Feature

Internal transfers: managing complications

Internal transfers are an effective retention tool, but involve complexities that need to be addressed, writes Sudipta Dev

Why does an individual leave an organisation? The common reasons are very few: A more challenging assignment, problems with the immediate boss or more money. A professional rarely has problems with the company itself, it is the other factors that propel him to seek employment with another organisation. Most companies today realise that an active internal transfer programme is a strong tool to combat attrition to some extent, particularly for those who are looking out for a challenging assignment. Internal transfers are however a complex process. Apart from the investment of time and resources to train an internal transferee in the new line of business, it is not always easy placating a manager or department head to allow one of his best team members to be shifted to another division.

"We do resort to internal transfers as a means to meet our onsite and offshore resource needs" - Dheeraj Walia Director, Human Resource Network Programs (India)

In every organisation an in-house transfer involves the conjoining of an individual’s career development aspirations with an internal job requirement. Vacancies are advertised and people are encouraged to apply for the job postings. “As a part of our global expansion strategy, Network Programs is regularly looking at placing quality resources across our global offices in Japan, Canada, Noida and US. Our phenomenal growth has resulted in continuous efforts towards mining manpower resources for the organisation. Recognising the distinct advantage of talented employees seeking internal career development opportunities, we do resort to internal transfers as a means to meet our onsite and offshore resource needs,” says Dheeraj Walia, Director, Human Resource Network Programs (India). Internal transfers in the organisation are guided by two aspects: Individual Development Plan (IDP) and internal job postings.

"Employee transfers are an essential mechanism for knowledge transition and the sharing of best practices" - Robin Lloyd Vice-President and GM Lionbridge India

At Lionbridge, internal transfers are actively encouraged among its 4,000-person global workforce operating out of the company’s 50 offices in 25 countries. “Employee transfers are an essential mechanism for knowledge transition and the sharing of best practices. Sitting here in our Mumbai office, I frequently see employees arrive from France, Brazil, the US, Holland, Ireland and other countries, while other employees depart for opportunities all over the globe,” states Robin Lloyd, Vice-president and General Manager, Lionbridge India. The transfer policy depends on resource fit, performance, duration of time spent in the current role/project and visa eligibility. Lloyd informs that employees with good performance evaluations who have worked on a project for 18 months or more are eligible to transfer into a different role or project. In certain cases, this requirement is relaxed to 12 months.

Problems associated with internal transfers

"If we don't provide the opportunity, they will leave for greener pastures and we’ll eventually lose them" - Philip K Mammen Group Head, HR Mindteck India

Internal transfers are more complex than simply recruiting a professional for a particular department. The first problem is handling unhappy managers who might not be all too pleased about letting their brightest and best people go. Philip K Mammen, Group Head-Human Resources, Mindteck India, acknowledges that managers want to hold on to their best talent, “These people have excelled in their current roles and are looking at new opportunities, challenges etc. If we don’t provide the opportunity, they will leave for greener pastures and we’ll eventually lose them. We facilitate discussions with the concerned managers and help them to see the bigger picture which will benefit all.”

Lionbridge Technologies tackles this problem in a systematic manner. Lloyd explains the process: “This shift in mindset is ongoing, and requires that we take several steps. For one, we must re-align our managers’ incentives to encourage more flexibility about their resources. Instead of measuring them solely on project execution—which guarantees a possessive approach to resources—we must give them a stake in the broader success of our business. We also must provide the tools and training required for more effective succession planning, so that the impact of a resource rotating to another role is mitigated. Finally, we must ensure resource transfer is a two-way street. If managers see that they can benefit from this policy by having more motivated employees, lower attrition and a shorter staffing cycle time, they will embrace the changes.”

