What is job rotation

Job rotation is the HR practice of shuffling employees across different roles, departments, or geographical locations within the same organization.

Job rotations are usually lateral, in that “rotated” employees are assigned to different but same-level positions within the company. For instance, you can transfer a nurse from geriatrics to pre-natal care during a rotation period, but you cannot make them a doctor.

Job rotations are also temporary. A rotated employee returns to their original role at the end of the rotation period. The idea is to create diverse work experiences for your team.

How do job rotation programs benefit employees?

Job rotation allows employees to learn new skills, try different career paths, explore the latest technologies, and collaborate with diverse teams. Research shows this workplace flexibility increases employee motivation. When employees take on and conquer new challenges, they feel better about their value to the company and are more excited about their job. Job rotation programs also:

• Reduce boredom and repetition
• Alleviate physical strain for employees in physically demanding positions
• Improve collaboration and teamwork
• Provide opportunities for transfers or promotions

What are the benefits of job rotation to employers?

For employers, the primary goal of job rotation is to transmit knowledge, skills, and competencies across different teams. By exposing employees to new roles and challenges, you diversify their talents. Their new competencies allow you to deploy them to various departments and projects as needed.

Job rotation programs also optimize workflow and performance. By delivering increased employee engagement, they motivate workers to engage more actively with their roles, complete tasks on time, meet their quotas, and produce better results.

Other benefits of job rotation for employers include:

• Increased innovation and flow of ideas
• A rich and diverse talent pool with which to grow your company
• Increased employee retention
• Reduced burnout and absenteeism

Job rotation also expands your employees’ understanding of the company’s operations and their role in it.

How does job rotation impact succession planning and career pathing?

Rotating your employees across different roles gives you more insight into their strengths and weaknesses. This uncovering of hidden abilities can help you identify candidates for possible promotions and create a talent pipeline for your company's succession plan. You can then encourage these candidates to upskill or retrain in preparation for higher opportunities.

If you plan to promote an employee to a senior managerial position, deploying them to different departments gives them insight into how every part of the company functions. This better positions them to supervise these departments post-promotion.

See also: 5 scalable workforce planning strategies for growing global teams

Can job rotation improve team performance?

Yes. Job rotation allows employees to walk in each other’s “professional” shoes, giving them a better understanding of the challenges different roles present. This helps them create more tolerant interpersonal relationships and work better together. Job rotation also makes it easier for employees to fill in for each other during transitions or leaves of absence.

Can you apply job rotation to remote teams?

Yes, and you should. Job rotation can eliminate the sense of loneliness many remote workers feel by connecting them to the rest of your team and the larger picture (your company’s goals).

To implement a remote job rotation plan, assign remote employees the workloads of their corresponding new role for the duration of the rotation program. Encourage them to work with their rotation counterparts to better transition into their new roles.

See also: How to train remote teams in 2024

How does job rotation impact global hiring?

In addition to transferring employee skills, job rotation programs also build tolerance. Employees work with new colleagues in new environments and meet people from different backgrounds, career paths, and countries. This interaction can create smoother transitions for global hires.

In programs that move employees across different geographical locations, job rotation can also prepare employees for international assignments. Employees exposed to new environments can gauge how such an assignment would impact their family life, tax liabilities, etc., enhancing their global perspective.

See also: How Deel helped Telin cut onboarding time and seamlessly expand its global team

“We have the flexibility to enter various markets, with relevancy risks mitigated and market testing conducted beforehand,”

— Doni Adriansyah, Chief of Finance and Risk Management Officer at Telin

Are there risks to job rotation?

Yes. Because job rotation involves training, it can be costly. Frequent role changes can also disrupt your team’s workflow and productivity, especially when transitioning into a new role with a new team proves difficult for some employees. Additionally, some employees may be reluctant to explore new departments or roles outside their career paths, causing further friction.

To mitigate these issues, rotate only willing employees. Use an application system—rather than an appointment system—to recruit rotation candidates. Explain to these candidates that while the program may cause career advancement, it is primarily a learning opportunity.

A clear recruitment and communication policy will ensure that participants set clear objectives and choose roles they can settle into quickly. You can also use Deel’s compliance tools to create and send clear job rotation policies to your employees. Deel will avail these files to your team for easy reference.

Meanwhile, offset training costs by using in-house mentorship and shadow programs.

What compliance issues may arise from job rotation?

Rotating workers outside the scope provided in their work agreement can trigger compliance issues. For example, if you rotate a temporary worker or independent contractor to a full-time position without adjusting their pay or tax records, you could violate labor laws.

Deel Contractor of Record and Deel Employer of Record can help you accurately assign contractors and employees to new roles to avoid compliance issues such as worker misclassification. Our experts draft contracts reflecting the job duties, hours, payments, and tax liabilities each employee is entitled to protect you from compliance problems.

When rotating employees geographically, Deel EOR can also help you transfer and onboard employees across 110+ countries in line with local laws.

How can you implement an effective job rotation program?

Consider how your employees’ interests, skills, and career plans align with your company’s long-term goals. Formulate a rotation program that generates the type of skills your company needs to achieve its primary objectives. Your plan should identify the following:

• Types of jobs and roles you will rotate
• Criteria for choosing employees to rotate
• Duration of each rotation period
• Frequency of rotation
• Training required for each rotated employee

Set clear goals and time frames for your rotation program to avoid confusing employees and disrupting your team’s workflow.

If your company relies on seasonal work, schedule rotations for the off-season so as not to overwhelm rotating employees or affect your bottom line.

Most importantly, align your job rotation program with your employees’ career paths. Ensure that each employee’s new assignment equips them with valuable skills relevant to their future at the company.

How do you communicate a job rotation plan to your employees?

Once you have created a job rotation program, communicate it to your employees so they can prepare for the transition. Be transparent about your nomination process, selection criteria, and program goals. Essentially, provide employees with all the information they need to transition into their new roles successfully. You can:

• Hold a meeting or seminar to explain the concept of rotation
• Provide short webinars, eBooks, and other eLearning materials on the new roles
• Assign each rotating employee a mentor or someone they can shadow during rotation
• Provide a written policy detailing the rotation program and all its parameters

Preparing and sending all these communications can be time-consuming. Deel’s all-in-one HR tools can help you automate and streamline many of these processes for easier implementation.

How can you measure the success of a job rotation program?

Once your rotation plan is in motion, monitor its progress regularly. Train your managers to give and receive feedback from the rotated employees on their experience in their new roles. Use this feedback, alongside other measurable KPIs, to track the program's effectiveness.

Some metrics you can use include:

• Engagement levels
• Employee retention rates
• Time-to-proficiency rates
• Employee output

Armed with this information, adjust your rotation program to ensure quality assurance. Deel HR tools can help you consolidate all these data points into a single HRIS for easy monitoring.

Can Deel help you execute an effective job rotation plan?

Absolutely. Experts at Deel understand that job rotation can drive employee development and stimulate growth and innovation in your organization. We also understand the risks, complexities, and compliance issues that arise from implementing such a program.

Our all-in-one people platform combines HR, payroll, performance, and compliance to help you oversee a global workforce and implement a compliant rotation plan. Through our platform, you can track legal labor and tax changes, adjust worker classifications, update employment contracts, and more.

Start today by booking a demo.