As an HR leader, workplace redeployment is a vital and delicate skill set. When done well, you can avoid laying off employees, save the company money, and remain adaptable in an ever-changing business landscape. All while keeping employee morale high and trust strong.
But when botched, redeployment can tank morale, erode trust, and leave your organization with a mismatched workforce struggling to meet business demands. A poor redeployment could do more harm than the layoffs you were trying to avoid.
Fortunately, there are reliable strategies to execute a redeployment with skill and grace. And in this article, we’ll go over how to do just that.
What is Redeployment?
Redeployment is a strategic process where you reassign employees to new roles or departments within your organization, usually because of a change in business needs, a companywide restructuring, or to avoid layoffs.
The goal of a successful redeployment is to retain your talent so you don’t have to hire new employees, train their skills, and teach them your company culture from scratch. Usually, finding new employees who are great cultural fits is harder than teaching existing employees a new skill. When done well, you can align your existing employee skillset with the company's needs.
One example of redeployment was when the pandemic hit in 2020. Apple temporarily redeployed all of its in-store sales employees and offered them training so that they could take on a new work-from-home tech support role. A subset of those workers were redeployed as work-from-home AppleCare employees to help handle customer requests.
When is Redeployment Necessary?
Here are some of the most common situations that might call for redeployment.
Market shifts
When customer demand evolves, your company may want to ditch an existing product or put more resources into a new one. As a result, you may have to find new roles for any teams that you dissolve.
For example, imagine that a company that sells backpacks sees a huge spike in market demand for fanny packs. They decide to downsize their travel backpack team and redeploy those employees to work on designing and marketing fanny packs.
Tech advancements
As technology evolves, certain human roles become obsolete. When there’s no longer a need for a role, instead of laying off those employees, you can redeploy them.
Think about a retail chain that sets up a self-checkout system; they may be able to redeploy their cashiers into customer service roles.
Economic conditions
When the economy goes through a down cycle, it may disproportionately impact certain parts of your business. And in those cases, you might be able to redeploy those employees instead of letting them go.
For example, imagine that amidst an economic downturn, a construction company sees a huge drop in demand for large commercial projects. Instead of laying off employees, they may be able to redeploy them into their residential housing division, where demand is still strong.
Strategic pivots
Your company might see opportunities to jump into a different market or launch a new product to stay competitive. In these cases, you don’t need to start a new team from scratch.
As an example, think of a tech startup that decides to shift its focus from creating consumer apps to B2B software. They may be able to redeploy their developers and marketers to the new product line.
Mergers and acquisitions
If your company merges with another, you may suddenly have an overlap in one of your departments and may need to redeploy some of those employees.
For example, imagine that two software companies merge, but now the sales team is much larger than it needs to be. The company may be able to invest in online marketing and then redeploy some of the superfluous salespeople into new marketing positions.
Downsizing
If your company is downsizing, you may have to reduce or eliminate departments. Instead of immediately laying off those workers, there could be a chance to redirect them from these defunct departments into promising ones.
For example, let’s say an e-commerce company downsizes its marketing department because of budget cuts but expands its product development team because of a growing demand for new features. Marketing employees with technical skills could be redeployed into product development.
Some other reasons that might be good causes to try for redeployment efforts are if you’re facing new regulations, you’re expanding into new global markets, your company is restructuring, or your company is moving offices to a new country.
The 3 Workplace Redeployment Approaches
There are three primary ways to implement a redeployment process.
You can either: 1. have your redeployed employees apply for new jobs within the company, 2. assign them to new job roles, or 3. take a hybrid approach.
Let’s go over each option.
1. Encourage redeployed employees to apply for jobs within the company
If you take this approach, it’s a good idea to give employees as much notice as possible so that they have ample time to apply for roles.
When redeploying, it’s common to list available jobs in an internal job posting system. This way, redeployed employees won’t have to compete with external candidates. It is also an option to make these postings open to external candidates; this will bring in a more qualified talent pool but may leave your employees in a less desirable situation.
The main benefit of having employees apply for roles rather than assigning them to roles is that you empower them to find positions they are interested in. This can give them more feelings of agency rather than the sense that this whole thing is happening to them. Plus, this approach will meritocratically sort candidates into the best-fit roles.
