TRANSFER

Organizations resort to another type of mobility of employees in order

to place the right employee in the right job. The type of mobility is
restricted to movement of an employee from one job to another in the
same level of organizational hierarchy is termed as transfer.

MEANING

Transfer is defined as the lateral shift causing movement of

individuals from one position to another usually without involving any
marked change in duties, responsibilities, skills needed or
compensation.

Transfer is also defined as the moving of an employee from one job

to another. It may involve a promotion, demotion or no change in job
status other than moving from one job to another. However, transfer
is viewed as change in assignment in which employee moves from
one job to another in the same level of hierarchy requiring similar skill
involving approximately same level of responsibility, same status and
same level of pay. Thus promotion is upward reassignment of a job;
demotion is a downward job whereas transfer is a lateral or horizontal
job reassignment.

REASONS

Transfers are basically of three categories, viz., employee-initiated

transfer, company initiated transfer and public initiated transfers. The
last one is when the employee is working in a Government service
and influenced for his good or bad by public elected members to the
ruling body of the country or state say a senate or a parliament.
Employee initiated is for the convenience of the employee and he or
she is in the good books of the employer. The other one is normally
initiated by the management for the requirement of the organization.
This takes place mostly in the areas of marketing and may or may not
be associated with a promotion.

Organizations resort to transfers with a view to attain the

following purposes:

(a) To meet the organizational requirements:

Organizations may have to resort to transfer of employees due to
changes in technology, change in volume of production, production
schedule, product line, quality of products, change in the job pattern
caused by the change in organizational structure, fluctuations in the
market conditions like demand fluctuations, introduction of new lines
and or dropping of existing lines. All these changes demand the shift
in job assignment with a view to place the right man in the right job.

(b) To satisfy the employee needs: Employees do need transfer in

order to satisfy their desire to work under a friendly superior, in a
department/region where opportunities for advancement are bright, in
or near their native place or place of interest doing a job where the
work itself is challenging etc.

(c) To utilize employees skill, knowledge etc where they are more
suitable or badly needed;

(d) To improve employees background by placing him, in different

jobs of various departments, units, regions etc. This develops the
employee and enables him to accept any job without any hesitation

(e) To correct inter-personal conflicts;

(f) To adjust the workforce of one section/plant in other section/plant
during layoff or closure or adverse business conditions or
technological change.

(g) To give the relief to the employees who are overburdened or

doing complicated or risky work for long period;

(h) To punish the employees who violate the disciplinary rules;

(i) To help employees whose working hours or place of work is

inconvenient to them.

(j) To minimize fraud, bribe etc which result due to permanent stay
and contact of an employee with customers, dealers, suppliers etc.

TYPES

Transfer can be classified into the following types,

Production transfer: transfers caused due to changes in production.

Replacement transfer: transfers caused due to initiation or

replacement of a longstanding employee in the same job.

Rotation transfer: transfers initiated to increase the versatility of

employees.

Shift transfers: transfer of an employee from one shift to another.

Remedial transfer: transfers initiated to correct the wrong

placements.
Penal transfer: transfers initiated as a punishment for in disciplinary
action of employees.

Lateral Transfer:

The following conditions constitute a Lateral Transfer:

· An employee is transferred to another area or department with

the same title, or the same salary range, if the title is different.

· No immediate salary action is to be taken. The base salary of the

transferred employee will be reviewed during the normal common
review process.

Voluntary Transfer:

The following conditions constitute a Voluntary Transfer:

· When an employee voluntarily elects to apply for a position and is

selected for the job which has a lower salary range than their current
position.

· When an employee actively volunteers to accept an open position

in a lower salary range because of a position elimination or
Departmental reorganization.

· The employee’s base salary should be established within 10% of

the new job’s salary range, not to exceed the salary range maximum
of the new position.

Involuntary Transfer:

The following conditions constitute an Involuntary Transfer:

· The employee’s current position is eliminated due to a

restructuring or reclassification and is transferred to a position in a
lower salary range.

· The employee will maintain his/her current base salary and follow
the normal common review process.
· If the employee’s salary exceeds the maximum salary rate of the
new position, the employee’s salary should be red-circled until the
salary range for that position is adjusted as part of the normal pay
range adjustment process.

BENEFITS

• Boost employee’s job satisfaction.

• Trims down employee’s boredom, monotony.
• Develops employee’s knowledge, skills, etc.
• Prepare employees to meet up organizational urgent needs.
• Correct interpersonal conflicts and mistaken placements.

PROBLEMS

• Cause expenditure and trouble to the employees and his family

members with respect to housing, education of children, etc.

• Adjustment troubles to the new job, surroundings, place,

colleagues, and superiors.

• Discrepancy transfers affect employee’s self-esteem,

commitment, job satisfaction, and contribution.

• Give rise to the loss of man-days.

PRINCIPLES

Organisations should clearly specify their policy regarding transfer.

Otherwise, superiors may transfer their subordinates illogically if they
do not like them. It causes frustration among employees. Similarly,
subordinates may also request for transfer even for petty issues.
Most of people may ask for transfer to riskless and easy jobs and
places. As such, on organization may find it difficult to manage the
transfer policy. Systematic transfer policy should contain the following
items:
• Specification of circumstances under which an employee will be
transferred in the case of company initiated transfer.
• Specification of a superior of a superior who is authorized and
responsible to initiate a transfer.
• Jobs from and to which transfers will be made based on the job
specification,
Description and classification etc.
• The region or unit of the organization within which transfer will
be administered.
• Reasons which will be considered for personal transfer, their
order of priority etc.
• Reasons for mutual transfer of employees.
• Norms to decide priority when two or more employees request
for transfer like priority of reason, seniority.
• Specification of pay, allowance, benefits etc. that are to be
allowed to the employee in the new job.
• Other facilities to be extended to be transferee like special
leave during the period of transfer, special allowance for
packaging luggage, transportation etc.
Generally, line managers administer the transfers and
personnel managers assist the line managers in this respect.