Escaping the boss

"Transfers to get away from managers are not ideal but it happens and if the evidence is overwhelming HR should assist in this matter" - Rachna Patel Head, HR Operations LogicaCMG

It is believed that most people change jobs not because they have a problem with their company but their bosses. The question is: should the HR department be proactive in such cases and assist in internal transfers? Conceding that bosses play a big role in employee motivation and retention, Mammen points out that if there is a strong bonding between the boss and the employees, the latter will not look out for opportunities because they want to work for a super boss. “We in HR continually keep in touch with the employees to understand if there are friction points and equip the managers with skills to handle conflicts and resolve them. If we find that the situation is getting difficult for them to work smoothly, we look at providing assignments with another manager,” he adds.

Seeking a transfer due to problems with the boss however is not the right solution. Adds Rachna Patel, Head-HR Operations, LogicaCMG, “While we are all in favour of internal transfers, I prefer to encourage people who are transferring because of the domain or the technology or the work itself. Transfers to get away from managers are not ideal but it happens and yes, if the evidence is overwhelming HR should be proactive and assist in this matter.” She asserts that HR should also check to see if there is a pattern here and take steps to correct both the sides.

Cross-functional transfers

The toughest are cross-functional transfers, which not all company’s encourage considering the problems associated with training an employee to come up to the productivity level. From an employee’s point of view also it is very demanding. Organisations like Mindteck and SSA Global encourage cross-functional transfers for significant reasons. Abhay Rao, Senior Manager-HR, SSA Global India, says, “The most value adding transfers can be the cross-functional transfers cause they not only bring in new perspectives but also create a lot of internal backups and less dependencies. In a rare case, where an employee may have made a wrong choice, we set new objectives, including moving back to the original assignment or a new area which may be more suited. Having said that, we have to say that there have been no such cases, since we do take a lot of care in identification and preparation of the new role, which is based not only on the persons likes and aspirations but also on the potential and learning.”

And what happens when a transferred employee is not able to come up to the mark? Answers Mammen, “These assignments are preferred where we want an individual who understands the company, the culture, processes and brings with him or her certain critical competencies which the role demands. Organi-sations need to provide the time and space to enable them to pick up the finer aspects of the new role. Ultimately if they fail we need to provide other opportunities where he/she can succeed.” He however warns that organisations need to be careful in selecting people for cross-functional roles. They should look for people who can handle ambiguity, do not have fear of failure, work well with diverse people and circumstances and have the ambition to succeed.

At Lionbridge Technologies cross-functional transferees are monitored more closely as it involves greater risks than transfers to similar roles. Lloyd points out that if the adjustment does not go smoothly, or the employee decides that the new functional role is not what he or she expected, the company leaves open the option to return to the previous function.

Instances of a transferred employee finding his groove and performing exceptionally well in the new function, is not uncommon. “In some cases one also sees a dramatic increase in a person’s performance as the new role sometimes is better suited for a person’s profile and competence as compared to the old role,” agrees Gautam Sinha, CEO, TVA Infotech. It also elicits new ideas from them as whenever a person takes a new role, the first six months is when the individual has the best ideas for the job as it is a new responsibility and he has the ability to question the status quo.

Helping a transferred employee

Training is an essential part of an internal transfer and it is necessary for organisations to make this investment. Equipping an employee to be productive at the earliest is a business need. In fact there is always a period of training, or shadowing before an employee is thrown into the deep end. “The relevant documentation is also given to the new transfer during this period which helps familiarisation. The project manager usually assigns a buddy to help with the transition as well and our people are generally friendly so there is a lot of help available from team members,” states Patel. She believes that internal transfers are a good retention measure provided they are implemented and communicated properly. The job rotation offers more opportunities for everyone. The employee must get the feeling that they are valued and that their career plans are being considered. “Project managers need to learn to rotate their staff and to put in place effective succession plans to allow for this kind of career growth. This is of course easier said than done—given the criticality of project deadlines and SLAs, but it is important in the overall scheme of things within an organisation,” she adds.

An effective tool for employee career development and retention, the internal transfer system in an organisation needs to be a systematic process to avail maximum benefits and not complicate the existing system further.

ec@expresscomputeronline.com