The problem with this approach is that you are giving candidates extra work to do (in applying for jobs) and the extra stress of further uncertainty.
And it’s possible that some employees won’t wind up with a job. For those who don’t find themself in a new role within the company, you can either assign them any remaining open roles or if there are none left, you may have to lay them off.
You could also offer optional interview coaching or résumé reviews to help empower candidates. If you choose to take that route, here is a directory of qualified interview coaches and résumé writers.
2. Assign employees to new roles
The other main option is to assign employees to positions.
The clear benefit of this approach is that it’s far more efficient. So, if time is a factor in your situation, this is the fastest way to redeploy.
It can also give employees a greater feeling of stability—they won’t need to worry about if they’ll find a new role.
This approach is also helpful because you get to ensure that all critical roles are filled without any gaps.
If you take this approach, you’ll need to conduct a skills assessment with each employee. Whether an online skills quiz, self-rated, assessed by their manager, or in conversation with HR, once you know everyone’s skill set, you can appropriately set them into the best roles.
The main downside of this approach is that employees might feel less engaged or motivated if they feel like they have no say in the process.
Plus, it’s possible that some employees will feel upset with the alternative roles they are assigned to, which could lead to higher turnover. If it turns out that you do mismatch employee skills and career goals with positions, then they may underperform.
3. Take a hybrid approach
You can also take a dual approach where you ask candidates to express interest in roles by applying to them, but in some cases you might assign employees into positions either for efficiency or to fill a critical need.
Whichever route you take, consider offering a severance package if the employee doesn’t want to redeploy. Whether that’s because they don’t like the role or location you assigned them to, they don’t find a new job within the company, or they don’t want to redeploy at all.
It’s also good form to offer career coaching to these employees to help them get on their feet.
Offering severance and coaching is an olive branch. It shows your good faith, gives respect to the employees, and may reduce the likelihood of legal action.
It’s also a good idea to provide training and resources when you redeploy employees. Many companies have corporate seats on platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Coursera to help their employees stay sharp and pivot to new roles.
Giving them sufficient upskilling will make your employees feel equipped for their new roles, and it gives them the accurate sense that you are investing in their skills, professional growth, and career development.
It can also be helpful to offer career coaching to redeployed employees who are seeking other roles within the company. Sometimes, employees aren’t aware that they could pivot into a completely different area of the company that might reignite their interest in their careers. Other times employees are afraid to make a change because they honestly don't know if they'd do well in a different role. A career coach can help them assess this.
The International Association for Career Coaches has a program called the Career Compass. It is a four-phased process where the coach helps their clients to identify what else they could do.
How to Successfully Communicate Your Redeployment Strategy to Your Employees
There’s a way to do redeployment where your employees feel valued, respected, and cared for. There’s also a way to do redeployment where they feel angry, hurt, and betrayed.
First and foremost, make it extra clear that you value your employees.
Clarify that redeployment does not mean underperformance
It’s absolutely crucial that managers understand that redeployed employees are NOT poor performers. We have a stigma that someone must've been a poor performer to be laid off or redeployed, but that is just not the case any longer.
Make it crystal clear that you are not redeploying an employee because they are underperforming. It’s because bigger changes are at bay. Redeploying means you want to keep them around instead of replacing them.
A lot of communication must occur from the CEO down about how you treasure your fellow colleagues and want to keep them.
Find something in your culture that aligns with this communication. For example, a healthcare company is not only letting go of employees, but they are also removing their own members who use their healthcare services, impacting the community of which the healthcare system is sworn to help.
If you can find a cultural tie to the redeployment, you can preempt any erroneous beliefs that the impacted person is a poor performer.
Lastly, your policies must align as well. For example, it might be wise to have a policy where you must try to hire someone within the company, and only once that option is exhausted can you open up the position externally.
Extra tips for communicating your redeployment skillfully
Here are a few tips to make your redeployment as smooth and graceful as possible and to maintain a positive company culture.
Break the news face-to-face. It can be jarring for someone to hear that they are being redeployed. It’s best to share this news in a meeting, ideally 1-on-1, if you have the staff to support the personalized attention. This gives employees the chance to react, ask questions, and process the change.
