Tag: Workforce Optimization

Promotion helps employees in several ways. It provides higher status, salary, and satisfaction to existing employees, motivate employees to higher productivity and loyalty to the organisation, to retain the services of qualified and competent employees, to recognise, appreciate and reward the loyalty and efficiency of employees, to support the policy of filling higher vacancies from within the organisation, to raise employees morale and sense of belongings.

There are many types of transfers such as replacement, versatility, shift and remedial transfer. In organisations, promotions are done as horizontal, vertical and dry level.

Principles of good Promotion Policy: Rules of promotions such as qualifications, experience and other terms should be perfect and specific. Wide publicity should be given to promotion policy. Company must not follow partiality, favouritism or injustice. It should be based on scientific performance appraisal of employees and opportunity should be provided to every worker. Promotion policy should be prepared for long period and should not be forced to accept by an employee. Promotion should be given from within the same department. Grievance relating to promotion.

Transfers

 There is no change in rank, responsibility and remuneration.

• Transfer means shifting of an employee from one place to another.
• It involves horizontal movement of the employee.
• Transfer may be for shifting surplus staff from one factory, branch or office of the organisation to fill the job vacancies in another factory, branch or office.

Promotions

• It leads to increase in status, responsibility and remuneration.
• It involves a vertical movement of an employee.
• Promotion means shifting of an employee from a lower post to a higher post.
• Promotion may be on the basis of merit or seniority of employees to fill a higher post.

Promotion becomes a delicate problem not in the matter of selection of the right incumbent for the right job, but it poses a constant challenge to executives at all levels and impels them to chalk out a well thought-out programme by which the best and the most capable individuals may find an opportunity to go up to the top.

The procedure for promotion, therefore, starts right at the bottom from the shop-floor and ends with the managing director of a company.

All promotions should be on a trial basis (from 6 months to one year) for if the promoted person is not found capable of handling his job, he may be reverted to his former post and former pay scale.

Promotion may be temporary or permanent, depending up on the needs of an organisation, an employee is promoted.

Open and Closed Promotion:

Open Promotion is a situation where in every individual of an organization is eligible for the position. Closed Promotion is a situation wherein only selected team members are eligible for a promotion.

Dry Promotion Systems

When promotion is made without increase in salary, it is called ‘dry promotion’. For example, a lower level manager is promoted to senior level manager without increase in salary or pay. Such promotion is made either there is resource/fund crunch in the organisation or some employees hanker more for status or authority than money.

Horizontal promotion:

When an employee is shifted in the same category, it is called ‘horizontal promotion’. A junior clerk promoted to senior clerk is such an example. It is important to note that such promotion may take place when an employee shifts within the same department, from one department to other or from one plant to another plant.

Vertical Promotion:

This is the kind of promotion when an employee is promoted from a lower category to lower category involving increase in salary, status, authority and responsibility. Generally, promotion means ‘vertical promotion’.

Purposes:

The following are the purposes or objectives of promotion:

1. To recognize an employee’s skill and knowledge and utilize it to improve the organisational effectiveness.
2. To reward and motivate employees to higher productivity.
3. To develop competitive spirit and inculcate the zeal in the employees to acquire skill, knowledge etc.
4. To promote employees satisfaction and boost their morale.
5. To build loyalty among the employees toward organisation.
6. To promote good human relations.

Promotion means the advancement of an employee to a higher job involving more work, greater responsibility and higher status. It may or may not be associated with the increment in salary. Sometimes, salary of the employee also increases with the promotion. Sometimes it is not so. When an employee is promoted but his salary does not increase it is known as dry promotion. Promotion means the placement of an employee on a higher post involving greater amount of responsibility, better status, more pay and more perks.

Some people think that promotion means the increment in pay. The reality is not so. If the salary of an employee increases or the pay scale changes to a higher one, it is only known as up grading or salary increment. However, it can now be regarded as promotion. Generally, promotion is associated with the increase in salary, status, facilities, responsibilities and job.

Performance appraisal forms a basis for HR decisions on training, salary increase, promotion, transfer and separation. Of these, promotion, transfer and separation functions are effective methods to adjust the size of the workforce of an organisation. Promotion, transfer and separation provide workforce flexibility and mobility required to meet the needs of the organisation.

Promotion is one of the best forms of incentives and it provides higher responsibilities, better salary, high morale and job satisfaction to the employees. Practically, all the employees aspire for career advancement and promotion is an advancement of the employee in the organisational hierarchy.

Edwin B. Flippo, “A promotion involves a change from one job to another that is better in terms of status and responsibilities.”

Scott & Spriegal, “A promotion is the transfer of an employee to a job that pays more money or that enjoys some better status.”

