Talented employees are hard to find, so human resource personnel have to provide all the prerequisite tools for improvement and betterment of this skilled workforce. After investing all the crucial amount of time into on-boarding new staffers and training them, it is hard to let go off valuable employees.

However, coming to terms with reality, the fact is there are some employees who are in the right job at the right place in their career graph, while others soon realise they are a complete misfit for their job roles.

Identifying such employees who may be in the right company but wrong job roles, can be discovered through careful observation of tell-tale signs by the employee on different occasions on job – such as participation in extra-curricular activities wherein employee showcases his interest, talent and volunteering in projects outside of his job role, is their indirect way of indicating commitment towards the company, but dissatisfaction with their current job role.

How do you approach such employees with a change in job role proposition?

It is required that senior project managers and team leads should have a conversation with such employees before changing their job roles. It would be great if bosses could come up with statements appreciating an employee’s contribution and ask if they would be willing to accept a job role change, wherein their potentials and skill sets could be used better.

If in case your organisation doesn’t support such approaches, perhaps a higher level human resource professional could help resolve this situation on hand.

See: Holistic and Proactive Approach to Total Talent Management

Dealing with employee while making the offer to move

When you are discussing about the probability of switching roles, it is always advisable to have an open-ended two-way conversation, instead of telling them directly that they are not good enough in their current job role and may be good at another. Play up on the person’s strengths and tell them your ideas, wait for their responses and reaction.

If you dictate change of job role within an organisation, perhaps the employee may not perceive this decision in the right spirit, and can think this is a punitive measure by an employer to show them the doors. Handle such critical situations tactfully without offending the employee.

How do you announce the job role change?

To maintain the workplace culture, it is important that the job role change decision be supported by decision makers at all levels. This move or transition of an employee in a different job role within an organisation should be treated like a promotion, with the same fanfare.

Communicate respectfully such announcements, such that other employees who are looking for new job roles can approach you for an opportunity, instead of looking outside for suitable career growth.

These will ensure that talented and dedicated individuals are engaged within your organisation, but are not necessarily in the right job role. Some amount of time and attention to this employee, who is hard working but seeks a better opportunity for job satisfaction, can be met through analysing his/her strength and finding them a perfect role match.

This can be one of the solutions to facilitate talent retention within an organisation, when the war for talent is intensifying in proportions across industries.

If the transition is handled correctly, without offending the individual’s personal interests or feelings, then it can make the employee feel motivated to perform better with tremendous zeal in their new job roles. It will create a win-win situation for both the employee(s) and an organisation, which can leverage on the employee’s talents and strengths for supporting the company’s long-term growth objective.

Also read: Top 10 Talent Trends Shaping the World of Work and HR in 2015