Navigating Transitions: Moving Teams in a Rotational Program
Rotational programs provide interesting opportunities for young employees.
Transitioning between teams and roles is built into the start of your career, giving participants a chance to experience something new every few months.
The upside to this is huge! Having the opportunity to try on a few different hats before “settling” down into a role is a wonderful way to explore what’s out there and figure out what you want to do.
Still, it can be jarring to transition from team to team. Just as one team starts to feel right as you get comfortable in your role, the time to suddenly move to another team comes and you have to start the process all over again.
While I’m still learning how to navigate this transition between teams effectively (and efficiently), I’d like to reflect on my most recent switch and provide some insight in this blog post.
In January, I moved from a team of 7–9(ish) people to a team of 7(ish) people.
In my previous team, I worked on SuccessFactors, a Human Capital Management product. Those who worked on the product were vastly spread across the globe, with different teams working on small details. They were all focused on creating a better product, iteration by iteration, day by day. Basically — there were a lot of people working on an already established product and I was on one team that was just part of a much larger network of teams.
My new team, however, is pretty different.
Paid Pronto is one of SAP.iO’s newest ventures. For the unacquainted, SAP.iO invests in startups (often started internally) that supplement the rest of SAP’s product portfolio. Because Paid Pronto as a startup is incredibly young, I joined a team consisting of a mere 7 people — and that’s it.
Unlike my last team, we are the entire workforce behind Paid Pronto. It’s an exciting opportunity but, at the same time, working in this team requires a completely different mindset than my last role.
Navigating this transition is still a work in progress, but here are my key takeaways so far:
- Young products require a focus on broader problem solving in addition to a focus on minute, detail-focused solutions.
- Working in small teams seems to result in (or require) a more transparent communication style.
- Tasks are defined but not necessarily assigned. Finishing “your” work doesn’t really mean the work is done. There’s always something you can help with.
- People are more than willing to help — knowing who to ask is a worthwhile investment so build up those relationships.
- Learning, as always, is very important and never stops :).
Out of all my key takeaways, one has eased my transition more than any other — knowing who to ask for help.
Figuring out who knows what is certainly an engaged process, but it’s also an opportunity to get to know your co-workers. “Get to know you” chats (“syncs” for those inclined to use such lingo), are some of the things I look forward to the most on a weekly basis. The fact that these conversations also provide me avenues for quicker problem-solving in the future is just a bonus.
As with all things this year, I’m still learning — stay tuned for updates 😉.