In the words of Paul Pigors and Charles Myers, “Promotion is an advancement of an employee to a better job, better in terms of greater responsibilities, more prestige or status, greater skill and specially increased rate of pay or salary”.

(a) To recognize and reward the efficiency of an employee.

(b) To attract and retain the services of qualified and competent people.

(c) To increase the effectiveness of the employee and of the organisation.

(d) To motivate employees to higher productivity.

(e) To fill up higher vacancies from within the organisation.

(f) To impress upon those concerned that opportunities are available to them also in the organisation if they perform well.

(g) To build, loyalty, morale and sense of belongings in the employees.

Watkins, Dodd and others mention the purposes of promotion as under:

(a) To reduce discontent and unrest.

(b) To furnish an effective incentive for initiative, enterprise and ambition.

(c) To conserve proved skill, training and ability.

(d) To attract suitable and competent workers.

(e) To suggest logical training for advancement.

As Youder and others observe, “Promotion provides incentive to initiative, enterprise and ambition, minimizes discontent and unrest, attracts capable individuals, necessitates logical training of advancement and forms an effective reward for loyalty and cooperation, long service, etc.”.

Basis:

Seniority:

Seniority of an employee refers to the relative length of service in an organization. When seniority is considered as the basis of promotion, the rule is to promote the employee having the longest length of service, irrespective of the employee is competent to occupy a higher post or not.

The reason behind seniority as the basis of promotions is that there is a positive correlation between the length of service in the same job and the amount of knowledge and the level of skill acquired by an employee in an organization.

This practice of promoting employees is followed in unionized industrial establishments, government-owned undertakings and sometimes in private corporate and educational institutions.

This basis of promotion has the following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

1. Seniority being quantifiable provides an objective means of identifying the personnel eligible for promotion.
2. It is easy to measure the length of service and administer the rule.
3. There is less scope for subjectivity or arbitrariness in fixing seniority.
4. It gives a sense of certainty of getting promotion to every employee and their turn of promotion.
5. It is also considered that seniority and experience go hand in hand. Hence it is right to have promotions on this basis.
6. Subordinates are interested to work under a senior and experienced boss.
7. As promotion is predictable under this system, it generally reduces employee turnover.

Disadvantages:

1. Seniority always does not indicate competence.
2. The idea that employees learn more with length of service is not valid.
3. Employees learn up to a particular stage. After that grasping power diminishes.
4. This basis of promotion de-motivates the young and competent employees.
5. It kills the zeal and interest to learn and develop.
6. It does not guarantee quality staffing of promotional vacancies as merit or ability is altogether ignored.
7. Judging seniority practically is a difficult task.
8. It discourages creativity and innovation in the organization.

Competence/Merit:

In this case an employee is promoted on the basis of excellent and superior performance in the current job. This is known through performance appraisal done by the organization. Merit indicates an employee’s knowledge, skills, abilities and efficiency measured from the employee’s educational qualifications, experience, job performance and training records.

To get promotion on the basis of merit requires hard work and sincerity on the part of the employee. In non- unionized organizations promotions are made on the basis of merit. In unionized organizations merit is the basis of promotion for non-productive employees. Seniority should be considered as the basis of promotion, when there are more than one employees of equal merit.

According to Peter and Hull (1969) the members of an organization where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. Employees tend to be given increasing responsibility and authority until they cannot continue to work competently. This is commonly known as Peter Principle.

The principle holds that in a hierarchy, members are promoted so long as they work competently. Eventually they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent (their level of incompetence), and there they remain, being unable to earn further promotions and thus reach their careers’ ceiling in the organization.

Advantages:

1. It motivates the employees to work hard, improve their knowledge, acquire new skills and become a part of increasing organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
2. Efficiency is encouraged, recognized and rewarded.
3. Competent employees are retained.
4. It motivates the competent employees to exert all their resources and contribute them to the organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Disadvantages:

1. This creates unhappiness among the senior employees.
2. Many senior and experienced employees leave the organization.
3. This basis of promotion leads to favouritism and jealousy.
4. It is not easy to measure merit. Personal prejudices, biases and union pressures usually come in the way of promoting the best performer.
5. Loyalty and length of service are not rewarded.

Seniority-Cum-Merit/Merit-Cum-Seniority:

Managements mostly prefer merit as the basis of promotion as they are interested in enriching organizational effectiveness by enriching its human resources. But trade unions favour seniority as the sole basis for promotion in order to satisfy the interests of majority of their members. Both seniority and merit as the bases of promotions have their advantages and disadvantages.

Hence it is necessary for the organizations to give due weightage to both seniority and merit while promoting their employees. A combination of both seniority and merit can be considered as the basis of promotions, there by satisfying the management for organizational effectiveness and the employees and trade unions for respecting the length of service.

