Redesign the role
So! Now we have clarity on the role, which components should be kept and which removed?
If your goal is to reduce the hours worked, keep the ‘highest value’ work.
If your goal is to make the role accessible by someone with a disability or health condition, consider the types of work that are difficult to do physically (requiring hearing, sight or frequent movement for example).
Where does the work go?
The work needs to either be stopped, automated or go to another person! If it needs to be done by someone else, consider:
Looking for spare capacity and skill on your team or other teams. You may need to analyse those roles to see if or how these new responsibilities fit in. It is really important you look at the team overall when you redesign or design a new role.
Whether these new responsibilities might give a team member an opportunity to learn something new. If it means a promotion, there may be budget implications.
How to approach the role redesign
Collaborate! The best result will be when a team member and manager co-design the role together. We’re aiming for the best business and personal outcomes in one.
For some roles, it will make sense to divide the role into a ‘portfolio’: eg. types of clients for an account manager, divisions for an HR Business Partner, projects for a Project Manager.
When deciding the highest value work, ask: Are there bundles of work that only this person can do? What parts are most rewarding? Which parts are central to the role? Are there bundles of work that need to be kept together? Are there activities that are relatively unimportant and can be stopped?
Be creative! Role design is not an exact science. You are not looking for the ‘right answer’.
Check: Make sure you haven’t reduced the impact or level of the role.
Adjust KPIs/OKRs: If the hours and pay for a role are being reduced, the performance measures also need to change. We need to pro rata goals to ensure equity across talent or outcome rating systems and performance-based pay. There is a range of factors to consider at the time of role design, when leading an outcome-based team and during annual performance activities.
What about job share or job split?
If coverage across a week is important in this role, job share is a great option! Consider:
Strong team work to ensure updates on projects, people, products, etc, are captured with technology so the 1:1 live handover is focused on the softer elements and any urgent issues that require discussion.
Work rhythm. Dividing the week into two blocks minimises handovers to two per week.
Dividing tasks based on the work itself rather than on personality.
Ensuring job share partners are paid equally.
If the best talent for the roles are different levels, you can do a vertical job share, where one person reports to the other. Make sure you build people management into the role scope.
If ‘capability’ is important, or it is a ‘portfolio role’ as mentioned above, a job split is a great option! Our advice is to split the responsibilities into two part-time roles and treat separately.
