Up for a swap?

In a fast-paced world, experience can be a curse. But is it enough? What you have learnt yesterday may no longer be relevant today.

Every day brings new challenges requiring adaptation and learning, both in daily life and our professional setting. Complicated systems and constantly evolving technologies require creative and innovative approaches and reactions from people who live and work within them.

Being on the learning curve is more important than being experienced, especially within a high speed and dynamic work environment (1). Opportunities to learn and grow at work are highly important especially to millennials. These employees are in relatively early stages of their careers, and they want to continuously learn so they can succeed. Millennials want a work environment that offers challenges and developmental opportunities (2). Being a millennial myself, I totally agree with all above statements.

As part of attraction strategy, organizations should accentuate their learning and development programs, pointing to tuition reimbursement policies, on-the-job training, means of certification for going from good to great in the same role, participation in conferences and professional organizations, and other learning opportunities (2).

Last but not least - job rotation. An opportunity to work in another position then your own within the same company, but with a new workplace, colleagues, and environment. In other words, you are swapping roles with another person in another business function or location for a specified period of time.

I had an opportunity to swap jobs last year. From an employee perspective - what were the benefits? I have acquired several new skills, met new colleagues and was out of my comfort zone in an unknown professional knowledge area. A really steep learning curve just when the pandemic started and forced me to onboard in the new role remotely in an unfamiliar environment.

However, what I found most valuable is:

• trying new, different ways of working - a real game changer,

• knowing the other sides of business and specifications of another role - it gives me the opportunity to be a T-shaped Project Manager,

• mirroring myself in the new setting - how I can build on my strengths and on what I want to work further.

Job swapping gives employees a chance to learn new skills and understand other job roles. Such arrangements can easily be settled down between two managers in large scale organizations. Employees are able to obtain and provide new ideas, bring insights and valuable experiences, from operations to processes and much more. If they want to, they can return to the previously held position richer with new knowledge and perspective.

1. Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work, Liz Wiseman

2. How Millennials Want to Work and Live Report, Gallup, p.26-27