Facilities Career Mapping
Rotational Assignment Program
The purpose of the Rotational Assignment Program (RAP) is to offer temporary assignments aimed at providing flexible cross training, leadership development, and knowledge sharing opportunities for employees working in facilities departments at
Cornell University. The program provides two types of experiences for employees including:
1) skill development opportunities that tend to be lateral opportunities to broaden knowledge base and skills, and
2) leadership development opportunities that tend to be opportunities with increased management responsibilities or broader responsibilities to gain higher level experience.
The program will help work towards Division of Facilities Services Strategic Goal #3.3 to provide opportunities to learn/experience other departments and to advance the
Facilities Career Mapping program. The program will help Cornell progress with efforts to increase succession planning activities, diversity development and retention, and support the initiatives created by the Facilities Career Mapping team.
The goal is for employees to gain new knowledge, skills, and professional growth as a result of the rotational assignment. Assignments will be supported by the employee, both the current and host supervisor, along with the department Director and Human
Resources. All parties involved will have an opportunity to discuss and endorse or not endorse the rotational assignment to ensure good fit for the employee and department.
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Facilities Career Mapping
Rotational Assignment Program
1) SKILL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Who can participate?
The rotational assignment program is open to high potential employees who are seeking skill development through general training and experience or change of work environment. This group of people has potential and seeks lateral opportunities to deepen technical knowledge and experience. Characteristics of these employees include:
1) Striving to work by Cornell University values of collegiality, stewardship, initiative, civility, integrity, and excellence
2) Desire to develop skills and knowledge base
3) Works well with others
4) Dependable, good work ethic
5) Continuous focus on improving performance through learnings*
*Of note, the goal is to increase performance through learning. With that in mind, the individual’s performance, or past performance rating, is not the key focus. Development to improve growth and development to achieve or exceed performance expectations and/or develop into a new role, is the key focus.
How do employees express interest in a skill development rotational assignment?
Employees should work with their supervisors if there is interest in a skill development rotational assignment. It will be up to the supervisor to create opportunities with other facilities areas across campus for the employee if all criteria are satisfied. These types of opportunities are largely driven from the supervisor or employee setting up opportunities with a supervisor in another area that can provide the growth and learning desired by the individual.
Open and honest discussions should be held to let employees know where they stand and what they need to do in order to be considered for a skill development rotational assignment. These discussions should happen throughout the year and also during the continuous creation of the employee’s Individual Development Plan (IDP) during their performance dialogue.
How does a supervisor develop a skill development rotational assignment opportunity?
Supervisors work with each other to develop skill development rotational assignment opportunities. HR can help supervisors through creating and describing the opportunities.
The Staff Position Description (SPD) format can be utilized to outline the rotational assignment. The length of the assignment and expected outcomes should be specified.
The length of most rotational assignments should be under one year.
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Facilities Career Mapping
Rotational Assignment Program
How are employees selected for specific skill development assignments?
The host supervisor is responsible for coordinating with the employee, the employee’s current supervisor, the Director, and HR should be involved to ensure consistency and fairness of the program.
Two supervisors (the individual’s current supervisor and the host supervisor) can develop a rotational assignment for a specific individual or group of people based on mutual interest between the person’s career goals and the department’s business needs.
It is suggested that the current supervisor ask employees what growth opportunities they are interested in, and upon learning the employee’s interests, the supervisor contacts the following in an order that makes sense to them:

HR to help them initiate the skill development assignment

A potential host supervisor to seek buy-in and initiate the skill development assignment

The Director to keep them up to date and to seek input.
How are the skill development rotational assignments funded?
The funding for each assignment needs to be discussed with the current and host supervisor. Funding models are different across the university making the funding for each assignment different. See your HR manager or supervisors who have participated in previous skill development assignments for models that have been used.
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Facilities Career Mapping
Rotational Assignment Program
2) LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The rotational assignment is open to high potential and high performing employees who are viewed as the emerging leaders of the organization. These are employees who would benefit from doing higher level work to gain leadership and management skills.
Characteristics of these employees include:
1) Exemplifies Cornell University values of collegiality, stewardship, initiative, civility, integrity, and excellence
2) Consistent performance rating of at least 4
3) Desire to develop into management positions
4) Works well with others
5) Dependable, excellent work ethic
How do employees express interest in a leadership development rotational assignment?
There are various ways to enter into a rotational assignment for leadership development purposes. There will be an annual call for nominations into the program. Supervisors will also have the opportunity to nominate individuals throughout the year. Annually, the entire pool of nominees will be reviewed to ensure employees in the pool remain eligible based on performance ratings and other criteria. The annual process will help keep the pool of candidates fresh and enable employees who aren’t eligible during the current year to participate the following year if circumstances change. This call for nominations will happen after performance ratings have been submitted and divisions have conducted talent review discussions.
To nominate an employee, supervisors can submit the candidate’s resume and complete the nomination information form. The pool of candidates nominated into the program will be maintained by CUFA HR.
Open and honest discussions should be held to let employees know where they stand and what they need to do in order to be considered for a rotational assignment.
These discussions should happen throughout the year and also during the employee’s Individual Development Plan creation during their performance dialogue.
1.) Supervisors can nominate high potential and high performing employees who are viewed as the emerging leaders of the organization to CUFA HR.
Employees can ask their supervisors to be considered for a rotational assignment based on their own career interests. The supervisor then nominates the employee into the program, at the supervisor’s discretion of the employee’s readiness for a rotational assignment.
2.) Departments can develop their own nomination process internally with additional tools and resources to aim at helping identify future leaders and providing opportunities to grow and develop. Departments then forward their nominations to CUFA HR.
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Facilities Career Mapping
Rotational Assignment Program
How does a supervisor develop a leadership development rotational assignment opportunity?
Supervisors work with their Director and HR to create and define leadership development rotational opportunities available within their department. HR can help supervisors through creating and describing the opportunities. The Staff Position Description (SPD) format can be utilized to outline the rotational assignment. The length of the assignment and expected outcomes should be specified. The length of most rotational assignments should be under one year.
How are employees selected for specific leadership development assignments?
It is up to the host supervisor to choose a process format that fits their needs. A few options are outlined below. In all cases, supervisors, the Director, and HR should be involved to ensure consistency and fairness of the program.
1.) Supervisors can tap into the pool of nominated candidates. The SPD outlining the rotational assignment can be forwarded to the pool of candidates. Interested candidates speak with their supervisor and submit their candidacy to the host supervisor. The host supervisor would conduct interviews of the interested candidates and select someone to fill the rotational assignment. The host supervisor should hold conversations with the employee and their supervisor to communicate that a position is being offered to an employee. The three individuals should work together to determine expectations. The supervisors should work together to determine a funding model.
2.) Supervisors can select someone for a rotational assignment who has been nominated and meets the criteria on an individual basis while involving the candidate’s supervisor. The host supervisor should hold conversations with the employee filling the assignment, and that employee’s supervisor, to communicate the position is being offered. The three individuals should work together to determine expectations. The supervisors should work together to determine a funding model.
How are the leadership development rotational assignments funded?
The funding for each assignment needs to be discussed with the current and host supervisor. Funding models are different across the university making the funding for each assignment different.
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