Trading Places
September 11, 2008
Some executives are practicing job swapping to better understand their workers' most basic needs
By Nathan Adkisson
Why is that billionaire dressed like a bellman? Because he's John Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels, and he is participating in a job rotation—spending time doing line-level work in an effort develop a personal grasp of what’s on the minds of his employees.
Rotations can be an effective way to increase inter-departmental awareness, but there are several variables to consider before instituting a job swap. Who should participate? How long should the rotation be? What will it cost? What is the best way to measure the program's effectiveness?
Tisch made headlines when he appeared on TLC's Now Who’s Boss performing housekeeping chores, cooking in the hotel's kitchen, and doing other entry-level tasks alongside his line-level employees. His four-day, nine-position experience was so meaningful that he arranged a similar program for other Loews managers. (Their job rotations were not televised.)
"It was reinforcement of the notion that I can sit in my office in Manhattan and make decisions that affect the whole company, but without the 7,000 employees I have Loews would not be a success," he says. "This is a chance for senior management to remember where they started and make themselves more aware of the issues that face our line employees on a daily basis."
In Loews' current program, senior managers visit a different department for a short time every year. At the end of the rotation each executive will meet with employees from that department for a roundtable discussion. After a day working together, the employees are much more comfortable making requests and suggestions, and the manager will commit to at least one improvement in the department. For example, the director of engineering spent a day working in the laundry room, and became aware that heat was a major problem. He ordered more comfortable uniforms, and additional uniforms for each employee.
"It's part of our jobs as senior managers," Tisch says. "As we make requests to our employees to be more profitable, we have to listen to our coworkers. Take any CEO who doesn’t keep touch and odds are they will start to lose out to their competition. If you want to stay competitive and relevant it's important to understand all aspects of your business."
 Navy Federal
Vienna, Va.-based Navy Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest credit union, has three million members and 7,500 employees in 151 branch offices. The company has organized biannual job rotations for its upper-level managers since 2000.
In Navy Federal’s program, "classes" of about 20 managers are chosen to participate. Selection for the nine-month rotation is competitive. Hopefuls must complete an application and are chosen by the COO. The program was born of a desire to grow internal talent with an understanding of the business rather than bringing in outsiders.
Members of each class spend part of the rotation in an educational setting, and the rest in an active role in the call center or branch offices. The class of 2008 included a regional manager, the manager of global telecommunications, and VPs of innovation, facilities, planning and branch operations.
According to a company representative, the program may be a shock at first to employees who have been working in one department for their whole careers, but they feel accomplished after completing the rotation.
|
RSS
