“Regifting” commonly happens during the holiday season and birthdays. You receive that present from someone and are so excited to see what it is, and what it can become for you. But once you open it up to see what it is, you realize that it’s just not a fit for you at all. So you smile externally, wince internally, and resolve to pass it along to another person where it will be of greater use, appreciation, and value.
The same thing can happen with employees. You make the hire and are so excited to see the gift that their contribution can be your organization. But after a time, you realize that this relationship is not the fit you thought it might be. This too, is time for regifting.
When Is It Time To Regift Employees?
There are at least three reasons to regift employees. The first is the most easy to understand — when they are simply not a fit for the organization. The other two reasons happen either because the position becomes a bad fit for the employee over time, or conversely because the employee becomes a bad fit for the position over time.
1. When the position becomes a bad fit for the employee over time
Regifting employees can reflect the company’s commitment that people are their most important resource. The idea is to keep your people whenever you possibly can, and find the workplace home for them even if it means that they cross disciplinary boundaries.
For example, I recently attended the summit of a client vendor partner of ours. A friend of mine (and employee of that company) spoke to me about being regifted by the company. She had worked in sales for them for many years, had done great over time and continued to produce. She was still a good fit for the job, but felt like she wasn’t learning any more. The position was becoming a bad fit for her.
She approached the CEO about this, and he immediately told her she could move in any direction she wanted. So she went to marketing, got trained and integrated, and is now being incredibly productive in her new role.
Regifting this person left her understanding that she is her contribution, not the job she occupies.
The gift in this case is that the employee is able to contribute to the team in many ways, has a broader view of how these two areas of the company function, and how they can best interact. The long term impact of this practice is a profound effect on creating the positive culture that lasts long past the initial regifting.
2. When the employee becomes a bad fit for the position over time
We had a recent regifting in our own company. A person came into our work family and had a hard time adapting to the dynamic needs of our growth. They work hard, try hard, are engaged, and are a total team player.
However, as we needed to expand the functionality of the products they manage, their progress sputtered, outcomes were affected, and it became harder for them to keep up. We could have had this person continue doing what they were doing, limping along, but over time chafe and frustration would build up on all sides. Because the needs of the position were dynamic and this person had a tough time expanding with it, the employee was becoming a bad fit for the position.
In this case, we tried another development area, but the skillset was just not there either. But we really didn’t want to give up on the positive spirit they brought to the team, so we tried again with another area, and they have now found a productive home there.
The gift in this case was not giving up on a person because conditions changed. Again, the contribution to our company is the person, not the job they occupy.
3. When the employee no longer is a fit for the organization
Regifting employees can also be necessary when they are just not a fit for the organization itself. The end result of this of course is that they need to be let go.
A while back we hired a person who learned programming on his own, was self-made, seemed driven, and had worked at a number over very large companies. At the time, we were very impressed by the employment pedigree.
Given their history, this person was accustomed to working in a little office, doing a discrete job, and completing work on a timeline that large companies are used to.
But we are a small company. Everyone helps everyone, and we are cross-disciplinary by design. So this person was asked to contribute to conversations that didn’t directly involve the job he was hired to do. They were taken aback with the need to rapidly shifting focus from an existing project when clients needed, and completing projects at a certain pace. This collaborative work ethic is a natural part of our small company culture, but was foreign to their large company experience.
He just wanted to do his job and be left alone.
Needless to say there was much frustration on all sides. After some time, we met and I let them know that this was completely my fault. This was a classic mismatch between the big company culture they were comfortable in, and the dynamic demands of a small company like ours. My communication was that this person needed to find a work home that fit with them, and who they are.
The gift in this case may sound self-serving, but I do believe this person needed to find a workplace home that fit who they are, and unfortunately we were just not it. So we made the call to let them go and find a place that worked for them, and not just the other way around.
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Regifting employees is a solution that is applied for a misaligned employee-employer fit. Transitioning employees in this way happens when they are treated as dynamic team players, rather than static cogs in a corporate machine. Finding that right fit, whether it is within your organization or outside of it, fosters a renewal of purpose that boosts creativity, energy, and builds a positive work culture for the long term.