There are various ways for striking a balance between seniority and merit which are as follows:

1. Minimum Length of Service and Merit:

Under this method all those employees who complete the minimum years of service, say five years, are made eligible for promotion and then merit is taken into consideration for selecting the employees for promotion from the eligible employees. Most of the commercial banks in India follow this method of promoting employees from clerk positions to officers.

1. Measurement of Seniority and Merit through a Common Factor:
2. Due weightage is given to seniority and merit (for example 30% for seniority and 70% for merit).
3. Length of service is measured by points with the help of assigned weightage (for example one point for every six months of completed service) with a maximum of 40 points.
4. Merit is also measured by points with the help of assigned weightage.
5. Points assigned to a candidate under both the heads of seniority and merits are added up.
6. Merit list is prepared and employees for promotion are selected on the basis of their ranks(for example if there are four employees for one post i.e. A, B, C and D and if their merit points are 50,60,85, and 65 respectively then the third employee i.e. C is selected for promotion.
7. Minimum Merit and Seniority:

A minimum score of merit which is necessary for the acceptable performance on the future job is determined and all those employees who secure minimum score are declared eligible. Employees are selected for promotion based on their seniority only from the eligible pool.

The National Commission on Labour has suggested that as a general rule, particularly among the operative and clerical categories i.e. lower levels, seniority should be the basis of promotion. In respect of middle management, technical, supervisory and administrative personnel, seniority- cum-merit should be the criterion for promotion. For the top level management, merit should alone be the guiding factor for promotion.

Employee Transfer is the process of moving an employee from one position, department, or location to another within the same organization, without changing the overall job level or salary. It can be voluntary or involuntary, depending on the company’s needs or the employee’s request. Transfers can occur for various reasons, such as filling vacancies, addressing skill shortages, improving employee morale, or providing developmental opportunities. While transfers typically do not involve a change in compensation, they can offer employees new challenges and growth prospects, fostering a more dynamic and flexible workforce.

Reasons for Employee Transfer:

• Filling Vacant Positions

One of the primary reasons for employee transfers is to fill vacancies in different departments or locations. If an employee leaves or is promoted, organizations often transfer an existing employee who possesses the required skills and experience to take over the vacant role. This helps ensure continuity within the organization and minimizes the time it takes to fill the position.

• Employee Development and Career Growth

Transfers can be a part of an employee’s career development plan. By moving employees to different roles or departments, organizations provide them with new challenges and learning opportunities. This exposure to diverse functions can help employees expand their skills, experience different aspects of the business, and prepare for higher-level positions in the future.

• Addressing Skill Gaps

When certain departments or teams experience a shortage of specific skills, employees can be transferred from areas where they are underutilized to those in need. This helps balance workloads and ensures that employees with specialized skills are utilized where they can contribute most effectively, thus improving overall productivity.

• Improving Work-Life Balance

Sometimes, employees may request a transfer for personal reasons, such as relocation needs or to reduce commute time. Transfers can help employees maintain a healthier work-life balance by moving them to a more convenient work location or a role that better suits their personal circumstances, which in turn can lead to increased job satisfaction and retention.

• Organizational Restructuring

During times of restructuring or changes in business strategy, employee transfers may be necessary to realign resources and meet the new objectives. Transfers can help the organization adapt to new roles, responsibilities, or locations that better align with the company’s long-term goals. Employees may be moved to different departments or roles to ensure optimal resource allocation.

• Performance Improvement

If an employee is struggling to perform in their current role, a transfer may be seen as a way to help them succeed. For example, an employee who faces challenges in a highly technical role may be transferred to a position that better matches their abilities. This gives the employee an opportunity to start fresh, build confidence, and improve their performance in a more suitable environment.

• Job Enrichment and Employee Motivation

Transferring employees to different roles can add variety to their work, reduce monotony, and provide a new set of challenges. Job enrichment through transfers helps to keep employees engaged and motivated. A change of environment or responsibility can reignite an employee’s passion for their work, leading to improved morale and productivity.

• Retaining Talent

Employee transfers can also help organizations retain top talent. When an employee feels stagnant or bored in their current position, they may look for new opportunities elsewhere. A transfer allows the organization to keep the employee engaged and satisfied, which prevents turnover. By offering employees a fresh perspective or new responsibilities, organizations can show that they are invested in their growth and success.

Types of Employee Transfer:

• Lateral Transfer

Lateral transfer involves moving an employee to a different position at the same level, without a change in salary, job title, or status. It typically occurs when an employee is moved to a different department or location to gain new experience, take on different responsibilities, or address a specific organizational need. The primary objective is to provide variety or solve problems within the organization.

