HR Department
  • Home
  • Did you Know?
  • Our Services
    • NEW: Mediation
    • HR Audit
    • Implementation
    • HR Support Service
    • HR Services
  • Our Experts
  • Testimonials
  • The HR Advisor
  • Contact Us
  • Login

​Workplace Snakes and Ladders: Transfers

11/12/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
In my last two articles, I discussed the importance of promotions and demotions in the workplace, and this week I focus on employee transfers.

The term “transfer” suggests a lateral movement for an employee from one department or position to another within the same company. Salary, status, skills and responsibility are generally on a level footing between the old position and the new.

Transfers play an important part of company strategy as they minimise office politics and encourage transparency in different roles. It is widely known that employees are more motivated and committed to their jobs when they are interested in the tasks assigned to them. Therefore, transfers can be used to build a more satisfied workforce and increase productivity and the retention of staff.

A few purposes of transfers from an employer’s perspective include:
  • Increasing the capability and versatility of important positions
  • Growing the effectiveness of the company
  • Correcting indifferences between employees
  • Dealing with fluctuations in workloads
  • Rectifying an initial mistake in employee placement
  • Solving employee malpractice in a certain position

Whilst transfers are mostly positive, I have to point out that there can be some drawbacks with transfers within large organisations. If the employee receiving the transfer has to move to a different location, there may be both emotional and financial disturbances from the change, such as family members not wanting to move or the cost of transferring household items and furniture. The worst outcome could be that the employee may resign if they do not want to leave their current location and feel they have no other option.
 

Types of Transfers

There are a number of different types of transfers which depend on the reason for the shift. These include:

​Production Transfers – these transfers take place if there is a surplus of employees in a certain department. Staff members who may be useful in a different area are transferred to even out staffing needs.

Replacement Transfers – generally speaking, a new employee will come in to give the existing member of staff some relief if there is a heavy workload or too many responsibilities which are being compromised due to lack of availability.

Rotation – quite often used in the likes of retail, this transfer gives employees different responsibilities throughout their shift or week at work. It helps reduce boredom and increases productivity if new goals are put in place for each rotation.

Corrective Transfers – employees can sometimes spend time in a position before the employer realises their talents may be more useful in a different department or role. This type of transfer occurs to place the staff member in a more suitable position.
 

Transfer Policy

As discussed in the previous articles, policies are important to put in place in every area of the company, and it’s no different when dealing with employee transfers. The policy should include all types of transfers (like those stated above) and be included in the overall staff handbook.

The policy needs to include the following points:
  • Company rights when deciding to transfer an employee
  • The terms and conditions under which employees can ask for a transfer to another role or department
  • Procedures involved when transferring
  • The rules around transferring back to a former role if the new position isn’t working out
  • Employee remuneration and responsibilities in the new role

Terms and conditions should stipulate who the employee has to address an application for transfer to, as well as the necessary documents needed to support the application, such as reference letters. It should also be stated which other elements will be taken into consideration by management when considering a transfer request, including performance and attendance records as well as skills and knowledge relating to the potential new position.

Conditions of when an employee can take advantage of a transfer should also be incorporated to ensure guidelines are known to all. Often, transfers can only be requested if the member of staff has been with the company for a certain length of time or if there have been changes to an employee’s terms, for example longer working hours or decrease in salary or if the company is undergoing a merger or change in structure and the employee sees it as there chance to put their talents to good use in another role.
 

Transferring an Employee

As mentioned above, some employees may be delighted to transfer to another department or role, whereas some may not receive the news with greatest pleasure. Therefore it is important for employers and managers to follow a process when discussing transfers.

Whether the employee or the employer is requesting the transfer, there should be a meeting to discuss the potential transfer in detail. The employee should be made aware of changes in salary and other remuneration as well as the new job title and responsibilities. If the employer needs to see letters of recommendation the staff member should be informed at this time. There should also be time allocated to answering any questions the employee has. Minutes should be taken for all information discussed in the meeting should any future issues arise.

