The Ultimate Guide to Workforce Redeployment in 2025

Rapid Workforce Redeployment 

Employees are arguably the most critical factor in an organization’s ability to compete in the present moment and in the long term. An organization’s talent drives innovation and creates value. Turnover can have drastic organizational effects, such as losing company knowledge, which can pile on recruiting and training costs. 

What Is Redeployment? 

Workforce redeployment refers to moving employees or contractors into new roles rather than making them redundant. This strategy helps businesses retain talent, reduce layoffs, and fill critical skill gaps efficiently. The definition of redeployment extends beyond simple job transfers—it includes internal mobility, retraining, and reskilling employees to meet evolving business needs. Organizations that implement effective talent redeployment strategies support their workforce and ensure operational continuity during periods of change. 

When Does Redeployment Apply? 

Redeployment typically applies when businesses face restructuring, technological advancements, or economic shifts that affect workforce demands. Instead of losing valuable employees, companies can redeploy talented contractors or full-time staff into positions that align with their skills and potential. Rapid workforce solutions enable companies to quickly transition employees into new roles during mergers, acquisitions, or industry shifts. This proactive approach helps organizations stay agile while supporting employee career development. 

According to the Work Institute, loss of knowledge from employee turnover can cost anywhere from 33% to 200%, depending on the level of seniority and role complexity. This knowledge comes from time spent with a company and can require efficient training to overcome. Talent is invaluable in any organization, and preventing involuntary turnover is one factor that needs to be considered in a talent strategy. 

Additionally, organizations must be more agile than ever to deal with increased competition and global market forces. For example, organizations had to rapidly adjust to new working conditions when the pandemic impacted businesses worldwide. Unfortunately, many companies failed to adapt and went out of business or had to lay off hundreds or thousands of employees. Similarly, to remain competitive, organizations must be at the forefront of technology disruption, and in turn, management must understand how their existing workforce will fill new roles or support these changes. 

HR teams have been experimenting with other ways to reduce layoffs and improve organizational agility. Instead of layoffs, some organizations utilize rapid workforce redeployment. Not only can rapid workforce redeployment help reduce layoffs, but it can also help organizations be more agile in response to potential threats and changing needs. 

What Is Rapid Workforce Redeployment? 

Organizations have used workforce redeployment for some time. Typically, this entails transferring a current employee to a new role in the organization. Employees with the proper skill set, desire, potential, and experience would migrate and perform the new role. Workforce redeployment reduces the costs associated with recruitment, hiring, and onboarding. It can improve employee retention by providing transparency and a path within the organization that employees signed up for. 

Rapid workforce redeployment takes conventional strategies to the next level. This method involves rapidly moving talent into areas where it is needed most. Employees can be moved into growth areas if one business area is impacted. For example, innovation is a rapidly growing business area for many companies. Organizations can move talented employees into roles actively contributing to new business growth. 

What Is Suitable Alternative Employment? 

When an employee’s current role is no longer needed, they may be offered suitable alternative employment. Employees may be matched to roles that align with their skills, experience, and salary expectations. When offering redeployment opportunities, employers need to consider preferences like location and culture fit. The goal is to ensure a smooth transition while maintaining employee engagement and job satisfaction. 

What Is the Trial Period? 

During the redeployment process, a trial period allows employees to assess whether the new role is a good fit. The trial period usually lasts a few weeks to a few months. It allows the employee and employer to evaluate performance, training needs, and job satisfaction. If the role isn’t suitable, alternative redeployment options may be explored.  

The 4 Steps of the Workforce Redeployment Process 

A successful redeployment strategy follows a structured approach that ensures employees transition smoothly. The process begins with identifying roles affected by workforce changes and assessing employees’ skills and career aspirations. Employers then match employees to relevant opportunities, offering training if necessary to bridge any skill gaps. A clear communication plan keeps employees informed throughout the transition, while a feedback mechanism ensures continuous improvement in the redeployment process. 

