This past September, I sent the May 2014 PM Innovation Edge article, “Networking Leads to Better Results” by Karen Thoreson and Greg Stopka, to the Flagstaff, Arizona, leadership team for first reading. The article explains how management talent exchanges can be beneficial. City Manager Kevin Burke then asked if I would present it to the team for discussion. This article explains our outcome.

Management exchanges have been a concept discussed for internal application within our organization since I arrived in Flagstaff in 2011. Because the budget had improved, we were able to consider some innovative programs in 2014. Having worked in Phoenix, Arizona, some years ago where I observed the rotation among middle and upper management, I was familiar with a talent exchange program.

Manager Burke introduced his idea of “Refresh” on July 1, rotating two department directors for the first time. Community development—which includes engineering, building inspections, planning, and code compliance—swapped with management services, which involves finance/budgeting and procurement.

Several smaller, temporary rotations were started that have evolved into specific areas of the organization. The idea of rotations had not been attempted by Flagstaff staff before in any formalized or ongoing effort. The organization is getting used to the idea now, so we walked slowly at first.

Benefits

In part, our ”Refresh” has boosted morale, given a new set of eyes and perhaps approach to traditional functional areas, helped develop organizational talent, and expanded staff capacity, in some instances. In human resources, for example, we needed to cut the second-level personnel in the department during the 2008–2009 recession; however, this left only employees at the next lower level who had the experience doing the line work that was needed.

When I assumed HR responsibilities in July 2014, I prepared my assessment and asked the city manager if we could implement a nine-month rotation with a temporary employee. This person would become the HR manager and assume some of the workload to free up our HR director for other projects while also learning a new field and new skills.

The employee who accepted the offer worked in the recreation division. She began to work closely with the HR director and also take on special work projects to help eliminate the department’s backlog. When this article was written, we didn’t know if the position would become a permanent position for budget approval in 2015.

If nothing else, it gives the staff member real-time experience in human resources, cross-training, and career options, if she chooses them, while also assisting the city’s HR director.

What’s Next?

The PM article gave us a useful jumping-off point for application and discussion internal to our organization here in Flagstaff. We have also begun thinking about how to accomplish some partnership exchanges in the county and with other regional partners.