After the meeting, a letter should be sent to the transferee discussing all arrangements discussed at the meeting and agreed between the employee, human resources and management. A date by which the employee has to respond should be included in the letter so the steps of transfer can start to take place.

A reasonable amount of time should be allocated between the employee transfer announcement and the actual transfer. This accommodates for training if it is necessary, as well as enough time for team members to consider roles and their responsibilities going forward.

Finally, employers should assist with an employee transfer as much as possible. If the employee is completely relocating due to company requirements, offering to pay for goods to be transferred or simply introducing them to staff members in a new office helps towards easing the transition. 


The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

1 Comment
Genieknows Transfer link
28/9/2022 12:54:52 am

Please explain more about transfer..

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Absenteeism
    Agile Management
    Anger
    Annual Leave
    Appointments
    Big Data
    Bullying
    Bullying In The Workplace
    Business
    BYOD
    Collaboration
    Communication
    Company Culture
    Compulsory Retirement
    Conflict Resolution
    Corporate Culture
    Covid 19
    Covid-19
    Cyber Bullying
    Data Protection
    Device Policy
    Digital
    Digital Transformation
    Disciplinary Procedures
    Discrimination
    Diversity
    Dress Code
    Emotional Intelligence
    Employee Benefits
    Employee Diversity
    Employee Engagement
    Employee Performance
    Employee Relations
    Employee Resignation
    Employee Retention
    Employee Rights
    Employee Wellbeing
    Employer Branding
    Employment Contract
    Equality
    Flexible Working Hours
    Freelance
    Freelancer Management
    Freelancing
    Gender
    Gig Economy
    Health And Safety
    Hiring Process
    HR
    HR Automation
    HRLocker
    HR Paper Work
    HR Performance
    HR Tips
    Human Resources
    Incentives
    Inclusion
    Independent Contractor
    In-house
    Innovation
    Intelectual Property
    Intern
    Jargon
    Just Culture
    L&D
    Leadership
    Learning & Development
    Long Term Illness
    Management
    Managers
    McDonalds
    Mediation
    Mentorship
    Millenials
    Motivating Staff
    Music
    Negative Employees
    Office Romance
    Onboarding
    Outsourced HR
    Paid Paternity Benefit
    Parental Leave
    Parenting
    Part Time
    Part-time
    Passive-aggressive
    Paternity Leave
    Paternity Leave Policy
    Pay Gap
    Pensions
    People Operations
    Poaching Employees
    Policy
    Problem Employee
    Productivity
    Profit
    Protected Disclosures Act
    Recruitment
    Redundancy
    Retirement
    Role Of HR
    Salary Transparency
    Sexual Harrassment
    Sick Leave
    Sick Pay
    Sick Policy
    Skills
    Skills Shortage
    Social Media
    Social Media Policy
    Staff Burnout
    Staff Engagement
    Staff Retention
    Staff Training
    Strategy
    Success
    Talent
    Talent Acquisition
    Talent Retention
    Team
    Teamwork
    Tech In HR
    The Jungle Book
    Training
    Trust
    Unfair Dismissal
    Vacation
    Whistleblower
    Work Arrangements
    Working Parents
    Workplace
    Workplace Bullying
    Workplace BYOD Policy
    Workplace Conflict
    Workplace Discrimination
    Workplace Harassment
    Workplace Health
    Work Related Stress
    Zero Hour Contract

    RSS Feed

HR Department, 49 Hollybank Avenue, Lower Ranelagh, Dublin 6, Ireland.
 
Phone : +353 87 852 7723
E-mail: [email protected]

Registered in Ireland under company number 348834

Testimonials

Fallon and Byrne

“As a medium –sized business, we could not justify having an in-house HR person. The HR department provided the perfect solution for us, giving us access to all of the expert advice we needed on an outsourced basis"

READ MORE!
Website by Chevron Studio