Defining Your Redeployment Strategy 

Developing a strong talent redeployment strategy requires aligning workforce planning with business goals. Companies must anticipate future skill needs and establish rapid workforce solutions to reallocate employees effectively. A data-driven approach that leverages AI-driven workforce intelligence can help match employees with internal opportunities in real-time. By prioritizing redeployment efforts,  contractors and full-time employees are placed into roles that maximize their skills, businesses can minimize disruptions and create a resilient workforce ready for change 

Benefits to Your Organization 

The benefits of rapid workforce redeployment are numerous. Employers can help team members uncover hidden skills and talents and develop skills. SHRM’s Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement: The Doors of Opportunity are Open showed that one of the top five factors that lead to job satisfaction is opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work. Employees will likely have higher morale and engagement as they can apply their skill sets and expertise to new functions and support continued organizational growth. These employees will be much easier to retain. 

Projects that lack the proper talent can utilize in-house talent and resources to succeed. For example, claims processors, a role impacted by technological innovation, can move employees into other business areas, such as customer support. Instead of wasting precious time and resources on finding external talent, organizations can move their existing internal talent to different job roles where their skills are aligned and can be applied. 

Additionally, rapid workforce redeployment can facilitate collaboration between departments to break down information silos. According to a study by Planview, information and communication silos cost an average employee 7 hours a week. By breaking down information silos, departments are enabled to share information more quickly, and teams that would have never worked together can redeploy talent to uncover ways that they can drive innovation and solve problems. 

With these clear benefits, why doesn’t every company utilize rapid workforce redeployment? Many organizations may not have the necessary tools and resources to create a rapid workforce redeployment strategy.  Thankfully, there are software solutions that can help organizations to develop and implement rapid workforce redeployment. 

How Software Can Support A Rapid Workforce Redeployment Strategy 

HR teams and managers across an organization have evolving needs for talent in various areas of their businesses. A manager with a specific need in a project may not know who to go to in an organization with tens of thousands of employees. One manager can only learn so many employees’ abilities and self-proclaimed skills, which can be misleading. This unintentional lack of knowledge creates a gap that a software-powered solution can fill. 

Human resources and other departments of the organization must be on the same page regarding employee skills and competencies. Various projects and growth areas require different skills, competencies, proficiency levels, and overall capabilities. The key team members must be able to properly communicate the necessary talent profile needed to fill their gaps. This task is very challenging for an HR team without the correct data. Keeping track of all that information would be extremely difficult and confusing if managed in spreadsheets or if there is a solution without verified data. 

A talent management platform can help HR teams identify the right employees to fill critical roles and offer future opportunities within their company. Competency-based software can help organizations create skill benchmarks for various roles. It can help ensure that employee competencies are developed so they are ready for a new role or project. Overall, this software can facilitate rapid workforce deployment. 

Deploying a successful rapid workforce redeployment strategy can ensure that your organization remains agile in adversity and can reduce voluntary and involuntary turnover. Adopting the right approach can make the most of your company’s most precious resource—its people. 

Workforce Redeployment FAQs 

What is workforce redeployment? 

Workforce redeployment is the reassignment of employees or contractors to different organizational roles to meet business needs. Instead of laying off workers, companies identify alternative positions that align with employees’ skills and capabilities. Redeployment is commonly used during restructuring, mergers, or automation-driven shifts, ensuring that talent remains within the company while maintaining workforce stability. 

What is a job redeployment? 

 Job redeployment occurs when an individual moves from one position to another within the same organization. Business transformation, departmental changes, or skill realignment cause the need for redeployment. Employees may receive additional training or upskilling to adapt to their new responsibilities. Unlike external job transitions, redeployment ensures continuity in employment while supporting career growth. 

What is an example of redeployment? 

An example of redeployment is when a company undergoes digital transformation, replacing manual administrative roles with automation. Instead of terminating employees, the company reskills them to take on new positions, such as data analysts or customer experience specialists. Another example is during a company merger, where redundant roles are reassigned to different departments, allowing employees to continue contributing to the organization in a new capacity. 

What is the difference between redeployment and retrenchment? 

The key difference between redeployment and retrenchment lies in their impact on employment. Redeployment focuses on retaining employees by transferring them to other roles within the company, often with additional training and career development opportunities. Conversely, retrenchment involves terminating employees due to redundancy, financial constraints, or restructuring, leading to job loss. While retrenchment is often a last resort, redeployment offers a proactive solution to retain skilled talent and minimize workforce disruption.