Development Assignments
Career development will not always be in terms of upward progression and promotion. The opportunity for promotion within an organisation may not exist at the time or the individual may not have the skills and experience to qualify for promotion.
In these cases development assignments should be encouraged to provide individuals with the opportunity to develop relevant skills and experience or to safeguard against demotivation.
Guidance
Development assignments could include:
- External secondments
- Managed career break schemes
- Internal secondments, project assignments, work-shadowing
- International assignments.
Lateral moves can be problematic. Employees can see them as negative interventions if the are attached to the concept that career movements must be in a upward direction. It is perceived managers often resist releasing their staff for lateral moves or secondments, wanting to hang on to valued staff and only ‘let go’ of the poorer performers. This reinforces the negative perceptions of lateral moves. Developmental assignments need to be ‘sold’ positively to all of the parties concerned.
The return from development assignments or secondments needs to be carefully facilitated. If the individual wishes to apply their new skill or to disseminate their new knowledge but returns to the same job with no opportunity to do so, it can lead to disappointment and demotivation.
Tools
Finance Interchange Opportunities Framework – Framework for development assignments and the responsibilities of individuals, managers, and heads of profession, used with The Ministry of Justice.
Making Finance a Compulsory Placement - A 60 second interview with an NIO fast streamer who experienced a mandatory placement in the finance function.