In today’s tricky job market, it’s important for businesses to employ strategies to minimize cost and maximize efficiency.

A strategy that’s becoming increasingly common among top-performing organizations is redeployment.

Redeployment is known as the internal movement of the workforce. Talent is moved from an area of the organization that no longer needs it to one that is currently expanding.

If redeployment is not a part of your game plan, you should strongly reconsider, as there are many benefits to doing so. Let’s take a look at three ways redeployment can help transform your organization.

1. Saves Money

When an employee is no longer needed and let go, many companies must pay out redundancy packages. The total of this package depends on several factors, but it is by no means a cheap expenditure. On the other hand, if an area of your business is expanding and there is a need for more talent, recruitment and hiring costs can quickly eat away at your budget. In both scenarios, redeployment is the optimal solution. Instead of letting employees go and hiring new ones, redeployment will allow you to move employees whose work has become redundant to areas that are in need. This eliminates the need for redundancy packages and recruitment efforts. Not only that, but it is also a much shorter process than if you were to hire externally.

 2. Reduces Turnover

Employees stay where they are engaged. Offering employees opportunities to learn new skills, enhance their knowledge, and climb up the ladder leads to productivity. Who doesn’t want to work for a company that cares about you and invests in you? When they can see the potential for other possibilities, they are much more likely to not only stay with that company but work hard to make sure they always have a place there. Allowing this flow of your workforce ensures you retain the talent you desire.

 3. Improves Brand Image

Job seekers today require more than just an attractive salary to consider a place of work. How a company views and treats its employees is at the top of many lists. Employees want to feel important; they want to be valued. Companies that make this clear are much more likely to have a better reputation than ones that don’t. So how does redeployment tie into this?

Redeployment shows that you value your talent, by giving them opportunities to fill different roles. Redeployment also goes beyond that. Not only does it mean you’re willing to provide resources for your employees to move ahead in their careers, but redeployment also shows you have their best interests at heart. When companies have to let people go, it’s normal for employees to feel hurt or upset. Some companies simply leave it at that. Other companies may offer a severance package to help out. The best companies go a step beyond and actively help employees find a new route, whether that be with them in a different position or with another company altogether. These are the companies that get raving reviews and establish the best image for themselves. With redeployment, this could be your company too.

So, you’ve taken the bait and now want to establish redeployment within your company. How do you do it?

It begins with your culture. Oftentimes, redeployment has a negative connotation. In order to be successful, you must get your employees to understand that redeployment is a positive thing! If you don’t combat negative thoughts, redeployment can seem like the kid that becomes the water boy because they weren’t good enough to make the team – a pity position. Educate your employees on what redeployment actually is and how beneficial it can be for everyone.

If you can effectively communicate all the benefits, i.e., training and development, coaching, educational opportunities, relocation opportunities, career growth, moving up the career ladder, etc., they will be so much more willing to buy into the process. This can be great for employees that want to stay in the company but occupy a new position, and employees that are happy in their positions, but still want to expand their knowledge.

Once your employees are on board, you can begin to really work out the logistics of it. Here are some things you may want to consider doing:

• Implement internal communications to notify about open/possible positions
• Invest in or create a list of skill-building opportunities
• Develop tests to see how job functions/responsibilities correlate with others
• Implement tests to see how your employees work/the type of worker they are
• Create internal network opportunities

Think about your organization, gauge the situation, and decide what will or can work best for you. By no means will it be an easy process, but it will most definitely be a worthwhile investment.

Check back here next week as we dive deeper into the wonderful world of staffing!