• Promotional Transfer

Promotional transfer occurs when an employee is moved to a new position with a higher level of responsibility, salary, or job title. This type of transfer is typically linked to an employee’s performance and development. It’s a form of recognition for the employee’s growth, where they take on a more challenging role within the organization, often leading to career advancement.

• Demotion Transfer

Demotion transfer happens when an employee is moved to a position of lower responsibility, salary, or rank. This is usually the result of performance issues, behavioral concerns, or operational restructuring. Demotion transfers allow employees to retain employment with the organization while adjusting to a role that better suits their capabilities.

• Temporary Transfer

Temporary transfer involves moving an employee to a different position or location for a specific period, often to fill a temporary vacancy or manage a short-term business need. The employee’s role may revert back to its original position once the transfer period ends. These transfers are commonly seen in cases like maternity leave replacements or project-specific roles.

• Voluntary Transfer

In a voluntary transfer, the employee requests or expresses interest in being moved to a different role, department, or location. This is often done to align with the employee’s career goals, personal circumstances, or professional development. Such transfers are usually based on mutual agreement between the employee and the organization.

• Involuntary Transfer

An involuntary transfer occurs when the organization initiates the transfer without the employee’s consent. This could happen for various reasons, such as a change in business needs, restructuring, or the employee’s performance issues. While involuntary transfers are less popular, they are sometimes necessary for organizational efficiency.

• Geographical Transfer

Geographical transfer involves moving an employee from one location or office to another, typically across different cities, regions, or even countries. Such transfers may be initiated for business expansion, the need for expertise in a new location, or personal employee requests, such as relocation due to family reasons.

• Cross-functional Transfer

In a cross-functional transfer, an employee is moved from one department or function to another. The aim is to diversify the employee’s skills, enhance their experience, and make them more versatile within the organization. This transfer may be part of a broader talent development strategy, as it helps employees gain exposure to different aspects of the business.

• Rotational Transfer

Rotational transfer is a type of transfer in which employees are periodically rotated across different roles, departments, or locations within the organization. The goal is to give employees a broader range of experiences and ensure they develop a comprehensive understanding of the business. Rotational transfers are often used in leadership development programs or employee training initiatives.

Drawbacks of Employee Transfers:

• Employee Resistance and Discomfort

One of the most common drawbacks of employee transfers is the resistance employees may show to change. Employees who are comfortable in their current role or location may feel unsettled or demotivated by a transfer. They might resist the move due to personal reasons, reluctance to change, or fear of the unknown, leading to decreased morale and job dissatisfaction.

• Disruption of Personal Life

Transfers, particularly geographical ones, can cause significant disruption to an employee’s personal life. Relocating to a new city or office may require an employee to uproot their family, change schools for children, or find new housing. These disruptions can cause stress and dissatisfaction, especially if the transfer is involuntary, which may lead to lower employee engagement and a potential decline in productivity.

• Increased Costs for the Employee and Organization

Transferring employees, especially across regions or countries, can incur significant costs. The organization may need to cover relocation expenses such as moving, temporary accommodation, or transportation. These costs can add up, especially in cases of multiple transfers, and the organization may also face administrative costs in managing the logistics. Additionally, employees might face personal costs, such as adjusting to a new cost of living.

• Loss of Expertise in the Original Role

When an employee is transferred from one department or role to another, the original role may be left vacant, leading to a temporary loss of expertise. This disruption can affect the productivity and performance of the team or department left behind, especially if the transfer was not planned properly, resulting in a gap in knowledge or skills in the previous role.

• Adjustment Period and Reduced Productivity

Even though a transfer may offer new challenges, it typically comes with an adjustment period. During this time, the employee may not be as productive as they were in their previous role, as they need time to learn new tasks, adjust to a different team dynamic, or understand the nuances of a new location or department. This temporary dip in productivity can affect team performance and organizational efficiency.

• Potential for Career Stagnation

While transfers can sometimes be beneficial for career growth, they can also lead to stagnation if the transfer is perceived as a move to a less important role or department. In some cases, employees may feel that a transfer is a step backward, especially if it’s due to underperformance or disciplinary issues. If the transfer leads to less challenging work or fewer opportunities for advancement, it may harm the employee’s career development and motivation.

• Negative Impact on Team Dynamics

When an employee is transferred to a new department or team, it can disrupt existing team dynamics. The employee may not fit well into the new team, causing friction or a breakdown in communication. This can also create feelings of resentment among team members who feel the new person is receiving preferential treatment or that their established working relationships have been disturbed. Managing the new dynamics can require extra effort from management, and if not handled carefully, it can lead to tension within the team.

