The future of work has been shaped by the shift in economic pressures caused by the pandemic, job redesign is now such a common sight to witness in organization that many of the initiatives begin with loud clang but start to wither halfway. The unfortunate outcome can be avoided if implementors are better equipped with the essential information and tools to implement successful job redesign initiatives.
Do you know what a job redesign is? Here are few definitions that we have curated for you as follows :
process of Work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks. ~ business dictionary.com
Restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees or workers is known as job redesigning. ~ managementstudyguide
Job redesigning involves reviewing work responsibilities and environments, simplifying processes and developing solutions that can improve an employee's performance and safety ~ straitstimes
The way job redesign can be described in our context is the process of modifying the whole jigsaw board and reconfiguring each puzzle piece to fit. The whole jigsaw board refers to the organisational structure , each puzzle piece would be the individual's work role and responsibilities.
The ultimate aim of any job redesign implementation needs to meet the following :
1) Sense of belonging Employees who doing work they enjoy have higher retention rates as well as a sense of personal commitment to a job well done.
2) Person-job fit Job redesign is designed to play an important role in creating job roles that “fit” the personality of employees in the role while stretching their mental capabilities creating a culture of a meritocracy.
3) Productivity Aligning job functions and duties that are in line of sight with what employees are currently doing increases employee motivation to perform at their best while benefiting the larger organization achieve its business goals.
4) Quality of work-life Doing work you enjoy that is also mentally stimulating encourages knowledge workers to perform better because they feel the work is meaningful, and makes a contribution to the organization's bottom line.
Now here are the 10 things that you need to know about job redesign :
#1 : Many tasks will be automated which means that a job redesign is definitely a need-to-do rather than a nice-to-do
Here is an illustration of tasks that could be automated based on the different sectors that we have. Of course, sectors may differ from country to country.
As tasks are enhanced through technological advancements, humans will need to develop other skillsets to stay productive and value add to the organisation.
#2 : Change Management is necessary in job-redesign; it is not just a change of tasks, it is the shifting of mindsets and environments
The job redesign process may require a change in job tasks, reporting structures, departments or task outcomes; in any form of change, the change needs to be managed.
Example : Delivering the news to the affected staff and getting them to be motivated to take on new job tasks in another department. This would require extensive change management from the start (emotional outbreak) to the end (acceptance to change).
#3 : Identify the type of job re-design that your organisation needs rather than just doing it blindfolded
There are about several types of job re-design which includes job enrichment, enlargement, rotation, simplification
Job enrichment is a process that is characterised by adding dimensions to existing jobs to make them more motivating. Examples of job enrichment include adding extra tasks (also called job enlargement),
Job enlargement is defined as the horizontal level expansion of a job by widening the scope and activities related to the job. Job enlargement involves increasing the duties and responsibilities associated at the same job level. Apart from the basic work, job enlargement gives more work to employees which ensures more personal and professional development.
Job rotation is a strategy where employees rotate between jobs at the same business. Employees take on new tasks at a different job for a period of time before rotating back to their original position.
Job simplification is a widely used process in many organisations. In simple terms, job simplification means simplifying a complex job into several simpler parts. It is intended to improve the productivity of the individual by lessening the work-pressure on person
In the event that your organisation is embarking on several job redesign simultaneously, it is important to be tracking and monitoring the progress of each job re-design type.
#4 : Discover your people's strength and skillsets
One of the effects of any job re-design is the unfortunate "attrition" or turnover due to the drastic changes implemented. To reduce this effect, it is important to have a match between the person's strength with the job tasks that are given to the person. The huge mistake that occurs once too often is to force the change despite zero match with the person's potential and current skillsets. This would most likely end up as a huge disaster.
#5 : Ready to invest on learning and development initiatives
Job re-design is more than shifting people on a piece of paper or shifting the rectangle in an organisational chart. That is the easy part!!
The part that is mostly neglected is the cost to embark on a job redesign as learning and development becomes key to successful transition to new job roles or tasks. As such, it is essential that a robust learning and development framework and strategy be put in place to counter the effects of non-transition. The strategies could include change management, coaching, counselling, onboarding etc.
In conclusion, job re-design is beyond what happens on paper, it is what happens in reality. The time frame for successful job-redesign can last up to a year, the amount of time can be shorten if the number and size of organisation is relatively small.
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