What is a lateral career move?
A lateral career move is when an employer transfers an existing employee to another position at the same career and pay level as their original job. The new position will likely have different duties, which means that workers taking a lateral promotion will typically change career tracks. Nevertheless, the employee maintains benefits such as health insurance and paid time off (PTO).
Reasons employees seek lateral moves
Creating opportunities for lateral moves within your organization not only gives employees options for further development within your company but also showcases your commitment to their future career goals. Here are some reasons workers may want to make a lateral move while waiting to ascend your company’s career ladder.
Job dissatisfaction
Sometimes employees are happy with your company and its culture, but not so happy with their current role within it. This may occur because they don’t feel challenged by the job or, on the flip side, feel overwhelmed with work. Problems with coworkers or personality conflicts with leadership may also prompt employees to seek a lateral career move. When those employees are otherwise good at their jobs, it makes sense to move them to spots where they have a better chance to thrive and shine.
Stability concerns
Workers on the front line often see issues occurring before management, so it’s not surprising that some may seek a lateral career move due to a lack of work in their current positions. This boots-on-the-ground insight means that when employees bring this type of concern to your attention, you should listen and analyze the situation from their point of view. Proactive lateral moves like these may also benefit your company by better balancing staff workloads and reducing the risks of layoffs or downsizing.
Need for relocation
A change of scenery sometimes helps workers feel more satisfied with their jobs, so relocating them to another area with a lateral career move keeps their knowledge and skills within your company. A need for relocation may occur for numerous reasons, including a spouse having to relocate for their own jobs, and many times, the employee wants to stick with your company. This means that team members who need to move to areas where your business doesn’t have a physical location may also be good candidates for remote work opportunities.
Desire for growth
When promotions aren’t available, some employees see a lateral career move as a way to boost their chances at promotions that open up down the road. Exposure to varied areas of your business allows ambitious employees to see how every facet operates together as a whole, which puts them at an advantage over workers who lack that clarity. Since ambitious workers are typically hard workers, it often makes sense for your business to find spots for them to hone their skills and maximize their potential.
Benefits of lateral promotion
Some workers may be hesitant to make a sideways move rather than a promotion, but the benefits of a lateral career move often outweigh any temporary feeling of stagnancy. In fact, a lateral move can provide employees with the extra amount of transferable skills and leadership opportunities that help them get the promotion they want later.
Improve worker skill sets
One of the main advantages of lateral career moves is that they provide employees with a chance to expand their skills to other areas of your business. Not only do they learn new things they can transfer to other job positions, but they also discover how each facet of the company works together to create complete products or services. Knowing how everything functions often lets ambitious employees with lateral moves under their belt innovate because they understand all the moving parts.
Reduce employee burnout
Sometimes good employees get stuck in a rut and don’t perform as well as they should—or want to. A change of scenery with a lateral move may help prevent those types of employee burnout situations, which in turn, may help reduce turnover by improving the job satisfaction and performance of the employee making the lateral move. Likewise, moving a loyal employee to a position with a lower workload can help them strike a better work-life balance so they don’t experience burnout again in the long term.
Prepare staff for management
Good managers understand how their teams fit into the overall picture of your business. With that in mind, lateral promotion offers those with leadership potential a way to learn more about how the company operates while acquiring skills transferable to a management position down the road. For example, when salespeople wish to move up, it helps when they understand other areas of the business, such as operations and logistics. That understanding helps ensure they don’t overpromise clients or miss key details when training those beneath them.
Balance staff workloads
If you consistently find one department overstaffed and underworked or understaffed and overworked, a lateral promotion may be your best move. In both situations, your company isn’t making the best use of its resources, so laterally shifting some employees between departments keeps your business efficient and may help workers feel like they’re doing their part while maintaining a good work-life balance.
Expand networking opportunities
An employee making a lateral career move naturally meets new people, and this change of pace may invigorate more extroverted members of your staff. Likewise, the worker gets more opportunities to network and form relationships with people in other departments and leadership, and your business gets to see how the worker performs in situations where they’re the new team player.
When a lateral career move isn’t possible
When your business can’t handle moving an ambitious employee wanting a lateral move, opportunities for mentorship may scratch their itch for a change of pace. Options for shadowing someone in another department within your organization lets workers get a taste of what the position entails and fulfills their desire to learn more about your company. Likewise, mentorship and shadowing arrangements help you build an open and welcoming company culture that makes employees want to stay, regardless of whether they can get a lateral move or promotion in the short term.
When you want to keep an employee who wants a change, but you don’t feel they’re ready for a promotion or have an open position for them at a higher pay scale, a lateral move may be just the thing. Moving sideways may not always be exactly what workers want, but that lateral movement has numerous advantages for both your company and employees, including demonstrating a commitment by both to stick to your company culture and vision.
Lateral career move FAQs
Do lateral career moves include a bigger salary?
Most of the time, lateral career moves within the same company have a similar pay scale, but some instances may warrant a bump in pay. These instances include movement to positions that have more responsibility or balancing out pay when someone moves from an hourly to salary job. In those instances, the employee typically receives pay commensurate with what others in the same position get.
What are the disadvantages of a lateral move?
Not all lateral moves are advantageous, and some employees may not flourish in their new positions. Likewise, your company may miss out on their knowledge and experience while training someone else for their old job. In these instances, a lateral move may even cause turnover when the worker isn’t a good fit for the job or team.
Is a lateral career move a promotion?
While a lateral move may be termed as a promotion, most of the time, it’s more of a transfer rather than a job promotion. Workers who choose a lateral career move usually make the same amount of money and hold a similar job title to the one they previously held.