Job Specific training

Job-specific training ensures that employees safely undertake their job. Such training, therefore, is a form of skill training and is often best done “on the job”’ sometimes known as ‘toolbox training.’ Details of the safe work system or, in more hazardous jobs, a permit to work system should be covered. In addition to normal safety procedures, emergency procedures and the correct use of PPE also need to be included. The results of risk assessments are very useful in developing this type of training. It is important that any common causes of human errors (e.g., discovered as a result of an accident investigation), any standard safety checks or maintenance requirements are addressed.

Induction Training

Induction training is an essential part of bringing a new employee into your organization. It’s the first step in immersing them into the company culture, helping them make friends, develop a support network, and feel like they belong in their workplace.

When you do induction training right, they will be excited to come to work every day. They will be eager to learn more, and won’t mind sticking around long hours when needed. They’ll also have a strong sense of loyalty to your organization and won’t jump ship.

Selection is the next step after recruitment. Theos A Langlie writes, “The manager’s concern with techniques of personal selection is that they are so designed and administered that they provide the basis for effective and economical manning of jobs in the organisation.”

Essentials:

1. Selection Board:

 The responsibility of selecting employees should be assigned to an efficient and qualified selection board so that only the right man can be elected.

2. Job first, man next:

This should be the basic and fundamental principal of selection.

3. Proper sources:

 Selection should be from internal and external sources and management should not rely much on one single source.

4. Proper standards:

Selection should be based on standards set out by job analysis. If suitable candidate is not available, the post should be allowed to remain vacant for time being until a right man is available.

5. Differential selection method:

 The differential selection level for different levels of posts should be followed.

6. Consistency:

The selection policy should not surpass the organisational general policy. It should be within the framework.

7. Flexibility:

Selection policy should not be rigid; it should be flexible so that necessary amendments can be made whenever required.

8. Unbiased:

The selection policy should be unbiased and should be employment oriented.

A job description or JD is a written narrative that describes the general tasks, or other related duties, and responsibilities of a position. It may specify the functionary to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, information about the equipment, tools and work aids used, working conditions, physical demands, and a salary range. Job descriptions are usually narrative, but some may comprise a simple list of competencies; for instance, strategic human resource planning methodologies may be used to develop competency architecture for an organization, from which job descriptions are built as a shortlist of competencies.

According to Torrington, a job description is usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis considers the areas of knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the job. Job analysis generally involves the following steps: collecting and recording job information; checking the job information for accuracy; writing job descriptions based on the information; using the information to determine what skills, abilities, and knowledge are required to perform the job; updating the information from time to time. [3] A job usually includes several roles. According to Hall, the job description might be broadened to form a person specification or may be known as “terms of reference”. The person/job specification can be presented as a stand-alone document, but in practice it is usually included within the job description. A job description is often used by employers in the recruitment process.

A job description is a useful, plain-language tool that explains the tasks, duties, function and responsibilities of a position. It details who performs a specific type of work, how that work is to be completed, and the frequency and the purpose of the work as it relates to the organization’s mission and goals. Job descriptions are used for a variety of reasons, such as determining salary levels, conducting performance reviews, clarifying missions, establishing titles and pay grades, and creating reasonable accommodation controls, and as a tool for recruiting. Job descriptions are useful in career planning, offering training exercises and establishing legal requirements for compliance purposes. A job description gives an employee a clear and concise resource to be used as a guide for job performance. Likewise, a supervisor can use a job description as a measuring tool to ensure that the employee is meeting job expectations.

Job description management

Job description management is the creation and maintenance of job descriptions within an organization. A job description is a document listing the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a specific job. Having up-to-date, accurate and professionally written job descriptions is critical to an organization’s ability to attract qualified candidates, orient & train employees, establish job performance standards, develop compensation programs, conduct performance reviews, set goals and meet legal requirements.

Process

Prior to the development of the job description, a job analysis must be conducted. Job analysis, an integral part of HR management, is the gathering, analysis and documentation of the important facets of a job including what the employee does, the context of the job, and the requirements of the job.

Once the job analysis is complete, the job description including the job specification can be developed. A job description describes the activities to be performed and a job specification lists the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform the job. A job description contains several sections including an identification section, a general summary, essential functions and duties, job specifications, and disclaimers and approvals.

Job descriptions are then used to develop effective EEO/ADA, HR planning, recruiting, and selection initiatives; to maintain clear continuity between compensation planning, training efforts, and performance management; and to identify job factors that may contribute to workplace safety and health and employee/labor relations.

