"Employees Won't Stay In An Organization Which Is Stagnant And Does Not Provide An Opportunity To Grow"

As organisations begin to tread the line beyond traditional linear career, talent mobility has become a prominent trend in today’s landscape. This practice allows employees to explore different opportunities & expand their horizon. This further provides employees stable ground to develop their career in a more holistic manner, consequently leading to free talent flow within the organisation. Due to its pros, talent/internal mobility is gaining momentum, and becoming an important pillar for employee’s well-being & retention.

Amdoc's Lynette D'Silva, Head of Regional HR - India & APAC s, with its people-centric approach, introduces the ‘internal mobility policy’. Over time, this policy has been revised & now employees can apply for movement within the organisation after 12 months, rather than the standard 24 months. At Amdocs, career development is supported by endless accessible and varied learning opportunities.

1. How does internal mobility benefit an employee?

Over the last few decades, the business space has transformed drastically. Employees look out for organizations that allow them to have different career experiences. This has catapulted companies to choose internal mobility where employees shift across distinct roles within an organization. It supports the long-term employability of the workforce by motivating them to shift roles, projects, and work assignments. As per a report shared by Deloitte, internal talent mobility can boost employee engagement by 30%. Since reskilling is a critical element to achieving internal mobility, employees who are developing and are allowed to learn other things outside of their fields not only expand their skill set but also become more engaged with the company. Engaged employees equate to better productivity, work satisfaction, and job retention. Moving talent internally ensures employees gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of business functions and empowers them to be better leaders as they naturally progress to higher positions. Internal mobility must be seen as a natural career step for all employees who are willing to focus on learning and growth, balancing an employee’s desire to develop with a company’s investment in them.

2. Keeping in mind the above question, is this policy just as beneficial for the organisation as well?

Internal mobility is a win-win situation where employees benefit from learning new skills and organizations grow and prosper with a productive workforce. According to a LinkedIn Workplace Learning report, companies that excel at internal mobility can retain their employees for twice as long as those who struggle with it. Employees will not stay in an organization which is stagnant and does not provide an opportunity to grow. By adopting a thorough program of internal mobility, you are future-proofing your workforce. It shows that you actively want to nurture talent and promote development within your organization which acts as an attractive proposition for any employee.

Moreover, recruiting from outside is more expensive than rotating internally. Having a talent pool with skills and knowledge relevant to your business is important in filling up vacant positions within your company faster, easier, and more importantly a readily available workforce that can quickly assimilate in the organization culture.

3. Do you believe that internal mobility is undertaken by organisations for employee holistic well-being or retention?

Organizations’ efforts to retain top talent and ensure the holistic well-being of the employees are both interrelated. By assisting employees to achieve their goals, you can encourage them to build their career in the company for many years to come. An external

hire’s productivity takes considerable amount of time. Internal promotions can improve employee motivation and morale, resulting in improved productivity for both individuals and organisations. Identifying and developing individuals’ capabilities helps deliver better business results through engaged employees. It provides opportunities for employees to grow and also ensures overall holistic well-being as career mobility boosts employees’ morale & happiness.

4. Employee satisfaction is one of the key pillars of an organisation’s success. Does this policy enable this in any manner?

As per the “Indeed India Hiring Tracker HY2 2021” which is based on a survey conducted by Valuvox among 1,219 employers and 1,511 employees during October and November 2021, job satisfaction was solely ranked as 'very' or 'most' important aspect for 68 per cent of surveyed employees, followed by salary and job satisfaction for 62 per cent. This denotes that being happy and satisfied at work is

crucial for today’s workforce. Thus, it is imperative for organizations to enable an environment within the organization that promotes job satisfaction as it ultimately leads to higher productivity, more creativity and collaboration and lower turnover.

As today’s workforce look out for larger responsibilities and growth, just mentoring, training, and giving constant feedback doesn’t lead to job satisfaction. This is where internal mobility is essential as it opens doors for employees to broaden their skill set through various programmes of reskilling and upskilling. Giving employees a chance to grow has a ripple effect on their colleagues and reiterates the message that efforts have been rewarded. At Amdocs, we firmly believe that internal mobility is a powerful tool that promotes job satisfaction for our employees and promotes workplace productivity.

5. In the current work landscape wherein hybrid model has become a norm, how well does internal mobility fit?

As Hybrid work model becomes the new normal, so does flexibility. As flexibility becomes a priority, employees started to leave jobs which didn’t meet their expectations, resulting in great resignation & reshuffling across all industries. In such a landscape internal mobility is a perfect solution for both, employees & organisations. In order to retain and create a valuable talent pipeline, internal mobility plays a crucial role. By providing cross-functional experiences, job rotations, and exposure to various types of projects allows for holistic growth for employees. It can be well considered as a convergence point where flexibility & growth meet enabling the employee to reach their full potential.

6. Is internal mobility policy undertaken by Amdocs? If yes, what were the factors considered by Amdocs while adapting this policy?

As an organization, we always encouraged internal mobility policy across levels. In fact, last year, we revamped our policy. We reduced the eligibility to 12 months for employees to apply to new positions within the organization. Several factors considered while selecting the employees when moving internally are skills, competencies & willingness to learn & unlearn. Employees who do not get selected are also trained by our experts to reflect on their journey & help them succeed in the process.

7. Are there any initiatives set in place at Amdocs to ensure an effective adaptation of this policy?

To enable business strategy, we build versatile talent through upskilling and reskilling initiatives. This helps our workforce to try different roles. We enable development at all levels through various interventions. We have DEAL -drop everything and Learn Hours dedicated for our employees learning, wherein they are incentivised to dedicate time for their personal & career growth.

8. What are the changes witnessed within the organisation since rolling out the policy?

This policy allows for employees who have been in their current role for 12 months to apply for new positions within the organization. Amdocs saw a surge in employees opting for internal mobility & 27% career development growth was recorded among our employees. In the present time wherein, quiet quitting becomes prevalent across all industries, constant career growth and free flow enable employees to be more resilient & motivated.

9. What is your advice for organisations that are yet to adopt internal mobility policy?

The industry has evolved at a fast pace with data as a new currency & technology advancement creating new opportunities to learn and grow. This changing landscape of work and workplace has

changed the paradigms of who, how, where, and when work is done. Scalability and speed is the key. The ones who can adapt to this new format of working and learning will be able to sustain & grow in this ever-changing environment. As HR professionals, we too need to reinvent, redesign & rebuild our policies to stay relevant. Internal Mobility policy is one such policy that helps to retain employees by providing new growth opportunities that align with employees' long term career goals and business priorities. Its an opportunity for employees to build versatile career paths and also help organizations to bridge the gap to meet business needs.