Be transparent. This is a fragile time when employees may feel anxious, and their trust in leadership will be tested. Don’t do anything to harm that trust. Be very clear about the reasons you need to redeploy (market shifts, economic conditions, etc), talk about the company’s business goals in this effort (saving money, avoiding layoffs, etc), and give a clear and realistic timeline for the whole process.
Frame it as an opportunity. Is there a silver lining you can emphasize? Redeployed employees will likely build new skills and make new connections. It’s possible that this redeployment could actually add to their career development.
Give space for concerns. Getting redeployed can be stressful. Your employees might experience fear, anger, and hurt feelings. Make sure managers or human resources make themselves available to offer empathy and talk through options. Before, during, and after the redeployment.
Avoid These 7 Redeployment Mistakes
Make sure to dodge these redeployment pitfalls.
Mistake 1: Cramming employees into roles they are totally unequipped for. Training can go a long way, but don’t try to force a square peg into a round hole. Do your best to redeploy, but in some cases, a layoff may be better than putting someone in a role that is far out of their depths.
Mistake 2: Failing to consult with your legal team. Redeployment can touch into complex legal issues, including federal and state labor laws, anti-discrimination regulations, and potential union agreements. Make sure everything is legally sound before moving forward.
It’s also worth noting that there are country-specific laws related to redeployment and redundancy. For example the UK, it’s legally required to have a four-week trial period for employees who are redeployed.
Make sure to follow the regulations in your country so you know for sure that you aren’t doing anything illegal.
Mistake 3: Redeploying employees without considering their preferences. For the sake of efficiency, you may decide to assign employees to alternative roles instead of having them apply. If you take this route, don’t overlook employees’ career ambitions and interests. Doing so can kill morale and lead to high turnover.
Mistake 4: Assuming everything will run smoothly after redeployment without following up with employees. Redeployment can be clunky. In the weeks, and even months, following, set up meetings to make sure employees are performing well and feeling okay.
Mistake 5: Not aligning your people practices and policies with the redeployment program. Redeployment isn't just about moving people around; it requires a holistic approach. Ensure your HR policies, performance management systems, and career development frameworks are updated to support the redeployment program.
Mistake 6: Not getting your managers aligned before starting the program. It’s crucial that all of your managers are on the same page before you enact your redeployment. If you come in divided, then the mixed messaging will create confusion and resistance. But if you all come in with an aligned message and consistent practices, the whole transition will be much smoother.
Mistake 7: Failing to train your talent team to help employees navigate the redeployment process. Your talent team plays a critical role in helping employees find opportunities that match their skills. If they aren’t fully onboarded before the redeployment starts, prepare for stress and chaos.
5 Alternatives to Redeployment
Every month, about 1% of the US workforce loses their jobs to layoffs. While it’s good to shoot for a redeployment strategy, the harsh reality is that won’t always be possible. But there are a few other last-resort approaches you can try to prevent your employees from becoming that 1%.
If redeployment simply doesn’t make sense from a financial or practical perspective for your business, here are a few alternative options.
Voluntary severance or early retirement packages. If you give employees the option to leave the company with severance, it can reduce your headcount without forcing layoffs. Giving them the option to choose can make a big difference. In the case of employees who are approaching retirement age or long-term employees, you can also offer retirement packages.
Temporary layoffs or furloughs. Another option is to place employees on unpaid leave, with the possibility of rehiring them if conditions take an upswing. This saves you money, and if things turn around soon enough, you won’t lose your talent.
Job sharing. This is when two or more employees share the responsibilities of a single full-time role. They split the hours, responsibilities, and pay. Essentially, it’s like converting a single full-time role into two or more part-time roles.
Hiring freeze. This involves temporarily halting the recruitment of new employees. This measure helps save on hiring and training costs and can help avoid immediate layoffs by controlling workforce expansion.
Turn employees into freelancers. This is where you transition employees from full-time, salaried positions to freelance roles where you pay them on a per-project basis.
None of these options may be ideal—but in difficult times, you do the best you can.
Offering Career Coaching to Employees
If you are asking employees to apply for jobs within your company, it can be a nice gesture to offer interview coaching or résumé reviews.
And if your employees choose not to redeploy, offering career coaching to help them with their career paths going forward can end things on a positive note.
If you do choose to hire any coaching professionals, check out the International Association for Career Coach’s directory as a place to start.
תגובות