Redeployment - Your secret weapon when it comes to talent

First, what is workplace redeployment?

Workplace redeployment is when a staff member leaves a team or position to work in a different role for the same company. For example, someone may depart an overstaffed team to work with another group that requires more assistance.

Workplace redeployment is a strategy that helps optimise your employment situation. It may involve a single person, or it may often require reshuffling entire teams into different departments.

Why choose redeployment?

There are several reasons why someone may be redeployed within their own company.

Skills shortages

In 2018, Gartner Inc. surveyed 137 senior executives and discovered 63% had concerns of a growing skills shortage. As businesses evolve and tackle new challenges, hiring talented individuals with unique skills is vital to improving productivity and efficiency.

Unfortunately, this can quickly lead to costly lay-offs. In addition, finding talented people with the required skills can be difficult and take time. To combat this, many companies have turned to redeployment. By establishing new roles in the company and training individuals to move from their existing position, organisations can help solve their skills shortage problem while also helping to retain the best talent within the organisation. As the saying goes: two birds, one stone.

Lay-offs / Redundancy 

Some employees may be laid-off because the project they are working on is shut down or handed over to another group. They could also be laid-off if more efficient ways to perform their role are implemented – automation, for example. 

But, instead of letting these employees go, companies can unlock value by retraining and redeploying them. Recent U.S. employment statistics indicate a growing number of talented individuals are being laid off. To avoid firing too many staff members, companies need to start using redeployment to take advantage of their employees’ existing skills and institutional knowledge. 

Growth & Expansion 

Redeployment can also be used to move employees from one location to another. Suppose an organisation opens a new location. Employees who don’t have a clear growth path in one location can be redeployed to the new location. This allows the employee to continue up the career ladder, while the company can make the most of their existing knowledge and capabilities. In this instance, redeployment creates a quintessential win/win opportunity.   

Right people, wrong place 

Some companies may also have surplus staff that will shortly be made redundant. For example, this can happen when a company engages in a large project that requires hiring employees for several years. However, if the project fails or doesn't achieve a positive ROI, it can create a surplus of staff. 

To make effective use of these individuals, they can be redeployed to different positions in the company. This allows a business to not only take advantage of an employee's existing skills, but it can also prevent downtime. 

Make your own career ladder 

Should employees actively seek redeployment? If you are happy in your current position, redeployment may seem pointless. However, it can be an effective way to find unique opportunities and progress up the career ladder. For example: 

• Redeployment can offer you a chance to learn new skills and climb into new positions. 

• Businesses may actively be looking to fill skill gaps. This can lead to training opportunities, allowing you to acquire new skills that could help with your career progression. 

• If you fear redundancy, then seeking redeployment can help you establish yourself as a critical employee and help you avoid being let go. 

Time & Money: the unexpected benefits of redeployment 

It is estimated that firing an employee can cost upwards of 150% of their salary, while retraining team members costs roughly $1,096 per employee. In addition to these cost savings, retraining and redeployment are excellent ways to fill your company's skill gaps and ultimately grow the business.  

Redeployment can also help a business avoid the time and cost of hiring new employees. It's often much cheaper to retrain an existing employee than paying to advertise a job position, go through the hiring process, and finally onboard a brand new staff member. 

How to get more from redeployment 

There are many different situations in which a leader could benefit from redeployment, such as leading a brand-new team at a new location or expanding into an overseas market. Fitting into a brand-new position can be a challenge, but there are many transferable skills that both leaders and employees can use in their new roles. Identifying situations where old skills can be used in new ways is perhaps the most challenging part of redeployment, and this is where Leadership coaching can play a huge role. 

Making this sort of programme accessible to as many people as possible, such as using technology like a coaching app, can give an organisation a real advantage when it comes to redeployment and talent management strategies. 

Support your key talent to maximise retention and performance during redeployment with EZRA's world-class employee coaching. We've redesigned leadership coaching for the modern age to help transform people through affordable, scalable and high-impact solutions, with equitable access through our world-class coaching app. Find out how digital coaching could make a big difference to your organisation today.