacit)
knowledge and contacts. This may lead to this individual remaining (in part) active in the position, resulting in
role ambiguity. A peer mentorship program is one method to address this problem.

• Dissatisfied employee. Rotating individuals out of jobs they like may have a detrimental effect on their
motivation. A drawback might be unhappy personnel who dislike their new position, are unmotivated, and
may even contemplate quitting the firm.
• A scarcity of opportunities. Work rotation is frequently horizontal, which means that individuals will not get a
raise but will instead be assigned to a new function at the same level. This may seem to be a detour rather
than a next step, deviating individuals from their desired professional path. Assessing their degree of desire
and presenting the rotations as a chance to acquire more diversified abilities that will assist them eventually in
their careers is a great practice in this situation.

Best practices for job rotation

As you have seen, it is very feasible to 'rotate in the incorrect direction.' Let's go through a few excellent
practices for increasing positive impact while minimizing negative consequences.

· A vehicle for accomplishing a goal. Rotation is useful for a variety of applications. What is critical to remember
is that the purpose of work rotation should be very obvious from the start. Routinely rotating personnel
between occupations results in inefficiencies, role ambiguity, and work interruptions. These inefficiencies can
be justified only if there is a clear objective or advantage to this work rotation approach.

• Buy-in from employees. Another possible consequence of rotation is that it may result in dissatisfied
personnel. As a result, it is critical to foster buy-in. This may be accomplished by properly communicating the
advantages of work rotation to the employee and persuading rather than pressuring the employee. Obtaining
employee buy-in may transform what may seem to be a negative circumstance into an opportunity.

• Training. Third, ensure that employees get enough training prior to being rotated to a new role. Entering a
profession without the necessary knowledge and abilities to perform efficiently reduces motivation and
lengthens the time needed to attain an optimal level of production. As discussed before, both peer tutoring
and peer mentoring may be quite beneficial in this situation.

• Supervision and feedback. Once someone has cycled into a job, it is critical that you carefully watch them
and offer appropriate feedback. Individuals will gradually gain independence and demand less structure.
Additionally, establish and explain specific criteria for success of the task. This demonstrates to the employee
what is required of them.

• Job rotation is planned. Career pathing or job pathing is a more organized method to job rotation. In this
case, a precise sequence of occupations is planned in order to accomplish a professional aim.

Five examples of work rotation programs

Now, let's look at five real-world job rotation instances.

• The Sleeping Yard

• Rotating traineeships

• Rotation of jobs in industries

• Rotation's impact on nurses

• Edelman

1. The Dormitory

Our first job rotation illustration comes from The Slumber Yard, the world's largest online repository for
bedding reviews. The primary purpose for implementing a rotation program at The Slumber Yard was to
attempt to lessen the company's turnover. As co-owner and COO Matthew Ross puts it, "by teaching
individuals to be proficient in various fields, we are able to mitigate the negative impacts of staff turnover." If
an employee departs, we have more staff who can readily step in and fill the vacancy."

Naturally, various vocations need varying lengths of time to acquire. This indicates that it is critical to establish
precise training periods and the rotation program's duration. At Slumber Yard, residents rotate every three
months.

2. The Technologist Program at Heineken

Our second work rotation instance comes from Heineken, the Dutch beer maker. The firm offers a variety of
graduate traineeships, including a Technologist Program. Selected trainees will be assigned to several six-
month stints. They will rotate across numerous sectors, including packaging, product design, brewing, quality
guarantees, and packaging development.

Among the projects on which trainee technologists may work are the following:

• Ensuring the safety of products and analyzing quality concerns;

• Creating new brews or package designs;

• Identifying and resolving day-to-day production challenges via in-depth study and removal;

• Developing novel solutions to new issues.

After completing the program, students are prepared to begin working as a Technician in a variety of Heineken
areas. This traineeship demonstrates how rotation helps individuals to acquire diverse skills and competences,
resulting in a more adaptable workforce capable of doing many jobs.

3. Factory job rotation

A significant additional motivation for job rotation in factories and on plant floors is to address physical injuries
including chronic work-related musculoskeletal disorders. While rotating jobs may certainly assist with this
(including with boredom), they are not a panacea and should preferably be part of a bigger effort of work
restructuring.
4. Rotation's impact on nurses

A study conducted among nurses in the United States examined whether or not a rotation circuit might
encourage nurses to comprehend, relate to, and share the organization's vision, thereby increasing their
employee satisfaction and encouraging them to stay in their jobs and commit to the organization willingly.

According to the nurses, job rotation motivated them to perform better, allowing for continual professional
development, increased knowledge and competence, and improved clinic patient care quality. They concluded
that it may assist individuals in acquiring numerous competencies and broadening their perspective, as well as
serve as a strategy for reducing job burnout.

5. Edelman & Co.

There are several employment rotation programs available. Edelman, a public relations and marketing
consulting business based in the United States, has a rotation program for its high-performing, high-potential
workers. Selected employees are sent to a foreign location for close to 18 months to live, work, and learn.

The goal of Edelman's program is to expose employees to a variety of viewpoints from across the globe and to
broaden their work experience (in order to eventually better serve the company's customers).

Before you go

As you are probably aware, rotating positions may offer a number of advantages for both the employer and
the employee. When performed randomly, however, it reduces efficiency, introduces mistakes, and results in
role ambiguity. It is consequently critical to state clearly why rotations should be utilized. These and (many)
other insights on job rotation, work design, and organizational growth may be found in our future
organizational development certificate program!