When Moving Sideways Makes Sense

In The Wall Street Journal, one of my favorite reporters, Chip Cutter, recently shared an example from Synchrony, where people can swap jobs for as few as 90 days or as long as a year. "[People] want the ability to think about doing something new and being empowered to do what's best for them," said the financial company's chief human resources officer, DJ Casto. The first outreach could be a bit rough, chief human resources officer Bob Toohey told The Wall Street Journal: "When you get a call from a recruiter internally, you start to go, Am I losing my job?" Companies such as PepsiCo have committed deep resources to internal skill development to support people's growth and employee retention within the organization. The company's myDevelopment program combines a skills-based approach with a database of jobs and individual needs that allows employees to apply for special stretch projects and find 90-day short-term assignments that allow them to test out new areas.