Do not make someone reapply for work they already do

Career · Little Light original

A reorganisation changes the team names and redraws several roles. One employee discovers that the work she has carried for two years now appears as a vacancy. She is invited to apply, prepare examples and compete for the chance to continue doing what the organisation already trusted her to do. The process is called neutral; to her, it feels like her history has been erased. Sometimes a new role is genuinely different, and a fair selection process matters. Explain the difference precisely. Assess the evidence already available before demanding another performance. If the position is substantially the same, place the person into it and discuss any new expectations directly. Do not create theatre merely to make a difficult structure look objective. Change will ask people to tolerate uncertainty. It should not ask them to pretend their contribution is unknown. A thoughtful reorganisation can reconsider work without discarding dignity. Let the new structure begin with an accurate memory of who has already been holding it together.

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