Impact of the Internet

Job description management, as well as other facets of talent management, has been affected by the expansion of information technology. Prior to 2000, there were very few Internet-based human resource solutions available to human resource departments. HR departments often stored their printed job descriptions either in filing cabinets or Word-based job descriptions on computers or company servers. Today there are countless companies offering cloud-based talent management systems to businesses allowing HR to easily store HR information, collaborate with other departments, and access files from any device with Internet access.

Benefits

A job description is essential to ensure clarity of why the role exists. It can be used:

• To provide the employee with the expectations that are required of them in the role
• To provide enough detail to help the candidate assess if they are suitable for the position
• To help formulate questions for the interview process
• To allow the prospective employee to determine their role or standing within the structure of the organisation
• To assist in forming a legally binding contract of employment
• To help set goals and target for the employee upon joining
• To aid in the evaluation of the employee’s job performance
• To help formulate training and development plans

Limitations

• Job descriptions may not be suitable for some senior managers as they should have the freedom to take the initiative and find fruitful new directions;
• Job descriptions may be too inflexible in a rapidly changing organization, for instance in an area subject to rapid technological change;
• Other changes in job content may lead to the job description being out of date;
• The process that an organization uses to create job descriptions may not be optimal.

Importance of Job Description

Job descriptions are usually essential for managing people in organizations. Job descriptions are required for recruitment so that managers and applicants can understand the job role. Job descriptions are necessary for most people at work.

Features:

This is especially so in large organizations. Job descriptions improve an organization’s ability to manage people and play roles in the following ways:

• Clarifies employer expectations for the employee,
• Provides the basis of measuring job performance,
• Provides a clear description of the role for job candidates,
• Provides a structure and discipline for the company to understand and structure all jobs and ensure necessary activities, duties and responsibilities are covered by one job or another,
• Provides continuity of role parameters irrespective of manager interpretation,
• Enables pay and grading systems to be structured fairly and logically,
• Prevents arbitrary interpretation of role content and limit by employee and employer and manager,
• Provides reference tool in issues of employee/employer dispute,
• Provides reference tool for discipline issues,
• Provides important reference points for training and development areas,
• Provides neutral and objective (as opposed to subjective or arbitrary) reference points for appraisals, performance reviews, and counseling,
• Enables formulation of skill set and behavior set requirements per roll,
• Enables the organization to structure and uniformly manage roles, thus increasing efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment, training, and development, organizational structure, workflow and activities, customer service, etc.,
• Enables factual view (as opposed to instinctual) to be taken by employees and managers in career progression and succession planning.

Job Rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights.

Benefits of Job Rotation Policy

• It reduces the exposure to fulfilling the demands of only one job role.
• It minimizes the strain, physiological stress and fatigue associated to one particular job role.
• It reduces the fear of employee to be stuck on high risk job.
• It improves the work efficiency and productivity of employees.
• It increases work flexibility among employees and improve the skill base.
• It provides relief from boredom and complacency.
• It helps to decrease absenteeism and turnover in the organization.

Purpose of Job Rotation Policy

The purpose of job rotation policy is to create a talent pool for organization by cross-training the employees.

Need:

• To create a career path for employees in the organization by rotating their work profile from dead end job
• To provide the employee opportunity to gain new knowledge and job processes.
• To enhance the understanding of the employees about working of the company
• To keep employee motivated and productive, throughout their journey in the organization
• To create unity among employees by providing them a chance to work with each other on different projects

Features:

Succession Planning: The concept of succession planning is ‘Who will replace whom’. Its main function of job rotation is to develop a pool of employees who can be placed at a senior level when someone gets retired or leaves the organization. The idea is to create an immediate replacement of a high-worth employee from within the organization.

Reducing Monotony of the Job: The first and foremost objective of job rotation is to reduce the monotony and repetitiveness involved in a job. It allows employees to experience different type of jobs and motivates them to perform well at each stage of job replacement.

Creating Right-Employee Job Fit: The success of an organization depends on the on-job productivity of its employees. If they’re rightly placed, they will be able to give the maximum output. In case, they are not assigned the job that they are good at, it creates a real big problem for both employee as well as organization. Therefore, fitting a right person in right vacancy is one of the main objectives of job rotation.

Testing Employee Skills and Competencies: Testing and analyzing employee skills and competencies and then assigning them the work that they excel at is one of the major functions of job rotation process. It is done by moving them to different jobs and assignments and determining their proficiency and aptitude. Placing them what they are best at increases their on-job productivity.

Exposing Workers to All Verticals of the Company: Another main function of job rotation process is to exposing workers to all verticals or operations of the organization in order to make them aware how company operates and how tasks are performed. It gives them a chance to understand the working of the organization and different issues that crop up while working.

