INTERNAL MOBILITY

Chapter 8
Definition of internal mobility p3
Types of mobility-promotions, transfer & demotions p3
Factors & objectives of internal mobility p4&5
Promotions p6
Reasons for promotion p7
Effects of promotion p8
Criteria f or promotion p9
Promotion policy(seniority, merit, seniority vs merit, seniority
cum merit) p10-14
Transfer-2 conditions- individual & organizational driven p15-17
Need for transfer policy p18
Demotion - Why? & what are the policy p19-20

Glance of the chapter
Employee movement within the organization is called internal
mobility (lateral / Vertical)
3 kinds of movement
Upward mobility (promotions)
Sideward mobility (transfers)
Downward mobility (demotions)
Such movement may be between jobs, within sections, across
sections, or even between plants in multiplant operation
Definition
2 factors
individual (+ve/ -ve) Organisational
Main Objective:
To satisfy both organisational requirements and the needs of the employees in a
mutually acceptable manner
Reasons for Internal Mobility:
Restructuring of Organisation (increase of business/ constraints due to
competition / unavailability of staff / merging or adding depts/ relocating units)
Business expansion / introduction of new products/ services or processes
Employee turnover due to resignations/ dismissals/ succession Planning


Factors and Objectives
Maximum utilization of available manpower to achieve the Organizational goals
Internal mobility acts as a motivational force and has an impact on employee
attitudes
Cost and time effective in-terms of recruiting and training a fresh candidate
Matching the competence of the employee with job requirement
Reduces job destruction
Internal mobility is more related to the biographic profile of the employees
Promotions and demotions purpose of operational adjusments
Transfers purpose of economic adjustments

Objectives of Internal Mobility
Upward reassignment of an individual in an Organisations hierarchy
accompanies with
Increase in responsibility
Enhanced status
Increased income


Promotions
Promotion Post up gradation
Change in responsibility, status and
income
Change in income, some times change in
designation, whereas responsibilities
remains same
Promotion is a way of important form of recruitment within the
organisation
Business growth expansion in production, marketing and
employment
It is a reward for effective performance of the job due to
employee commitment- enhance job satisfaction and loyalty to the
orgn
Strategic move to retain the good performers



Reasons for Promotion
Ungroomed or less trained employee when promoted not capable of
handling new responsibilities makes an organization to lose a good pre-
promoted effective employee & gets a highly ineffective promoted employee
Instead being a morale booster, may act as de motivator for employees not
interested in promotion due to family, social and economic reasons
If promotion criteria is not very transparent, among 2 employees of same
cadre, one being promoted but not the other one leads to demotivation.


Effects of Promotion
Based on various research the following criterias are listed down
Experience
Educational Qualification
Performance Appraisal
Written Test
Interview
Performance
Personality
Socio-environmental
Interpersonal relationship
Informal influences (religion, nationality, political affiliation,
membership of the right club and family connections



Criteria for Promotion
Promotion policy helps to formulate organizational manpower and individual career
plan
Based on the ratio framed by the union between internal promotion Vs external
recruitment, considering the qualification the promotion decisions are made
By identifying the network of related jobs (through job analysis) and promotional
channels for each job (succession Planning)
Promotion by consideration of disciplinary action
Promotion is not the only means of wage rise for an employee in a pyramid type of
organisation
Promotion should be a twofold balance (Win-Win situation) between individual
(fulfilling individual aspiration) and organisation (achieving Orgn mission)


Promotion Policy (based on culture, size,, business/
based on seniority/ merit)
Length of service of the employee in an Organization (job experience
First In First Choice)
Difficulty in finding out the seniority (plant wise/ unit wise/ occupation wise)
Mostly it is considered unit wise unless it has a homogenous technology.
For white collared employee - technical background, general job, legal or other
specialized job and general stream
Escapes chances of favoritism and discrimination
Reverse effect of seniority Trained incapability
Reduces employee turnover

Promotion based on Seniority
Promotion of deserving employees based on the assessment of
their abilities for higher responsibility and status
Difficulties
Devices used for judging ability such as performance appraisal
ratings, confidential reports, tends to have bias in judging
merits.
Difficulties in indentifying the characteristics traits of a person
Issue of merit cum ability

Promotion based on Merit
Management prefers merit to be the basis for promotion whereas
Unions want seniority to be considered.
Drawback is that when seniority is considered the merit or ability is
ignored yet it is essential to function effectively.
There is no incentives for employees to learn or improve if
promoted based on seniority.
It may undermined the morale of others
Problem in claiming seniority rights when it comes to employees
joined on the same day
Promotion based on seniority is a reward for loyalty


Seniority Vs Merit
Most organizations have tried to combine seniority and merit where the
basic principle is to consider the years of services (minimum years of
service required for a particular designation) as a first step and subjected to
merit requirements.
Recently Indian organizations focus on designing and implementing a
formal promotion policy.
Some organizations have promotion committee(final selection body) which
assigns weight age to various segments like seniority, written test, warning
notes, leave/ absenteeism records, disciplinary charges and so on.
Seniority in the grade/ category is considered in some company rather than
seniority in the company.


Seniority cum Merit
Transfer is a change in job assignment which involves-
Promotion or demotion or no change in responsibility and status
Either temporary or permanent depending upon the need
Transfer within the department, between departments and divisions
or between plants, within a company
Two main conditions for transfer:
Individual driven transfer
Organization driven transfer


Transfer
To acquire better working condition
To join friends/ families & its responsibilities
To avoid interpersonal conflicts
To reduce commuting distance
To pursue educational opportunities
To accommodate dual career programs
If transfer is denied in individual requests, it may leads to attrition


Individual driven Transfer
Need for temporary adjustments such as leave replacement or very
short assignments
To make use of the competent employees
Transfer from one shift to another on the same type of work
Job Rotation
Transfer for training for later promotion
Sometimes employee in managerial cadre if transferred through
company is entitled to certain benefits such as increase in pay or
reimbursement of moving charges if geographical changes is
involved.


Organization driven Transfer
The absence of a well formulated transfer policy will lead to uncertainty
among employees( favouritism)
Elements of transfer policy:
Clear statement on conditions and circumstances under which an employee
will be transferred
Transferability based on job or individual should be examined in terms of
JD between dept, division, plants and streams
Should mention on what basis transfer is done (seniority / merit)
Difference in pay scale / extra wages/ and prerequisites has to be
mentioned


Need for Transfer policy
It is a downward assignment in the organizational hierarchy, to a lower level
jobs with less responsibility, pay and status leads to employee dissatisfaction
Occur due to ve implications on the employees career and morale
Factors for demotion
Adverse business condition when the orgn go for lay off (First In Last Out)
Cases where promotion involves shifting the location (from a well established
domestic setup)
Mismatching between new responsibilities and employee ability / willingness
Disciplinary measure against errant employees


Demotion
Should be planned carefully
If demotion done due to economic situation, state labour department, trade
union, sometimes even government will be involved in final decision
Company policy should clearly warn about the infractions which could lead
to demotion
The supervisor should clearly and carefully communicate the company
situation to the employee when planned for demotion to avoid sudden
frustration
Creating a position for a person at the same pay and status but with the lower
job demands (white collared employees)


Demotion Policy
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