Three simple job redesign ideas to improve performance and help retain staff.

A contemporary manager is able to improve productivity and maximise the performance of their employees strengths through job redesign. Not only can job redesign be an effective tool for maximising productivity in the workplace, it can help to improve job satisfaction, therefore, retaining staff for a longer period of time.

Job redesigning: Where do you start?

Job Rotation

Job rotation is a term that describes taking a job and swapping the nature of the job or some of the job activities with others in the team. This can be done to optimise efficiency by providing a break from the regular working activities and is particularly useful on a production line or other repetitive jobs. Those swapping roles will learn new skills which may be seen as an advantageous approach as learning can boost morale. This can be difficult to master, particularly in smaller workplaces as employees can take a sense of pride and ownership to their work duties or could be threatening to those that are can be somewhat competitive. In a study of over 130 organisations, Alias (2018) demonstrated by statistical analysis that there is a Pearsons coefficient of .455 with considering the relationship between job rotation and employee satisfaction.

Job Enlargement

Job enlargement redefines the role by adding on more tasks but still of the same skill requirement. This can be very useful when the employee seems to have mastered their current workload and may appreciate a challenge. The effect of job enlargement on an employee can be powerful - it creates a sense of being secure and valued. This will translate to a number of benefits for the organisation and ultimately improve outcomes across the organisation. A common pitfall encountered by job enlargement users relates to a poor understanding of job enlargement and as such providing tasks that are meaningless as opposed to tasks that are important to the organisation.

Job Enrichment

Job enrichment offers the employee a chance to take on some alternative tasks that offer higher responsibilities or challenges. This technique can be precarious when used incorrectly as it can create issues relating to work-life balance/well-being. As the job is enriched and the employee progresses through the organisation they will enjoy greater control, freedom and responsibility. A discussion regarding remuneration may be needed during times of asking employees to take on more responsibility.

If you are struggling to challenge or engage with employees speak to us today! We regularly help clients across Australia with problems like this. We also offer a free initial consultation and can offer some useful performance management or job redesign strategies for you to adopt that will lead to improvements in performance.