Trading Places Wendy Ledger looks at job swapping, a staff development scheme in which emp

Trading Places

Wendy Ledger looks at job swapping, a staff development scheme in which employees exchange jobs for a short period.

According to a recent survey, 77 per cent of people would prefer to work for a boss who offers training and learning in the workplace. One increasingly popular project is job swapping, which gives an insight into the daily challenges facing different people in different roles.

Olivia Yost is a divisional manager with Parker Bridge Ltd, and she recently swapped jobs with the salary controller there. Both were then able to appreciate the problems and pressures of each other's roles far more clearly. Yost says, 'I now have a better understanding of what the salary controller's work involves, and am more aware of my colleague's deadlines. This type of cross training is important, and having to learn about another person's role is a useful experience for bosses and employees alike. Job swapping also helps you to understand the way other departments work and gives you access to other teams within your firm. So it is of value both to the individual and the company as a whole.'

Sean Bradley, who works in central London, took his job exchange a lot further - all the way to Australia in fact. Last July, Sean and his colleague in the Sydney branch of their company swapped jobs. 'I loved it,' said Bradley. 'Primarily for geo- graphic reasons, but also because of the challenge of being the final decision-maker rather than reporting to a manager. It was my first management experience and I had to improve my skills on some IT specialisa-tions. I learnt a lot there, and it was useful too - I've had two promotions since I returned to London.'

Job swapping is an excellent first step towards improving and bringing variety to training and education in the workplace. Doing something else, even for one day, can highlight your abilities and talents, while at the same time drawing attention to any weaknesses. It can also focus the mind on future career possibilities. And even if you hate your time spent at someone else's desk, the worst that can happen is that you'll end up feeling that little bit better about returning to your usual job.

According to Olivia Yost, what did she gain from job swapping7

A．experience of a more stressful working environment

B．the skills required to gain promotion

C．an idea of the strict time limits other people face