Developing a Wider Range of Work Experience: Employees, usually don’t want to change their area of operations. Once they start performing a specific task, they don’t want to shift from their comfort zone. Through job rotation, managers prepare them in advance to have a wider range of work experience and develop different skills and competencies. It is necessary for an overall development of an individual. Along with this, they understand the problems of various departments and try to adjust or adapt accordingly.

Advantages of job rotation

Avoids monopoly:

Job rotation helps to avoid monopoly of job and enable the employee to learn new things and therefore enjoy his job

Provides an opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge:

Due to job rotation the person is able to learn different job in the organization this broadens his knowledge.

Avoiding fraudulent practice:

In an organization like bank jobs rotation is undertaken to prevent employees from doing any kind of fraud i.e. if a person is handling a particular job for a very long time he will be able to find loopholes in the system and use them for his benefit and indulge ( participate ) in fraudulent practices job rotation avoids this.

Disadvantages of Job Rotation

Frequent interruption:

Job rotation results in frequent interruption of work .A person who is doing a particular job and get it comfortable suddenly finds himself shifted to another job or department .this interrupts the work in both the departments.

Reduces uniformity in quality:

Quality of work done by a trained worker is different from that of a new worker .when a new worker I shifted or rotated in the department, he takes time to learn the new job, makes mistakes in the process and affects the quality of the job.

Misunderstanding with the union member:

Sometimes job rotation may lead to misunderstanding with members of the union. The union might think that employees are being harassed and more work is being taken from them. In reality this is not the case.

Job specification can help hiring managers decide which qualities and requirements are most important in a candidate. When reading these job specifications, a candidate can decide whether they have the right experience, education and characteristics to apply for a specific job. Learning the details and components of job specifications can help you create effective ones to hire the best talent for your company. In this article, we discuss what a job specification is, why it is important, what elements are in a job specification and give examples of each.

A job specification is the list of recommended qualities for a person to qualify for and succeed in a position. While the job description includes the title position, responsibilities and summary, the specification identifies the skills, traits, education and experience a candidate might need to qualify for that job. This helps outline a candidate’s capabilities to perform what’s listed in the job description.

Need:

A job specification is important because it can help provide more insight into what skills a candidate will use in a role rather than what tasks they will do. Hiring managers write these to help encourage the most qualified candidates to apply for a job. Often, recruiters or other human resources employees use the job specification to understand what qualifications, education and skills the hiring manager seeks as they help to fill the position. An effective job specification can help a company find and hire the most qualified person.

Features:

1. Skills & Knowledge

This is an important parameter in job specification especially with knowledge and skill based profiles. The higher the position in a company, the more niche the skills become and more is the knowledge required to perform the job. Skills like leadership, communication management, time management, team management etc. are mentioned.

2. Experience

Job specification clearly highlights the experience required in a particular domain for completing a specific job. It includes work experience which can be from a specific industry, position, duration or in a particular domain. Managerial experience in handling and managing a team can also be a job specification criteria required for a particular position.

3. Educational Qualification

This parameter gives an insight on how qualified a certain individual is. It covers their basic school education, graduation, masters degree, other certifications etc.

4. Personality traits and characteristics

The way in which a person behaves in a particular situation, handles complex problems, generic behaviour etc. are all covered in the characteristics of a job description. It also covers the emotional intelligence of a person i.e how strong or weak a person is emotionally.

Advantages of Job Specification

• It gives the HR managers a threshold and a framework on the basis on which they can identify the best prospects.
• Job specification highlights all the specific details required to perform the job at its best.
• Helps in screening of resumes and saves time when there are multiple applications by choosing those who are closest to the job specification.
• HR managers can used job specification as a benchmark to evaluate employees and give them required trainings.
• It also helps companies during performance appraisal and promotions.

Disadvantages of Job Specification

• Job description is time bound and changes with changing technology and changing knowledge & skill requirements.
• It is a time consuming process as it has to be very thorough and complete.
• It can only give a framework of emotional characteristics and personality traits but cannot specify the experience or forecast complex issues is any

Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform inventions and scientific outcomes into new products and services that benefit society. Technology transfer is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a subset of) knowledge transfer.

A comprehensive definition of technology transfer today includes the notion of collaborative process as it became clear that global challenges could be resolved only through the development of global solutions. Knowledge and technology transfer plays a crucial role in connecting innovation stakeholders and moving inventions from creators to public and private users.

Intellectual property (IP) is an important instrument of technology transfer, as it establishes an environment conducive to sharing research results and technologies. Analysis in 2003 showed that the context, or environment, and motives of each organization involved will influence the method of technology transfer employed. The motives behind the technology transfer were not necessarily homogenous across organization levels, especially when commercial and government interests are combined.  The protection of IP rights enables all parties, including universities and research institutions to ensure ownership of the scientific outcomes of their intellectual activity, and to control the use of IP in accordance with their mission and core values. IP protection gives academic institutions capacity to market their inventions, attract funding, seek industrial partners and assure dissemination of new technologies through means such as licensing or creation of start-ups for the benefit of society.

