Job Experimentation: Name of the game!

[hari]

Every employee has a special talent and aptitude, sometimes undiscovered by the employer. This, in itself, necessitates the need for having the practice of job experimentation in organisations. Each one has a different set of strengths and capabilities. But sometimes, slotting him/her in just one area tends to curb an employee's growth. Taking cue from this, employers are realising the importance of providing opportunities to their employees to try out different job roles.

Experimenting at work not only helps an individual grow, but also an organisation at large. "Every employee has a unique set of strengths and if these can be utilised in the organisation, then both the employee and the organisation can benefit," says Arun Kumar, executive vice president, human resources, Godfrey Phillips India.

Many organisations are providing their employees an opportunity to try out diverse roles. If s/he is an expert in something and is made to do what they've already been doing, it harvests their knowledge.

"Though an individual's role may demand specialisation in a particular area, we encourage employees to acquire knowledge/skill in other complimentary areas as well. This practice ensures continuous employee growth, both personally and professionally, adds Sanjay Khendry, vice president, Sierra Atlantic.

For a company, it is required to build a pool for people who know more than one thing. As one goes higher in an organisation, everybody would want to reach a level where they are extremely good at something, but at the same time know how to handle more than one thing. A blend of everything is required.

"A great sales person can also be a great administrator, and at the same time a great painter. If the dedication and commitment is there, you can do well in whatever you do," feels B. Anant, head - human resources, ICICI Lombard.

ICICI Lombard firmly believes in this philosophy. "If there are 20 guys in a team and two of them are extremely innovative and brilliant, we encourage them to come up with more ideas. Recognising their talent, sending them for programmes where they can hone their skills are the methods we adopt for the same, asserts Anant.

However, what companies need to watch out for is that experimentation for the sake of experimentation is not something that works to their advantage. No improvement is possible unless a well thought out experiment with clear business objectives is carried out. "Under our six sigma initiative we are, at any given point of time, carrying out numerous experiments for systematic improvements following the principles of design of experiment," says Kumar.

Narrow domain expertise can translate into a lack of versatility that prevents the employee from being useful except in very limited situations. On the other hand, a little of everything is a lot of nothing, so there must be a balance in developing multiple areas of expertise—building a level of versatility—but not diluting the focus so much that the employee ends up at being great at nothing.

"For professionals whose strengths lie more in the area of organisational and people management, we focus their development around team management or client management. So there are several directions in which an employee can grow," opines Sanjay Kamlani, co- founder & co-CEO, Pangea3.

In today's dynamic business environment, nothing is water-tight. Since various functions within an organisation are inter-dependent, it helps to encourage employees to learn other functions as well. This not only adds to the individual's skill set but also provides him/her with a well-rounded view of the organisation. It also equips them with different options in terms of the role they can choose depending on their area of interest.

"Job experimentation is handling multiple tasks related to different departments, multiple projects and multi-skilled teams," says Jojan Thomas, head, HR - Arvind Brands Megamart.

Thus, companies from various sectors are giving more and more opportunities to their employees to perform new roles, hence broadening their area of operations. This enables employees to become more well-rounded professionals, who are able to handle any situation, and thereby, take the company to the next level.