What is Job Rotation? 

Job rotation is a management strategy whereby staff members are rotated between two or more departments or projects on a regular basis to give them exposure to all departments within an organization. 

This methodical approach aims to lessen monotony from performing the same task every day and uncover an employee’s latent abilities. The procedure benefits management as well as staff members. It aids management in identifying an employee’s talent and identifying their areas of greatest proficiency. Conversely, it allows a person to delve deeper into their own passions and acquire knowledge in various fields or professions. 

For example: 

• A nurse may shift between maternity and geriatric ward positions, giving the nurse exposure to various issues and experience in caring for a wide range of patients. 

A marketing staff member might be temporarily transferred to sales to gain a better understanding of customer needs and company sales procedures. 

Key considerations for Job Rotation

1. There is need to communicate to the staff ahead of time of what the company intends to do and why it has decided to take this direction. If you are looking at providing staff with deeper exposure and skills development, we need to communicate it precisely. 
2. Ensure that job rotation does not affect staff compensation and benefits as this could be a turn off. 
3. Ensure that there is good orientation of staff into the roles that they have taken on. 
4. Consider staff taking on jobs with matching skills for the roles they are taking on. Where there are skills gaps, ensure that there is adequate training and mentorship for such people. 
5. Help them understand the job descriptions for the roles they have taken on. 
6. Consider signing off performance agreements or targets  or how performance will be measured – let it be clear the skills and competences they should learn from the new roles. 
7. Create an environment for employees to share feedback should they find challenges with the roles that they are taking on. Lack of a good feedback mechanism could lead to frustration. Having a point person (change champion might help). Manage employee expectations and fears. 
8. Consider the time employees have spent in their roles. Changing new employees could only disengage them. 
9. Where possible generate the risk map and measures to mitigate them 
10. Consider existing relationships within the wider business – linkages with key stakeholders. 
11. Document the processes going to be taken (plan) so that you limit what falls through the cracks. 
12. Important to note that rotation of staff is a solution to all challenges that could be existing – it could be that internal leadership might also need to step up. If the team is disengaged, consider staff satisfaction survey and respond to issues that could be contributing to disengagement. 
13. Consider bad apples that could transfer negative energy to teams that are already doing well. You may need to have measures in place to address this – coaching, feedback, etc 
14. Consider employee aspirations/career goals, and employee health conditions. 
15. Let the rotation calendar or cycle be clear  – station to station, clearly stating the skills and competencies that they are to get at each stage until when the respective staff are well equipped. 

Job Rotation Objectives 

1. Reducing Monotony of the Job: Getting rid of monotony and repetition in a work is the primary goal of job rotation. It gives staff members the opportunity to work in a variety of roles and inspires them to excel. 

2. Succession Planning: “Who will replace whom” is the fundamental idea behind succession planning. The primary purpose of job rotation is to cultivate a pool of workers capable of filling senior positions in the event of an employee’s retirement or departure from the company. The plan is to quickly replace a valuable employee with someone from within the company.  

3. Creating Right-Employee Job Fit: The productivity of an organization’s workforce determines its success in the workplace. They can produce their maximum amount if positioned properly. In the event that they are not given the position for which they are qualified, it poses serious issues for the organization and the employee. Thus, matching the right candidate with the right position is one of the primary goals of job rotation. 

4. Exposing Workers to All departments: Exposing employees to all organizational verticals and operations serves as another important purpose of the job rotation process: it informs them of how the business runs and how tasks are completed. It provides them with an opportunity to comprehend how the company operates and the various problems that may arise in the course of their work. 

5. Testing Employee Skills and Competencies: One of the main purposes of the job rotation process is to test, analyze, and assign employees to work that best suits their skills and competencies. To ascertain their aptitude and competency, they are placed in various jobs and assignments. Their productivity at work rises when you put them where they thrive. 

6. Developing a Wider Range of Work Experience: Employees typically have no interest in switching to a different area of work. They don’t want to leave their comfort zone once they begin working on a particular task. Managers train employees in advance to have a greater variety of work experience and to develop a variety of skills and competencies through job rotation. For a person’s overall development, it is essential. In addition, they try to modify or adapt in accordance with their understanding of the issues facing different departments.