The team switch: letting talent move, grow, and thrive

How much autonomy do employees enjoy in your organization when it comes to internal transfers? Are they forever fated to remain in the departments they joined? Or are the divisions between teams more porous in a way that talent can migrate smoothly from one part of the business to another? Some managers and business leaders like to encourage a sense of fluidity when it comes to internal transfers. Others see this tendency to switch teams as fickle and messy. Which camp is right?

The power of motivation 

Good managers realize that sometimes one energized and proactive employee can get more done than a handful of unmotivated employees. But of course, finding such employees isn’t as easy as inserting “self-driven” as a keyword into a LinkedIn job description.

Employees need to feel that their work is relevant, impactful, and aligned with their strengths and goals. When the gulf between these two things becomes dangerously wide, they’ll start daydreaming about career possibilities elsewhere.

Sometimes, people feel like they've hit a threshold at a particular role and want an opportunity for new challenges. Employees who are ambitious about learning might see diminishing returns in a role beyond a certain point. But stopping such an employee from embarking on a team shift would be unwise. It’s the employees who are driven to learn who are capable of bringing about the most positive changes in an organization. Disallowing this just means wasted potential and productivity.

In the case of employees who have been lackluster in their first role, it’s helpful to bear in mind that suboptimal performance is not always about a lack of competence. Quite often, it's about a lack of fit (person–job fit to be precise, not person–organization fit. if the latter was lacking, they would have left anyway.) When this is the case, you can make sure that you don’t lose the talent to outside organizations by reallocating their skills elsewhere within the organization.

This makes the employee feel like they’re seen and heard. This feeling of being valued is a motivation booster by itself. If they’re able to find a focus area that aligns with what they’re looking to achieve, you've struck gold. They’ll be grateful for the chance to start afresh in a familiar space without the mess of having to update their resume or adjust to a new location or organization.

By facilitating a smooth internal switch, they’ll be driven to excel in the new role. Some organizations even conduct internal career fairs to ensure good person–job fit across the workforce. But you don’t need to start with such a big step.

How to facilitate team shifts in your organization 

For cross-pollination to become natural in your organization, you must weave it into its cultural fabric. It must become a part of the company's ethos, and managers need to see that it has the leadership team's blessing. There must be a healthy attitude about team shifts, and they must not be perceived as a black mark on a team or its manager or the employee seeking the team shift.

Managers might take a request for reassignment as a personal slight. Internal communications from the leadership are helpful in changing this mindset and can cover the basics of how team shifts should be handled. This makes it official to managers, and it makes it visible to employees who might otherwise leave the organization.

HR teams in the organization must be instructed and trained on team shifts and how to deal with such requests. They must be prepared to deal with bosses who hinder lateral mobility due to personal biases, and also with employees who are unreasonable in their expectations. With enough training and experience in such situations, HR teams will be equipped to streamline internal transfers where it’s desirable for all parties and to use their judgment where necessary.

At the same time, they must be able to deal with the danger of over-formalizing the process, which could prove to be counterproductive. It’s often best to leave it fluid and up to human judgment rather than to shift the focus to irrelevant metrics and rigid processes.

Of course, the onus must not completely be on managers and HR personnel. Employees must also be empowered with best practices to handle team shifts in a thoughtful manner. So how should they go about it?

Employees must realize that the first step shouldn’t be to discuss a team shift with their current manager. The ideal approach instead would be for them to identify a target team within the organization. This means reaching out to other teams and gathering information.

Once they find a suitable role, they can approach the leader of that team and present their case. With their approval, the employee can then speak to their own manager and the HR team to carry the process forward. It’s difficult to standardize the process completely because different teams may have different constraints and challenges.

 When to approach with caution 

There are scenarios where it’s wise to be skeptical about a team transfer request. For instance, some employees might take advantage of the system and shift teams frequently. In the case of serial team shifters, their credibility and competence comes into question.

There are many reasons why transfers might not work out for such employees. They may be masking some individual failing, may be too headstrong, or may not be enough of a team player. In any case, they don’t come with enough credibility to make the managers go to the trouble of shaking up their teams.  

While some instances of suboptimal performance may be solved with the better alignment achieved through a team shift, it’s important to look out for the recurring traits of employees. Was their stint on the previous team marked by negative attitudes and behavior? In that case, it's likely to recur in the new role too, and a team shift may not be the ideal solution for any of the parties involved or for the organization.

Opportunities and risks 

Let's face it. Employee attrition is costly. Internal transfers are, by far, a preferable alternative. While the performance of external candidates and their person–organization fit can be hard to predict, it's not the same with internal candidates. Their reassignment can be built on a solid foundation comprised of a good person–organization fit and the employee's known strengths and interests.

Preventing lateral migration in the organization means preventing people with untapped potential from serving your organization in a better way. It's why internal transfers must be seen as an opportunity for the organization rather than a risk.