Job rotation opens up new perspectives

Maarit Elo
Maarit Elo
28.2.2024

Internal job rotation at Joo Group ensures that our organisation stays dynamic and fosters continuous learning in a unified community. Participants have embraced the newly launched programme with enthusiasm.

Henna in job rotation in the commercial team

At Joo Group, we've always had a strong desire to support our employees' development, both professionally and personally. The idea of job rotation initially came from our people, who expressed an interest in learning about the functions of other teams. We listened to their suggestions and decided to implement them with a Joo-like approach!

Our goal was to enable internal job rotation, where an employee gets to try out the tasks of another team for 1–3 days with a mentor, i.e. one of the local team members. This allows for a deeper understanding of our organisation, while enhancing our employees' skills and insights into different roles.

It was fantastic to have such an opportunity offered to us! I was surprised at how easy it was to get involved in such a short space of time. The team was very approachable and inspiring.

Salla, an administrative intern, job rotation in the commercial team

Teams are often tackling similar challenges, sometimes without realising it, and increased awareness of this helps them find common solutions. Job rotation between teams results in a better mutual understanding of ways of working and shared responsibilities, while increasing employees’ appreciation for their own and their colleagues' work.

Mentoring also opens up valuable learning opportunities. Anyone who is keen to share their expertise and guide their colleagues can become a mentor. Many of our mentors are now orientating other for the first time at Joo.

The job rotation was useful for both of us. We discussed how different issues affect both of our jobs. Now we understand the bigger picture better and can make more informed decisions in our daily work.

Jaakko, Asset Manager, a mentor to Kirsi

I applied for job rotation in administration because I was interested in understanding the composition and scale of the company's costs. I'm not a fan of Excel, which played a significant role, so that was challenging for me. But doesn’t growth often happen outside your comfort zone? We had great discussions on how to help rental representatives become more conscious of costs.

Kirsi, a rental representative, job rotation in administration

Job rotation was a great opportunity to get to know colleagues who I might not ordinarily interact with due to different roles. I acted as a mentor for two different Joo team members. I felt it was important to plan our days together well, making sure the programme was diverse enough. With Salla and Henna, we achieved a lot, and they both shared their ideas and thoughts very openly. Our time together was really rewarding!

Sanni, Digital Marketing Specialist, a mentor to job rotation participants in the commercial team

Henna in job rotation in the commercial team

Dozens of enthusiastic participants

Our employees have been extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity for job rotation. We've had dozens of applications for both participant and mentor roles, and the first exchanges have already taken place though the programme has only just started. The opportunities to get involved in a variety of roles is creating a happy buzz, and more job rotations between different teams are already being planned.

The programme has gathered plenty of positive feedback: with a mentor, you really get to dive deep into what another team's day involves and what they actually do. In contrast, if you're just observing a colleague's work from the sidelines, lots of little details can be easily missed.

The job rotation was exciting! It was fun to do different kinds of work and discover all the things that a property manager does. We went to a new project's acceptance inspection, responded to emails, coded keys, and approved invoices. I 'discovered' a whole new folder in our system, which I've now started using on a daily basis.

A job rotation participant in the property team

It was new to me to see how much takes place behind the scenes in customer services. Besides team jargon, I discovered incredible expertise. The calls were surprising! In my own team, we always get calls about the same topics, but customer services receive calls about anything and everything. That makes answering them exciting!

Janne, a rental representative, job rotation in customer services

I was immediately taken onboard in brainstorming and executing a marketing video. I got to try being in front of and behind the camera, as well as learning important lessons on what to consider in video production.

Salla, an administrative intern, job rotation in the commercial team

Salla in job rotation in the commercial team

From experiment to permanent practice

The job rotation programme is becoming a permanent fixture at Joo, open to employees at all stages of their career. There's no limit to how many times people can take part, and employees can apply to the programme by demonstrating their interest and motivation for job rotation.

We believe that through job rotation, we can maintain our organisation's dynamism and a continuously learning, unified community. The programme allows us to make the most of our employees' diverse skills, enabling positive connections across team boundaries. We believe we've already succeeded in this, thanks to our super wonderful and engaged Joo team members.

I was nervous to start with because the everyday tasks of the team were unfamiliar to me. In the end, I absolutely loved it and was delighted to see how my ideas and thoughts were appreciated! The job rotation experience was fantastic, and I was warmly welcomed into the team, thank you!

Henna, a rental representative, job rotation in the commercial team