Technology Transfer in practice

Technology transfers may occur between universities, businesses (of any size, ranging from small, medium, to large), governments, across geopolitical borders, both formally and informally, and both openly and secretly. Often it occurs by concerted effort to share skills, knowledge, technologies, manufacturing methods, samples, and facilities among the participants.

Technology Transfer process involves many activities, which can be represented in many ways, in reality, technology transfer is a fluid and dynamic process that rarely follows a linear course. Typical steps include:

• Knowledge creation
• Disclosure
• Assessment and evaluation
• IP protection
• Fundraising and technology development
• Marketing
• Commercialization
• Product development

Technology transfer aims to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials, or services. It is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a subset of) knowledge transfer. Horizontal transfer is the movement of technologies from one area to another.

Importance of Technology Transfer

Technology transfer is an important part of the technological innovation process, promoting scientific and technological research and the associated skills and procedures to wider society and the marketplace.

Tech transfer allows research to develop from the discovery of novel technologies along the value chain to disclosure, evaluation and the protection of these breakthroughs. From here, marketing, licensing and further development of products allow the research to become an impactful product, process or service for society. In addition, the financial returns afforded by a successful product can be reinvested into further research to begin the cycle again.

As a result, technology transfer creates revenues for universities to use for faculty recruitment, funding and more research. Companies are able to tap into the advances brought about by this academic research without having to spend on internal R&D to create new products to drive business forward.

The advantages of successful technology transfer can be felt through national and regional economies via growth through innovation, new ventures and stronger industry to boost employment.

Spin-outs

Spin-outs are used where the host organization does not have the necessary will, resources, or skills to develop new technology. Often these approaches are associated with raising of venture capital (VC) as a means of funding the development process, a practice common in the United States and the European Union. Research spin-off companies are a popular vehicle of commercialization in Canada, where the rate of licensing of Canadian university research remains far below that of the US. Local venture capital organizations such as the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA) also sponsor conferences at which investors assess the potential for commercialization of technology.

Technology brokers are people who discovered how to bridge the emergent worlds and apply scientific concepts or processes to new situations or circumstances. A related term, used almost synonymously, especially in Europe, is “technology valorisation”. While conceptually the practice has been utilized for many years (in ancient times, Archimedes was notable for applying science to practical problems), the present-day volume of research, combined with high-profile failures at Xerox PARC and elsewhere, has led to a focus on the process itself.

Whereas technology transfer can involve the dissemination of highly complex technology from capital-intensive origins to low-capital recipients (and can involve aspects of dependency and fragility of systems), it also can involve appropriate technology, not necessarily high-tech or expensive, that is better disseminated, yielding robustness and independence of systems.

Informal promotion

Technology transfer is also promoted through informal means, such as at conferences organized by various groups, including the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), and at “challenge” competitions by organizations such as the Center for Advancing Innovation in Maryland. AUTM represents over 3,100 technology transfer professionals, and more than 800 universities, research centres, hospitals, businesses and government organizations.

The most frequently used informal means of technology transfer are through education, studies, professional exchange of opinions, movement of people, seminars, workshops.

There are numerous professional associations and TTO Networks enhancing different forms of collaboration among technology managers in order to facilitate this “informal” transfer of best practices and experiences.

In addition to AUTM, other regional and international associations include the Association of European Science and Technology Transfer Professionals (ASTP), the Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP), Licensing Executives Society (LES), Praxis Auril and others. There are also national Technology transfer associations and networks, such as the National Association of Technology Transfer Offices in Mexico (Red OTT Mexico), the Brazilian Forum of Innovation and Technology Transfer Managers (FORTEC), the Alliance of TechTransfer Professionals of the Philippines (AToP), the South African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA), and other associations.

They promote cooperation in technology transfer and the exchange of best practices and experiences among professionals, as today international technology transfer is considered one of the most effective ways to bring people together to find solutions to global problems such as COVID-19, climate change or cyber-attacks.

IP policies

Universities and research institutions seeking to partner with industry or other organizations can adopt an institutional intellectual property policy for effective intellectual property management and technology transfer. Such policies provide structure, predictability, and a n environment, in which commercialization partners (industrial sponsors, consultants, non-profit organizations, SMEs, governments) and research stakeholders (researchers, technicians, students, visiting researchers, etc.) can access and share knowledge, technology and IP. National IP strategies are measures taken by a government to realize its IP policy objectives.