According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, more and more employees are feeling “stuck” in and disengaged with their jobs. A disengaged workforce is a serious problem for companies’ cultures and bottom lines, so managers are looking for new and creative ways to combat employee unrest.
Traditional solutions, such as raises and promotions, aren’t always an option for managers to offer, so many companies are exploring the possible benefits of less common solutions: job-swapping and cross-training opportunities.
Job-swapping and cross-training both involve letting employees try out different roles within the same company, including different locations. These opportunities can be offered throughout the year; they’re commonly organized twice a year or on a quarterly basis. This type of training program has major benefits for both companies and individual employees at every level, from new hires to the C-suite. Below, three of our industry experts discuss some of the top benefits:
Increased Employee Engagement
Job-swapping and cross-training programs can provide great new challenges and sources of excitement for employees who might feel like they’re in a professional rut. “It can help balance out the monotony of someone’s day-to-day job,” explains General Construction Division Market Leader Jay Dubac. “Showing that your company is open-minded about someone’s role and responsibilities keeps it exciting for employees.” From attending site visits or team meetings with a different division in the same city to temporary assignments in new cities, there are a wide range of opportunities under the umbrella of job-swapping and cross-training.
Employees who are exposed to different parts of a company often learn valuable lessons about the important roles other divisions play in the company’s success. For example, Mechanical & Electrical Division Market Leader David Williams says, “In a large corporation with both a service and construction arm, the service division usually brings in more cash for the company – which, in turn, gives the construction division the financial freedom to take on risk for larger construction projects.”
Heavy Civil Division Vice President Billy Doubraski offers another example: “An employee who is hired as a Project Manager gets sent to spend time on site with the field team. This can help the Project Manager understand the field team on more than an academic or theoretical level.” Increased exposure to a variety of unfamiliar jobs can help employees develop empathy and respect for other teams’ unique roles and challenges.
Higher Employee Retention Rates
“At one of our client companies,” Doubraski says, “the company president was visiting a team on a project site as part of a cross-training initiative. While on site, he noticed that the field crew needed help. Without hesitation, the president jumped on a piece of equipment and helped get the job done.” His boots-on-the-ground approach during this site visit demonstrated to his employees that he didn’t see himself as “above” the work they did, even as the president of a multimillion-dollar company. Their respect for and connection with him skyrocketed, and they left the encounter thinking, “This is the kind of guy I’m happy to work for.” By spending time in the field and outside the C-suite, the president had the opportunity to show his employees that they were all on the same team – and deepened their commitment to the company.
Employee retention is rooted in a simple premise: Employees want to know that they’re valued and respected by their employers. By providing cross-training and job-swapping opportunities, companies can show that they trust employees and “are invested in them and their future,” says Dubac. “It also helps employees feel confident that by staying with the same company over the long term, they’re not limiting their professional growth opportunities or becoming siloed within a particular division,” adds Williams. All of that contributes to an increase in employee retention.
Support for Executive Growth
While employees at any stage of their career can benefit from job-swapping and cross-training opportunities, this type of training is especially valuable to those on the path to executive-level careers. For example, executive-level leaders (such as Executive Vice Presidents, CEOs, and Presidents) at large corporations will likely need to oversee multiple divisions as part of their roles. This is also important in companies with operations in multiple geographic locations. “In order to lead effectively, managers need to understand who they manage at each location and what is unique about each office,” says Doubraski.
In preparation for those executive roles, Operations Managers and Vice Presidents on one side of a business can switch to another division or office to learn how their processes and procedures work and to get first-hand experience with the work they do. Then, they can return to their normal division or location with a deeper understanding of the company as a whole, better prepared to take on leadership roles as they become available and to support employees in every division.
This type of arrangement can also benefit senior executives who are nearing the end of their careers but who aren’t ready for full retirement. Dubac describes a client who transitions “senior executives who have retired from their full-time gigs to a part-time gig to retain their knowledge and aid in transitioning a new executive.” Senior-level executives get a chance to continue engaging their skill sets and supporting the next generation of leaders, while for those rising executives, “having someone at your fingertips to bounce ideas off is exciting and creates a safety net.”
Keep in mind, there are some challenges associated with offering job-swapping and cross-training opportunities. Shifting employees around between departments, divisions, or locations can result in cultural clashes when different teams have markedly different expectations and requirements. In addition, helping employees to become well-rounded and prepared for executive-level roles might mean they eventually leave for a promotion or other opportunity that can’t be offered at their current company.
However, the improvements to employee engagement and retention, as well as executive-level training and effectiveness, that companies can earn from investing in this type of workforce development far outweigh the risks involved – and can help both companies and individual employees thrive.
***We are grateful to Billy Doubraski, Jay Dubac, and David Williams for contributing their unique perspectives to this article.
